List of War of 1812 battles

This is a list of War of 1812 battles, organized chronologically and by the theater in which they occurred.

Major theaters

The War of 1812 was fought in four major theaters: the Atlantic Coast, the Canada–US border, the Gulf Coast, and the American West. There were also numerous naval battles at sea, almost all of them in the Atlantic. Actions along the Canadian border occurred in three sectors (from west to east): the old Territory, the Niagara Frontier, and the St. Lawrence River.

Battles (chronological order within theater)

1812

Main article: Timeline of the War of 1812 § 1812

1813

Main article: Timeline of the War of 1812 § 1813

1814

Atlantic Coast

• Cochrane's Chesapeake Bay Campaign (April–September, 1814): The extensive campaign waged by the British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay area under the operational command of Rear Admiral George Cockburn, which included, among others, the attacks on Washington and Baltimore. Cockburn's superior was Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, who was in overall command of the Chesapeake Bay Campaign. Cochrane, who was stridently anti-American, not only encouraged that very aggressive measures be employed by Cockburn in his actions against American settlements along the coast, but also issued a proclamation inviting slaves to join the British and serve in military units or otherwise participate in British military efforts against the Americans.
• Raid on Pettipaug, Connecticut (April 7–8, 1814): A successful British small boat action up the Connecticut River to burn the privateer fleet at Pettipaug (now Essex). Captain Richard Coote led a force of 136 British sailors and marines in six boats up the river, burning 25 American vessels and capturing two, with the loss of only two men. The raid devastated American privateering capabilities.
• Skirmish at Pongoteague Creek, Virginia (May 30, 1814): A successful British amphibious attack on an American battery that had been installed on a bluff at Pongoteague Creek and manned by Virginia militia, in the part of Virginia that extends south from Maryland and separates Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean
• Skirmish off of Cedar Point, Maryland (June 1, 1814): An indecisive encounter near the mouth of the Patuxent River between an American flotilla and British ships from Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn's fleet. Although both sides maneuvered for advantage and exchanged shots at long range, the Americans broke off action before any damage was done to ships of either side.
• Skirmishes at St. Leonard's Creek, Maryland (June 8–26, 1814): A series of actions initiated by a flotilla of British ships from Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn's fleet against a flotilla of American ships that had retreated into St. Leonard's Creek, which flows into the Patuxent River about seven miles from its mouth. While the American flotilla was bottled up in the creek, the British conducted raids along the Patuxent. The American ships fought their way out of the blockade on June 26.
• Maine Campaign (July, 1814 – April, 1815): A British naval operation along the Maine coast. The British encountered little opposition, and at various times occupied Eastport, Machias, Castine and Bangor.
• Battle of Stonington (August 9–12, 1814): British vessels HMS Ramillies, HMS Pactolus, HMS Dispatch, and HMS Terror under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy bombarded the borough of Stonington, Connecticut. Stonington residents resolutely returned fire for three days, resulting in many British casualties but no American casualties.
• Gordon's Raid on the Potomac River (August 17 – September 6, 1814): An expedition up the Potomac River by a squadron of British ships commanded by Captain James Gordon, intended as a diversion from the expedition up the Patuxent River that culminated in the burning of Washington. Gordon's raid resulted in the expulsion of the American forces at Fort Washington, Maryland, the uncontested occupation of the prosperous port of Alexandria, Virginia, and the capture an abundance of prizes and cargoes.
• Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland (August 24, 1814): The Americans' worst battle of the war during which a British force of less than five thousand troops routed an American force of nearly seven thousand, leaving Washington undefended.
• Burning of Washington, DC (August 24–25, 1814): The occupation of the nation's capital by a British force of four to five thousand troops from Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn's fleet in Chesapeake Bay, usually interpreted as retaliation for the American burning and looting of York in 1813. The British burned the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress, the White House and buildings housing the Treasury and War Departments, but the only private building set afire was one from which the British had been fired upon.
• Attack on Baltimore, Maryland (September 12–15, 1814): A combined sea and land assault on the important port city of Baltimore. The Americans repulsed both the bombardment of Fort McHenry and the land invasion.
• Battle of North Point, Maryland (September 12, 1814): An important battle that thwarted the British plan to follow up their victories at Bladensburg and Washington with the capture of Baltimore. The British landing party, under the command of Maj. Gen. Robert Ross met the American force, under the command of Brig. Gen. John Stricker, at the narrowest point of the peninsula leading from North Point to Baltimore. Although the Americans eventually were forced to retreat, they were able to do so in good order having inflicted significant casualties on the British, killing Gen. Ross and significantly demoralizing the troops under his command. This combination prompted Col. Arthur Brooke, now in command following Ross's death, to delay the advance against Baltimore, buying valuable time to properly prepare for the defense of the city as Gen. Stricker retreated back to the main defenses to bolster the existing force.
• Bombardment of Fort McHenry, Maryland (September 13–14, 1814): The failed British attempt during the attack on Baltimore to subdue Fort McHenry, which blocked access to Baltimore Harbor. When it became evident that Fort McHenry would not surrender, the major British land assault was called off, and the troops that had landed at North Point were withdrawn.

