The American Military - A Narrative History

by Brad D. Lookingbill

  That summer, Major Edward Nicholls, commander of a British force at Pensacola, launched an unsuccessful expedition against Mobile. American troops under the command of Major William Lawrence defended Fort Bowyer, although British adventurers continued to distribute weapons and supplies in the area. If the insurgency dislodged the Americans from the Alabama River, then the British intended to land a massive army from the West Indies in an extended campaign.

  As soon as Jackson learned of British actions in the Gulf, he dispatched reinforcements to Mobile. He assembled 4,100 regulars, militia, and Indians at Fort Montgomery and marched across the Perdido River to Pensacola. On November 7, British ships in the harbor fired their guns at columns led by Coffee. Owing to the element of surprise, the Americans stormed the Spanish town and scattered their opponents in every direction. The Spanish governor waved a white flag, while the British garrison blew up Fort Barrancas and Fort Santa Rosa before leaving. After blocking Cochrane's preferred route for an offensive, Jackson marched most of his men from Pensacola to Mobile.

  Jackson received a message from Monroe that confirmed what his spies along the border told him, that is, the British forces in Jamaica were preparing to assault the port of New Orleans. As the British fleet sailed across the Gulf, he hurried his troops overland to the mouth of the Mississippi. He arrived on December 1 and hastily prepared the city's defenses. Despite British offers of land, gold, and rank, the colorful Jean Lafitte encouraged the pirates from the island of Barataria to assist the U.S. commander. Jackson positioned the available artillery to repulse the impending assault and deployed sailors, marines, militia, regulars, volunteers, free blacks, and Choctaw Indians around New Orleans.

  A week later, the British approached New Orleans from the east. They captured several American gunboats, though Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones resisted with his craft on Lake Borgne. Cochrane commenced a difficult ferrying operation, which placed his advance guard ashore at Bayou Bienvenu. On December 23, as many as 1,800 red-clad soldiers seized Villeré plantation in a sweep.

  “By the eternal,” Jackson vowed that day, “they shall not sleep on our soil!” He sent a U.S. detachment to attack them after dusk. The U.S.S. Carolina, a 14-gun schooner, opened fire, while Coffee led a brigade on the night move. Each side suffered over 200 casualties in the 3-hour fight, but the British line held. A few days later, the British artillery knocked out the Carolina. Even though the Americans withdrew to a defensive position along the Rodriguez Canal, they kept the British over 7 miles away from New Orleans.

  While the forces converged outside New Orleans, Federalists from New England states organized a convention in Hartford, Connecticut. That winter, they proposed several constitutional amendments for reducing the power of the federal government to make war. Instead of rallying to the Stars and Stripes, they threatened possible secession from the Union.

  At the same time, the negotiations in Ghent continued. British demands for U.S. territorial concessions and an Indian buffer state softened, while Americans dropped their efforts to remedy impressments. Finally, they agreed to end the war by restoring the status quo antebellum. With neither side winning, any lingering disputes would be referred to joint commissions for further discussion. Both delegations signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814, although the news traveled slowly across the Atlantic.

  Arriving at the Mississippi on Christmas Day, General Sir Edward Pakenham, the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, took command of the redcoats. He found them disposed between the east bank and a cypress swamp. As the year ended, they numbered close to 10,000. They pressed forward in a series of battles, pausing while the British artillery targeted Jackson's defenses.

  Figure 4.3 General Andrew Jackson, after Thomas Sully (1783–1872). Private collection/Peter Newark American Pictures/The Bridgeman Art Library

  Jackson placed New Orleans under martial law, while he focused upon improving his dispositions at the Rodriguez Canal. Stretching for a half-mile on the east bank, Line Jackson featured earthworks raised high enough to require scaling ladders for an enemy assault. On the other side of the river, he ordered the placement of cannons and troops for delivering raking fire in front of his mud ramparts. Accordingly, Commodore Daniel T. Patterson and General David Morgan established defensive positions on the west bank. More than 4,000 Americans lined the embankments, though Pakenham disregarded the “dirty shirts” as nothing more than “snipe and rabbit hunters beating the bushes for game.”

