The War in Detail and how it Affected Soldiers
“The War of 1812 is one of the least studied wars in American history.” (American Battlefield 2017). The War of 1812, although the least studied, is one of the more prominent wars and some historians call it the “Second War of Independence’’. It was an intense battle for both sides, but America gained much knowledge from the war and had many advances in technology and economy. Steamships and streamlines finally came into use and people were starting to use them for the first time during the war years.
America then decided to go North to invade Canada which they had a huge population advantage on so they planned on taking it over to get more resources for the war, but it did not go as planned. In the USS Constitution museum, it says that the US attacked from three different angles into Canada and each angle, they all either surrendered or withdrew from the fight.
Meanwhile, the British started to invade into the US. It also says they made their way to the East coast and burned down many different buildings and attacked certain cities. Surprisingly, for the US, they did well out on sea against the British. They won many one vs one boat battles that led to success on the sea for the Americans. The British then used their Royal Navy to ship troops out to Canada to keep them at a high number of soldiers and to prevent the US from coming into Canada. The war of 1812 ended up ending in a draw on the battlefield and this was signed by a treaty. The treaty was called, Treaty of Ghent, and went into effect February 17th, 1815.
For the soldiers during the war, they had advancements during the war by having airtight packaging and being able to keep their food good. the life they had for these years was not healthy by any means. The soldiers were exposed to very inclement weather almost 24/7, not healthy and bad-tasting food, and lastly, rough sleeping arrangements. The main killer in this war was not all the battle deaths, but the diseases the soldiers would catch while away on duty.1
1.“War of 1812 Facts.” American Battlefield Trust, 16 Nov. 2023, www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/war-of-1812-faqs.