American Northwest

• Skirmish at Longwoods, Upper Canada (March 4, 1814): An American victory that occurred when a mounted raiding party from Detroit was intercepted by a British force from an outpost at Delaware, Upper Canada, about halfway between Amherstburg on the Detroit River and Burlington at the western end of Lake Ontario.
• Sinclair's Campaign on the Upper Lakes (July–August, 1814): A largely unsuccessful attempt by the Americans to seize control of the upper lakes following the withdrawal of British forces from the area around Detroit. The only American successes were to capture three British merchantmen, destroy an abandoned British fort on St. Joseph's Island and conduct a raid on the trading post on the St. Mary River. They failed to recapture Fort Michillimackinaw, and lost two schooners on the return trip.
• Raid at St. Marys River, Upper Canada (July 23–26, 1814): A raid conducted by elements of Captain Arthur Sinclair's squadron on the St. Marys River, which connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The Americans captured a fur-trading post, destroyed buildings and captured the British schooner Perseverance at the head of the rapids. The schooner was badly damaged while attempting to run the rapids, and was then set afire.
• Assault on Mackinac Island (August 4, 1814): A failed attempt by the Americans to recapture Mackinac Island during Captain Arthur Sinclair's Campaign on the Upper Lakes.
• Destruction of HMS Nancy (August 13, 1814): The destruction of the British schooner Nancy in the Nottawasaga River two miles from its mouth on Georgian Bay by an American landing party, which included two howitzers, from Captain Arthur Sinclair's squadron.
• Capture of the American schooners Tigress and Scorpion (September 3 and 6, 1814): A daring operation in which a small detachment of the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles and a few seamen captured the Tigress and Scorpion near Drummond Island. The Tigress was approached and boarded by a party from canoes and bateaux; the Scorpion was taken a few days later by a boarding party from the Tigress.
• McArthur's Raid/Battle of Malcolm's Mills (November 6, 1814): An American victory in the upper Thames Valley between Canadian militia and an American force of 750 mounted infantry, led by Brig. Gen. Duncan McArthur. During a two-week incursion into Canada, McArthur's Raid destroyed the mills that the British forces in the Northwest were dependent upon for flour and bread and created a diversion that allowed the American forces at Fort Erie to escape unharmed. Additionally the American's killed, wounded or captured over 450 of their enemy, accomplished with the loss of only one killed and six wounded.

