December 24

The War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain officially ended on Christmas Eve, 1814, with the Treaty of Ghent.



Georgians were deeply involved in the war on several fronts. General John Floyd led troops against Britain’s Indian allies in Alabama in decisive battles that would eventually open up the region to American settlement.



On the Georgia coast, the town of Sunbury never recovered from the damage done by the British blockade, while word of the treaty came too late to prevent the British from occupying Cumberland Island and St. Mary’s in early 1815.



The war began over American resentment of a number of British policies, including forcing American sailors into service in the British navy, trade restrictions that kept American ships out of European ports, and British meddling with Native Americans on the frontier.



The Treaty of Ghent settled none of the important issues that began the war but it laid the groundwork for the British-American alliance of the 20th century. Their roles in maintaining peace on Earth, goodwill toward men, began in part with the treaty signed on December 24, 1814, Today in Georgia History.