The War of 1812 was fought in North America. The battles of the War of 1812 were fought in four major theaters: the Atlantic coast, the Gulf Coast, the U.S./Canada border and the American West.
In addition, the naval battles of the war were primarily fought in the Atlantic Ocean with only a few minor engagements occurring in the Pacific Ocean.
The following is a list of the War of 1812 battles in chronological order:
1811 Battles:
November 7, 1811: Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana, which is considered the first battle of the War of 1812.
Result: American victory.
Battle of Tippecanoe, illustration published in Military Heroes of the War of 1812, circa 1849
1812 Battles:
June 26, 1812: Occurrence at Carleton Island in upper Canada during which a few private American citizens captured a British sergeant and three British privates.
July 2, 1812: Capture of the American schooner Cuyahoga Packet on the Detroit River in Michigan by British forces.
July 17, 1812, Battles of Michilimackinac in Michigan.
Result: British victory.
July 17, 1812: Capture of an American brig, USS Nautilus, by a British brig, HMS Shannon, off the coast of New Jersey. It was the first U.S. warship captured by the British in the war.
War of 1812 battle sites, map published in NPS report to Congress on historic preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites in the United States, circa 2007
July 19, 1812: First Battle of Sackets Harbor in New York.
Result: American victory.
July 31, 1812: Naval battle between a small American schooner, USS Julia, and two large British ships, HMS Earl of Moira and HMS Duke of Gloucester, on the St. Lawrence River in New York.
Result: Indecisive.
August 5, 1812: Battle of Brownstown in Michigan.
Result: British victory.
August 9, 1812: Battle of Maguaga in Michigan.
Result: Indecisive.
August 13, 1812: Capture of a British sloop, HMS Alert, by an American frigate, USS Essex, off the coast of Azores.
August 15, 1812: Massacre at Fort Dearborn in Illinois.
Result: Potawatomi victory.
August 16, 1812: Capture of Detroit, Michigan.
Result: British victory.
August 19, 1812: Capture of a British frigate, HMS Guerriere, by an American frigate, USS Constitution, off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Guerriere was so badly damaged in the battle that it was set on fire and allowed to sink.
September 3, 1812: Pigeon Roost Massacre in Indiana.
Result: Shawnee victory.
September 3-16, 1812: Investment of Fort Harrison in Indiana.
Result: American victory.
September 5-12, 1812: Siege of Fort Wayne in Indiana.
Result: American victory.
September 16, 1812: Skirmish at Touissant’s Island in the St. Lawrence River in New York.
Result: British victory.
September 21, 1812: Raid on British depot at Gananoque in upper Canada.
Result: American victory.
October 1, 1812: First British raid at Charlotte, New York.
October 4, 1812: First attack on Ogdensburg, New York.
Result: American victory.
October 9, 1812: Capture of a British Brig, HMS Caledonia, in the Niagara River in Canada.
October 13, 1812: Battle of Queenstown Heights in upper Canada.
Result: British victory.
October 18, 1812: Capture of a British sloop, HMS Frolic, by an American sloop, USS Wasp, off the coast of Bermuda.
Capture of the Frolic by the Wasp, illustration published in Military Heroes of the War of 1812, circa 1849
October 18, 1812: Capture of American sloop, USS Wasp, and recapture of British sloop, HMS Frolic, by a British frigate, HMS Poictiers after it happened upon the scene of the battle between the Wasp and the Frolic.
October 23, 1812: Skirmish at St. Regis on the border of Canada.
October 25, 1812: Capture of a British sloop, HMS Macadionian, by an American frigate, USS United States, off the coast of the Canary Islands.
November 20, 1812: Battle of Lacolle Mills in Quebec.
Result: British-Mohawk victory.
November 22, 1812: Capture of a British frigate, HMS Southampton, by an American brig, USS Vixen, off the coast of Florida. Both ships wrecked on a shoal near Concepcion island shortly after.
November 23, 1812: Battle of French Mills on the Salmon River in New York.
Result: British victory.
November 28, 1812: Skirmish at Frenchman’s Creek in upper Canada.
Result: British victory.
November 28-December 1, 1812: Failed American invasion of upper Canada.