  In the waking hours of January 8, 1815, Pakenham directed a two-pronged advance along each side of the Mississippi. While part of his command hit U.S. forces across the river, he directly led the primary assault against Jackson's main corps. Through the morning fog, nearly 3,000 redcoats encountered a barrage of artillery shells, grapeshot canisters, and volley fire on the Chalmette plain. Coffee fired from the left flank, while an assortment of pirates, militia, and volunteers fired from the right flank. Troops hailing from Tennessee and Kentucky blasted the opposite lines from the center. Although the west bank fell to the British, the Americans on the east bank never faltered. By 8:30 a.m. Pakenham had perished, along with many veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. “It was like a sea of red,” observed a Kentucky rifleman, who saw bodies covering the ground for almost 300 yards. In the final tally, the British lost more than 2,000 killed and wounded. In contrast, the Americans suffered only 13 deaths. The lopsided victory in the Battle of New Orleans made Jackson a national hero.

  Within weeks of Jackson's victory, the British withdrew their troops from the Mississippi River. Cochrane headed east along the Gulf Coast and entered Mobile Bay in early February. The Royal Navy assailed the American garrison at Fort Bowyer, where almost 1,000 of His Majesty's soldiers came ashore. However, the news from Ghent halted the pointless action. U.S. warships still confronted British vessels on the high seas, while regular and militia units near St. Louis fought the last land battle against Black Hawk's warriors in a sinkhole. Both sides found it difficult to get word to all of their forces to end hostilities immediately, because they operated from the Sunda Strait to the Mississippi River.

  The War of 1812 officially ended on February 16, 1815, when the Senate ratified the Treaty of Ghent without a dissenting vote. As Republican orators in Congress recounted the Battle of New Orleans, Federalist critics of the commander-in-chief fell silent. Immediately, Madison declared his war “a success” and celebrated the “valor of the military and naval forces of the country.”

  Conclusion

  Narrowly escaping disunion and dismemberment, the U.S. survived dark days during the War of 1812. Americans in uniform failed to conquer Canada, which remained loyal to the British Empire. The initial offensives along the northern border amounted to exercises in futility, while the naval actions on the Atlantic Ocean merely harassed British warships. An American victory on Lake Erie, however, opened the door for additional thrusts northward. Clashes from the Thames River to Horseshoe Bend foreclosed pan-Indian efforts to form a confederacy in the continental interior. The defeat of the Royal Army and Navy on Lake Champlain undermined London's plans to occupy parts of the East Coast. A military stalemate at Fort McHenry forced both sides to negotiate a treaty in Ghent, even as Jackson's triumph in New Orleans came at the close of hostilities. Throughout the armed conflict with Great Britain, the American military waged a limited war without clear objectives or widespread support.

  Unprepared for the strategic challenges of Napoleonic warfare, the American military attained none of Madison's original aims. The state militia performed their duties well at times, but all too often the rank and file demonstrated the worst aspects of amateurs in arms. American troops boasted of their reputation as marksmen in the field, although rifle fire did not play a major role in most battles. Nevertheless, a cadre of Army regulars gained special prowess in command, gunnery, and engineering. Though ineptitude abounded, a handful of citizen soldiers and sailors improved their martial skills with training and experience. The Na
vy reclaimed national honor and achieved extraordinary results while battling adversaries on the waters. Confronting the greatest naval power in the world brought fame to American warships, but maritime operations never broke the British blockade. By 1815, the United States and Great Britain made peace without settling the disputes that initially induced the declaration of war.