Niagara Frontier

• Raid on Port Dover, Upper Canada (May 14–15, 1814): An American raid on settlements on the north shore of Lake Erie where there were mills and storehouses containing supplies used by British troops stationed in the Niagara Peninsula. Before withdrawing the American troops set fire to mills, storehouses and private dwellings in retribution for the British raid at Black Rock and Buffalo in December, 1813.
• Brown's Campaign on the Niagara River (July–October, 1814): The most competently planned and executed attempt by the Americans to invade Canada along the Niagara Frontier. It began with victories at Fort Erie and Chippewa, stalled at the well-fought draw at Lundy's Lane, and ended when the Americans retired to Fort Erie.
• Capture of Fort Erie, Upper Canada (July 3, 1814): The opening battle of Major General Jacob Brown's Campaign on the Niagara River. The British surrendered the fort, which is located at the confluence of Lake Erie and the Niagara River on Canadian side, without much of a fight.
• Battle of Chippawa, Upper Canada (July 5, 1814): A well-fought American victory against a numerically superior British force that took place just south of Chippawa Creek, not far from where it flows into the Niagara River.
• Burning of St. Davids, Upper Canada (July 18, 1814): An action taken by a battalion of New York militia that encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance from residents of a village close to Queenston Heights, where Major General Jacob Brown wanted to occupy a position following the Battle of Chippawa. Brown dismissed the American commander who ordered the action.
• Battle of Lundy's Lane, Upper Canada (July 25, 1814): The bloodiest battle of the war, which took place near Niagara Falls just north of the site of the Battle of Chippawa. Although the battle was a draw, it was so costly to the Americans that their army had to fall back to Fort Erie, thus marking the end of Brown's invasion of Upper Canada.
• Skirmish at Conjocta Creek, New York (August 3, 1814): An action undertaken by the British following the Battle of Lundy's Lane with the objective of destroying American supplies and batteries at Black Rock and Buffalo. The plan unraveled when the British force was defeated at Conjocta Creek, which was between them and Black Rock.
• Siege of Fort Erie, Upper Canada (August 5 – September 21, 1814): The unsuccessful British attempt to recapture Fort Erie, involving nearly continuous skirmishing and a failed assault on August 15.
• Capture of the American schooners Ohio and Somers (August 12, 1814): The capture by a party of British naval officers and seamen from ships blockaded at Niagara of two American schooners that had been bombarding a British battery north of Fort Erie.
• Destruction of the British brig Magnet (August 15, 1814): An incident in which Lieutenant George Hawkesworth deliberately ran his ship, the British brig Magnet, aground not far from the mouth of the Niagara River rather than allowing it to be captured by Commodore Isaac Chaucey's squadron from Sackets Harbor. To avoid court-martial Hawkesworth deserted to the Americans.
• Assault on Fort Erie, Upper Canada (August 15, 1814): An unsuccessful British attempt to recapture Fort Erie from the Americans. The British plan was a complicated one, involving an initial bombardment followed by a diversionary attack by a force of native warriors and a coordinated night attack from the south, west and north, against a larger-than-expected and well-led American force on the inside.
• Sortie from Fort Erie, Upper Canada (September 17, 1814): A sortie against British batteries still bombarding the fort after the failed British assault. The action was a costly one for both sides. Shortly thereafter the British lifted their siege and retreated to positions at Chippawa.
• Skirmish at Cook's Mills, Upper Canada (October 19, 1814): The final engagement of the war on the Niagara Peninsula, also known as the Skirmish at Lyons Creek. The action began as an American attempt to seize and destroy British provisions at Cook's Mills following the lifting of the British siege at Fort Erie. It enjoyed a limited success, resulting in the destruction of two hundred bushels of grain.

St. Lawrence River

• Salmon River Raid (1814) (February 14–24, 1814): A series of British raids on American depots and supply centers left unprotected following the evacuation of French Mills by Maj. Gen. James Wilkinson's army in early February. The British captured large quantities of provisions and equipment from depots at French Mills, Malone, Fort Corners, Madrid and Hopkinton before returning to Canada.
• Second Battle of Lacolle, Lower Canada (March 30, 1814): A British victory that ended the last American attempt to invade Lower Canada along the Richelieu River.
• Assault on Oswego, New York (May 5–6, 1814): A successful British amphibious attack on Oswego, New York, an important American transshipment point for supplies, especially heavy ordnance and equipment, between inland New York and Lake Ontario. During this raid, the British also captured Fort Ontario, which was only lightly defended.
• Skirmish at Otter Creek, Vermont (May 14, 1814): An American victory by a naval squadron, commanded by Master Commandant Thomas MacDononough, supported by a battery at Fort Cassin, over a British naval force sailing from Isle-aux-Noix, Lower Canada, attempting to attack the shipyard at Vergennes, Vermont.
• Skirmish on Sandy Creek, New York (May 30, 1814): An ambush of seven British ships, several loaded with troops, patrolling along the south shore of Lake Ontario between Oswego and Sackets Harbor, by an American force that tricked the British into following an American boat up the river before launching an attack from the banks.
• Second Skirmish at Odelltown, Lower Canada (June 28, 1814): One of a series of indecisive skirmishes occurring on the border between New York and Lower Canada during the spring and summer of 1814.
• Prévost's Lake Champlain Campaign (August 30 – September 12, 1814): An unsuccessful invasion of the United States along the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain by a British army reinforced by regulars transferred to North America following Napoleon's abdication. The American victory had a significant impact on the negotiations at Ghent to end the war, allowing the Americans to insist upon exclusive rights to Lake Champlain and to deny the British exclusive rights to the Great Lakes.
• Battle of Plattsburgh, New York (September 11, 1814): The American victory that brought an end to the British invasion of New York, during which Captain George Downie's squadron, supported by three of Sir George Prevost's divisions, was defeated on Lake Champlain, New York, by Master Commodore Thomas MacDonough's squadron, supported by Brigadier General Alexander Macomb's land forces.

