Return to site

3 Results Of The War Of 1812

broken image


The War of 1812 happened when the two opposing sides, the United States on one, and the United Kingdom on the other, could no longer agree about their views on US independence. After three years of conflict, both sides signed a treaty and restored the national boundaries to the way they were before the war started. However, this event had a significant influence on the construction of American identity and shaped the nationalist discourse in the US in many ways.

Birth Of American Nation

Technically, the War of 1812 aimed to be a war for independence. The US no longer wanted to have so many connections with the UK, and there were enough people who started thinking the same thing. If enough people want to take action against something or someone, they can be viewed as a coherent group.

That is what lies within the notion of nationalism: a sense that someone belongs to this group we call ‘'our nation'', and that others are strangers. This is what was happening across the US, as the conflict with the UK was bound to happen. People living in the United States had if you want to put it directly - a common enemy. There was someone who was threatening the identity and the way of life of American people.

House of fun. Fact #10: Many of the battlefields from the War of 1812 still exist today. The War of 1812 has been called 'America's Forgotten War.' It is studied much less than the American Revolution or the Civil War, as a result, many of its battlefields are ignored for development. In 2007 the National Parks Service identified 214 battlefields. The war was fought between Great Britain and the United States from 1812-1815. The War of 1812. Jan 24, 2008 In June of 1812, the Americans declared war on the British. There were four main reasons for the War of 1812. At the time, Britain and France were fighting. The Americans were trapped in the middle of the fight. France and Britain were at war since 1793. See full list on military.wikia.org. War of 1812; Treaty of Ghent: December 24, 1814; On December 24, 1814, The Treaty of Ghent was signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812.

Causes And Effects Of The War Of 1812 Essay - 1534 Words

Because of it, people started developing a sense of national identity, a discourse which holds together all the different narratives about what American culture is, how American people should look like, and how American people should run their business. Nationalism, when we look at it from this perspective, had the power to unite people and made them think about loyalty.

The people living on US soil no longer depended on others for supplies, and the state was capable of producing most of the resources inside its territory. The home industry was on the rise, and the problems of sectionalism were becoming more and more prominent.

Unifying Discourse Of Nationalism

That is where a crucial change of thought happened, which sparked the creation of national identity and pride. The UK was now the enemy, and the people in the US no longer thought about the problems between the states inside their territory. Instead, the whole of the US could become one body - a place where all people come together to form a united nation.

By the time the peace treaty was signed, people had developed a sense of what is in the best interest of their state, and the various examples of success on the battlefield grew this feeling only stronger. You could argue that the sense of loyalty and unity is the one that made the people feel more optimistic and made people think of the land they live in as their own.

The Democratic-Republican party was no longer hiding the nationalistic ideas, and the concept of national government seemed like the one who could benefit the newly emerging nation the most. What the US needed next was a stable government, somebody to run the army their bank system to control all the profits coming from international trade.

Winter 1991, Vol. 23, No. 4 | Genealogy Notes

By Stuart L. Butler

National Archives records created during and after the War of 1812 offer the genealogist a diverse and fertile ground in which to obtain invaluable family information.1 These records were created by a variety of government agencies to include various bureaus and offices of the War, Interior, and State departments in response to specific federal laws. Most War of 1812 - era records in the National Archives having genealogical value were created by the War Department, particularly those generated by the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 94). The records are now serviced by the General Reference Branch and the Military Reference Branch of the Textual Reference Division. Unlike many records of genealogical value from the Revolutionary War era, similar records for the War of 1812 period have not been microfilmed and are not available through interlibrary loan. The notable exceptions are a number of name indexes for the compiled military service records and pension application files.2

Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files

Perhaps the most genealogically rich records for this period are the pension application files in the records of the Veterans Administration (Record Group 15). There are two primary series of pension application files that relate to War of 1812 veterans. The first series ('Old Wars') consists of pensions to veterans of the army, navy, and Marine Corps based on service resulting in death or disability from the end of the Revolutionary War period up to the Civil War. The files include not only information about the veteran's service but also are likely to contain family information such as children's names and data about the widow's maiden name and marriage. The records are arranged alphabetically by veteran and can be accessed by using the name index that has been microfilmed as Old War Index to Pension Files (T316, 7 rolls). The index also indicates the veteran's name, unit, and state from which the claim was made, and type of claimant, whether widow, child, or other heir. Related records (YI), also arranged alphabetically, pertain to navy and Marine Corps veterans.

