Existing comment:
The War of 1812:
Despite the United States victory over England in the American Revolution, tensions remained strong between the two nations. The British navy's policy of stopping American merchant ships on the high seas and forcing crew members into British service especially outraged Americans. "Impressment" became a key reason for the declaration of war by the United States against England on June 18, 1812.
Several North Carolinians became well known for their service during the war. Otway Burns won fame as a licensed privateer seizing enemy ships and cargo, and naval captain Johnston Blakeley also captured several British ships.
Greensboro native Dolley Payne Madison, wife of President James Madison, gained the gratitude of the nation when she saved valuable items from the presidential residence before British troops torched it in August 1814.
Native son Andrew Jackson, born in the Waxhaw region along the North Carolina-South Carolina border, defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. Ironically, a peace treaty between the warring nations had been signed at Ghent in Belgium the month before, on December 24, 1814. |