Haim, Well, the reasoning for the main war had more to do with the English impressing American sailors and preventing US ships from doing business with the European Continent, which was then under Napoleon's "Continental System." But one way to strike at England, which we couldn't well do on the open seas, as they had the better Navy, was to use our manpower advantage to take over Canada, cutting off vital natural resources. That was the reason given to the war happy public. But the hawks, primarily Madison, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay, also saw Canada as a prize for their personal and political portfolios.
The main Canadian invasion was a disaster. Our troops burned the town that was to eventually become Toronto before they ran away and the British responded by burning Washington, D.C. We did win a big sea battle on Lake Erie and a big land battle, The Battle of the Thames, in Ontario, both in 1815. In the Battle of the Thames in Ontario, the British Army ran away leaving their Indian allies to be killed by the Americans. Tecumseh was killed there. So, the Indians got screwed no matter which side they allied with. |
