War of 1812 Timeline

This artwork portrays the British burning the White House.

This illustration is from the 1816 book, The History of England, from the Earliest Periods, Volume 1 by Paul M. Rapin de Thoyras.

Explore our timeline of the War of 1812 and learn about the important events and battles that happened throughout this period of American history 鈥 from the Battle of Tippecanoe to the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. View the American Revolution and Civil War timelines. 

Pre-War1812181318141815

 

1793

  • February 1 鈥&苍产蝉辫;France declares war on Great Britain

1794

  • August 20 鈥&苍产蝉辫;骋别苍别谤补濒 Anthony Wayne defeats a Native American confederation at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, paving the way for the settlement of present-day Ohio

1804

  • April 30 鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Louisiana Purchase is finalized, adding more than 800,000 square miles to the western frontier of the United States
  • December 4 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of France following a coup d'etat

1806

  • April 18 - Non- Importation Act passed
  • November 21 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Napoleon issues the Berlin Decrees

1807

  • June 22 鈥&苍产蝉辫;HMS Leopard fires on the USS Chesapeake
  • November 11 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Great Britain passes the 1807 Orders in Council, restricting international trade with France
  • December 22 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Embargo Act Passed

1809

  • March 4 James Madison is sworn in as the 4th President of the United States.

1811

  • May 16 鈥 The American frigate USS President fires on the British sloop HMS Little Belt
  • October 9 鈥 Major General Isaac Brock is appointed Administrator of Upper Canada
  • November 11 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Battle of Tippecanoe

 

1812

  • June 18 鈥&苍产蝉辫;The United States declares war on Great Britain
  • June 22 鈥&苍产蝉辫;A mob in Baltimore destroys the printing offices of an anti-war newspaper
  • July 12 鈥&苍产蝉辫;骋别苍别谤补濒 William Hull invades Canada from Detroit
  • July 17 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Fort Michilimackinac surrenders to British-Canadian forces
  • August 5 鈥&苍产蝉辫;Skirmish near Brownstown, Michigan
  • August 8 鈥&苍产蝉辫;骋别苍别谤补濒 William Hull returns to Detroit
  • August 15 鈥&苍产蝉辫;British forces bombard Detroit
  • August 16 鈥 General William Hull surrenders Detroit
  • August 19 鈥 The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
  • October 13 鈥 British-Canadians win the Battle of Queenston Heights, Ontario
  • November 27 鈥 Skirmish at Fort Erie
  • December 28William Henry Harrison formally resigns as Governor of Indiana Territory and takes the rank of Brigadier General.
  • December 29 鈥 USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java

 

1813

  • January 9 鈥 Great Britain declares war on the United States
  • January 13 鈥 John Armstrong replaces William Eustis as Secretary of War
  • January 18 鈥 American forces seize Frenchtown, Michigan
  • January 22The Battle of River Raisin; roughly 40 to 60 American soldiers are killed in 鈥淭he River Raisin Massacre鈥
  • February 22&苍产蝉辫;鈥 Battle of Second Ogdensburg
  • March 4 James Madison inaugurated for the second term as President
  • March 27 Oliver Hazard Perry takes command of the flotilla at Lake Erie
  • April 27Attack on York [modern today Toronto]; General Zebulon Pike is killed
  • April 29 鈥 Raid on Frenchtown, Maryland by a British flotilla under the command of Admiral George Cockburn
  • May 1 鈥 American forces evacuate York; Siege of Fort Meigs near modern-day Toledo Ohio begins
  • May 3 鈥 Royal Marines land and burn Havre de Grace, Maryland
  • May 27 鈥 Engagement at Fort George
  • May 29 Battle at Sackets Harbor
  • June 1 鈥 USS Chesapeake captured by the British frigate HMS Shannon; Captain James Lawrence dies days later
  • June 6 鈥 Engagement at Stoney Creek
  • June 22Battle of Craney Island
  • June 24 鈥 Battle of Beaver Dams
  • June 25&苍产蝉辫;鈥 Burning of Hampton, Virginia
  • August 10&苍产蝉辫;鈥 Battle of St. Michaels
  • August 30 鈥 Attack on Fort Mims, Alabama
  • September 10Battle of Lake Erie
  • October 5 Battle of the Thames; Tecumseh is killed
  • October 7Andrew Jackson establishes camp at Fayetteville, TN to recruit American forces to combat the Creeks in Alabama
  • October 26 鈥 Engagement at Chateauguay
  • November 11 鈥 Battle of Crysler鈥檚 Farm
  • November 29Battle of Autossee
  • December 19 鈥 Capture of Fort Niagara

 

1814

  • March 19Winfield Scott is promoted to Brigadier General at the age of 27
  • March 27Engagement at Horseshoe Bend
  • April 4 鈥 Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba off the coast of Tuscany; Great Britain now turns its focus to the war in America
  • July 3 鈥 American troops under Major General Jacob Brown cross the Niagara River and capture Fort Erie
  • July 5 Battle of Chippawa
  • July 22 鈥 Treaty of Greenville
  • July 25Battle of Lundy鈥檚 Lane, one of the fiercest battles of the war
  • August 8 鈥 Peace negotiations begin
  • August 9 - Treaty of Fort Jackson
  • August 9 鈥 Stonington, CT raid begins
  • August 12 鈥 Stonington Raid Ends
  • August 14 鈥 General Robert Ross in command of a reinforcement consisting of 4,500 veteran British troops arrive at the Chesapeake Bay
  • August 19 鈥 British troops land at Benedict, Maryland
  • August 24Battle of Bladensburg
  • August 24Burning of Washington, D.C.
  • August 27 鈥 Abandonment of Fort Warburton
  • August 28 鈥 Alexandria Raid
  • September 11&苍产蝉辫;鈥 Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain
  • September 12Battle of North Point; General Robert Ross is killed
  • September 13 Bombardment of Fort McHenry
  • September 14Francis Scott Key writes the first lines of the poem which would become 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner鈥
  • November 6 鈥 Battle of Malcolm's Mills
  • November 9 Battle of Pensacola
  • December 1 鈥 Peace delegates reconvene at Ghent
  • December 14 鈥 Delegates to the Hartford Convention meet in Hartford, Connecticut
  • December 24 鈥 The Treaty of Ghent is signed
  • December 28 鈥 The Treaty of Ghent is ratified by the British

 

1815

  • January 5The Hartford Convention concludes
  • January 8&苍产蝉辫;鈥 The Battle of New Orleans; death of Edward Packenham
  • February 16 鈥 The United States Senate ratifies the Treaty of Ghent
  • February 18 鈥 The Treaty of Ghent is declared; the War of 1812 is over
  • February 20 鈥 USS Constitution engages the HMS Cyane and HMS Levant, not knowing the war was over
  • April 6 鈥 Seven American prisoners are killed and 32 wounded in the 鈥淒artmoor Massacre鈥 at Dartmoor Prison in Devon, England
  • May 24 鈥 Battle of the Sink Hole
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Related Battles

Queenston, Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario) | October 13, 1812
Result: United Kingdom Victory
Estimated Casualties
1,233
United States
1,105
United Kingdom
128
Ohio | September 10, 1813
Result: United States Victory
Estimated Casualties
563
United States
123
United Kingdom
440
Ontario | July 25, 1814
Result: Inconclusive
Estimated Casualties
1,731
United States
853
United Kingdom
878
Maryland | August 24, 1814
Result: United Kingdom Victory
Estimated Casualties
450
United States
200
United Kingdom
250
Louisiana | January 8, 1815
Result: United States Victory
Estimated Casualties
2,096
United States
71
United Kingdom
2,034