  While exacting a high price in American blood and treasure, the war amounted to a draw. The total number of personnel serving in the Army exceeded 528,000, although they represented less than 7 percent of the U.S. population. Only 57,000 of them served as regulars, whereas the bulk wore uniforms as volunteers, militia, and rangers. Another 20,000 saw action in the Navy and the Marine Corps. Other seamen fought the British as privateers, even if scores cowed at the sight of His Majesty's flag. Overall, the official figures for casualties indicated that U.S. forces lost 2,260 killed and 4,505 wounded. As many as 17,000 more perished from diseases such as dysentery, typhoid, pneumonia, malaria, measles, typhus, and smallpox. To replace the losses, Congress even debated a law for national conscription. Wartime expenses totaled $158 million, which the federal government financed through borrowing. Ironically, the interruption of trans-Atlantic shipping during the war encouraged the growth of domestic manufacturing.

  With peace at hand, the affirmation of national identity influenced the way the American people remembered the war. Euphoria enhanced the sense of an imagined community, even if the battles on land and at sea brought great sorrow. Parades of returning veterans in cities and towns overshadowed the ghastly scenes of Washington D.C. in blackened ruins. Local newspapers celebrated the bloody campaigns against the Indians, who lost ground from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. Mindful of the persistent dangers to the American republic, politicians across the country committed themselves to an enlarged task of improving security thereafter. Many found their inspiration in a wool and cotton emblem that measured 30 by 42 feet. The U.S. commander at Fort McHenry waved the large garrison flag on a September morn, because “the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance.” As a sign of national resolve, the Star-Spangled Banner later became a treasured artifact of “Mr. Madison's War.”

  Essential Questions

  1 What were Madison's aims in the War of 1812?

  2 Why did military operations in Canada fail so miserably?

  3 To what extent did U.S. commanders on land and at sea learn lessons from their wartime experiences?

  Suggested Readings

  Barbuto, Richard V. Niagara 1814: America Invades Canada. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000.

  Borneman, Walter. 1812: The War that Forged a Nation. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.

  Daughan, George C. 1812: The Navy's War. New York: Basic Books, 2011.

  Elting, John R. Amateurs to Arms! A Military History of the War of 1812. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 1991.

  Hickey, Donald R. Don't Give Up the Ship! Myths of the War of 1812. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006.

  Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989.

  Horseman, Reginald. The War of 1812. New York: Knopf, 1969.

  Latimer, Jon. 1812: War with America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.

  Nichols, Roger L. Black Hawk and the Warrior's Path. Arlington Heights, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1992.

  Owsley, Frank L. Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands: The Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans, 1812–1815. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1981.

  Quimby, Robert S. The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1997.

  Remini, Robert V. The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory. New York: Viking Press, 1999.

  Skeen, C. Edward. Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1999.

  Stagg, J. C. A. Mr. Madison's War: Politics, Diplomacy, and Warfare in the Early American Republic, 1783–1830. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983.

  Sugden, John. Tecumseh: A Life. New York: Henry Holt, 1997.

  Taylor, Alan. The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies. New York: Knopf, 2010.

  Watts, Stephen. The Republic Reborn: War and the Making of Liberal America, 1790–1820. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.

  5

  The Martial Republic (1815–1846)

  Introduction

  Like almost every soldier in the Army, Private Ransom Clark yearned to be home for Christmas. On December 25, 1835, the 23-year-old New Yorker spent the day with Company B of the 2nd Artillery Regiment. His regiment operated near Fort Brooke inside the Florida Territory. Marching along a military road to Fort King, Clark stared anxiously at the pine trees and palmetto thickets of a strange land.

  Commanded by Major Francis Dade, the regulars marched for three more days before reaching the Great Wahoo swamp. The enlisted men in blue frockcoats were mostly illiterate youths from the states or recently arriving immigrants from Europe. They knew little about the Seminole, who vowed to defend their homeland and to protect fugitive slaves. Mounted on horseback, Major Dade encouraged a detachment to move their 6-pounder forward. Around 8:00 a.m., Clark heard him announce confidently: “We have now got through all danger – keep up good heart, and when we get to Fort King, I'll give you three days for Christmas.”

