The War of 1812 lasted from the American declaration of war on Great Britain in June 1812 to the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent
![Fort York, Toronto. [PHOTO: KATHY MILLS]](https://legionmagazine.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/JournalBIG-300x86.jpg)
Death of General Pike. ILLUSTRATION: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—C007434 The War of 1812 lasted from the American declaration of war on Great Britain in June
During the War of 1812, the inland seas of North America—the Great Lakes—were the setting for major maritime operations. Both Britain and the United States devoted tremendous energy and resources to creating naval forces on the lakes as water provided the best means of transporting and supplying land forces. Naval bases sprung up almost overnight and ship construction was maintained at a dizzying pace. At the outbreak of war, the U.S. had exactly one warship on the Great Lakes, a 16-gun vessel on Lake Ontario. By 1814, it had 28 major warships, the largest mounting 58 guns. The Royal Navy expanded in a similar proportion. In 1814 the U.S. Navy constructed and commissioned a warship on Lake Champlain in the amazing time of 33 days, while Britain built a battleship, HMS St. Lawrence, on Lake Ontario that was larger than HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar.
Bits of burnt wood from the United States’ presidential mansion and the tunic worn by General Isaac Brock when he was mortally wounded in the Battle of Queenston Heights are two of the artifacts gathered by the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa for its exhibit marking the 200th anniversary of the start of the War of 1812.
Entitled 1812: One War, Four Perspectives, the exhibit looks at the war which ran from 1812 to 1815 from the point of view of the Canadian, American, British and North American native participants.
USS United States defeats HMS Macedonian. ILLUSTRATION: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS—DIG-PGA-02821 The War of 1812 lasted from the American declaration of war on Great Britain inJune
. ILLUSTRATION: PETER RINDLISBACHER The War of 1812 lasted from the American declaration of war on Great Britain in June 1812 to the ratification of
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An informative primer on Canada’s crucial role in the Normandy landing, June 6, 1944.
