War of 1812 pension records are federal application files created under pension acts of 1871 and 1878, documenting veterans’ service, families, and postwar lives. They are a key genealogical and historical source for understanding who served and the war’s long-term impact.
Fort George was a British strongpost on the Niagara River that became a key objective of the American 1813 campaign. After a naval bombardment on 25 May and an amphibious assault on 27 May 1813, American forces captured the fort and occupied it for seven months. Its loss forced the British to withdraw to Burlington Heights, but the fort was retaken in December 1813 and held until the end of the war.
During the War of 1812, the relationship between the United States and the Indigenous nations of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and the South was transformed by military alliance, warfare, and treaty. Tecumseh’s confederacy sided with the British to resist American expansion, while the collapse of the confederacy and the Creek War’s aftermath opened vast territories to American settlement and set the stage for Indian removal.
James Lawrence was a United States Navy captain who died in the 1813 battle between USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon. His reported last words, “Don’t give up the ship,” became a rallying cry and were immortalized on a battle flag flown at the Battle of Lake Erie.
Remember the Raisin was a rallying cry that emerged after the January 1813 Battle of Frenchtown (River Raisin) in which American prisoners were killed by Potawatomi warriors. It symbolized American determination to avenge the defeat and the massacre, fueling military efforts in the Old Northwest and contributing to the eventual U.S. victory at the Battle of the Thames.
Farming during the War of 1812 involved both agricultural production and destruction, as armies on both sides depended on local food supplies while military operations devastated farms, livestock, and mills. This article explores how the war disrupted farming communities, the labor shortages that arose, and the long-term economic and social consequences.
The Battle of Lake Erie, fought on 10 September 1813 near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, was a decisive American naval victory that secured control of the lake, enabled the recovery of Detroit, and led directly to the Battle of the Thames and the death of Tecumseh.
American, British, and Canadian soldiers and sailors captured during the War of 1812 were held in Canada, Halifax, and England, where their treatment, exchange, and eventual release shaped wartime diplomacy and public opinion.
Francis Scott Key (1779–1843) was an American lawyer and poet whose poem ‘Defence of Fort M’Henry,’ written after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814, became the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ His role as a negotiator for prisoner release placed him directly in the War of 1812’s pivotal Battle of Baltimore.
Explore the letters, official reports, newspapers, and naval logs that documented the September 1814 bombardment of Fort McHenry, offering American and British perspectives on a turning point in the War of 1812.
