TODAY IN HISTORY: June 18 - Today's Stories: The War of 1812 - I Want You

The War of 1812

On June 18, 1812, President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain, marking the beginning of the War of 1812. Frustrated by Britain’s maritime practices and support of Native American resistance to western expansion, the U.S. entered the war with ambitious plans to conquer Canada, a goal that was never realized.

The Fall of Washington—or Maddy in Full Flight. Engraving, London: S. W. Fores, 1814. Cartoon Prints, British. Prints & Photographs Division

The strength of the British army proved too great for U.S. forces. Both on land and at sea, U.S. troops suffered great losses. In August 1814, British troops entered Washington, D.C., and burned the Capitol and the White House. By December, both the Americans and the British recognized that it was time to end the conflict. Representatives of the two nations met in Belgium and signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814, which ended the war and restored previously recognized boundaries between the United States and British territory in North America. The Senate unanimously ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 16, 1815.

Peace. John Rubens Smith, artist, ca. 1814(?). Prints & Photographs Division

Hiram Cronk, who was thought to have been the last surviving veteran of the War of 1812, died in 1905 at the age of 105. This film shows his funeral procession through Brooklyn, New York, which included a hearse drawn by four black horses, escorted by veterans of the Civil War.

Funeral of Hiram Cronk. American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898 to 1906. Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division

Learn More

• View A Guide to the War of 1812 to access digital materials related to the War of 1812, including manuscripts, broadsides, pictures, and government documents.
• Primary Documents in American History: The Treaty of Ghent links to the text of the treaty and related digital collections.
• Search across the collections of Photos & Prints on War of 1812 to find images of some of the battles of this conflict. For example, a drawing by George Munger, circa 1814, depicts the U.S. Capitol after its burning by the British.
• Search on war in James Madison Papers, 1723 to 1859 to see letters and other documents related to the War of 1812.
• Search Andrew Jackson Papers to find manuscripts from Jackson’s service in the War of 1812. Highlights include Jackson’s account of the Battle of New Orleans and a letter from President James Monroe congratulating Jackson on his victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
• Search A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875, to find congressional material related to the War of 1812, including debates, laws, journals, documents, and reports.
• Volume 15 and Volume 16 of the series Collections and Researches Made by the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society can be found in the digital collection Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820 to 1910. These two volumes contain correspondence between British officers regarding strategy, Native American affairs, and treaties during the war. These volumes also include some diplomatic correspondence between the British and the Americans.

I Want You

James Montgomery Flagg, creator of this illustration of Uncle Sam, was born on June 18, 1877, in Pelham Manor, New York. Flagg claimed that his illustration, an indelible American icon, had become the most famous poster in the world. Dressed in his own Uncle Sam suit, he used himself as the model for this poster and his other Uncle Sam illustrations.

I Want You for the U.S. Army, James Montgomery Flagg, artist, 1917. American Treasures of the Library of Congress.

An illustrator and portrait artist best known for his commercial art, Flagg contributed forty-six works in support of the war effort during World War I. Leslie’s Weekly first published his picture of Uncle Sam as the cover of the July 6, 1916, issue with the title “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?” More than four million copies were printed between 1917 and 1918. The image also was used extensively during World War II.

In 1961, Congress passed a resolution that officially recognized meat packer Samuel Wilson (1766-1854) as Uncle Sam’s namesake. Wilson, who supplied meat to the army during the War of 1812, is reputed to have been a man of great fairness, reliability, and honesty who was devoted to his country.

Be a U.S. Marine! James Montgomery Flagg, artist, circa 1918. Posters: World War I Posters, Prints & Photographs Division

James Montgomery Flagg, Arnold Genthe, photographer, September 28, 1915. Genthe Collection. Prints & Photographs Division

Wake Up America! Civilization Calls Every Man, Woman and Child!, James Montgomery Flagg, artist, 1917. Posters: World War I Posters, Prints & Photographs Division

Learn More

• Flagg’s I Want You for the U.S. Army is one of several pieces produced during World War I on exhibit in the Memory section of American Treasures of the Library of Congress.
• See the online exhibition, World War I: American Artists View the Great War, for more than fifty images created by artists about World War I.
• The online exhibition, Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I, uses images and texts to examine the upheaval of world war as Americans confronted it—both at home and abroad.
• Search for on Uncle Sam to find other images and references to this iconic figure in collections and online exhibitions.
• Search photos, prints and drawings for images related to Flagg, including more than fifty of his drawings, portraits of Flagg and his family members, and parodies of Flagg’s famous “I Want You” poster.
• For more images and information about Uncle Sam and his British counterpart, John Bull, see the online exhibition John Bull & Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations. Most of the Uncle Sam and John Bull images in this exhibition are in the exhibit’s introduction.