IRISH-AMERICAN-L Archives

From: ConnorsGenealogy <>
Subject: War of 1812, War of 1812, Part V
Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 15:37:29 -0800

The siege of Fort Erie was long, arduous, and cost many lives, damaging
the rest. The men worked extremely hard to improve its defenses in circumstances of
near starvation and consequent vitamin deficiency, all while undergoing
heavy bombardment.

The British successfully blockaded Lake Erie at the Niagara River, and
so held off assistance to the Fort until the end of August. The Americans ran out
of food, and finally received some wagonloads of potatoes hauled from Ashtabula, Ohio in
August. Many were wounded and killed in the battles. Six thousand men were killed
in the War of 1812, and 2000 of them died in the Fort Erie campaign. The men
suffered greatly and a large number were wounded seriously. Their later pension applications
attest also that many were disabled permanently.

The bombardment and skirmishes continued into September, when the
British heavy artillery was pulled back. By the third week, the British were at the
Chippewa River, well north of Fort Erie. Four thousand American reinforcements were
sent from Sackets Harbor in mid-September and arrived at Lewiston and Black Rock between
October 5-10, 1814. By this time, the weather was becoming colder, windy and
threatened snow. Both the British and Americans knew this would force a halt in their
military activity for the winter months. On November 5, Fort Erie, which had been prepared
for demolition by the reinforcements, was abandoned and destroyed.

One of the last operations of the War of 1812 was the Battle of New
Orleans, led by General Andrew Jackson. Jackson did not know (January 1815) that his
was an empty victory. The American and British negotiators at Ghent, in present-day
Belgium, had signed a peace treaty at 6:30 p.m. on December 24, 1814, concluding the
War.

John Quincy Adams, the lead negotiator for the U.S., had lived in
Europe for many years, arriving in Paris with his father when he was 11 years of age. He
returned to Boston to attend Harvard College, which he completed at age 20. He read law in
Newburyport, and later opened a Boston law office. His father was Washington's
Vice-President, and JQA on the whole found Philadelphia a grander place. George Washington
nominated him in 1794 to become the American Minister to the Netherlands. JQA then was
27 years of age.

He went on to other ministerial posts in Europe, taught at Harvard, and
later lived in Russia as the American Minister Plenipotentiary in St. Petersburg.
Czar Alexander, early in 1813, asked if he would be available to negotiate an end to the War
of 1812. Adams agreed; the Czar then contacted President Madison, who was delighted to
nominate JQA. Gathering the other negotiators took until July, 1813 and it was March,
1814 before England notified President Madison that they would accept Adams and the
others as negotiators. The site first named was Sweden, but upon arrival he was
sent a message that it had been changed to Ghent. The initial meetings began in
October and concluded with the December agreement. It was March before President Madison was
notified that the Second War of Independence was over.

In the end, the Treaty decided on nothing of great change. They agreed
to conclude hostilities and to return both countries to prewar boundaries, those
agreed upon in 1793.

The United States would never again be denied the respect of an independent nation, and
that alone may have been the most important outcome of this often-disregarded conflict.

Winifred O'Donnell

--
Pat Connors, Sacramento CA
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com
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