The War of 1812: The Florida Fronts

The war of 1812 is something that is often glossed over in US History. While the war is seen as a massive patriotic event north of the border in Canada, in the US its teaching is often limited to the Star Spangled Banners origin or quaint discussions about Dolly Madison saving portraits before the British burned down Washington DC.

Those who have studied the war intently have done a great job, but often focus on the Great Lakes theater and the Chesapeake campaign. In this narrative Florida does not come into the story except for a few brief months in 1814 when Andrew Jackson entered the, then-Spanish territory.

But the story of Florida's role in this war and adjacent conflicts started much earlier, in the late 1700's and intensified when the Louisiana Purchase took place. And in fact, Florida was involved in multiple campaigns or fronts related to this conflict - hence the plural in the title "The Florida Fronts" rather than a singular front.

This sums up the War of 1812 era, as the declared war between the United States and Great Britain was actually the culmination of several different ongoing conflicts, involving Native Americans, the Spanish, various settlers and importantly messy colonial problems.

The conflicts in this era often had a direct tie to Florida, which provides the context under which this work was written.