Existing comment:
War At Home
War of 1812: A Nation Forged by War:
War in the territories of the United States, bound by inland waterways, required close cooperation between military and naval forces. The strategic focus of both sides was the US-Canadian border, a vast and bountiful wilderness with few defenses.
Though American generals expected great conquests at the border, only the British made real gains. The deteriorating land war stabilized when US Navy squadrons won total victories on the Great Lakes.
Commitments in the Canadian theater left other regions under-defended. By 1814, British amphibious forces were poised for a knockout blow aimed at Washington, Baltimore, and New Orleans.
Wherever the British landed, the Navy was there to share in the defense, along with Army and militia forces. Unable to break American resolve, the British sought a diplomatic solution, concluding with peace in 1815.
"We have met the enemy and they are ours..."
-- Dispatch from Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison, 1813 |