Simeon and the War of 1812 Part 2

The United States declared war against England on June 1, 1812. That year, Simeon's continued employment at “The Washingtonian” continued to be a source of friction between him and his father. In another letter, Simeon begs his father to let him stay in Windsor a little longer. This time, he assures his father that he is just setting type for copies of the United States Constitution and Washington's Farewell Address.

 

 

 Besides, he was waiting for news from his old master, Lieutenant Churchill. Churchill was convinced that the American Campaigns against British Canada would be successful, and Canada would become part of the United States. In that event, Churchill planned to start an American printing company in Canada.

This was the common attitude all across the United States. This war would be a quick and easy invasion of Canada. The settlers of Canada would welcome the Americans with open arms, grateful for their liberation from that tyrant, Great Britain. Unfortunately, that was not what happened.

During the first year and a half, the commanders on the American side were a bunch of incompetent, cowardly alcoholics who could not command troops or run a war. Most of the military appointments were based on political connections and not on military experience, knowledge or ability. American troops repeatedly attempted Canadian invasions, once across the Detroit River, once from the Niagara Peninsula, and once with Montreal as the objective, and none of these campaigns was successful.

Incompetent commanders were not the only reason for lack of American victories in the War of 1812. President Madison's Republican administration didn't want to spend much money to pay for food, uniforms and weapons, so soldiers were ragged, starving, and poorly equipped. Disease ran rampant through American military camps. The commanders couldn't control the troops, and they raped, burned and plundered their way into Canadian villages, earning them the hatred of the Canadians rather than their gratitude. Throughout the country, the Republicans and Federalists were fighting in what became almost a Civil War. If America's leaders couldn't become united, certainly America's fighting men were not going to be able to maintain unity, either.

While they were fighting the Americans in North America, the British were also fighting the French, under Napoleon, in Europe. They didn't have the resources to fully commit to protecting Canada and going after the Americans. After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the British could turn all their attention to the conflict in North America. They invaded the United States along the East Coast. In Baltimore, Maryland, the Americans managed to prevail (in the battle that inspired “The Star Spangled Banner”) but the British attacked Washington DC and burned many federal buildings.

After two years of war, the most either side could do was come to a stalemate. The British were sick of war. They had been fighting Napoleon and then the United States. The United States had run out of money. It was becoming harder and harder to recruit soldiers to fight in an unpopular war. The numbers of casualties on the battlefield weren't all that impressive, but American deaths from disease, caused in large part by starvation and cold weather, were staggering.

The Treaty of Ghent, signed in December of 1815, brought an end to the War of 1812. The war accomplished very little to decide the issues that started the war in the first place. The boundary between the United States and Canada stayed where it had been before the war. Impressment ended, not so much because of the war, but because Britain didn't need to impress sailors now that the war with France had ended. The War of 1812 did strengthen national feeling within the United States. We had now defeated Britain a second time, this time with a new government under a new Constitution. It wasn't really a defeat, but that was a fact that wasn't particularly broadcast in America. The successful end to the war was the end of the Federalist Party.

As I read about the War of 1812, I couldn't help thinking about what might have happened to Simeon if he had gone, as a gung-ho 17 year old, to fight on the Canadian border. Of all the people I have “met” in my research of Upper Valley history, Lemuel Ide is probably my least favorite. He comes across as being pretty self-righteous, when half the time he couldn't even support his own family. His stock rose, though, when I thought about his words to Simeon regarding his son going to war. “I will go first. Then, if necessary, you can go.” If Lemuel had let Simeon go, I might not have been writing about him now. It would have been pretty unlikely that Simeon would have been killed in the war, but far, far more likely that he would have died of a disease caused by near starvation and freezing to death. I just can't get that thought out of my mind, and the thought of the thousands, millions of teenagers who have died over the years because their parents didn't care enough, or weren't strict enough, to say the word “No”, and keep them out of harm's way.

 

Simeon's old master, Sylvester Churchill, stayed in the military for the rest of his life.  He attained the rank of Colonel and became the Inspector General of the Army, retiring due to ill health at the very beginning of the Civil War, in 1861, and died a year later at age 76.  Sylvester Churchill was distantly related to Winston Churchill and you can certainly see the family resemblance in this picture.