War of 1812 who did the french side with?

Answer 1

Short answer: Noone.

Long answer: During much of the War of 1812, the Napoleonic Wars were raging in Europe, and Great Britain was in a life-or-death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, much of the causes of the American declaration of war - searching of American ships for British citizens to be impressed into the Royal Navy, the Orders in Council which decreed all neutral American trade to the continent come to Britain - came as a direct result of the pressures placed on Great Britain while fighting Napoleon. France and Great Britain were certainly not allies at this time.

But the French were not allies of the United States during the war either. While there was American anger at British policies regarding neutral trade, for every act against neutral shipping passed by the British, there was another passed by Napoleon. The Berlin Decree of 1806 and the Milan Decree of 1807 declared that any neutral trade with Britain was to be considered enemy shipping and subject to seizure. Angered by the French threats on American neutral trade, there were some who advocated war with France as well as with Great Britain.

War with France, however, never came. While Napoleon had seized a few American ships in French-controlled ports at the passing of these decrees, enforcement of them at sea was difficult as the Royal Navy had been patrolling the seas relatively unopposed since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. While the decrees themselves were viewed with anger, the fact they were not enforced meant that war with both France and Great Britain seemed unnecessary, and perhaps foolish given the strength of the U.S. navy at the time (6 frigates). It may also have been that war with France would have been a difficult sell to Congress and the American people. France was the old ally from the Revolution. War with Britain, the old enemy, was an easier sell.