Latest / Ebbs of History / When America Tried to Conquer Canada and Failed Spectacularly
Transcript
- Jason: Histiography! Lessons we've learned today. Time for the Fun Fact Challenge! This day in History! Welcome to Ebbs of History, the show we dive into the strangest, wildest, and sometimes downright creepiest stories the past has to offer. From dancing plagues to pirate queens, you'll laugh, you'll gasp, you'll even groan at my impeccable dad jokes. But most importantly, you'll learn how history is way cooler than your textbook ever told you. We are history loving hosts, Zoe Gavin. And I'm Jason, and in every episode, the three of us will take a quick trip through time and see what lessons we can still learn today. This is the Ebbs of History. Hey history lovers. Welcome back another episode of Ebbs of History. ⁓ We're so glad you're here with us today. Zoe, Gavin, how was your week? Good. It was pretty good. almost the end of s ⁓ school, so that's nice. Yes. It's been like looming for like the past like weeks and it's finally like so close. It's like a week and a half left. And I just like get it done with, please. ⁓ Zoe? I had a really fun field trip this week, so that was kind of the highlight of my week. Yeah, for sure. I got some new shoes. Those are n really nice. Yes, with your own money. That was good. Yeah. Finally use my Eastu money. Yeah. Alright, picture this. It's eighteen twelve. The United States has just declared war on Britain. Confident enough that Thomas Jefferson called taking Canada a mere matter of marching. Many Americans assumed Canadians would welcome them. The campaign would take weeks, and Canada would be theirs by Christmas. Instead, the invasion collapsed into a spectacular comedy of blunders. ⁓ Today we're what happens when Supreme Confidence ⁓ meets unprepared reluctant militia, and Canadians who have zero interest in being quote unquote ⁓ liberated? ⁓ By 1812, the United States had been independent for less than thirty years. The country was still finding its footing, still figuring out what it meant to be a nation. Meanwhile, Britain was locked in a brutal war with Napoleon's France. They had bigger problems than their former colonies across the Atlantic. But the Americans had grievances. The British Navy was stopping American ships Impressing American sailors into service, essentially kidnapping them and forcing them to work on British vessels. You know what I think about it? I feel like Napoleon to me is like a lot earlier in history. No, it's this time. It's like in the eighteen hundreds. Like that might sound like a long time ago, but in the grand scheme of history, it's like a a really short time ago. Yeah, it is. Well he came to power around seventeen eighty nine. Yeah. Right? Mm-hmm. And this is eighteen twelve, so this is if you think about it's after the French Revolution, after the Reign of Terror, after all that, Napoleon seizes power. Mm-hmm. So British forces were also supporting indigenous nations in the Northwest Territory who were resisting American expansion. To many Americans, especially those on the frontier, the solution seemed obvious. Invade Canada, kick the British out of North America entirely, And solve all these problems in one swift campaign. Do you know what war hawks are? Have you ever heard that term before? I know it's not a hawk that just like likes war. Yeah. Is it like a spy? It is not. These were politicians mostly from the south and the west who were absolutely itching for war. Led by figures like Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, they convinced Congress that this was America's moment. They painted visions of easy victory and territorial expansion. Canada, they claimed, was ripe for the taking. So on june eighteenth, eighteen twelve, President James Madison signed the Declaration of War. The plan was simple launch a three pronged invasion of Canada. One army would attack from Detroit in the west, another would cross the Niagara River in the center, and a third would march north from New York toward Montreal. With three simultaneous invasions, surely at least one would succeed, right? ⁓ ⁓ let's start with a disaster at Detroit in the West. the American force was led General William Hull, ⁓ a fifty-nine year old Revolutionary veteran ⁓ who, to put it kindly, well past his prime. ⁓ Hall was cautious to the point of paralysis, and he had good reason to be nervous. His army consisted of about two thousand men, but many were militia who didn't want to be there. On july twelfth, Hull crossed into Canada and occupied the town of Sandwich, which is now part of Windsor, Ontario. But then Hull heard that Fort Mackkin, a strategic post to the north, had fallen to the British. He panicked. What if the British and their indigenous allies cut off his supply lines? ⁓ What if was trapped in enemy territory? Without even attempting to attack the main British position