Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough’s victory at the Battle of Lake Champlain on 11 September 1814 was the decisive battle that secured an American victory in the War of 1812 by causing the British to withdraw from the north east and Chesapeake Bay. Without Macdonough’s genius strategy, the British would have secured Lake Champlain, taken Fort McHenry at Plattsburgh, and kept control in the Chesapeake Bay, which in turn would have resulted in a British victory of the war. After two years into the war, the British maintained the upper hand. Despite major naval victories by Chauncey and Perry at Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the British still held a blockade across the east coast of the United States. Ultimately, they planned to choke out the US: …show more content…
Control of the lake would give a safe passageway on the western shore for General Sir George Prevost and his army of 11,000 veterans from the Duke of Wellington’s European Army to take Fort McHenry. The attack on the small, outnumbered American garrison at Plattsburgh was also to be delayed until the Royal Navy had fully taken the lake. Without control of Champlain, the British could not properly invade from Canada and fulfill their plans from strangling the US at their three target areas, the Mississippi River at New Orleans, the Chesapeake Bay, and the north east. With success in the north east, the British could come that much closer to defeating the US in the war for good. Lake Champlain was crucial to the Americans if they wanted to prevent a massacre at Plattsburgh, keep Fort McHenry, and eventually win the …show more content…
Regardless of the outcome, the victor was sure to be the winner of the war. Thomas Macdonough’s feat in keeping Lake Champlain was a turning point in the war for the Americans. Without his tenacity and strategy to protect Champlain, New York would have fallen to Prevost and the British; the Chesapeake Bay would have also been lost shortly after, and the outcome at New Orleans may not have made a difference at all. In the short term, Macdonough’s victory directly led to the Treaty of Ghent, giving the US territorial rights over the Great Lakes and inevitably ending the War of 1812 for good. In the long term, the United States had come out of the war as a rising power. In what seemed to be an easy victory for the British, the Americans not only survived through the war, but took steps forward in being recognized as a world influence. The use of the navy really helped pushed this movement towards a significant country among other powerful nations, forward. As French minister Louis Serurier said, “Finally the war has given the Americans what they so essentially lacked, a nation character founded on a glory common to all. The United States are at this moment, in my eyes, a naval power. Within ten years they will be masters in their waters and upon their coasts.” The uprising of a strong militaristic and effective naval culture was a main contributor to the start of America
After surveying the defenses of the British, George Washington decided that the best course of action would be to attempt to bombard them into submission. On the 29th, the American and French forces crept
The last thing it needed was this was. The land battles of the war of 1812 were all over the place. The part of the war fought on actual American soil resulted in the burning of Washington, the fact that anyone really knows about the war. When the British were able to muster together troops for a land assault they focused on key objectives. The burning of Washington led Madison, president at the time, with no control over any stand army over militia.
After all, they had more troops and they were better trained. There were many factors, though, that led to their defeat. Just like in the Revolutionary War, the British underestimated the Americans, and that was their main issue. Arrogance was a factor in this. Admiral Cochrane, for example, would not accept his men’s plan of how to move the barges from the bayou and instead wasted days executing his plan of how to do it (128).
This was a result of the battle method that the natives employed, they would hide and shoot in the shadows of trees, misleading the Americans, and confusing them as to their definite location. Furthermore, Salaberry also encouraged hoots, hollers, bugles and more during the battle, to create an illusion of a larger military force, making the Americans think that they were outnumbered. Eventually, the Americans retreated, panicked and fearful, and Montreal was safe. Although this battle is notably less violent and briefer, it known as one of the most important battles throughout the War of 1812. Since this war was won by a force of all-Canadians, a sense of pride and unity was shared amoungst the colonists, as they were able defeat a force that was at least 4 times larger, without support from Britain.
Even though the Americans were greatly outnumbered, they defeated the British in roughly 30 minutes. Two thousand British militiamen were killed, wounded, or missing, including their leader, Sir Edward Pakenham, while there were only roughly 100 soldiers wounded or killed on American side. Although the battle did not influence the contents in the Treaty of Ghent, which was signed before the conflict, it forced the British to abide its terms. After the battle, Andrew Jackson was regarded as a national hero, and his triumph aided him in becoming the president of the United
How did it impact the result of the battle, albeit many hours later and with much fewer men than expected? If you were in Pakenham’s position, what alternative to a mostly frontal assault would you deploy that could make the attack more successful? Why was Andrew Jackson praised as a hero although the War of 1812, being relatively small, is sometimes called
This left Fort Sackville right for the taking. In February, 1779 George recaptured Fort Sackville and capturing Henry Hamilton in the process. This made the frontier safe from most British authority but the crown held Fort Detroit and George failed at capturing it, so he refrained from attacking it again as he had less than 200 soldiers. George mainly stayed in the frontier to protect the land from Native American war parties. Even though he didn’t have that much action the rest of the war his contribution was tremendous.
Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden was fought on the morning of August 16, 1780. It was a battle between the British and the Americans. Major General Horatio Gates was the American Commander and Major General Charles Cornwallis was the British Commander. The Americans had 3,052 troops versus the British who had 2,240 troops.
With extensive research, it is believed that the two battles that Washington and the Continental army won that counted against the British was the Battle of Trenton (1776) and the Battle of Yorktown (1781). The reasoning for why the Battle of Trenton would be one of the Battles to truly matter is first due to actually winning it. The second reason is due to the dismal outlook for the Continental army at the time. This is due to the falling of Fort Washington and Fort Lee, where in Fort Lee the evacuation was so slow, the British were able to seize items such as cannons, muskets, and other supplies. The loss of these forts along with more of Washington's men succumbing to illness and other various ailments along with the cold, the Continental
“It’s a fine fox hunt, boys!” George Washington made this comment while chasing the British troops through the woods, during the Battle of Princeton. This battle has many causes, leaders, events, and effects that contributed to the battle’s importance. There were many events leading up to the Battle of Princeton, as told by theamericanrevolution.org. The crossing and recrossing of the Delaware River for the second time at Trenton had proved to work in Washington’s favor and he wanted to keep up this positive morale for his troops.
In the starting years of the war, the British generally won most battles due to their far superior sea power. After the invasion of Canada, the American colonist rebellion invasions and attacks continued. Battles after battles were being fought and everywhere the anger and the revenge taking nature was visible in both the colonists and the British officials’ eyes. The next 2 battles occurred in Trenton and Princeton of New Jersey. The Battle of Trenton occurred 26 December 1776.
The French and Indian War The French and Indian War was fought over possession of land in North America. This war lasted seven years, 1756-1763, and is also called the Seven Years War. The war was fought between the colonies of British America and New France. Both colonies were backed with military units from their parent countries, Great Britain and France.
Lawrence River and vision was blurred due to blizzard conditions. Despite the rough weather, the Americans were very determined to be triumphant over the British on Canadian soil as they desperately wanted the population of Canada to support American interests in the war. Although the Americans wanted the population of Canada on their side, the British already had much of Canadians on their side as the Loyalists are more in number. With the help of the loyalists, the British army were able to defeat the Continental
British cannon fire would destroy these ships with extreme ease, but in the end the US was victories in the battle of Lake Erie due to the leadership of Commander Oliver Hazzard
Soldiers that would endure the hardships and fight for the independence of themselves and their families were vital to America prevailing over the British. Washington had fought with the British in the French and Indian War. He knew the landscape and the tactics of the British Army. This proved important to the success of the