Why

Pension application files for most War of 1812 veterans, however, will be found in the second series of pension files, i.e., those based on the acts of 1871 and 1878. These acts, based on length of service alone, relate mostly to militia veterans called to federal service. The 1871 act provided pensions to veterans who had served at least sixty days or to their widows if they had married before 1815. The 1878 act provided pensions to those veterans, or their widows, who only served fourteen days. By the time these acts were passed, most applicants were widows or minors rather than veterans themselves. A typical file usually contains the soldier's or widow's application file, a statement of service usually provided by the Pension Bureau, and other papers prepared by the Third Auditor's Office. Of the two, the widow's or minor's application is potentially the richest in genealogical information. This is because the widow had to provide proof of marriage, including the date or place of marriage, and usually the maiden name. Important data about marriages before 1815 found in some of the files may not be available anywhere else. Interfiled among these pensions in some cases are some bounty land application files. While the pension files are not on microfilm, an informative index showing much data has been microfilmed as Index to War of 1812 Pension Application Files (M313, 102 rolls). Supplementing the index is a remarried widow's card index, which covers the period 1816 - 1860. The alphabetically arranged index cards show the new remarried name of the veteran's widow and the former veteran's name.

Although the process is somewhat involved, it is sometimes possible for a researcher to determine when a pension payment was last paid to a veteran or his heir. Among Veterans Administration records are the field record books (1805 - 1912), which can be used to determine when pension payments were made and when they stopped. Slot strategies. To extract such information, one must know under which act a veteran was entitled to receive a pension and the city where the agency was located paying the pensioner. The search can be time-consuming, but information indicating the pensioner's date and place of death could be the reward.

War of 1812 veterans, and later their widows and heirs, could also apply for bounty land under the act of May 6, 1812, and a variety of subsequent federal laws. Most veterans were entitled to 160 acres, but in a few cases some received 320 acres, called double-bounties. Until 1842, the land lay within the states of Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri, and until 1852 the land was not transferable. A typical bounty land application warrant file contains the veteran's name, age, unit, residence, period of service, and if applicable, the widow's (or heir's) name, age, and place of residence. Applications for bounty land claimed under different legislative acts will be filed under a single veteran's name. In many cases, bounty application files from regular army, navy, and Marine Corps veterans consist only of a discharge certificate. These files are arranged alphabetically by name of veteran, but they are unindexed. Researchers of these files should search the pension files in addition to searching the more numerous bounty land files. Less informative are the actual bounty land warrants, which were not issued to the veteran or his heirs. They do show, however, where the land to which the veteran was entitled was located and the date and name of the person to whom the land was given. Since many veterans sold their rights to bounty land to other persons, their names do not appear on many of the warrants. The warrants have been filmed on War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815 - 1858 (M848, 14 rolls).3

Military Service Records

The National Archives has some kind of military service record for most soldiers who served during the War of 1812. Genealogical information found in these records varies greatly depending on the type of service rendered. Naval service for enlisted men is more difficult to establish, especially when the soldier was an enlisted man. Establishing service for a Marine Corps soldier is somewhat easier.

Compiled Military Service Records.The great majority of soldiers who served during the War of 1812 were volunteers, or members of state militia who were federalized for portions of the war period. There were also volunteer units directly raised by the federal government. The service records of these soldiers consist of compiled military service records or those records of service that were compiled from the original muster and pay rolls by the clerks in the Adjutant General's Office after the war (Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Record Group 94). The records are arranged by state or federal volunteer unit and thereunder alphabetically by name of soldier. A microfilmed index to these records is available on Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers who Served During the War of 1812 (M602, 234 rolls). The actual service records have not been filmed. The service records show the soldier's name, rank, regimental unit (usually showing the last name of the regimental commander), the company commander's name, dates of service and pay, whether the soldier was a substitute, date of discharge, and sometimes, distance to the soldier's home from place of discharge. Other information such as date of death, if applicable, and periods of sickness, if recorded on the muster rolls, is noted. The service record reflects the information found on the original muster and payrolls; all information from these original rolls has been transferred to the compiled service record, so there is no need to examine the original rolls to obtain additional information. Because so many volunteers served only a few days or weeks, the information available is frequently meager. These records will not ordinarily show place of birth, age, or parents' names. They may show, however, disciplinary action resulting in dismissal or court-martial, if such information was noted on the muster roll. Compiled service records for officers show much the same information but usually include original vouchers and receipts for supply, pay, and transportation. Some of these papers may enable a researcher to determine where a unit served during the war.4