December 17-18, 1812, Battle of the Mississinewa in Indiana.
Result: American victory.
December 29, 1812: Capture of a British frigate, HMS Java, by an American frigate, USS Constitution, off the coast of Brazil.
1813 Battles:
January 17, 1813: Capture of an American brig, USS Viper, by a British frigate, HMS Narcissus, off the coast of Belize.
January 18, 1813: First Battle of Frenchtown in Michigan.
Result: American victory.
January 22, 1813: Second Battle of Frenchtown in Michigan.
Result: British victory.
January 23, 1813: River Raisin Massacre in Michigan. About 30 to 60 American soldiers captured during the Second Battle of Frenchtown are executed.
February 7, 1813: American raid of Elizabethtown in upper Canada.
February 22, 1813: Battle of Ogdensburg in New York.
Result: British victory.
February 24, 1813: Naval battle between an American sloop, USS Hornet, and a British sloop, HMS Peacock, on the Demerara River in Guyana. The HMS Peacock was so badly damaged it sank shortly after.
Result: American victory.
April 3, 1813: Battle of Rappahannock River in Virginia.
Result: British victory.
April 27, 1813: Battle of York in Toronto, Canada.
Result: American victory.
April 28-May 9 of 1813: Siege of Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio.
Result: American victory.
April 23, 1813: British raid at Frenchtown in Maryland.
May 3, 1813: British raid on Havre de grace and Principio Foundry in Maryland.
May 6, 1813: British raid at Georgetown and Fredericktown in Maryland.
May 27, 1813: Battle of Fort George in upper Canada.
Result: American victory.
May 29, 1813: Second attack on Sackets Harbor in New York.
Result: American victory.
June 1, 1813: Battle of Boston Harbor, otherwise known as the capture of an American frigate, USS Chesapeake, by a British frigate, HMS Shannon, off the coast of New England between Cape Cod and Cape Ann.
June 3, 1813: British capture of two American sloops, USS Eagle and USS Growler, on Lake Champlain on the border of Canada.
June 6, 1813: Battle of Stoney Creek in upper Canada.
Result: British victory.
June 15, 1813: Second British raid at Charlotte in New York.
June 19, 1813: British raid on Sodus in New York.
June 20, 1813: Attack on a British ship, HMS Junon, by a flotilla of American gunboats in the Elizabeth River in Virginia.
Result: Indecisive.
June 22, 1813: Battle of Craney Island in Virginia.
Result: American victory.
June 24, 1813: Battle of Beaver Dams in upper Canada.
Result: British victory.
June 25-16, 1813: Battle of Hampton in Virginia.
Result: British victory.
July 1, 1813: Skirmish at Cranberry Creek in New York.
July 1-October 9, 1813: Blockade of Fort George in upper Canada.
July 5, 1813: British raid at Fort Schlosser in New York.
July 8, 1813: Action at Butler’s farm near Niagara, Canada.
Result: British victory.
July 11, 1813: British raid at Black Rock in New York.
July 12, 1813: British raid at the Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina.
July 14, 1813: British attack and brief capture of an American schooner, USS Asp, by a British naval party from a British sloop, HMS Contest, and a British brig HMS Mohawk (formerly the USS Viper). The Asp was set on fire but its American crew regained the ship, extinguished the flames and the ship continued to serve through the rest of the war.
July 14, 1813: Action off Charles Island in the Galapagos during which an American squadron of three vessels attacked and captured three British armed whalers. It was one of only a few naval engagements of the war to occur in the Pacific Ocean.
July 17, 1813: Skirmish at Ball’s Farm near Niagara, Canada.
July 19, 1813: Capture of a British convoy of 15 bateaux, a gun boat, Spitfire, as well as British military supplies by American privateers, Neptune and Fox, on the upper St. Lawrence River in New York.
July 20, 1813: Skirmish on Cranberry Creek between American privateers and British forces in an effort to reclaim supplies captured by the Neptune and Fox the previous day.
Result: American victory.
July 21-28, 1813: Second siege of Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio during which British forces try to recapture the fort.
Result: American victory.