at Fort Malden, ⁓ Hull retreated across the Detroit River to Fort Detroit. Now, on the side, the We have one of the war's most remarkable figures. Major General Isaac Brock. Can you guess what made Brock such an effective commander? He didn't retreat. Okay. His name is so cool that it sounds like a war name. He's got a cool name. First criteria for being an awesome general. He was bold and decisive and brilliant at psychological warfare. When he learned about Hull's retreat, he saw an opportunity. Brock had fewer than fifteen hundred troops at his disposal, including British regulars, Canadian militia, and about six hundred indigenous warriors led by the legendary Shawnee chief Tecumseh. By any objective measure, he was outnumbered. But Brock understood something crucial. Hull was terrified of an indigenous attack on the fort and the civilians inside. So Brock played on those fears. He dressed his militia in spare British uniforms to make his force look larger. He marched his troops in circles through clearings to create the illusion of vast numbers. he sent Hull a letter demanding surrender ⁓ and warning that fighting began, he might not be able to control his indigenous allies. A thinly veiled threat of massacre. The bluff worked. On sixteenth, eighteen twelve, without firing a single shot in defense of the fort, General William Hull surrendered Detroit to the British. An entire American army, more than two thousand soldiers, became prisoners of war. Hull handed over the fort, thirty three cannons, thousands of muskets, and the entire Michigan Territory. Can you take a guess at how Americans back east reacted to this news? Not so good. Not so good, yeah. They were absolutely stunned and outraged. How could a general surrender without a fight? Hull was court martialed, found guilty of cowardice and neglect of duty, and sentenced to death. President Madison eventually pardoned him due to his Revolutionary War service. But so did he die? He did not. ⁓ No, he was pardoned because of his service in the Revolutionary War. But that's still it you know, that's a mark on his his legend. His name. His name, you know, for the rest of his life and for his family's life. And here we are today talking about it. His legacy. His legacy. What? What is a legacy? Don't get me started. But the disasters weren't over. Let's move to the center prong of this invasion along the Niagara. This campaign was led by Major General Stephen Van Renselier, a wealthy New York militia general who, it must be said, had more political connections than military experience. Can you say that name again? Mm-hmm. Major General Steven Van Rensselaer. Is he the very pattern of a modern Major General? Van Wenselier. Rensselaer. R-E-N-S-S-E-L-A-E-R. On october thirteenth, eighteen twelve, Van Rensselaer launched an assault across the Niagara River at Queenston. Under cover of darkness, about six hundred American troops crossed in boats and scrambled up the heights overlooking the town. The attack caught the British by surprise, and the Americans managed to capture a key artillery position. Isaac Brock, the man with the cool name, ⁓ the same man who had won Detroit, Rushed to the scene. In a moment of reckless bravery, Brock personally led a charge up the heights to retake the position, but as he climbed, a Kentucky sharpshooter's bullet struck him in the chest. Brock died almost instantly, becoming a martyr and a hero in Canadian history. Do you think that maybe his taking of Detroit without a shot being fired? had anything to do with the way he reacted and what he did when he came to Niagara? ⁓ a thousand percent. 'Cause he was just like, ⁓ they're too cowardice I I got this in the bag and even if they do fight back, we're better anyway, 'cause we're the British. 'Cause I if you think about it at this time, the British always had this mindset of, ⁓ we are better. Yes. We are the best nation ever. Like I don't know, ⁓ at least in like at least in Lord of the Flies it was prevalent 'cause it's like, ⁓ we're the British, we can do anything. And when was that set? ⁓ after World War Two. There you go. Like especially in that era 'cause it was the second wave of imperialism. 