Why Did The War Of 1812 Happen

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The War of 1812 lasted a little less than three years and its final battles happened after the war was over. The Treaty of Ghent, signed in Ghent, Belgium, was signed on December 24, 1814 and ended the war; unfortunately, the news would not arrive in time to prevent one of the bloodiest battles of the war. General Andrew Jackson spearheaded a decisive victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, the last battle of the War of 1812, but if the British had been patient and used information collected from the local population the battle could have ended differently (Klein, 2012). Why did the War of 1812 even happen? America independence was won and the birth of new country was underway, or so the revolutionist thought. The Battle of Yorktown, which ended the American Revolution and sent the British home and defeated, was over 30 years in the past. The British were dealing with Napoleon Bonaparte of France, who conquered much of Europe, but …show more content…
Jackson knew that one of the best approaches for the British would be Lake Bourgne. Lake Bourgne was the first major body of water between the Gulf of Mexico and actual land. Small islands and shallow water were the only boundaries. Jackson sent five gunboats to defend on the muddy waters of Lake Bourgne. This must have been the most important avenue as the five gunboats left only one other gunboat in the fleet. Cochrane saw this and sent Captain Lockyer to begin an assault. On December 14, 1814, the battle had begun. The five gunboats were no match for the 45 oar-rowed boats Cochrane ordered into the water for the attack. The small US fleet was destroyed, four men killed, and the rest captured. Lieutenant Jones, commanding the fleet, was able to dispatch a rider to inform Jackson of the amphibious invasion. Jones was one of the men killed in the first attack (Fleming,