July 27, 1813: Battle of Burnt Corn Creek in Alabama. The battle is considered the first battle of the Creek War between the United States and a faction of the Muscogee nation known as the Red Sticks.
Result: Red Stick victory.
July 29, 1813: Attack on a British sloop, HMS Martin, by a flotilla of American gunboats and blockships near the mouth of the Delaware River.
Result: Indecisive.
July 29-August 4, 1813: Murray’s raid on New York and Vermont villages and towns on Lake Champlain.
July 31, 1813: Skirmish near Lower Sandusky in Ohio.
July 31-August 1, 1813: American raid at York in upper Canada.
August 2, 1813: Battle of Fort Stepehenson in Indiana.
Result: American victory.
August 10, 1813: British capture of two American schooners, USS Julia and USS Prowler, on Lake Ontario.
August 14, 1813: Capture of an American sloop, USS Argus, by a British brig, HMS Pelican, in St. George’s Channel off the coast of Wales and Ireland.
August 30, 1813: Battle at Fort Mims in Alabama.
Result: Red Stick victory.
September 5, 1813: Capture of a British sloop, HMS Boxer, by an American brig, USS Enterprise, off the coast of Maine.
September 10, 1813: Battle of Lake Erie in Ohio.
Result: American victory.
Battle of Lake Erie, illustration published in Military Heroes of the War of 1812, circa 1849
September 23, 1813: Capture of a British frigate, HMS Highflyer, by an American frigate, USS President, off the coast of New England.
September 30, 1813: First skirmish at Odelltown in Canada.
October 5, 1813: Battle of the Thames in Ontario, Canada.
Result: American victory.
October 12, 1813: American raid at Missisquoi Bay in Canada.
October 26, 1813: Battle on the Chateauguay in Canada.
Result: British victory.
November 1-2, 1813: Skirmish at French Creek in New York.
Result: Indecisive.
November 3, 1813: Battle of Tallasseehatchee in Alabama.
Result: American victory.
November 9, 1813: Battle of Talladega in Alabama.
Result: American victory.
November 10, 1813: Skirmish at Hoople’s Creek in Canada.
Result: British victory.
November 11, 1813, Battle of Crysler’s Farm in Ontario, Canada.
Result: British victory.
November 12, 1813: The Canoe fight on the Alabama River.
Result: American victory.
November 13, 1813: Skirmishes at Nanticoke Creek in upper Canada.
November 18, 1813: Hillabee Massacre in Tennessee during which 60 Hillabee Indians were killed when American forces burned the Hillabee Indian villages of Little Oakfusky and Genalga.
November 29, 1813: Battle of Autossee in Alabama.
Result: American victory.
December 10-11, 1813: Burning of Niagra in upper Canada by American troops.
December 15, 1813: Skirmish at McCrea’s Farm in upper Canada.
Result: British victory.
December 17, 1813: Burning of the upper Creek village of Nuyaka by American troops.
December 18-19, 1813: American capture of Fort Niagra in upper Canada.
December 23, 1813: Battle of Holy Ground, aka Battle of Econochaca, in Alabama.
Result: Indecisive.
December 25, 1813: Capture of an American schooner, USS Vixen, by a British frigate, HMS Belvidera, near the coast of Delaware.
December 30, 1813: British raid at Black Rock and Buffalo in New York in retaliation for the burning of Niagara earlier in the month.
1814 Battles:
January 22, 1814: Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek in Alabama.
Result: Indecisive.
January 27, 1814: Battle of Calebee Creek, aka Battle for Camp Defiance, in Alabama.
Result: American victory.
January 28, 1814: Bombardment of Falmouth, Massachusetts by a British brig, HMS Nimrod.
February 14, 1814: Capture and destruction of a British schooner, HMS Pictou, by an American frigate, USS Constitution, between Barbados and Surinam.
February 14–24, 1814: British raids on the Salmon River in New York.
March 4, 1814: Battle of Longwoods in Ontario, Canada.
Result: American victory.
March 27, 1814: Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama.
Result: American and allied Lower Creek, Chocktaw, Cherokee victory.
March 28, 1814: Capture of an American frigate, USS Essex, by a British frigate, HMS Phoebe, and a British sloop, HMS Cherub, as the Essex tried to escape from the neutral harbor of Valparaiso.
