signed a declaration of war against Great Britain, marking the beginning of the War of 1812. Frustrated by British maritime practices and support of Native American resistance to western expansion, the Americans entered the war with ambitious plans to invade Canada, a goal that was never realized. The strength of the British army proved too great for the American forces. Both on land and at sea, American troops met with great losses.
On August 1814, British troops entered Washington, D.C., and burned the Capitol and the White House. By December, both the Americans and the British recognized that the time had come to end the conflict. Representatives of the two nations met in Belgium on December 24 and signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war and restored previously recognized boundaries between the United States and British territory in North America.
Hiram Cronk, who was thought to have been the last surviving veteran of the War of 1812, died at the age of 105. This film shows his funeral procession through Brooklyn, New York, which included a hearse drawn by four black horses, escorted by veterans of the Civil War.
Learn more about the War of 1812 in American Memory:
- Search across the American Memory collections of Photos & Prints on War of 1812 to find images of some of the battles of this conflict.
- See the Today in History feature for September 13 concerning Francis Scott Key and the "Star Spangled Banner." Key wrote the words to the "Star-Spangled Banner" as he witnessed the Battle of Fort McHenry during the British assault on Baltimore.
