← 1811 1810 1809 1812 in the United States → 1813 1814 1815
Decades:	1790s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s
See also:	History of the United States (1789–1849) Timeline of the American Revolution List of years in the United States

The following is a partial list of events from the year1812 in the United States. After years of increasing tensions, theUnited States declares war on theBritish Empire, starting theWar of 1812.

• President:James Madison (DR-Virginia)
• Vice President:

George Clinton (DR-New York) (until April 20)

vacant (starting April 20)

• Chief Justice:John Marshall (Virginia)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives:Henry Clay (DR-Kentucky)
• Congress:12th

• January –The New England Journal of Medicine is first published inBoston by DrJohn Collins Warren as theNew England Journal of Medicine and Surgery and the Collateral Branches of Medical Science.
• January 10 –New Orleans, the firststeamship on theMississippi River, arrives inits namesake city, completing its maiden voyage.
• February 2 –Russia establishes a fur trading colony atFort Ross, California.
• February 7 – The last of four majorNew Madrid earthquakes strikeNew Madrid, Missouri, with an estimatedmoment magnitude of over 8.
• March 26 – TheBoston Gazette prints a political cartoon coining the term "Gerrymander" after formerMassachusettsGovernorElbridge Gerry's approval (on February 11) of legislation creating oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win re-election.

• April 4 –U.S. PresidentJames Madison enacts a 90-dayembargo on trade with theUnited Kingdom.
• April 20 –George Clinton,Vice President of the United States, dies in office.
• April 30 –Louisiana is admitted as the 18thU.S. state (seeHistory of Louisiana).
• May 8 –Hail to the Chief is published.
• June 1 –War of 1812:U.S. PresidentJames Madison asks theU.S. Congress to declare war onGreat Britain.
• June 4 – FollowingLouisiana's admittance as aU.S. state, the territory created by that name is renamed theMissouri Territory.
• June 18 – TheWar of 1812 begins between the United States and theBritish Empire.

• July 12 – Americans invadeCanada atWindsor, Upper Canada.
• August 5 –War of 1812:Tecumseh'sIndian force ambushesThomas Van Horne's 200 Americans atBrownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat.
• August 7 – 130Filibusters of the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition cross fromLouisiana intoSpanish Texas, soon after they capture the town ofNacogdoches.
• August 15 –War of 1812:Battle of Fort Dearborn –Potawatomi warriors overrun the U.S. fort inIllinois Territory.
• August 16 –War of 1812: AmericanGeneralWilliam Hull surrendersFort Detroit without a fight to theBritish Army.
• August 19 –War of 1812,USSConstitution vs HMSGuerriere:USS Constitution defeats theBritish frigateHMS Guerriere off the coast ofNova Scotia. The British shot is said to have bounced offConstitution's sides, earning her the nickname "Old Ironsides".
• September 13 – Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition: The Expedition, having since grown to 300 men, captures the town ofSantísima Trinidad de Salcedo.

• October – Thecapital ofPennsylvania is permanently moved fromLancaster toHarrisburg.
• October 9 –War of 1812: American naval forces underLieutenant Jesse Duncan Elliott capture twoBritish warships,HMS Detroit andHMS Caledonia.
• October 13 –War of 1812 –Battle of Queenston Heights: As part of theNiagara campaign inUpper Canada, United States forces under GeneralStephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invadingCanada byBritish and native troops led by SirIsaac Brock (although he dies during the battle).
• November 5 –James Madison defeatsDeWitt Clinton in theU.S. presidential election.
• November 13 – Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition:Manuel María de Salcedo, the governor ofSpanish Texas, begins a four month long siege ofPresidio La Bahia nearGoliad. The siege continues untilFebruary 19,1813.
• December 7 –Missouri Territory is effective.
• December 29 –War of 1812: USSConstitution defeats the British frigateHMS Java off the coast of Brazil.

• TheBishop James Madison Society is founded at theCollege of William & Mary,Williamsburg, Virginia.
• TheCity Bank of New York is founded.
• TheUnited States General Land Office becomes anindependent agency of the U.S. government, responsible forland in the public domain.
• TheWilliamsport Academy for the Education of Youth is founded in Pennsylvania.
• The Old Oscar Pepper Distillery (now theWoodford Reserve Distillery), the oldestKentuckyBourbondistillery, is established alongGlenn's Creek inWoodford County, Kentucky.
• Baptist Training Union now Wayland Baptist Theological Seminary is founded by Escaped and Free Slaves in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Princeton Theological Seminary is founded in New Jersey.

