Introduction 

The Treaty of Ghent was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Signed on December 24, 1814, the treaty was ratified by the British on December 30 and arrived in Washington on February 17, where it was quickly ratified and went into effect, thus finally ending the war. The treaty largely restored relations between the two nations to status quo ante bellum (as they were before the war), with no loss of territory on either side. The terms called for all occupied territory to be returned, the prewar boundary between Canada and the United States to be restored, and the Americans to gain fishing rights in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Because of the era's slow communications, it took weeks for news of the peace treaty to reach the United States, and the Battle of New Orleans was fought after it was signed. News of the treaty finally reached the United States after the American victory in New Orleans and the British victory in the Second Battle of Fort Bowyer, but before the British assault on Mobile, Alabama. The treaty did not go into full effect until it was ratified by both sides on February 17. Skirmishes continued to occur between U.S. troops and British-allied American Indians along the Mississippi River frontier for months after the treaty, including the Battle of the Sink Hole in May 1815. 

Terms of the Treaty

The treaty released all prisoners and restored all war lands and boats. The treaty made no major changes to the pre-war situation, and most land that had been taken during the war was returned. Approximately 10 million acres of territory near Lakes Superior and Michigan, in Maine, and on the Pacific coast were returned to the United States, and American-held areas of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) were returned to British control. Britain also promised to return the freed black slaves they had encouraged to escape to British territory. In practice, however, Britain later paid the United States $350,000 for the slaves rather than having them returned. After the disintegration of the American Indian confederacy under Tecumseh, the British proposal to create an American Indian buffer zone in Ohio and Michigan collapsed.

Losses and Compensation

British losses in the war were about 1,600 killed in action and 3,679 wounded; 3,321 British died from disease. American losses were 2,260 killed in action and 4,505 wounded. While the number of Americans who died from disease is not known, it is estimated that about 15,000 died from all causes directly related to the war. These figures do not include deaths among Canadian militia forces or losses among American Indian tribes. There have been no estimates of the cost of the American war to Britain, but it did add some £25 million to the national debt. In the United States, the cost was $105 million, and the national debt rose from $45 million in 1812 to $127 million by the end of 1815.

In addition, at least 3,000 American slaves escaped to British territories because of Britain's offer of freedom—the same offer Britain had made during the American Revolution. Many other slaves simply escaped in the chaos of war and achieved freedom on their own. The British settled some of the newly freed slaves in Nova Scotia, and 400 freedmen were settled in New Brunswick. The United States protested that Britain's failure to return the slaves violated the Treaty of Ghent. After arbitration by the Tsar of Russia, the British paid $1,204,960 in damages to Washington, which reimbursed the slaveowners.

Long-Term Consequences

The war between Britain and the United States resulted in no geographical changes and no major policy changes. However, all of the factors that had contributed to the war had disappeared with the end of the war between Britain and France and with the destruction of the power of American Indian tribes. The United States' fears of the American Indians ended, as did British plans to create a buffer American Indian state. After Napoleon's defeat in 1814, Britain was no longer at war with France, and there were no restrictions on neutral trade; the British suspended their policy of impressment of American sailors, and never resumed it—but they insisted they still had the right to. Americans regained their sense of honor and proclaimed victory in what they called a "second war of independence," and the decisive defeat of the British in New Orleans seemed to prove that Britain could never regain control of America. Finally, the threat of secession by New England ended with the failure of the Hartford Convention.

The War of 1812 was highly significant in Britain's North American colonies. In British colonies in Canada, the war was portrayed as a successful fight for national survival against an American democratic force that threatened the peace and stability the Canadians desired. In England, in contrast, the War of 1812 was largely overshadowed both by the dramatic events of the contemporary Napoleonic Wars, and because Britain neither gained nor lost anything by the peace settlement, except for the fact that it kept control of Canada.

"The Signing of the Treaty of Ghent, Christmas Eve, 1814"

This painting by Amédée Forestier depicts the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.