Updated November 25, 2022
Overview
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain from June 1812 to the spring of 1815, although the peace treaty ending the war was signed in Europe in December 1814. The main land fighting of the war occurred along the Canadian border, in the Chesapeake Bay region, and along the Gulf of Mexico; extensive action also took place at sea.
Background
From the end of the American Revolution in 1783, the United States had been irritated by the failure of the British to withdraw from American territory along the Great Lakes; their backing of the Indians on America's frontiers; and their unwillingness to sign commercial agreements favorable to the United States. American resentment grew during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15), in which Britain and France were the main combatants. In time, France came to dominate much of the continent of Europe, while Britain remained supreme on the seas. The two powers also fought each other commercially: Britain attempted to blockade the continent of Europe, and France tried to prevent the sale of British goods in French possessions.
During the 1790s, French and British maritime policies produced several crises with the United States, but after 1803 the difficulties became much more serious. The British Orders in Council of 1807 tried to channel all neutral trade to continental Europe through Great Britain, and France's Berlin and Milan decrees of 1806 and 1807 declared Britain in a state of blockade and condemned neutral shipping that obeyed British regulations. The United States believed its rights on the seas as a neutral were being violated by both nations, but British maritime policies were resented more because Britain dominated the seas. Also, the British claimed the right to take from American merchant ships any British sailors who were serving on them. Frequently, they also took Americans. This practice of impressment became a major grievance.
The United States at first attempted to change the policies of the European powers by economic means. In 1807, after the British ship Leopard fired on the American frigate Chesapeake, President Thomas Jefferson urged and Congress passed an Embargo Act banning all American ships from foreign trade. The embargo failed to change British and French policies but devastated New England shipping. Later and weaker economic measures were also unsuccessful.
Failing in peaceful efforts and facing an economic depression, some Americans began to argue for a declaration of war to redeem the national honor. The Congress that was elected in 1810 and met in November 1811 included a group known as the War Hawks who demanded war against Great Britain. These men were all Democratic-Republicans and mostly from the West and South. Among their leaders were John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and Felix Grundy of Tennessee. They argued that American honor could be saved and British policies changed by an invasion of Canada. The Federalist Party, representing New England shippers who foresaw the ruination of their trade, opposed war. Napoleon's announcement in 1810 of the revocation of his decrees was followed by British refusals to repeal their orders, and pressures for war increased. On June 18, 1812, President James Madison signed a declaration of war that Congress—with substantial opposition—had passed at his request. Unknown to Americans, Britain had finally, two days earlier, announced that it would revoke its orders.
Sorted by Unit
| Name | Unit | Date | Rank at Enlistment |
| Walter Gilliam | 1 Corps D'Elite (Randolph's) | Private | |
| Burwill Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Drury Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Nicholas Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Robert Gillum | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Thomas Gilham | 1 Regiment (Taylor's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Yancey's) | Private | |
| William Gillum | 1 Regiment (Yancey's) | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 1 Regiment Artillery | Private | |
| Michael H. Gilliam | 19 Regiment (Ambler's) | Private | |
| Thomas Gilliam | 19 Regiment (Ambler's) | Private | |
| Peter Gilham | 2 Regiment | Private | |
| Archelaus Gilliam | 20 Regiment | (Mar-Aug 1813) | Private |
| Patterson Gilliam | 3 Regiment (Dickinson's) | Private | |
| Archer Gilliam | 30 Regiment | (Mar-Aug 1813) | Private |
| Richard C. Gilliam | 33 Regiment | (Aug-Oct 1814) | Lieut |
| Richard C. Gilliam | 33 Regiment (Mayo's) | Private | |
| James S. Gilliam | 39 Regiment | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 39 Regiment | Surgeon Mate | |
| Jesse Gillam | 4 Regiment | Private | |
| Levi C Gilham | 4 Regiment | Private | |
| Samuel Gilliam | 4 Regiment | Private | |
| Charles Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Drummer | |