March 30, 1814: Battle of Lacolle Mills in lower Canada.
Result: British victory.
April 3, 1814: An American frigate, USS Constitution, is chased into Marblehead harbor in Massachusetts by two British frigates, HM Junon and HM Tenedos. The Constitution then fled for Salem harbor where it spent a week waiting out the two ships before returning to Boston and rejoining the war effort.
April 7-8, 1814: British raid on Pettipaug, Connecticut.
April 20, 1814: Capture of an American sloop, USS Frolic, by two British ships, a British frigate, HMS Orpheus, and a British sloop, HMS Shelburne, off the coast of Cuba.
April 29, 1814: Capture of a British brig sloop, HMS Epervier, by an American sloop, USS Peacock, off Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Result: American victory.
May 6, 1814: Battle of Fort Oswego in New York.
Result: British victory.
May 14–15, 1814: American raid on Port Dover in Upper Canada.
May 14, 1814: Skirmish at Otter Creek in Vermont.
Result: American victory.
May 29-30, 1814: Battle of Big Sandy Creek in New York.
Result: American victory.
May 30, 1814: Skirmish at Pongoteague Creek in Virginia.
Result: British victory.
June 1, 1814: Skirmish off of Cedar Point in Maryland.
Result: Indecisive.
June 2, 1814: American occupation of Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin.
June 8-10, 1814: First Battle of Leonard’s Creek in Maryland.
Result: Indecisive.
June 11, 1814: Barges from two British ships entered Scituate Harbor in Massachusetts and burn several ships before stealing several others.
June 13, 1814: British troops from the HMS Nimrod bombard and invade Wareham, Massachusetts where they confiscated military supplies and burn a cotton factory, four American schooners, five sloops, a ship, a brig, and a brig-under-assembly at a local shipyard.
June 22, 1814: Capture of an American brig, USS Rattlesnake, by a British frigate, HMS Leander, near Sable Island off Nova Scotia.
June 26, 1814: Second Battle of Leonard’s Creek in Maryland.
Result: Indecisive.
June 28, 1814: Surrender of a British sloop, HMS Reindeer, by an American sloop, USS Wasp, in the mouth of the English Channel. The Reindeer was badly damaged in the battle and was destroyed.
June 28, 1814: Second Skirmish at Odelltown in Lower Canada.
Result: Indecisive.
July, 1814 – April, 1815: British invade Maine and use it as their base of operation for the rest of the war.
July 3, 1814: Capture of Fort Erie in upper Canada.
Result: American victory.
July 5, 1814: Battle of Chippawa in upper Canada.
Result: American victory.
July 12, 1814: Capture of an American brig-sloop, USS Siren, by a British frigate, HMS Medway, off the coast of South Africa.
July 17–20, 1814: Siege of Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin.
Result: British victory.
July 18, 1814: Burning of St. Davids in Upper Canada.
July 21, 1814: First skirmish at Rock Island Rapids in Missouri
July 23–26, 1814: American raid on St. Mary River on the border of Canada.
July 25, 1814: Battle of Lundy’s Lane at Niagra Falls in Ontario, Canada.
Result: Indecisive.
August 3, 1814: Skirmish at Conjocta Creek in New York.
Result: American victory.
August 5 – September 21, 1814: Siege of Fort Erie on Lake Erie in Canada.
Result: American victory.
August 4, 1814: American assault on Mackinac Island in Lake Huron in Michigan.
Result: British victory.
August 12, 1814: Capture of two American schooners, USS Ohio and USS Somers, on Lake Erie in Canada.
August 13, 1814: Destruction of British schooner HMS Nancy in the Nottawasaga River in Ontario, Canada.
August 15, 1814: Assault on Fort Erie in upper Canada.
Result: American victory.
August 24, 1814: Battle of Bladensburg in Maryland.
Result: British victory.
August 24-25, 1814: British troops burn Washington D.C., including the White House and the U.S. Capitol building, in retaliation for the burning of York.
August 27, 1814: Fort Warburton, aka Fort Washington, is abandoned by American troops and destroyed to prevent its capture by the British.