Gulf Coast

• Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek (Jan 22, 1814)
• Battle of Calebee Creek – also called Battle for Camp Defiance – (Jan 27, 1814)
• Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814) (Mar 27, 1814)
• Cochrane's Gulf Coast Campaign (May, 1814 – February, 1815). The naval operation off the southern coast of the United States that supported British efforts to fashion an alliance with the Creek Nation against the Americans and later to support the British attacks on Mobile and New Orleans.
• Attack on Fort Bowyer, Spanish West Florida (September 15, 1814): An unsuccessful attempt by two British sloops and a detachment of Royal Marines from Pensacola to capture Fort Bowyer, a fort on the tip of a peninsula near the mouth of Mobile Bay.
• Capture of Pensacola, Spanish Florida (November 7, 1814): A successful American operation, led by Major General Andrew Jackson, to remove the threat to Mobile from British troops based at Spanish-held Pensacola.
• Battle of Lake Borgne, Louisiana (December 14, 1814): A battle on Lake Borgne, a lake situated just east of New Orleans, between a flotilla of American ships and British ships from Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane's fleet. The British eventually prevailed in a hard-fought battle, thereby enabling a landing close to the city of New Orleans.
• Battle at the Villeré Plantation, Louisiana (December 23, 1814): The opening engagement of the Battle of New Orleans, precipitated by a surprise attack by the Americans on the advance force of British camped on Major General Jacque Villeré's plantation on the east bank of the Mississippi River about seven miles below New Orleans.
• Reconnaissance in force by British at New Orleans, Louisiana (December 28, 1814): A probe by the British of Major General Andrew Jackson's main defense line on the Rodriguez Canal about four miles below New Orleans.

American West

• Occupation of Prairie du Chien, Illinois Territory (June 2, 1814): A preemptive move by the Americans to occupy a fur-trading settlement at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers on the waterway connecting The Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed, which might be useful for the British as a base for a possible invasion down the Mississippi. The Americans constructed Fort Shelby following their occupation of the town.
• Siege of Fort Shelby, Illinois Territory (July 17–20, 1814): The successful capture of the fort by the British, undertaken to prevent the Americans from interrupting the lucrative fur trade that passed through Prairie du Chien.
• First skirmish at Rock Island Rapids, Missouri Territory (July 21, 1814): An attack by a band of Sauk warriors allied with the British, which forced an American party of five boats carrying supplies up the Mississippi River to Fort Shelby to retreat back down the river. The engagements at Rock Island Rapids were the westernmost actions in the War of 1812.
• Second skirmish at Rock Island Rapids, Missouri Territory (September 5, 1814): A failed American expedition sent up the Mississippi River to destroy villages and crops of the Sauk and Fox Nations at Saukenuk, in what is presently northwestern Illinois. The expedition was attacked by over a thousand warriors and forced to retreat downstream.

Naval battles

• Constitution versus HMS Pictou (1813) (February 14, 1814): The capture and scuttling of the British schooner Pictou by the American frigate Constitution between Barbados and Surinam.
• Essex versus HMS Phoebe and HMS Cherub (March 28, 1814): The capture of the American frigate Essex by the British frigate Phoebe and sloop Cherub as it tried to escape from the neutral harbor of Valparaiso.
• Frolic (1813) versus HMS Orpheus (1809) and HMS Shelburne (1813) (April 20, 1814): The capture of the American sloop Frolic off the coast of Cuba by the British frigate Orpheus and sloop Shelburne after a six-hour pursuit. The British renamed the Frolic the Florida and pressed it into service.
• Peacock (1813) versus HMS Epervier (April 29, 1814) : A 45-minute battle off Cape Canaveral, Florida in which the American sloop Peacock captured the British brig-sloop Epervier.
• Rattlesnake (1813) versus HMS Leander (1813) (June 22, 1814): The capture of the American brig Rattlesnake by the British 50-gun fourth-rate Leander near Sable Island off Nova Scotia. In an attempt to escape pursuit by the Leander, the Rattlesnake jettisoned its last two guns, its other guns having been jettisoned earlier in an attempt to escape a British frigate that was pursuing it.
• Wasp (1813) versus HMS Reindeer (June 28, 1814): A battle in the mouth of the English Channel which resulted in the capture and destruction of the British sloop Reindeer by the American sloop Wasp.
• Siren versus HMS Medway (1812) (July 12, 1814): The capture of the American brig-sloop Siren by the British 74-gun third-rate Medway off the coast of South Africa after an 11-hour pursuit.
• Wasp (1814) versus HMS Avon (September 1, 1814): A battle off the coast of England in which the American sloop Wasp defeated the British sloop Avon, but was prevented from taking the ship as prize by the arrival of other British warships. However, the Avon sank before it could be secured by the British reinforcements.