| Hartwell Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Private | |
| Henry R. Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Ensign | |
| John Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Private | |
| Reuben Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Washington's) | Private | |
| George Guilliams | 5 Regiment | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 5 Regiment | Private | |
| Richard Guilliams | 5 Regiment | Corporal | |
| Thomas Gilliam | 52 Regiment (Christian's) | Q Master | |
| John M. Gilliam | 6 Regiment (Sharp's) | Sergeant | |
| Robert Gilliam | 65 Regiment | (Aug-Oct 1814) | Private |
| Drewry Gilliam | 65 Regiment (Blow's) | Private | |
| Robert Gilliam | 65 Regiment (Blow's) | Private | |
| William Gilliam | 68 Regiment | Ensign | |
| John Gilliam | 7 Regiment (Gray's) | Private | |
| Robert Guilliams | 7 Regiment (Saunders') | Private | |
| William Guilliams | 75 Regiment | (Feb 1815) | Private |
| Isam/Isham Gillam | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| John Gillum | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| William Gilliam | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| Meriweather S. Gilliam | 83 Regiment (Scott's) | Private | |
| Charles Gilliam | 9 Regiment (Sharp's) | Private | |
| Hartwell Gilliam | 9 Regiment (Sharp's) | Private | |
| Moses L Gilliam | 9 Regiment (Sharp's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 90 Regiment | (Mar-Aug 1813) | Private |
| John M. Gilliam | 98 Regiment (Green's) | Sergeant | |
| John Gillam | Battalion Of Art'y | (1813-14) | Private |
| Levi C Gilham | Flying Camp (McDowell's) | Private |
Sorted by Given Name
| Name | Unit | Date | Rank at Enlistment |
| Archelaus Gilliam | 20 Regiment | (Mar-Aug 1813) | Private |
| Archer Gilliam | 30 Regiment | (Mar-Aug 1813) | Private |
| Burwill Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Charles Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Drummer | |
| Charles Gilliam | 9 Regiment (Sharp's) | Private | |
| Drewry Gilliam | 65 Regiment (Blow's) | Private | |
| Drury Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| George Guilliams | 5 Regiment | Private | |
| Hartwell Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Private | |
| Hartwell Gilliam | 9 Regiment (Sharp's) | Private | |
| Henry R. Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Ensign | |
| Isam/Isham Gillam | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Yancey's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| James Gilliam | 90 Regiment | (Mar-Aug 1813) | Private |
| James S. Gilliam | 39 Regiment | Private | |
| Jesse Gillam | 4 Regiment | Private | |
| John Gillam | Battalion Of Art'y | (1813-14) | Private |
| John Gilliam | 1 Regiment Artillery | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 39 Regiment | Surgeon Mate | |
| John Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Washington's) | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 5 Regiment | Private | |
| John Gilliam | 7 Regiment (Gray's) | Private | |
| John Gillum | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| John M. Gilliam | 6 Regiment (Sharp's) | Sergeant | |
| John M. Gilliam | 98 Regiment (Green's) | Sergeant | |
| Levi C Gilham | 4 Regiment | Private | |
| Levi C Gilham | Flying Camp (McDowell's) | Private | |
| Meriweather S. Gilliam | 83 Regiment (Scott's) | Private | |
| Michael H. Gilliam | 19 Regiment (Ambler's) | Private | |
| Moses L Gilliam | 9 Regiment (Sharp's) | Private | |
| Nicholas Gilliam | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Patterson Gilliam | 3 Regiment (Dickinson's) | Private | |
| Peter Gilham | 2 Regiment | Private | |
| Reuben Gilliam | 4 Regiment (Beatty's) | Private | |
| Richard C. Gilliam | 33 Regiment | (Aug-Oct 1814) | Lieut |
| Richard C. Gilliam | 33 Regiment (Mayo's) | Private | |
| Richard Guilliams | 5 Regiment | Corporal | |
| Robert Gilliam | 65 Regiment | (Aug-Oct 1814) | Private |
| Robert Gilliam | 65 Regiment (Blow's) | Private | |
| Robert Gillum | 1 Regiment (Allen's) | Private | |
| Robert Guilliams | 7 Regiment (Saunders') | Private | |
| Samuel Gilliam | 4 Regiment | Private | |
| Thomas Gilham | 1 Regiment (Taylor's) | Private | |
| Thomas Gilliam | 19 Regiment (Ambler's) | Private | |
| Thomas Gilliam | 52 Regiment (Christian's) | Q Master | |
| Walter Gilliam | 1 Corps D'Elite (Randolph's) | Private | |
| William Gilliam | 68 Regiment | Ensign | |
| William Gilliam | 8 Regiment (Wall's) | Private | |
| William Gillum | 1 Regiment (Yancey's) | Private | |
| William Guilliams | 75 Regiment | (Feb 1815) | Private |
Sources
- Ancestry.com. Direct Data Capture, comp. War of 1812 Service Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Original data: National Archives and Records Administration. Index to the Compiled Military Service Records for the Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M602, 234 rolls.