Ordered Attack on Canada
In May 1812, Madison sent Congress a list of complaints about the British. After hearing Madison's list, the Congress agreed to declare war on Great Britain. It was a close vote. No leaders in New Englands supported the war. They called it "Mr. Madison's War." One reason some leaders voted for war was to stop Britain from taking sailors off of American merchant ships. Another unspoken reason may have been so that the United States could take land from the British while the British were busy fighting Napoleon's armies. After Congress declared war, madison ordered his generals to invade Canada, which was then a part of Great Britain. Three different attempts to invade Canada ended in surrender, defeat, and retreat. In 1814, British soldiers burned much of Washington, D.C., including the White House and the Capitol. The British promised freedom to African-Americans held captive as slaves if they could get to the British ships. Over 4,000 managed to do so.
Ordered Attacks on Native American Nations
The British also gave money and weapons to Native American nations in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin so that these Native American nations would keep the United States from invading Canada. A greater proportion of Native Americans died in Madison's war than the British or Americans did. In Ohio, the Native Americans were led by Tecumseh, who hoped to unite the Native American nations. But at the Battle of Thames, American soldiers commanded by General William Henry Harrison killed Tecumseh and the Native Americans of the Midwest never came close to uniting again. At the Battle of Horseshow Bend in Alabama, American soldiers commanded by General Andrew Jackson killed many warriors fighting for the Creek Nation. As a result, the Creek Nation was forced to surrender much of its homeland in Alabama and Georgia. In December 1814, Madison agreed to end "his" war.
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