1815

Gulf Coast

• Cumberland Island Campaign (January–March, 1815): A diversionary expedition of Cochrane's Gulf Coast Campaign (May, 1814 – February, 1815) to the southeastern coast of the United States undertaken with the possible intent of linking up with the British army attacking New Orleans. The British force, commanded by Rear Admiral George Cockburn, occupied Cumberland Island located in the mouth of the St. Marys River between Georgia and Florida, captured the fort on the south bank of the river, and occupied the town of St. Marys in January. A plan to attack Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, did not materialize, although the British effectively blockaded the two cities and other stretches of the southern coast. Cockburn was not informed of the Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, until February 27, 1815, and departed the island on March 18.
• Artillery duel at New Orleans, Louisiana (January 1, 1815): A three-hour exchange of cannon fire between four British batteries, including heavy naval guns and a rocket battery, and seven American batteries in Major General Andrew Jackson's line of defense. The British ended the exchange when their artillery ran out of ammunition and failed to breach Jackson's ramparts.
• Final assault at New Orleans, Louisiana (January 8, 1815): This battle was the most lop-sided American victory of the war. While the British suffered 2037 casualties (killed, wounded and captured), the Americans suffered around 71. This battle helped drive Andrew Jackson's career forwards and gave him greater fame.
• Bombardment of Fort St. Philip, Louisiana (January 9–18, 1815): An unsuccessful attempt by the British to dislodge the American forces at Fort St. Philip, a fort about thirty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River that would have blocked efforts to supply the British in New Orleans.
• Capture of Fort Bowyer, Spanish West Florida (February 12, 1815): The last engagement of the war along the Gulf Coast. During their retreat from New Orleans, the British first landed on Dauphine Island near Mobile Bay, then recaptured the nearby Fort Bowyer, only to withdraw soon after receiving news of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which declared an end to the hostilities.

American West

• Battle of the Sink Hole, Missouri Territory (May 24, 1815): The last land battle of the War of 1812, an engagement between Missouri Rangers and Sauk warriors led by Black Hawk, near the mouth of the Cuivre River a few miles upriver from St. Louis.

Naval battles

• President (1800) versus HMS Endymion (1797) (January 15, 1815): The capture of the American frigate President in an attempt to break out of the British blockade of New York City. It surrendered after being severely damaged in an engagement with HMS Endymion.
• Constitution versus HMS Cyane and HMS Levant (February 20, 1815): The capture of the two British sixth-rates Cyane and Levant by the American frigate Constitution about two hundred miles northeast of Madeira. The Levant was later recaptured by the British frigate Leander.
• US privateer Chasseur versus HMS St Lawrence (1813) (February 26, 1815): The capture of the British schooner St. Lawrence which was carrying news of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent to British in the Gulf of Mexico, by the American privateer Chasseur.
• Pursuit and recapture of HMS Levant (1813) (March 11, 1815): The recapture by a British squadron under the command of Captain Sir George Collier of the British warship Levant, which had been captured, along with the Cyane, by the USS Constitution a few weeks earlier. The Levant was recaptured as the Constitution tried to flee with its two prizes from the harbor at Porto Playa in the Cape Verde Islands.
• USS Hornet versus HMS Penguin (March 23, 1815): The capture of the British sloop Penguin by the American sloop Hornet in a battle near Tristan de Cunha.
• Peacock versus East India Company ship Nautilus (June 30, 1815): The final naval engagement of the war, in which the American sloop Peacock fired on and seriously damaged the East India brig Nautilus in the Straits of Sunda off Java. The British captain, Lieutenant Charles Boyce informed the commander of the American ship that the Treaty of Ghent ending the war had been signed on December 24, 1814, but the Americans opened fire anyway.

See also

• Timeline of the War of 1812

Bibliography

• Mahon, John K. The War of 1812. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 1972. ISBN 0-306-80429-8.
• Malcomson, Robert. Historical Dictionary of the War of 1812. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8108-5499-4.