Primary sources from the era.
The Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814, was negotiated by five American commissioners—John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin—and three British delegates—Admiral James Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams—who met in Ghent, Belgium, to end the War of 1812 with a return to prewar conditions.
Broadsides and public notices were essential for communicating war news, proclamations, and military calls to action during the War of 1812. They provide key primary sources for understanding how both the United States and Great Britain presented the conflict to the public.
The Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, ended the War of 1812 only after both governments ratified it. The British ratified on December 27, 1814, and the U.S. Senate unanimously approved it on February 16, 1815, with exchange of ratifications the next day officially concluding the war.
A research guide to the surviving primary sources of the War of 1812: official records, military and naval correspondence, treaties, newspapers, personal papers, and mediated Indigenous accounts. It identifies the major document types, the archives that hold them, and the biases researchers must weigh.
The Treaty of Fort Jackson, signed on August 9, 1814, ended the Creek War and forced the Creek Nation to cede over 21 million acres to the United States. It was a turning point in the War of 1812 era, reshaping the American Southeast and escalating Indigenous dispossession.
War of 1812 muster rolls and payrolls are official military records listing soldiers’ names, ranks, service dates, and payments. They serve as essential primary sources for genealogical research and for understanding the composition and administration of American, state, and territorial forces during the war.
War of 1812 bounty land records document the federal land grants offered to veterans as enlistment incentives. These records, created under acts from 1811 to 1855, are essential for genealogical research and for understanding American land policy and military service.
At the Ghent peace negotiations of 1814, Britain initially demanded an Indian barrier state in the Old Northwest, territorial concessions in Maine and Minnesota, demilitarization of the Great Lakes, and an end to American fishing privileges. British negotiators ultimately abandoned these demands, and the Treaty of Ghent restored the status quo ante bellum.
A guide to the most valuable primary sources for researching the War of 1812, including official records, personal correspondence, newspapers, and digitized archival collections from American, British, Canadian, and Indigenous perspectives.
British newspapers played a crucial role in shaping public opinion and government policy during the War of 1812, initially dismissing the United States, then reacting with shock to naval defeats and later criticizing the burning of Washington. Their coverage reflected a nation weary of prolonged warfare and contributed to the movement for peace.