• War of 1812 (1812–1815)
• Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition (1812–1813)

• January 2 –Augustus C. Dodge, United States Senator from Iowa from 1848 to 1855 (died1883)
• January 11 –Alexander H. Stephens, the only vice president of theConfederate States of America (died 1883)
• February 22 –John B. Weller, United States Senator from California from 1852 to 1857 (died1875)
• February 15 –Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder ofTiffany & Co. (died1902)
• February 16 –Henry Wilson, 18thvice president of the United States from 1873 to 1875 (died1875)
• March 11 –James Speed, U.S. Attorney General from 1864 to 1866 under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson (died1887)
• March 12 –Isaac P. Christiancy, Chief Justice of Michigan Supreme Court and U.S. Senator from Michigan from 1875 to 1879 (died1890)
• March 13 –James E. English, United States Senator from Connecticut from 1875 to 1876 (died 1890)
• March 22 –Stephen Pearl Andrews, anarchist and proponent ofpantarchy (died1886)
• April 2 –Susan May Williams, railroad heiress who marrieda nephew of Emperor Napoleon I (died1881)
• April 16 –Sarah Harris Fayerweather, African-American whose 1832 admission to a Connecticut school resulted in the first integrated schoolhouse (died1878)
• May 4 –John W. Stevenson, United States Senator from Kentucky from 1871 to 1877 (died1886)
• May 6 –Martin Delany, African-American abolitionist, journalist, and physician (died1885)
• May 17 –Elias Nelson Conway, 5th Governor of Arkansas from 1852 to 1860 (died1892)
• May 30 –John Alexander McClernand, lawyer, politician, and Union General during the American Civil War (died1900)
• July 27 –
  • Thomas Lanier Clingman, North Carolina congressman, senator, and confederate general (died1897)
  • Anna Cabot Quincy Waterston, writer of poems, novels, hymns, and a diary (died1899)
• July 30 –Harrison Ludington, 13th Governor of Wisconsin from 1876 to 1878 (died1891)
• August 11 –Joseph Projectus Machebeuf, French-American Catholic missionary and the firstBishop of Denver (died1889)
• August 18 –John Hugh Means, 64th Governor of South Carolina from 1850 to 1852 (died1862)
• August 22 –Joseph Mozier, American-born sculptor best known for his work in Italy. (died1870)
• September 13 –John McMurtry, builder and architect (died1890)
• September 18 –Herschel Vespasian Johnson, United States Senator from Georgia from 1863 to 1865 (died1880)
• September 29 –George N. Stearns, founder ofE. C. Stearns & Company (died1882)
• October 1 –Stephen P. Hempstead, 2nd Governor of Iowa from 1850 to 1854. (died1883)
• October 6 –Lazarus W. Powell, United States Senator from Kentucky from 1859 to 1865. (died1867)
• October 9 –Almon W. Babbitt, Mormon pioneer and first secretary/treasurer of Utah Territory (died1856)
• October 20 –Austin Flint, co-founder ofBuffalo Medical College and president of the American Medical Association (died1886)
• October 21 –David H. Armstrong, Canadian-born United States Senator from Missouri from 1877 to 1879 (died1893)
• October 22 –James "Grizzly" Adams, mountain man and bear trainer (died1860)
• November 1 –John Bernard Fitzpatrick, Bishop of Boston (died1866)
• November 4 –Richard M. Bishop, 34th Governor of Ohio from 1878 to 1880 (died1893)
• November 28 –George Ticknor Curtis, author, lawyer and historian (died1894)
• December 18 –Jesse D. Bright, United States Senator from Indiana from 1845 to 1862 (died1875)

• Stephen Mallory, United States Senator from Florida from 1851 to 1861 (died1873)
• William K. Sebastian, United States Senator from Arkansas from 1848 to 1861 (died in1865)

• April 20 –George Clinton, fourthvice president of the United States from 1805 to 1812 (born1739)
• May 12 –Martha Ballard, diarist and midwife (born1734 or1735)
• June 17 –Jean La Lime, Victim of "the first murder inChicago"; killed byJohn Kinzie
• December 20 –Sacagawea, Shoshone interpreter and guide on theLewis and Clark Expedition (born c.1788)
• December 24 –George Beck, artist and poet (born1749)
• December 26 –Joel Barlow, poet (born1754)

• Timeline of United States history (1790–1819)
• Worldwide events in 1812
• War of 1812

• Maps of the United States in 1812 at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to1812 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons

• 1812 in the United States
• 1810s in the United States
• 1812 by country
• 1812 in North America
• Years of the 19th century in the United States

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2023
• Use American English from February 2023
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Commons category link from Wikidata