Regular Army Enlistment Registers and Papers. If a soldier's name does not appear in the index for volunteer soldiers, he might have served in the regular army. If the soldier served as an officer in the U.S. Army during this period, his name should be in Francis B. Heitman's Historical Register and Dictionary of the U.S. Army (1903). There are no consolidated 'service records' for officers before 1863. Aside from entries in Heitman, one can examine the correspondence of the Adjutant General's Office for pertinent documentation relating to these officers. Most of the names of regular army soldiers who served during the War of 1812 appear in the fifteen volumes of enlistment registers that show the names of soldiers enlisting for the period 1798 - 1815. Despite the dates indicated, most of the names in these registers are for those who enlisted during the War of 1812 period. The names are arranged alphabetically by the initial letter of surname, and thereunder alphabetically by given name, e.g., the name of Aaron Atkins would come before George Abbott, regardless of when each enlisted. The registers are somewhat more useful to the genealogist than the information provided on the compiled service record because they can show the age, place of birth (either city, county, or state), physical description (to include height), occupation, place and date of enlistment. The registers also indicate when, where, and under what circumstances the soldier was discharged. These registers were compiled in the late nineteenth century by the Adjutant General and are based on a variety of original records such as muster and payrolls, inspection and descriptive rolls, and other miscellaneous records in the Adjutant General's Office. As with the compiled service records, the information on these original records was transferred to the register, so no additional information is available from exarraning the original records. Fortunately for the researcher, these registers have been microfilmed on Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798 - 1914 (M233, 81 rolls). Another series of records, the enlistment papers, may also be useful. Unfortunately, the original enlistment papers for the War of 1812 period are fragmentary and incomplete. The papers are arranged alphabetically for the period 1798 - 1894. Much of the same information, however, can be found in the registers of enlistments.

Other Military Records. The Adjutant General's Office also includes several useful, but lesser known, series of records that may prove useful to the genealogist. The certificates of disability for the War of 1812 are documents signed by a surgeon attesting to the disability and discharge of regular army soldiers. Arranged by regiment and then by name, the certificates include information such as name, age, rank, unit, enlistment date, place of birth, and personal description. If no enlistment register entry exists for an individual, then this series might help. In addition to the large series of enlistment papers already discussed, a small series of enlistment papers and discharges also exists for the War of 1812 period. If no information is found in the larger series, then these papers should be examined. Often overlooked, but potentially useful, are Miscellaneous Manuscripts of the War of 1812 and its accompanying name index. The manuscripts contain a great variety of information about regulars, volunteers, and civilians. The records are arranged numerically and appear to be grouped by state and federal units. Among the records are vouchers, returns, receipts for supplies signed by officers in the field, and impressment of articles and services from civilians such as ferrymen, landlords, farmers, and seamstresses. The records appear to document mostly the activities of volunteer units and should be searched whenever the subject is a volunteer soldier, especially an officer. Records of the Adjutant General's Office also contain several small series of records relating to American POWs originally compiled by the Navy and Treasury departments. These are indexed and can be useful in determining if an American soldier was a POW in Canada. Records of the Judge Advocate General (Army) (Record Group 153) contain the proceedings of general courts-martial from the War of 1812 period for both volunteers and regulars. A card name index and a computerized name index give access to these records. The proceedings can provide an interesting and fascinating glimpse into army life.

Naval and Marine Corps Records

Records of naval officers' service are more numerous than those for enlisted personnel. The names of naval officers are printed in a useful work by R. W. Callahan, List of Officers of the Navy of the U.S. and the Marine Corps From 1775 to 1900 (1901). The basic National Archives record showing naval and Marine Corps officer service in the War of 1812 can be found in Abstracts Of Service Records of Naval Officers ('Records of Officers'), 1798 - 1893 (M330, 19 rolls, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group 24). Of the fifteen volumes filrned in this series, volumes D and E show officers' records of service for the War of 1812. The entries are arranged chronologically and indicate the dates of acceptance, resignation, appointment, assignment, transfer, promotion, and ships on which the officer served. Other records containing additional information about navy and Marine Corps officers can be found in Records of the Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library (Record Group 45). There are several series of records for the War of 1812 period that show letters of resignation (three volumes), letters indicating receipt of commissions and enclosing oaths of allegiance 'acceptances' (five volumes), and letters from midshipmen accepting commissions and enclosing oaths of allegiance (one volume). There are no such compiled summaries to show service for naval enlisted men for this period. If the ship on which a seaman served is known, the muster and payrolls for that vessel can be examined to determine the dates of enlistment and service. If the ship is not known, then the research becomes laborious because the muster and payrolls of all ships operating at that time must be searched, and the names on the rolls are not necessarily arranged alphabetically. The best sources, however, for ascertaining naval service are the pension and bounty land application files. If a seaman applied for one of these benefits, the ship's name and dates of service will be indicated on the application, making the search for pertinent muster rolls less time-consuming.

Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127) include comprehensive card indexes listing all officers and enlisted men who served before 1900. The information is slim, but they do show the dates of appointment and enlistment. There are, however, service records for enlisted Marine Corps personnel for the period 1798 - 1895. These papers are arranged by year of enlistment, thereunder by initial letter of surname, and consist of enlistment and other papers that might establish date of service, age, place of birth, and occupation. The size rolls (similar to muster rolls) for the period 1798 - 1906 supply much the same information as the army enlistment registers, but one must know the approximate date of service to use them. The record group also contains card indexes showing names of Marine Corps casualties for the War of 1812 period.

Other Naval Records. Record Group 45 also contains a large series of records relating to naval and other American prisoners of war captured and incarcerated by the British in England, Nova Scotia, or on cartel POW ships. The lists show the names, dates of capture, ship from which taken, and the location of the prisoner (Subject File, 1775 - 1910, series RA). Additional records relating to POWs are the registers of U.S. prisoners in Halifax, Barbados, and Jamaica, which consist of three volumes listing name, date, and place of capture; and a register of U.S. prisoners of war at Quebec that shows name, ship from which taken, place of birth, and date of discharge. An interesting series of records (Subject File, RN) shows the names of British aliens or other noncitizens reporting to U.S. marshals under federal law. These are apparently copies that were sent to the State Department and include such information as name of alien, residence, names of wife and children, place of birth, age, and occupation. Two other series of records in Record Group 45, a register of aliens in New York (1813) and a register of suspected aliens along the Atlantic Coast (1813), supplement the larger series.5 Records of the Judge Advocate General (Navy) (Record Group 125) may provide sources of information concerning naval or Marine Corps personnel summoned before courts of inquiry or other disciplinary courts-martial for this period. Name indexes as well as the proceedings of such courts can be found on Records of General Courts-Martial and Courts of Inquiry of the Navy Department, 1799 - 1867 (M273, 198 rolls).

Stuart L. Butler is a former assistant chief of the Old Military and Civil Branch of the National Archives and Records Admminstration. He received his M.A. from Florida Atlantic University.

Notes

1. There are several National Archives publications that researchers should examine before using some of the records described herein. These are: Using Records in the National Archives for Genealogical Research (General Information Leaflet [GIL] No. 5, 1990); Military Service Records in the National Archives of the United States (GIL No. 7, 1985); Information About the National Archives for Prospective Researchers (GIL No. 30, 1990); and Genealogical Records in the National Archives (rev. 1985). Many of the microfilm publications are available in the Regional Archives System throughout the United States. To identify the facility nearest you, see the list in the back of Prologue or refer to The Regional Archives System of the National Archives (GIL No. 22, 1991). Titles of microfilm publications containing relevant War of 1812 - era indexes and records can be found in National Archives Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog (1990) and, more specifically, Genealogical and Biographical Research: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications (1983) and Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications (1985).

The Effects Of The War Of 1812

2. A good genealogical overview of the period is George K. Schweitzer, War of 1812 Genealogy (1988). Recent historical works relating to the war in general are John K. Mahon, The War of 1812 (1972); J.C.A. Stagg, Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early Republic, 1783 - 1830 (1983); and Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (1989). In addition, many states have published rosters of their troops called to duty during the War of 1812. Many of these volumes are out of print, but they can be consulted in the appropriate state archives. The National Archives has some of these publications, but the best source is probably the Local History and Genealogy Room of the Library of Congress.

3. See Laws of the United States Governing the Granting of Army and Navy Pensions (1923).

3. RESULTS OF THE WAR OF 1812 - RESULTS OF THE WAR OF 1812 ..

4. Copies of compiled military service records can be obtained through the mail by completing NATF Form 86. Copies of pensions and bounty land warrant application files can be obtained using NATF Form 85. Each record must be requested on a separate form. Forms and information about other records can be obtained by contacting Old Military and Civil Records (NWCTB), National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408.

5. Related State Department records are on 'War of 1812 Papers' in the Department of State, 1789 - 1815 (M588, 7 rolls).

3 Outcomes Of The War Of 1812

Articles published in Prologue do not necessarily represent the views of NARA or of any other agency of the United States Government.




broken image