  Suddenly, Clark heard war whoops and musket fire and saw Dade fall from his mount. Reacting to the surprise attack, the soldiers unlimbered the cannon and blasted canister shots for almost an hour. Others began delivering musket fire from behind logs. The rest scattered into the high savannah grass to confront their enemies.

  Meanwhile, Clark was trapped in the crossfire. After suffering a shot to the head, another bullet shattered his groin. A third bullet entered his right shoulder, while a fourth pierced his lungs. Immobilized by his wounds, he watched helplessly as 300 Seminole massacred over a hundred men. He remained silent among the fallen, as the victorious warriors waded into the carnage in search of prizes. One grabbed him by the legs and removed his clothing.

  Naked but alive, Clark began to move after sunset. “After dark I was a good deal annoyed by the wolves, who had scented my blood,” he later reported. He limped and crawled 50 miles, crossing four rivers in three days to reach the safety of Fort Brooke. No other survivor lived long enough to tell the story of what came to be known as the Dade Massacre.

  Figure 5.1 The American Soldier, 1827. Army Artwork, Prints and Poster Sets, U.S. Army Center of Military History

  Clark survived his deployment in Florida, although he perished five years later from an infected wound. The small war against the Seminole typified the military actions of the U.S. during the early nineteenth century. While the Navy protected lives and property beyond the shores, the regular Army – reinforced by state and voluntary militia – bolstered national security across the continent. In addition to fighting Indians and other non-state actors, the missions involved peacekeeping, reconnaissance, and interdiction. The citizens of the American republic gradually accepted the presence of a standing military, which they deemed necessary to build, to maintain, and to garrison the proliferating fortifications from the East Coast to the West Coast.

  During the 30 years that followed the War of 1812, the American military stood in the vanguard of territorial expansion. The drive to the Rocky Mountains and beyond included efforts to secure lands for settlers. The federal government preferred to harvest the fruits of geographic insularity while attempting to minimize annual appropriations for defensive measures. In accordance with military policies, a small number of service members accomplished a great multitude of tasks. Despite drastic reductions to the force structure, the officers and enlisted personnel made it possible for the United States to become a transcontinental nation.

  The martial spirit of the antebellum period changed the way the U.S. projected
power. Americans in uniform entered new territories and removed stateless Indians, thereby turning borderlands into frontiers. While the proficiency of the state militia units declined, the volunteer militia movement invigorated civil society. Moreover, the industrial revolution prompted the Navy Department to begin to upgrade the capabilities of the maritime forces. The War Department worked with a highly motivated corps of officers, many of whom were trained as engineers. With the rise of exuberant nationalism, the Army and Navy appeared ready for almost anything.

  Postwar Security

  The period after the War of 1812 established a pattern for national defense that persisted for decades. The federal government avoided costly expenditures for the military that threatened to drain capital and manpower from a market economy. Paradoxically, Americans sought greater safety by enlarging, rather than contracting, their sphere of influence and power. Growth, they assumed, was the path to security.

  Secretary of War James Monroe, who also served simultaneously as the Secretary of State, resolved that national security required increased support for the military establishment during peacetime. He was alarmed by the recent British invasions in the Chesapeake and the Mississippi, which revealed vulnerabilities in the continental defenses. One of his last acts while in charge of the War Department was to draft a report for the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, which he submitted on February 22, 1815. Based upon recommendations from General Winfield Scott, Monroe's report contemplated a standing army of 65,000 men or more. The presence of British regulars in Canada and conflicts with Spain over boundaries made a large permanent force an imperative. However, the report settled for a lower postwar level of 20,000, which amounted to twice the prewar level. It also proposed launching an extensive program for improving coastal fortifications to avoid exposure of the nation to another seaborne invasion. Because the U.S. stood in “character and rank” among the leading nations of the world, said Monroe, “firm resolution” seemed necessary to secure it. “We cannot go back,” he told Congress.