THE WAR OF 1812 AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY ARMY HISTORICAL SERIES
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY UNITED STATES ARMY The
War of 1812 To Great Britain the War of I8I2 was simply a
burdensome adjunct of its greater struggle against Napoleonic
France. To the Canadians it was clearly a case of naked American
aggression. But to the Americans it was neither simple nor
clear. The United States entered the war with confused
objectives and divided loyalties and made peace without settling
any of the issues that had induced the nation to go to war.
Origins of the War The immediate origins of the war were seizure
of American ships, insults and injuries to American seamen by
the British Navy, and rapid expansion of the American frontier.
The British outrages at sea took two distinct forms. One was the
seizure and forced sale of merchant ships and their cargoes for
allegedly violating the British blockade of Europe. Although
France had declared a counterblockade of the British Isles and
had seized American ships, E