War of 1812

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers... approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas". The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC : Atlantis thalassa ; see also: Atlas Mountains. The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic ocean as late as the mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world. The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west.
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North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern... subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers , about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 529 million people. It is the third-largest continent in area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. The Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann.
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The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that... are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States. All Gulf States are located in the Southern region of the United States. The economy of the Gulf Coast region is dominated by industries related to fishing, aerospace, agriculture, and tourism. The region is anchored by the cities of Houston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Tampa, and increasingly, Sarasota, all the centers of their respective metropolitan areas and containing large ports. The Gulf Coast is made of many inlets, bays, and lagoons. The coast is also intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the Mississippi River. Much of the land along the Gulf Coast is, or was, marshland. Ringing the Gulf Coast is the Gulf Coastal Plain which reaches from Southern Texas to the western Florida Panhandle.while the western portions of the Gulf Coast are made up of many barrier islands and peninsulas, including the 130 miles Padre Island and Galveston Island located in the U.S.
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The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final invasion of the northern states during the War of 1812. A... British army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadron under Captain George Downie converged on the lakeside town of Plattsburgh, which was defended by American troops under Brigadier General Alexander Macomb and ships commanded by Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough. Downie's squadron attacked shortly after dawn on 11 September 1814, but was defeated after a hard fight in which Downie was killed. Prévost then abandoned the attack by land against Macomb's defences and retreated to Canada, stating that even if Plattsburgh was captured, it could not be supplied without control of the lake. The battle took place shortly before the signing of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war. The American victory denied the British negotiators at Ghent leverage to demand any territorial claims against the United States on the basis of Uti possidetis i.e. retaining territory they held at the end of hostilities. In 1814, Napoleon I had abdicated the throne of France.
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The Battle of Stoney Creek was fought on 6 June 1813 during the War of 1812 near present day Stoney Creek, Ontario. British units made a night attack... on an American encampment. Due in large part to the capture of the two senior officers of the American force, and an overestimation of British strength by the Americans, the battle was a victory for the British, and a turning point in the defence of Upper Canada. On 27 May, the Americans had won the Battle of Fort George, forcing the British defenders of Fort George into a hasty retreat, with heavy casualties. The British commander, Brigadier General John Vincent, gathered in all his outposts along the Niagara River, disbanded the militia contingents in his force and retreated to Burlington Heights , with about 1,600 men in total. The Americans under the overall leadership of General Henry Dearborn, who was elderly and ill, were slow to pursue. A brigade under Brigadier General William H. Winder first followed up Vincent, but Winder decided that Vincent's forces were too strong to engage, and halted at the Forty Mile Creek.
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The Siege of Fort Harrison was an engagement that lasted from 4 September–15 September 1812. The first American land victory during the War of... 1812, it was won by an outnumbered United States force garrisoned inside the fort against a combined Native American force near modern Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1811, while General William Henry Harrison marched his army north to meet the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe, the army encamped on the high grounds of Terre Haute and constructed a fort overlooking the Wabash River. Harrison had long advocated building a fort in the strategic location. The fort protected the army's supply lines, as well as the capital of the Indiana Territory downstream in Vincennes. The site, located in present-day Vigo County, Indiana at the northern edge of Terre Haute, was only two miles from the Wea village of Weauteno. It was said to be the location of a historic battle involving the Illiniwek, and was initially called Camp Bataille des Illinois. Major Joseph Hamilton Daviess proposed that the stockade be named Fort Harrison in General Harrison's honor. The fort was finished 28 October 1811, and had a 150 feet stockade encircling the post.
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The Capture of USS Chesapeake, or the Battle of Boston Harbor, was fought on 1 June 1813, between HMS Shannon and the USS Chesapeake, as part of the... War of 1812. Shannon won the battle, and Chesapeake was captured, in a pitched battle in which over 80 men were killed. At Boston, Captain James Lawrence took command of Chesapeake on 20 May 1813, and on 1 June, put to sea to meet the waiting HMS Shannon, the frigate whose written challenge had just missed Chesapeake's sailing. During six minutes of firing, the vessels fired two full broadsides; 362 shots struck Chesapeake, while 258 struck Shannon. Chesapeake suffered early in the exchange of broadsides, having her wheel shot away, costing her her maneuverability. Lawrence himself was mortally wounded and was carried below. The crew struggled to carry out their captain's last order, "Don't give up the ship!", but the British boarding party overwhelmed them. The battle lasted thirteen minutes, killing or wounding 252 men. Shannon's Captain Broke was severely injured in fighting on the forecastle.
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