February 8, 1815

British troops landed in Mobile to begin the Second Battle of Fort Bowyer, the last land battle between British and American forces in the War of 1812. Located near present-day Fort Morgan, the fort repelled a British attack in August 1814, preventing the British from marching westward to attack New Orleans from the north. Returning after their loss in the Battle of New Orleans, the British bombarded the fort at close range with cannons, howitzers and mortars in a siege that lasted only three days. On Feb. 13, the British received news of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

This diagram shows the positions of the British ships and their movements as well as the locations of British ground forces during the attack on American Fort Bowyer on Mobile Point from September 12-15, 1814. (From Benson J. Lossing’s Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812)

The Octagon House was the temporary home of President James and Dolley Madison, after the White House was burned by the British in 1814. The Treaty of Ghent was signed by President Madison in the upstairs study of the Octagon on February 17, 1815. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Signatures of the Treaty of Ghent. The Treaty of Ghent was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. The treaty was signed on December 24, 1814 in Ghent, Belgium. It was approved by the UK parliament on December 30, 1814 and was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 17, 1815. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Peace of Ghent 1814 and Triumph of America; Julia Planou, artist and Alexis Chataigner, engraver. The engraving is an allegorical reference to the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812, showing Minerva dictating the terms of peace, which Mercury delivers to Britannia and Hercules compels her to accept. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.