Timeline of the War of 1812 is a chronology of the War of 1812, including a list of battles.
Origins
Year Day Theater Occurrence Notes1803May 18 prelude Britain declared war on Napoleonic France Conflict would grow out to War of the Third Coalition. 1803 Jul 4 diplomacy Louisiana Purchase Napoleon sold French Louisiana to the U.S.Britain supported deal, hoping to keep U.S. neutral.1804Nov 3 prelude Quashquame's treaty with William Henry Harrison Many Sauk allied with British instead.1805May 22 prelude Essex Decision England's admiralty court decided seizing certainU.S. merchant ships was legal, escalating tensions. 1805Oct 21 preludeBattle of Trafalgar Major British victory over France1806Apr 18 preludeNon-importation Act U.S. embargo on importation of certain Britishgoods, in retaliation of the Essex Decision.1806Nov 21 preludeBerlin Decree Napoleon imposed trade blockade of British Isles.1806Dec 31 preludeMonroe-Pinkney Treaty signed. Intended to stop British impressment of U.S.ships, but President Thomas Jefferson rejected it.1807Jun 22 preludeChesapeake–Leopard affair Military and diplomatic naval incident,nearly triggering war between Britain and the U.S.1807Nov 11 preludeOrders in Council Britain launched economic warfare against France,straining relations with neutral countries.1807Dec 17 preludeMilan Decree Napoleon ordered seizing all ships fromneutral countries trading with the British.1807 Dec 22 prelude Embargo Act U.S. act in retaliation against British and Frenchseizure and impressment of U.S. merchant ships.1808Apr 17 preludeBayonne decree France began seizing all U.S. ships in French ports.1809Mar 1 preludeNon-Intercourse Act U.S. act lifting embargoes on all shipping,except those bound for British and French ports.1809Mar 4 preludePresident James Madison's inauguration.1809Apr 19 preludeErskine Agreement1809Sep 30 prelude Treaty of Fort Wayne U.S.–Shawnee tensions lead to Tecumseh's War.1810Mar 23 preludeRambouillet Decree France orders seizing all U.S. ships in French ports.1810May 1 preludeMacon's Bill No. 2 U.S. act intended to compel Britain and Franceto stop seizing U.S. ships.1810Aug 5 preludeCadore letter1811Feb 2 preludeTrade with the United Kingdom closed1811Mar 10 preludeHenry letters Fabricated letters caused diplomatic incident.1811May 16 preludeLittle Belt affair Military and diplomatic naval incident,nearly triggering war between Britain and the U.S.1811Nov 4 prelude12th United States Congress convened.1811Nov 7 preludeBattle of Tippecanoe Tecumseh's confederacy defeated.1812Apr 4 preludeAmerican Trade Embargo1812May 11 prelude UK Prime Minister Spencer Perceval assassinated. Pro-war sentiment in Britain decreased,and efforts were made to reconcile with the U.S.1812Jun 1 preludePresident James Madison's war message Madison requested the U.S. Congress to declare war.1812Jun 8 preludeRobert Jenkinson became UK Prime Minister Some measures to avert war were tried,but they were too little, too late.1812Jun 16 preludeCastlereagh announced repeal of Orders in Council News reached U.S. Congress too lateto impact U.S. declaration of war on the UK.
War Theaters
The War of 1812 was fought in four major theaters: the Atlantic Coast (including the Chesapeake campaign); the Gulf Coast; the Mississippi River; and the Canada–US border. Actions along the Canada–US border occurred in three sectors (from east to west): the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, including its tributary Richelieu River in Quebec, and Lake Champlain in Vermont and Upstate New York. (The U.S. side of this front is known as New England, and the Canadian side as Lower Canada and Upper Canada). the Niagara Frontier; and the Great Lakes region (the U.S. side of which is also known as the Old Northwest, and the Canadian side as Upper Canada), excluding the aforementioned Niagara Frontier and Lake Ontario.
There were also numerous naval battles at sea, almost all of them in the Atlantic.
In between, numerous events occurred in the areas of diplomacy, and the home fronts (internal politics) of all parties involved. For the United Kingdom in particular, the dynamics of the French invasion of Russia (June–December 1812) and the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon (March 1813 – May 1814) in Europe significantly impacted the resources they had available for the War of 1812 with the United States, and their willingness to conduct peace negotiations (which would eventually be held in Ghent, August–December 1814, on territory the Sixth Coalition had just occupied from the First French Empire). For the United States, the Creek War was an important side conflict to increase their control in the South at the expense of Native American factions allied with and supplied by the British, while the Hartford Convention of the Federalist Party (December 1814 – January 1815) played a significant role in voicing strong opposition to the U.S. government's war policy.
1812