Brandon+Shane

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http://www.archives.gov/research/military/war-of-1812/ []

France and Britain, Europe's two most powerful nations, had battles almost constantly since 1793, and their warfare directly affected American trade. Fighting began during the French Revolution when England united with other European nations in an unsuccessful attempt to restore the French monarchy, and then continued as Britain led the efforts to stop French expansion under Napoleon I. American presidents from Washington to Madison tried to keep the United States impartial during these conflicts, but both France and Britain deliberately ignored the rights of neutral countries. For the Americans, the greatest annoyance was Britain's practice of impressments, or the capture of American seamen for service in the British navy. The British government claimed that it only detained subjects of the Crown who sailed under the American flag to escape wartime service in their own navy. In fact, the British seized not only their own deserters, but also frightened a significant number of United States citizens-estimates suggest 6000 or more. Public outrage over the issue of impressments grew increasingly vocal after a clash between the American naval frigate Chesapeake and a British vessel, the Leopard. In June 1807 the Leopard approached the Chesapeake only a few miles off the American coastline and demanded to look for British deserters on the ship. James Barron, the commander of the Chesapeake, refused and the Leopard opened fire. A number of American sailors were killed or wounded during the assault, and the Chesapeake surrendered. The British then sent a crew aboard and dragged four crewmen from the vessel. After the incident, Jefferson ordered British warships to leave American waters and demanded an end to the way of impressments. The British did make some apologies and compensation for the Chesapeake-Leopard incident, but continued to claim the right to seize American ships and check them for deserters.

The Americans
The United States government had hardly any military resources with which to fight a major war. The British ranked as the world's greatest maritime power, but the U.S. Navy did not possess a single ship of the line, as battleships of the day were called. In fact, the Americans had only eight frigates and eight smaller seaworthy warships. In addition, the government had made no naval measures along the most strategically significant of the waterways bordering Canada-Lakes Champlain, Ontario, and Erie. As hostilities loomed, Congress authorized a regular army of 35,000 men, but when the United States officially declared war in June 1812, the actual land force was less than 10,000 and nearly half of these soldiers were inexperienced recruits. The existing troops were also widely spread out in small garrisons. The government planned to enhance this regular force with 50,000 volunteers and 100,000 militiamen, the latter to be provided by the states. However, resistance to the war was so strong in New England that the governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut refused to call up their militia in response to President Madison's request for troops

**The British**
In June 1812 British naval forces were significantly superior to the forces of the U.S. Navy, but the British were focused on an array of missions elsewhere, most notably the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. As a result, American warships enjoyed relative freedom of action during the rest of that year. On Lakes Erie and Ontario the British quickly equipped available merchant vessels with guns and gained primary command of the waters. The British land force in Canada totaled about 7000 men, with about 1500 of these soldiers stationed in Upper Canada in the region of the Great Lakes. The remaining British forces patrolled the Maritime Provinces and the St. Lawrence Valley