See War of 1812 Links for Comprehensive Web Sites created by organizations
Other sites dealing with specific locations and battles:

Powerpoint Presentations of use to students, see WAR 1812 LINKS

Kentucky: See this site. It is worth a visit. Provides history and muster rolls and, of especial value, Resource Link to related sites and Kentucky Bicentennial Commission.

Niagara (New York-Canada) This is a comprehensive site with information on battles, historical sites and museums, both Canadian and American. Best for American campaign across the border and battles New York and Michigan. Includes general history on chronology, time line. Link

New Orleans, Battle of Link

Remember the Raisin New National Battlefield Site, Monroe County, Michigan
Link: Raisin

Link War in the Chesapeake
Includes information re. the following sites:
Battle of North Point, Maryland
Eastern Shore 1812 Consortium
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Hancock's Resolution Historic Site family
Jefferson Patterson Park
Museum Site of the June 26, 1814 Battle of St. Leonard Creek
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail Study
Todd's Inheritance Historic Site
The U. S. Navy Museum
Battle of Bladensburg - Riversdale, MD
Hancocks Resolution (Burning of Lion & Caulk's Field), Pasadena, MD
Surrender of Alexandria, Alexandria, VA

Link:Ohio: War of 1812 Heritage TrailThis wonderful site represents a unified effort on the part of Americans and Canadians: Sites and communities across Canada and the United States of America are planning events to honor the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and to mark the 200 years of peace between these two nations. Please see our upcoming events section to learn more about events in your area or to plan a trip to an historic site. Don't forget to check out the calendar of events to see all of the future activities planned for the bicentennial.

Also of interest the following Link Battlefield Trails is a good source of Historical sites and markers, but is a bit weak on United States south of the Ohio River.

Link: Fort Meigs, Ohio-War in the Old Northwest-Ohio-Indiana frontier

The War of 1812 was fought over free trade, sailor's rights and to decide once and for all who would control the "western country." Great Britain was stopping American merchant ships on the Atlantic Ocean, seizing their cargo and impressing sailors into the Royal Navy. In response, the United States declared war on June 18, 1812. Fort Meigs stood at the center of American military operations in the Northwest Territory. Between June, 1812 and February, 1813, the United States lost Fort Mackinac and Fort Detroit in the Michigan Territory and Fort Dearborn in the Illinois Territory, as well as a major defeat at the Battle of the River Raisin in Michigan. Only Fort Wayne, in the Indiana Territory withstood British attack. General William Henry Harrison establsihed a fort on the south side of the Maumee River on February 2, 1813. The fort was to serve as a temporary supply depot and staging area for an invasion of Canada. Named for the Governor of Ohio, Return Jonathan Meigs, the garrison was a home for more than 2,000 men comprised of U.S. regular and militia from Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvannia and Virginia.

When the enemy laid siege to Fort Meigs on May 1, 1813, they found General Harrison ready. With a strong fort, 1,200 troops, and twenty to thirty pieces of artillery, the garrison dug in with the knowledge that reinforcements were on the way. The bombardment ended after four days, when a troop of Kentucky militia arrived to reinforce Fort Meigs. On May 9, the enemy lifted the siege and returned to Canada. The Indians who had accompanied the British during the siege were bitterly disappointed by their failure to take the fort.

In July, 1813, the British attempted to appease their allies by again besieging Fort Meigs. The Indians staged a mock battle to lure the garrison out. The Americans, however, saw through the ploy. After the failed siege attempt, the British moved on to Fort Stephenson, where Fremont, Ohio stands today. That attack also failed, causing heavy British losses and forcing their retreat to Canada.
Link FORT STEPHENSON- This web site, Sandusky County, Ohio provides detailed information on the August 1, 1813 attack on Fort Sandusky wherein Major George Croghan who had defied orders to withdraw given him by General William Henry Harrison, successfully defended Fort Stephenson with less than 300 men and one strategically placed artillery piece fondly referred to as "Old Betsy." The British commander, Henry Procter, had 2,000 men under his command including an estimated 1,200 Indian allies who faded off into the woods when "Old Betsy" began to take a toll on those assaulting the fort. Major George Croghan, whose subsequent career during the War of 1812 did not prove to be as stellar as his defiant defense of Fort Stephenson, was exhalted as a National Hero and Croghan Day is still celebrated in Sandusky County, Ohio on the anniversary of his (Croghan's) successful defense of Fort Sandusky.

On September 10, 1813, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British naval force on Lake Erie, giving the United States the upper hand in the Northwest. Harrison transferred all but 100 men from Fort Meigs north to Canada and ordered the fort dismantled. In its place, a small, square stockade was constructed as a supply base to protect the Maumee rapids. With Harrison's victory at the Battle of Thames in October, 1813, the war in the Northwest was all but over. The United States formally abandoned the Fort Meigs site in May, 1815 after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

The site was preserved by the Hayes family who purchased the land and used it for grazing cattle. In 1840, William Henry Harrison returned to the site to hold a rally during his successful run for the Presidency. A monument was erected on the Fort Meigs site in 1908 by the G.A.R. to honor the memory of the soldiers who served at Fort Meigs. This fort, which was reconstructed by the Ohio Historical Society and opened to the public in 1974, "continues to fulfill its charge to educate the public."

Best Web Site: Battle of New Orleans and War of 1812 developed by Vermilion Parish as part of the 8th Grade Social Studies Curriculum. Link

Queenston Heights, Ontario-Canada Brock

Video Source: Gala Film