'Cause it was a second wave of imp of imperialism. And right now the British they had their first wave in the in the new world with America. So they so there's their ego's pretty high up there right now. Yeah. Like I feel like with all their colonization through history, like it's only natural to be to have a huge ego, you know? When you just won an entire territory of the United States without firing a shot. Yeah. Like your confidence is way high. Yeah. So, we're back. He's been shot. He was killed by a sniper. So for a moment it seemed like the Americans might actually win this one. They held the high ground, but then everything fell apart. British reinforcements arrived under Major General Roger Shafe. S H E A F F E. S H A E F F E. I don't care about spelling. I'm just kinda doing something that I'll Yeah, I know really. Along with the indigenous warriors led by Mohawk leader John Norton, they counterattacked and pushed the Americans back. Meanwhile, on the American side of the river, Van Renselier had a major problem. His militia were refusing to cross. Now why do you think they refused? Because they didn't want to be there. Okay. Is it the same army as the other one that would they maybe they learned from their leader and was like, I'm scared Well not the army, it's the militia, it's different. ⁓ what c like define militia. So militias they form by state. Mm-hmm. And the army is a federal thing. Awesome. ⁓ Under the militia of the time, soldiers could not be compelled to fight outside American territory. Mm. ⁓ Hundreds of New militiamen simply stood on the riverfront ⁓ watching their comrades slaughtered across the water and refused to board the boats. ⁓ The Americans on the Canadian side were trapped. By afternoon they had no choice but to surrender. About nine hundred American soldiers became prisoners of war, including a young officer named Winfield Scott, who would go on to become one of America's greatest generals, but on this day was thoroughly humiliated. O three. ⁓ that's O for two so far. ⁓ well, like we know gonna happen. So that's two of the invasion attempts. Two catastrophic failures. But what about the third? And now we're on to Montreal. York to Montreal. Mm-hmm. right. Okay. These sound like ticket to ride routes. New York to Montreal. Absolutely. ⁓ they should make it a ⁓ ⁓ They should make a Canada version of Tibetaride. Or probably is. Yeah. But they're Well the thing is with that is that there's not much to do north of like the first one hundred miles of Canada. It's just all land in wilderness, yeah. There's no train lines going out there usually. There's company lines for like the De Beers Diamond people. Uh-huh. I'm sure they have company lines. So maybe we can not we. Maybe they could do something like that. Who is we? I ⁓ created the game, ticket to ride. No one'd be cool, just like ⁓ Africa ver no ⁓ not Africa. Alaska. ⁓ no, Africa. Thousand percent. It's kinda the same problem in in In Alaska. Or in Hawaii. it's not ticket to ride, it's boat to ride. Okay. Moving on. No, it's ticket to boat. ⁓ Okay. planned invasion toward Montreal never really got off the ground. ⁓ General Dearborn led an army north from Plattsburgh, New York in November of eighteen twelve. ⁓ But his militia also refused to cross the border, he turned around and marched back. The entire campaign fizzled out before it even began. ⁓ my god. ⁓ three fired? N well no, 'cause they retreat they didn't even retreat, they just turned around. It was like no good and just left. There was never any engagement. They never actually even went into Canada. They just stayed in New York. It is like well. By the end of eighteen twelve, all invasions had failed. Canada remained firmly in British hands. ⁓ American confidence had been shattered. Now the Americans did have some successes later in the war. In 1813, they won a crucial naval at the Battle of Lake Erie. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, ⁓ a hastily built fleet, defeated the British squadron in a dramatic battle. ⁓ sent his famous message We have met the enemy and they are ours. ⁓ of Lake Erie forced the British to abandon Detroit and retreat eastward. Also in eighteen thirteen, American forces captured and burned York, which is now Toronto. destroyed the government buildings there, an act that would have consequences later ⁓ the British retaliated by burning Washington DC in eighteen fourteen. ⁓ despite these victories, the Americans never came close to conquering Canada. The war dragged on until december eighteen fourteen, when both sides signed the Treaty of anybody know? Paris? No. No. ⁓ Good guess though. Because if it's not half of the treaties signed in history are either Versailles or Paris. Exactly. Like it is not either of those. I don't expect you guys to know this. Next year I do though. Yeah, next year we're both taking US. That's exactly right. ⁓ it was the Treaty of Ghent. G-E G-H-E-N-T. The Treaty of Ghent. The treaty essentially reset everything to how it was before the war. No territory had changed hands. None of America's original grievances were even mentioned in the treaty. Both sides just agreed to stop fighting and go home. So, what do you think about the war of eighteen twelve? Just d learning what you just learned. An incredible fumble by the USA. Well, that's The invasion of Canada. I'm talking about the whole war. It's so No one really took it that seriously. I mean if no is nothing was resolved at the end of it. Right. It was a pointless war. It was pointless. It was just spending money. Nothing changed at all from day one of the war to the last day. And it hurt the countries involved because they s were spending so much money on armies and stuff and that set them back economically that had ramifications later on in history. You can at least see it in Europe, like with Napoleon he ta he started taxing people, if I remember correctly, he started tax people 'cause he was just getting into all these wars. Like and that led to the Council of Trent and that led to whatever, 'cause his power is too much. That's right. When was the Renaissance? Like when that happened? Way earlier. Like ⁓ what, fourteen fifties. ⁓ wow. Okay. 