War of 1812: The Surprise That Was Canada

When I look into American history I am often bombarded by a lot of info on 2 wars that shaped the United States; the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. It's interesting to note that this war, the War of 1812, is caught in between those other 2 wars. 1812 is rarely talked about these days and it's sad because it was in a sense Britain's way of trying to get back at America. In another sense, though, it was Canada fighting for its territory. I figure why not dig into this in an alternate timeline?

Let's say the following;
1) America flat out loses the War of 1812, a miserable loss

2) Great Britain basically retakes America, and as part of an agreement Canada gets to take part of America too.

3) What remains of the United States expands westward anyway, refusing to serve under British rule.
3a) 1776 is basically revisited in the mid 1800's as this alternate "Wild West" fights against the British to maintain their nation's freedom.

4) The Civil War creeps its way into all this in the 1860's (no real change), and then the USA really gets into a mess
4a) Confederate States of the South rebel against England and the New Wild West. This Confederate uprising is quickly squashed in a 3-way war.

5) The X-Factor that comes into play: Canada. The country up north grows bolder as it gets tired of British rule. Cue Canadian rebellion.

6) The New Wild West of America continues to expand out west while Canada directly goes to war against Britain, fighting to get free from the Royal Crown.

7) Like Colonial America did in the 1700's, Canada of the 1880's somehow manages to rally in multiple battles in places like Maine, New York, Michigan and wins the "British-Canadian War".

End Result) Great Britain retreats back home. The United States survives, but only on the West Coast. Canada has superior control on the East Coast.

I promise to go more in depth about this, but Canada ends up looking like the main heroes in all this. Fun alternate history!

Interesting.

Wow, that's a very interesting idea. I could see that possibly panning out.

Eh?, the only way the British can have any semblance of success is if New England gets hacked off by the economic difficulties following the closure of that market.

Okay, as promised, here's a more in depth look at this alternate timeline I drew up from scratch. Hopefully this will make certain parts of the timeline more clear. I'll probably break this down more in another part, but at least we'll get more clarity here.


1) America flat out loses the War of 1812, a miserable loss
Unlike what really happened, the newly formed United States is simply ill-prepared for what's about to take place in the War of 1812. America's ambitions for expanding into Canada backfire on them so badly that they end up losing their original colonies. How? America puts so much focus on attacking the northern borders that they basically forget to put enough protection on their harbors and coastlines. This allows the British to come rolling in uncontested. Couple this with the political chaos of each of the 17 colonies, as in how they were handling the idea of even going to war in the first place, and you have a recipe for disaster. Representatives of the 17 colonies end up turning on each other after numerous failed attempts to invade Canada, and it gets so bad that "infighting" takes place between the colonies. This allows the British to simply come in from overseas and retake the colonies for themselves.

James Madison becomes a quiet footnote in American history as he doesn't achieve the kind of success that he ultimately had in the real timeline. In fact, around 1814 Madison is impeached and replaced by Major Jacob Brown, who at least has a somewhat modest presidency in comparison.

2) Great Britain basically retakes America, and as part of an agreement Canada gets to take part of America too.
The land of the 17 colonies is divided by their new conquerors; 13 colonies for Britain and 4 for Canada
Original 13 colonies go back to Britain
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois all go to Canada
(Louisiana isn't officially recognized yet)

3) What remains of the United States expands westward anyway, refusing to serve under British rule.
3a) 1776 is basically revisited in the mid 1800's as this alternate "Wild West" fights against the British to maintain their nation's freedom.
As mentioned, now President Jacob Brown manages to keep what remains of the United States together. From 1815 to 1823 Brown is able to gather up American patriots who refuse to serve under British rule and he takes them westward for expansion of American territory. Unlike what America ended up doing, Brown tries his best not to burn any bridges with Native American tribes as he manages to establish new states in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. St. Louis becomes the new capital of the United States.

Of course, Britain doesn't take to this westward expansion so well as they feel that there shouldn't even be a United States of America. Revisit 1776 in one way. Around 1840 America and Britain go to war for a 3rd time, but this time Britain are the overwhelming aggressors. This time it is Britain that gets overambitious and this is what serves as their downfall. The Western States of America learn from their mistakes of the War of 1812 as they do a much better job protecting their new states, firmly securing state borders.

One would think that Britain would enjoy winning the War of 1812, but the opposite became true. Shortly after retaking the original colonies, Britain immediately experiences economic problems when it comes to supporting the people who decide to willingly serve under British rule. Chaos spreads throughout the original 13 colonies, whereas the 4 colonies that went to Canada manage to sit as somewhat stable. Seeing subtle economic growth in the expanded Canada, Britain sees an opportunity to implement harsh amounts of taxes on the Canadian citizens. Remember, Canada is under British rule here. The unnecessary taxation and the brutal tactics of policing Canada as a sibling country come back to bite Britain all the more as they experience more economic losses against the Western States of America in the 1840's. Needless to say, Canada becomes uncomfortable working with Britain.

To be continued (and hopefully completed)...

4) The Civil War creeps its way into all this in the 1860's (no real change), and then the USA really gets into a mess.
4a) Confederate States of the South rebel against England and the New Wild West. This Confederate uprising is quickly squashed in a 3-way war.
What's funny about this alternate timeline is that the War of 1812 and the Civil War basically trade places in significance; the War of 1812 becomes much more important while the Civil War fades away into obscurity. You see, with Great Britain directly in the mix and the Western States of America jumpstarting their ambitions in expanding westward, it becomes more difficult for the Southern Confederacy to become a long-lasting entity.

Having to declare war on not 1 but now 2 enemies in this Civil War, the Confederacy has their backs up against the wall since Day 1. This Civil War is still about slavery, the distribution of cotton and the preference of lifestyles. However, enthusiasm over the cause of the South isn't nearly as strong in this alternate timeline.

What we have here is a 3-way Civil War; Southern Confederacy vs. Western States of America vs. Great Britain. 2 sides (WSA and GB) oppose slavery while 1 side (SC) supports it. This Civil War only lasts 2 years. Yes, 2 years. March 1861 - September 1863. That's it. The WSA and GB temporarily join forces to squash the Confederacy. The British regain control of all Southern states. The Southern rebellion is seen as a failure of communication on the part of the British, a bad sign of things to come.

5) The X-Factor that comes into play: Canada. The country up north grows bolder as it gets tired of British rule. Cue Canadian rebellion.
While the Civil War took place, Great Britain only got worse with their taxation tactics against Canada. These tactics were seen as unnecessary and in some cases downright cruel against a country in Canada that had Britain's back in the War of 1812. Canada makes numerous attempts to slowly separate itself from Britain as they hold "special elections" to determine Presidents. However, these elections are all stopped by British government officials from down south.

In fact, things get so bad between Britain and Canada that riots actually break out along the New England/Canadian borders, and specifically in the area surrounding Toronto. A single unit of British soldiers march into Toronto and burn most of the city down. This only angers Canada.

6) The New Wild West of America continues to expand out west while Canada directly goes to war against Britain, fighting to get free from the Royal Crown.
Thinking better about going to war, the Western States of America instead decides to expand even more westward as they are able to travel out to new territories. Led by President Andrew Johnson the WSA officially found states such as Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. The famous trip on the Oregon Trail is postponed because of a peace treaty that is honored by the WSA regarding the Lakota Nation. The Lakota Nation is never touched by the WSA, which means the Native Americans would have their own land to this day.

By the time the 1880's begins tensions between Britain and Canada reach a boiling point. Having enough of Britain's rules, Canada is emboldened by their unofficial President Alexander Mackenzie to take charge of their own country and not allow British troops to enter Canadian territory again. Great chunks of the Canadian border are literally sealed by big fences created by Canadian troops.

7) Like Colonial America did in the 1700's, Canada of the 1880's somehow manages to rally in multiple battles in places like Maine, New York, Michigan and wins the "British-Canadian War".

Here's where the fun really comes to a head. Britain and Canada go through multiple back and forth battles in what would be known as the British-Canadian War, which starts in early 1880. Early on it looks like Britain will impose their will on Canada as they purposely position their troops near the borders to not allow Canadian troops to simply come in. However, Canada responds by systematically shutting down Britain's open avenues to ammunition. Britain doesn't do a good job of protecting their supplies, and that includes weapons. Many British cannons are lost to Canadian troops, which sways the end results of some battles.

Showing off how clever they actually were in war, Canada unleashes a heavy shower of Militia groups, trained marksmen (snipers) who can take down British soldiers in a heartbeat with amazing aim. In areas such as the northern tip of Maine, Detroit, Michigan, and along the harbors of Lake Ontario to New York. The Navy units play a big part in Canada securing control as Lake Ontario becomes one of the biggest rallying cries in Canadian history. Canada flat out humbles Britain at sea.

From here the "Domino Effect" falls into place as British troops are overwhelmed so much by Canadian firepower that they are forced to retreat to Washington D.C. One of the last battles in the British-Canadian War takes place in Washington D.C. as Canadian troops flood into the New England capital with very little opposition. The defining moment of this battle is where a key British General is seen being captured by Canadian soldiers on the roof of the White House. After this scene the British surrender Washington D.C. and in effect New England as a whole. In 1885 Canada wins the biggest war of the country's history.

End Result) Great Britain retreats back home. The United States survives, but only on the West Coast. Canada has superior control on the East Coast.

I'd love to see a map of this made by Tigerstar, but this is basically the end result of this alternate timeline. In the alternate today the East Coast of America is now the Southeast Coast of Canada, a country that now looks much larger in size. O Canada?

Foxwordsmith7 wrote:When I look into American history I am often bombarded by a lot of info on 2 wars that shaped the United States; the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. It's interesting to note that this war, the War of 1812, is caught in between those other 2 wars. 1812 is rarely talked about these days and it's sad because it was in a sense Britain's way of trying to get back at America. In another sense, though, it was Canada fighting for its territory. I figure why not dig into this in an alternate timeline?

Let's say the following;
1) America flat out loses the War of 1812, a miserable loss

2) Great Britain basically retakes America, and as part of an agreement Canada gets to take part of America too.

3) What remains of the United States expands westward anyway, refusing to serve under British rule.
3a) 1776 is basically revisited in the mid 1800's as this alternate "Wild West" fights against the British to maintain their nation's freedom.

4) The Civil War creeps its way into all this in the 1860's (no real change), and then the USA really gets into a mess
4a) Confederate States of the South rebel against England and the New Wild West. This Confederate uprising is quickly squashed in a 3-way war.

5) The X-Factor that comes into play: Canada. The country up north grows bolder as it gets tired of British rule. Cue Canadian rebellion.

6) The New Wild West of America continues to expand out west while Canada directly goes to war against Britain, fighting to get free from the Royal Crown.

7) Like Colonial America did in the 1700's, Canada of the 1880's somehow manages to rally in multiple battles in places like Maine, New York, Michigan and wins the "British-Canadian War".

End Result) Great Britain retreats back home. The United States survives, but only on the West Coast. Canada has superior control on the East Coast.

I promise to go more in depth about this, but Canada ends up looking like the main heroes in all this. Fun alternate history!

Any sort of rebellion or resistance from the south would have come a lot sooner as the British outlawed slavery much earlier then the Americans