Portal:War of 1812

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War of 1812 Portal

Introduction

The War of 1812 (in Britain, the American War of 1812, to distinguish from the war with Napoleon) was fought between the United States of America, on one side, and on the other side the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its colonies, especially Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), Nova Scotia, and Bermuda. When the war had finished, 1,600 British and 2,260 American troops had died. British and American forces also suffered 3,679 and 4,505 wounded, respectively. It is noteworthy that these "official" figures do not include losses to disease, casualties among American or Canadian militia forces, or losses among allied native tribes. The war was fought from 1812 to 1815 and involved both land and naval engagements. Britain was at war with France and to impede American trade with France imposed a series of restrictions that the U.S. contested as illegal under international law. The Americans declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812 for a combination of reasons: outrage at the impressment (seizure) of thousands of American sailors into the British navy, frustration at British restraints on neutral trade, and anger at British military support for Native Americans defending their tribal lands from encroaching American settlers.