'Cause we just finished learning about that in history class, but I never really learned like when. I never really paid attention to It's it's the start of the EHAP course. So it's like that's the It's the end of where I like to study, which is medieval. Mm-hmm. And the beginning of where EHAP starts. It starts at the Renaissance. The War of eighteen twelve is remembered differently depending on where you live. In the States, it's often called the Second of Independence ⁓ or the Forgotten War. Many Americans barely remember it happened, though it did give us Star Spangled Banner and And made Andrew Jackson a national hero after the Battle of New Orleans. ⁓ Why you just sigh? ⁓ Because Andrew Jackson. Exactly. In Canada, the war is remembered as a defining moment of national identity. The successful defense against American invasion became a source of pride and helped forge a sense of Canadian unity among the diverse British colonies. Isaac Brock is still honored as a national hero, and Tecumseh is remembered for his crucial alliance with the British and Canadians. Historians have debated for two centuries about why the invasions failed so spectacularly. Some point to poor American military leadership and lack of preparation. Others emphasize the effectiveness of British commanders like Brock and the crucial role of indigenous allies. Still, others focus on the fundamental problem of militia reluctance and the political divisions within the United States about whether the war was even necessary. What's clear is that the American confidence in 1812 was completely unjustified, and the price of that overconfidence was paid in lives and humiliation. Of that last thing that I just read about the historians debating and why they failed so spectacularly. What do you guys think? Wha what what do you of those things that I just said, what do you think was number one? The number one reason? Sounds like an L EQ right now. Like lack of prep preparedness. Okay. 'Cause like if you're not prepared you're not gonna win. I like you're gonna have strategy and all that stuff. There's just lack of wanting to even be there. 'Cause I don't know, from ⁓ out of the two out of the three were just 'cause they didn't want to cross the border. Yeah. Like it just sound they're militia. The militia just didn't want to be there. Like the citizens didn't want to be fighting the war either. Like it was just the the land and I guess that just shows that if the people don't want something and the people are doing it, then it's not nothing's gonna get done even though I agree. Yeah. I also think that they did not think through to to marry the two things that you both just said about preparedness and the and the militia. They didn't prepare enough for the militia to not be able to cross an international border. Yeah. That is huge. They should have at least changed that a little bit before they invaded Canada border. It seems like they didn't even think about that. Because they got to the border with these people and they just said, Nope, not going, sorry. Like we're we're protecting our state. Yeah. That's what we do. We're the militia of New York or the militia of Michigan. And that's it. Yeah. We're not crossing over ⁓ we're not crossing over into a different country for you. Yeah. We're fighting for New York. Mm-hmm. What? Militigan. Militigan. That's a good one. Yeah. ⁓ can we learn from this historical ⁓ Always be prepared for any w anything. True. ⁓ I don't know. The first when you told us about ⁓ th America going in wanting to invade Canada and take over Canada. All I thought of was now in the beginning of the current administration wanting Canada, wanting gr that's the first thing I thought of. ⁓ Greenland? Yeah. Wa wanting Greenland and wanting Denmark, not Canada. Wanting that area. No, just like wanting like like talks of be c it's just becoming a big ⁓ that's right. Yeah. I there's so much that has happened I completely forgot about that. Yeah, that happened too. That's the first thing I thought of and it like failing and just Like no one wanting it and it was that I don't know, it it kind of is like but this time nowadays n nothing actually got happened, nothing's sent in. But I think if something did happen, it would have been like this, where people would have just gone like, I'm not going. I'm not