August 29-September 2, 1814: British raid on Alexandria in Virginia
September 1, 1814: Surrender of a British sloop, HMS Avon, to an American sloop, USS Wasp, off the coast of England. The Avon was so heavily damaged from the battle it sank before the Americans were able to take possession of it.
September 3 & 6, 1814: Capture of two American schooners, USS Tigress and USS Scorpion, on Lake Huron on the border of Canada.
September 5, 1814: Second skirmish at Rock Island Rapids in Missouri.
September 9, 1814: Capture of Old Stone Fort at Bearskin Neck in Rockport, Massachusetts by troops from the British frigate HM Nymphe. One of the two barges from the ship sank and the nine crewmen aboard were captured by the townspeople and secretly exchanged for American prisoners.
September 11, 1814: Battle of Plattsburgh, aka Battle of Lake Champlain, in New York.
Result: American victory.
September 12-15, 1814: Battle of Baltimore in Maryland.
Result: American victory.
September 13–14, 1814: Bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland.
Result: American victory.
September 15, 1814: British attack on Fort Bowyer in Spanish West Florida.
Result: American victory.
September 17, 1814: Sortie from Fort Erie in upper Canada.
October 19, 1814: Skirmish at Cook’s Mills in upper Canada.
November 6, 1814: Battle of Malcolm’s Millsin Ontario, Canada.
Result: American victory.
November 7-9, 1814: Battle of Pensacola in Spanish Florida.
Result: American victory.
December 14, 1814: Battle of Lake Borgne in Louisiana.
Result: British victory.
December 19, 1814: Bombardment and attempted invasion of Orleans, Massachusetts by a British ship, HMS Newcastle.
Result: American victory.
December 23, 1814: Battle at the Villeré Plantation in Louisiana.
Result: American victory.
December 28, 1814: Reconnaissance in force by the British at New Orleans, Louisiana.
1815 Battles:
January 1, 1815: Artillery duel at New Orleans, Louisiana.
Result: Indecisive.
January 8, 1815: Final assault at New Orleans in Louisiana.
Result: American victory.
January 9-18, 1815: Bombardment of Fort St. Philip in Louisiana.
Result: American victory.
January 15, 1815: Capture of an American frigate, USS President, by a British frigate, HMS Endymion, after the President attempted to break out of the British blockade in New York City.
February 12, 1815: British capture of Fort Bowyer in Spanish West Florida.
Result: British withdrew after receiving news of the Treaty of Ghent.
February 20, 1815: Capture of two British frigates, HMS Cyane and HMS Levant, by an American frigate, USS Constitution, about two hundred miles northeast of Madeira.
March 11, 1815: Pursuit and recapture of a British frigate, HMS Levant, near Porto Playa in the Cape Verde Islands, after it had been captured, along with HMS Cyane, by the USS Constitution a few weeks earlier.
Result: British victory.
March 23, 1815: Capture of a British sloop, HMS Penguin, by an American sloop, USS Hornet, near Tristan de Cunha. The ship was badly damaged in the battle and was scuttled the following day.
April 6, 1815: Seven American imprisoned sailors are killed and 32 wounded in the “Dartmoor Massacre” at Dartmoor Prison in Devon, England.
May 24, 1815: Battle of the Sink Hole in Missouri.
Result: Sauk tactical victory.
June 30, 1815: Capture of a British brig, HMS Nautilus, by an American sloop, USS Peacock, in the Straits of Sunda off Java.
To learn more about the War of 1812, check out this article on the best books about the War of 1812.
Sources:
“War of 1812 Timeline: July 1813 – September 1813.” Canada’s Historic Places, Parks Canada, www.historicplaces.ca/en/pages/49_1812_7.aspx
United States, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program. “Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.” NPS.gov, September 2007, www.nps.gov/abpp/Rev1812_Final_Report.pdf
“Chronology of the War.” 1812 US Marine Guard, www.1812marines.org/the-war-of-1812/chronology-of-the-war/
Smolinksi, Diane and Henry Smolinski. Battles of the War of 1812. Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 2003.
The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History. Edited by William S. Dudley, vol. II, Naval Historical Center, 1992.
Malcolmson, Robert. Historical Dictionary of the War of 1812. The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2006.