and British signed a truce, The Treaty of Ghent ending their war. The British returned all territory seized from the USA. However it took a month for this news to reach America, the USA heard the news on 11/1/1815, just after the battle at New Orleans (see 8/1/1815).
23/12/1814. A British advance towards New Orleans was repulsed by the Americans.
13/9/1814. British troops made an unsuccessful attack on Baltimore. During the battle, the American composer Francis Scott Key wrote a patriotic song called ‘The Star Spangled Banner’.
11/9/1814. US forces led by President Madison routed the British fleet on Lake Champlain.
24/8/1814. 4,000 British troops under General Ross invaded Washington and set fire to the White House and the Capitol. Both were rebuilt and enlarged.
16/11/1813, A British naval blockade, under Admiral Warren, began blockading US ports.
10/9/1813. The British fleet on Lake Erie was destroyed by American warships.
7/9/1813, The term ‘Uncle Sam’ was coined by a newspaper in Troy, New York, to describe the United States.
24/2/1813. The British warship Peacock was sunk off Guyana by the USA.
22/1/1813. British forces defeated the Americans who were planning an attack on Fort Detroit.
23/11/1812. Demoralised by a tactical error, which saw two columns of USA forces attacking each other, the USA withdrew its forces south from Canada for the winter.
16/10/1812. British forces defeated the US army at Queenstown, near the Niagara Falls. The Americans were attempting to cross into Canada to eliminate it from the war with Britain.
10/9/1812, At the Battle of Lake Erie, US ships defeated a British naval force.
18/6/1812. War broke out between Britain and the USA. The USA was angered at Britain’s trade restrictions against Napoleon, which were hampering American trade with Europe, and with the British Navy stopping USA ships and press ganging their crews to serve for the British Navy. The American Congress voted narrowly for war with Britain.
30/4/1812, Louisiana became the 18th State of the Union.
4/4/1812. The territory of Orleans became the 18th state of the USA, to be known as Louisiana.
1811, The grid plan street pattern of New York was begun, to provide orderly expansion beyond the random pattern of the oldest streets. However it was anticipated that industry would concentrate on the shores of Manhattan Island, so more east-west streets were built (to facilitate commuting to work) and fewer north-south avenues were built. However the enormous growth of the city has resulted in greater demand for north-south travel.
2/11/1810. President Madison re-established freedom of trade with France, after assurances that European ports would be open to American trade.
27/10/1810. President Madison of the USA sends troops to claim the western part of West Florida after a rebellion there against Spanish rule.
24/12/1809, Kit Carson, US soldier and fur trapper who did much to open up the West to White settlers, was born in Kentucky (died 23/5/1868).
24/4/1809, Joseph Addison Alexander, US scholar (died 28/1/1860 in Princeton) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
18/5/1808, Jacob Albright, US clergyman, died 18/5/1808 in Muhlbach, Pennsylvania (born 1/5/1759 near Pottstown, Pennsylvania).
2/7/1807, US President Jefferson closed all US ports to British warships.
26/3/1807, H W Longfellow (Henry Wadsworth), American poet, was born in Portland, Maine.
19/1/1807, Robert E Lee, American Confederate Commander in Chief, was born in Stratford, Virginia.
7/11/1805, 18 months after they set out from St Louis, Captain Merriwether Lewis and William Clark reached the Pacific coast of Oregon. The expedition, backed by President Jefferson, was to open up a trade route to the Pacific.
21/10/1803, The Louisiana Purchase was ratified.
30/4/1803, The USA purchased Louisiana from France. The deal was completed by President Thomas Jefferson, and worked out at just under 3 cents per acre. This area of 831,000 square miles doubled the size of the USA, and was bought for $15 million. French Foreign Minister Talleyrand offered the land unexpectedly. The