going there. I like the parallel. I do. But today is different. Yeah. it's all just bluster for the T V. Today's talk. ⁓ Not not just today's talk, but like in our globalized world it's all about that sound bite at night or you know, hey I'm doing this and I'm cool and blah blah blah blah blah and then it's like a week later, just like I forgot about it. You forgot about it. I mean That just shows back then things moved a lot slower. Mm-hmm. ⁓ but yeah the parallels are still the same. Absolutely. I'm just thinking if it did play out, like if if something actually happened and it wasn't just all if it wasn't just all bark, no right? Like Yeah. All right. What I've got written down here is ⁓ confidence without preparation is just arrogance. Mm-hmm. Right? So we were confident, we were not prepared. We were arrogant. We were arrogant, exactly. Thomas Jefferson's claim that conquering Canada would be a mere matter of marching Represents the kind of hubris that has led to military disasters throughout history. The Americans assume victory without having a professional army, adequate supplies, or even basic coordination between their three invasion forces. ⁓ I guess it also shows the influence Thomas Jefferson had. ⁓ gosh, yeah. Just d everyone trusting him like that. Like I was just thinking, like, if this guy is just saying that and everyone went, Yeah, let's do it. Without even like g reviewing the militia laws, without even reviewing the morale and everyone's like, Yeah. You're when when you more parallels today. ⁓ when you follow a demagogue, you don't think. You don't prepare. You just do what he says and you know or listen to what he says and think it's the gospel and it it's a it not a good road to go down, no matter who it is. There's no fact checking. You just blindly follow. Logistics matter more than enthusiasm. The war hawks in Congress could whip up public support for war, but they couldn't magically create the infrastructure needed to wage one. Roads, supply lines, trained soldiers, capable officers. These boring, unglamorous elements of warfare turned out to be far more important than patriotic speeches. Yet another one another parallel to today. We invaded Iran. For no reason. And here we are now in this quagmire. We still got eight dollar gas and n no end inside it's just history is repeating itself. And it's blatantly obvious. And it is. We're making connections when I'm I don't know, I'm making connections, a sixteen year old making connections to history in matters of seconds. That's right. Like we're lear I I'm learning this in the moment and and I'm making connections to now. And these are supposed to be the people that are leading our country. Yep. Anyway. The last one I have is sometimes the best outcome of a bad decision is learning from it. United States learned hard lessons from the war of eighteen twelve. Lessons that influenced military reforms and foreign policy for generations. And both the United States and Canada learned that they could share a continent in peace. A relationship that has endured for more than two centuries Alright, let's test what you remember from today's story with three questions. You know the rules, I'm gonna finish the sentence. ⁓ You lock in, first of three wins. Nope. Best of three wins. Question one, which American general surrendered Fort Detroit without firing a shot leading to his court martial? Locked in. Hall. How do you spell that? H H A L L. you're wrong, but I'm gonna give it to you. Because I did not spell it. It's Hull. H U L L. H-U-L-L? Yeah. No, you're totally right though. You did not tell us spelling. I spelled it out, it would have been a little different. See, I feel like with mine, it's just like it's too much notes. Me too, ⁓ King. Question two. Which famous British general was killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights while leading a charge up the hill? Locked in. Gavin. That was Gavin. Isaac Brock? Correct. Major General. Isaac Brock. He is the very pattern of a modern general Kentucky sharpshooter. That's right. A little tidbit of information. We'll try to All right, you guys are tied going into the last question. It's been a while since we've got It's been a while since we happened. What was the name of the naval commander who won the Battle of Lake Erie and sent the message we have met the enemy and they are ours. you wrote this down? I don't have it. I I didn't I just I don't have it. I don't think Zoe wrote it down at all. I don't have it. Go for it. I I think this might be it. I just had a ton of names. Vodger Shafe. No. No. No, that was someone else. I don't I didn't write down his name. Uh-huh. It was kind of in passing, but like I said, I wanted to make num the at least number three question for you guys super hard. Nope, it was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Commodore Perry. ⁓ So that means we need to do extra innings. Overtime. Sun. Alright. Tie breaking question. Or should we do a closest to the pin? ⁓ I don't know. What do you mean closest to the pin? Where I give you a question and you give me a number and whoever's closest to the actual number wins. Is it price's right rules without going over or No. Let's do that instead. Okay. 