undisciplined men, with ignorant generals. Only great provocation could justify war under these considerations.

436. Invasion of Canada. The first plan of the government was to invade Canada. Accordingly, General William Hull, Governor of the Territory of Michigan, crossed the river from Detroit, only to fall back upon the advance of General Brock. The British pressed after him, and were in the act of attacking Detroit when Hull surrendered, August 16th. Instead of injuring Canada, the Americans lost Michigan, without a gun being fired in her defence.

The second attempt to invade Canada was made from New York. A portion of the American army crossed the Niagara River, and won a victory at Queenstown Heights, but later was compelled to surrender because the rest of the soldiers refused to cross into Canada. During the year 1812 the American army met with constant defeat.

437. Naval Victories.- Little had been expected from the navy at the beginning of the war; but brilliant naval victories more than offset the failures of the army. During the second half of the year 1812 four of these exploits brought joy to the American people, and astonishment to England. August 19th Captain Hull, of the frigate Constitution," fought for two hours with the "Guerrière," near Newfoundland, and completely wrecked the British frigate. The "Constitution" barely received injury, and lost but fourteen men against the enemy's eighty.

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In October the "Wasp" defeated the "Frolic" off the coast of North Carolina; and on boarding the defeated vessel, the Americans found but four men left, and three of these wounded. The capture of the "Macedonian" by the "United States," and of the "Java" by the "Constitution," rounded out the glorious record of the year. Almost for the first time in her history England had been humiliated on the ocean, and that, too, by vessels belonging to the weak navy of a young nation, from whom nothing of the kind was expected.

438. The Navy in 1813. The victories during the second year of the war were not so one-sided. The American seamen had been in a condition of better discipline,

while the British sailors had become careless because of their previous continuous successes. The British vessels were now ordered to keep within call of one another, and the officers were directed to enforce more careful discipline.

The two most important naval exploits of this year were the loss of the "Chesapeake " and the cruise of the "Essex." Captain Lawrence, of the "Chesapeake," attacked the "Shannon" within sight of Boston, and her colors were not struck until Lawrence was mortally wounded. Captain Porter sailed the "Essex" into the Pacific Ocean, protected American vessels, and injured the British whaling industry. He

(From a painting by J. W. Jarvis.)

was blockaded in the harbor of Valparaiso by two British vessels, and was compelled to surrender.

439. Around Lake Erie. The victories of American vessels upon the ocean gave encouragement to the building of a fleet upon the Great Lakes. Early in the year, Captain Oliver H. Perry built a small fleet upon Lake Erie. September 10th, 1813, Perry, with nine vessels and fifty-four guns, attacked the British fleet, of six vessels and sixty-three guns, and defeated it. He announced: "We have met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.

By this victory the Americans obtained control of Lake Erie, and another attempt was made to invade Canada. General Harrison (483) crossed the lake, attacked the British army at the river

Thames, and com

PENNSYL

M

Patapsco

Havre de Grace

Fort

Potomac

WASHINGTON

Baltimore

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Annapolis

was killed. Michigan was recovered, and the war in the Northwest was brought to an end. 440. On the Border. -Four engagements of importance occurred along the Canadian border during the year 1814. In July a fourth invasion of Canada was begun by an American army

crossing the Niagara River. General Winfield Scott (492) attacked the enemy at a stream called the

Chippewa, and drove them as far as Lake Ontario. The British, re-enforced, were again attacked at Lundy's Lane, and the battle lasted from sunset to midnight, when the British retreated with

the loss of their commander. Two months later the Americans repelled a British attack upon Fort Erie. The assailing force was much larger than the American army at the fort, but the British were driven back beyond the Chippewa. These three victories were of moral aid to the country, but bore no immediate gain. The army soon went into winter-quarters at Buffalo.

An attempt was made by the British to invade New York by way of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Their fleet was met on the lake by Commodore MacDonough, in September, 1814, and, though the two fleets were nearly equal, the British were driven back with a loss of two hundred men and four vessels. This defeated the expedition and ended the war in the North.

They attacked

441. Burning of the Capitol. The English fleet upon the Atlantic completely blockaded the principal seaports of the United States, and kept the coast in a condition of constant alarm. many of the smaller towns, and plundered and burned wherever they went. Admiral Cockburn took possession of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay as his headquarters. In August, 1814, General Ross landed in Maryland, and marched overland to the city of Washington. The British captured the city, and disgracefully burned nearly all of the public buildings. They did not spare the Capitol, and some private buildings also were destroyed in the conflagration. From Washington the enemy sailed up the Chesapeake to attack Baltimore. They were resisted at Fort McHenry, and driven back with the loss of their commander.

"Star Spangled Banner."-The failure of the British to capture Fort McHenry inspired the writing of one of America's best-known national songs. Francis S. Key had, during the day before the battle, visited the British fleet, in order to negotiate for an exchange of prisoners. He was detained on the vessel, and spent the night while the enemy made the attack on the fort. With patriotic zeal, Mr. Key waited the result of the combat, and in the morning saw the flag still flying. On the spot, he wrote the "Star-Spangled Banner," which immediately became popular, and was soon sung, far and near, throughout the country.

442. The Hartford Convention. As has been before mentioned, the New England States had always opposed the war. When, in the latter part of the year 1814, it seemed as if the war was a failure, that the government could not, and, as they thought, would not, protect New England, delegates from the five New England States met at Hartford "to confer upon the subject of their public grievances. After a short session these delegates reported, advis

ing amendments to the Constitution, among them one to restrict certain powers of Congress. Although this report was all that officially came from the Hartford Convention, it has been commonly believed that a dissolution of the Union was urged at this meeting. As the public was not admitted to its sessions, and as no general report of its discussions was ever published, this supposition could not be disproved. The delegates were politically ruined, and a death-blow was given to the Federalist party.

Louisiana was the first State to be formed out of the great province which Jefferson purchased from France in 1803. It had been settled by the French, under D'Iberville, in 1700, near the present site of New Orleans. In 1804, the southern portion of the province was made into the territory of Orleans, the name being changed to Louisiana when it was made a State. The leading agricultural industries of the "Pelican State" are cotton, sugar, and rice. Manufactures have, of late, been started in the State, while its population has rapidly increased until it is a little over a million.

The issues

Ghent, which was afterwards ratified by both nations. which brought about the war were not settled by the treaty, and affairs seemed to be left about as they had been before the war. In fact, however, the war strengthened the position of the United States in the eyes of Europe, and England never again attempted to enforce her claim to the right of search and impressment.

Indiana was the second of the States made out of the Northwest Territory. When Ohio was made a State, the rest of the territory was called Indiana, because of the Indian settlements within its borders. Like the other States in that section of the country, agriculture is the chief branch of industry, cereal productions holding the first rank. With a population of two and a half millions, the "Hoosier State' is one of the most prosperous in the Union.

News of the treaty did not reach the United States until February of the next year. Meanwhile, January 8th, 1815, a severe battle had been fought at New Orleans. General Andrew Jackson (468) had fortified the city, and with six thousand men withstood a number, under Sir Edward Pakenham. The American victory was complete, Jackson losing less than twenty-five men, killed and wounded, while the enemy lost their leader and more than two thousand soldiers.

British force of twice that

444. Domestic Affairs. Nearly the whole of Madison's two administrations was devoted to European affairs and the war with