The War of 1812 Images

This engraving by G. Thompson, entitled "The Taking of the City of Washington in America," was printed just weeks after the British burned Washington D.C in 1814. Despite the celebratory nature of the engraving, many British citizens criticized their government for looting the American capital.

The USS Constitution was one of six ships funded by Congress in 1794 in an effort to build a viable navy. The ship was dubbed "Old Ironsides" after winning a ferocious battle against the HMS Guerriere in 1812.

Based on a sketch by Latour, General Andrew Jackson's chief engineer, this engraving illustrates the geography that contributed to the lopsided American victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. Hemmed in by the Mississippi River on one side and the Cypress Swamp on the other, the British had no choice but to advance directly into the face of a fortified American position.

James Madison, fourth president of the United States, by John Vanderlyn, 1816

First Lady Dolley Madison, by Gilbert Stuart, 1804

General Andrew Jackson, by Anna Claypoole Peale, 1819

President James Madison's much maligned secretary of war, by Daniel Huntington after John Vanderlyn, 1873

Portrait of the famous Federalist critic of the War of 1812 and delegate to the Hartford Convention, by Gilbert Stuart, 1809

The legendary Shawnee warrior painted by Benson Lossing in 1848, from a sketch made in 1808

Tenskwatawa by Charles Bird King, ca. 1829