'Cause I wrote I was writing down numbers. So as you guys know, on October thirteenth, eighteen twelve, Van Rensselaer launched an assault across the Niagara River, right? Mm-hmm. Under cover of darkness, about how many American troops crossed in boats and scrambled up the heights overlooking the town. Locked in. Locked in. Gavin, you go first. Zoo. And Zoe. Nine hundred. Well, Zoe's closer. I I didn't write that down. Because I was like, is this a trick question? Six hundred. I was like, is this a trick question? 'Cause technically no one Anyway, was right. So no, people did go across, ⁓ just the militiamen. ⁓ Mm. They still had the the Continent not I guess it wasn't Continental Army then, but the American Army. Cause I yeah. 'Cause I wrote down ⁓ nine US ⁓ POWs from Niagara. That's where I got that number. Mm, yep. Including young officer Winfield Scott. ⁓ That's I that's where I got Scott from. Mm-hmm. ⁓ Some other things that happened on today, May twenty eighth, across history are ⁓ in fifteen thirty three, ⁓ the Archbishop Canterbury, ⁓ Thomas Cranmer, the marriage of King the Eighth to Anne Boleyn ⁓ valid, formally setting off the English Reformation breaking with Rome. I know all about that now. Yeah. We learned about that, like just learned about that in ⁓ history. He made the Church of England. That's right. Yep. When they broke away from Rome, he created the Church of England, which exists exists today. ⁓ It's just a church, right? it is Protestant, yeah. Because I know it that was one of like the main things ⁓ of Protestant Reformation. Like that's what kind of that was one of the like all about that Nitchi class. ⁓ That's I just all learned about. They did keep some things ⁓ from ⁓ It's Cagolicism. Well, it's Anglicanism. It's not it's a specific type ⁓ of It's not one or the other. On this day in eighteen thirty, the US Congress passed the Indian Removal Act authorizing the forced relocation of Native American nations from their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi. Does anybody know what that's called? I do. Is they called the Trail of Tears. And who forced the Trail of Tears? Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson. That's why. That's why he's a little shaky for Th that there's come there are some other reasons, yes. That's one of the reasons. ⁓ for me at Yeah. For sure. It's probably one of the biggest. There are others, but ⁓ yeah. And then finally We are going to San Francisco in what two weeks? Mm-hmm. Just about? Maybe three? Yep. In nineteen thirty seven on this date, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to vehicular traffic after four years of construction. Wow. I'm gonna drive over that. No, you are not. ⁓ yeah. Well we we we switch at that point. We are not d we are not driving. We're we'll be on a bus going across it to the other side. But it's not on our way there. Yeah, no, it's 'cause we're coming from the south. The Golden Bridge is north west part of San Francisco. How much miles is the Golden Gate Bridge? Like how long is it? ⁓ No, that's a great question. ⁓ If there were a way. I So I I I wanna say four miles. That's what came off of the top of my head. Mm-hmm. But I could totally be wrong. Uh-huh, totally wrong. One point seven. ⁓ that's not that bad. No, you can walk across it. I could run that in Brooklyn Bridge. 'Cause I've walked that. You could run that in like I don't know Fifteen minutes, I feel. point one. So it's about the same. ⁓ about a half a mile shorter. was a that was a trek. ⁓ It's the water. In summation, America an easy march into Canada in eighteen twelve. Instead, three invasions collapsed, Detroit surrendered, militia refused to cross the Niagara, and the Montreal push fizzled out completely. The lesson is simple. Confidence and patriotism don't replace preparation, logistics, or capable leadership. ⁓ The war dragged on for years and ended largely unchanged. That's it for this episode. Thanks for traveling through time with us on the Ebbs of History. If you like today's story, share it with a teacher, a friend, or your family on Instagram at Ebbsofistory. If you have any show ideas, corrections, or questions, You can contact us at questions at ebbs of history com. Signing off, this has been your co-host, Gavin Zoe. And me, Jason, reminding you that history is not just about the dates and battles. It's about the people, curiosity, and the weird, wonderful choices that shaped our world. Until next time. Keep wondering. Keep laughing. And keep learning through ⁓ the ebbs of history. it is. ⁓ my. ⁓ Come on guys, let's go!