The British Navy blockaded all the Cape ports, raided the harbors and seized vessels with abandon. “Falmouth best upheld the honor of the Cape,” wrote Samuel Eliot Morison.ĭuring the War of 1812, Cape Cod bore the brunt of British aggression. They wanted to expand westward into the Northwest Territory, some of which was still under British control.įalmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod’s southern shore, strongly supported the war. Westerners and southerners, however, wanted war. Naval battle during the War of 1812: The USS Constitution vs. In response, President James Madison refused to send troops to defend Massachusetts.īy the end of the war, several New England states came close to seceding from the United States. Caleb Strong refused to commit the state’s militia to the war effort. entered the war on June 18, 1812, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a resolution calling the declaration “an event awful, unexpected, hostile to your interests, menacing to your liberties, and revolting to your feelings.” They knew the British could easily blockade the coast and stifle trade - as well as bombard their towns. Most New Englanders, heavily dependent on maritime trade, didn’t want to go to war. ships and impressing sailors onto Royal Navy vessels. The War of 1812Īmerica entered the War of 1812 after the British began boarding U.S. The town still remembers the attack, and evidence of British cannonballs can be seen to this day. In response, the British bombarded Falmouth. When the War of 1812 came to Cape Cod, only a few towns such as Falmouth resisted the British.
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