War of 1812

American  

noun

1. the war between the United States and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815.

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War of 1812 British  

noun

1. a war between Great Britain and the US, fought chiefly along the Canadian border (1812–14)

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War of 1812 Cultural  

1. A war between Britain and the United States, fought between 1812 and 1815. The War of 1812 has also been called the second American war for independence. It began over alleged British violations of American shipping rights, such as the impressment of seamen — the forcing of American merchant sailors to serve on British ships. American soldiers attacked Canada unsuccessfully in the war, and the British retaliated by burning the White House and other buildings in Washington, D.C. American warships frequently prevailed over British vessels (see “We have met the enemy, and they are ours”). The greatest victory for the Americans came in the Battle of New Orleans, in which Andrew Jackson was the commanding general — a battle fought, ironically, two weeks after the peace treaty ending the war had been signed, but before the armies could be informed. (See also “The Star-Spangled Banner.”)

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Example Sentences

Trade was also at issue in the War of 1812, when the U.S. sided with Napoleonic France in its death struggle with Great Britain.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

He had gotten a laugh a moment before when he mocked President James Madison for not having a ballroom when the White House was burned by the British during the War of 1812.

From Salon • May 20, 2026

When Secretary of War James Monroe proposed a system of national conscription during the War of 1812, the backlash was immediate and fierce.

From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026

In the War of 1812, Congress authorized federal customs officers, then responsible for enforcing a trade embargo with England, to move shipowner claims against them to federal court.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

The treaty ending the War of 1812 was reached on Christmas Eve 1814, and the good news arrived in Washington early in 1815.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis