The War began on June 18th 1812, as the United States declared war on British North America (Canada). The American public was not interested in fighting, as the government had trouble finding those who were willing. Those who wanted to the war were a small group of people known as the War Hawks. There are many reasons for why the war happened, one being that at the time the British were not treating America with respect, a good example of this was when the British seized 400 American ships claiming that they were trading with France ( who Britain was at war with at the time). plain The war had not hurt the relationship between the people of the two North American countries. In 1813 St. Stevens, New Brunswick sent gunpowder to Maine so they could celebrate there Independence day. One of the reasons for British success during the War of 1812 was the involvement of the natives. The natives were led by the brave warrior Tecumseh. An amazing accomplishment for the natives occurred on August 5, 1812 when a group of warriors led by Tecumseh attacked a U.S. mail train and were victorious, though being outnumbered 20:1. One of the more famous battles happened to be one of the only ones that American forces had much success in, the Battle of New Orleans. An interesting fact about this battle is that the war was already over when it happened, but nobody was informed of this. The American General at this battle was Andrew Jackson who later went on to become an American President. The war lasted thirty months, and the casualties were light both sides.