On June 18th, 1812 the United States declared war on Great Britain. Hostilities continued until the Treaty of Ghent was ratified on February 16, 1815.
Join American History TV for an in-depth look at the causes and course of the little-known war that bolstered America’s international credibility, fostered a new sense of patriotism and gave us our national anthem. We explore what the young country was like in those early years after the Revolutionary War.
We learn about the key personalities in the conflict as well as the stories behind the Star-Spangled Banner, and the invasion and burning of Washington, DC.
We also visit two storied ships from the war – the USS Constitution docked in Boston and the suspected USS Scorpion shipwreck under the muddy waters of Maryland’s Patuxent River.
Join us LIVE with your calls with National Park Service Historian Vince Vaise from Fort McHenry in Baltimore at 11am ET. Then author Nicole Eustace, 1812: War and the Passions of Patriotism, discusses the personal experences endured through out the war at 12pm ET. Finally, at 1pm ET, historian Anthony Pitch talks about the burning of Washington in 1814.
Every weekend on C-SPAN3, American History TV – 48 hours of people and events that help document the American story.