In 1812, France controlled most of Western and Central Europe. The United States were expanding westward toward the Mississippi and the Louisiana Purchase, but were hampered by Britain’s funding of Indian resistance. Britain’s trade restrictions and impressment of American sailors led President James Madison to reluctantly declare war.

By 1814, when Napoleon was first removed from the throne of France by the Sixth Coalition, led by Britain, America had graduated from a backwater joke to a formidable fighting force advancing on all fronts. Britain, free of the war in Europe, sent battle-hardened troops to protect Canada and end the American sideshow. Meanwhile, the Duke of Wellington was sent to the Congress of Vienna, to help redraw the map of Europe and bring some measure of peace to the continent, which lasted a century.

But what if Wellington had been sent to America instead, and missed out on Napoleon’s triumphant return to France? He would not have been at Waterloo to defeat L’Empereur, and the Hundred Days might have been just the beginning. What other ramifications would there be? Would British Canada have to be sacrificed to an ever-stronger America to stop France once and for all?

Some background:

All great alternate history stories ask a question; "what if?" For me, this was "What if America included Canada?" How could that have happened? For me, one of the most interested ways this could have happened was for it to have been won in the War of 1812.

But the campaigns were disasters right from the start. The Canadians were full of Tories who had fled the Revolution and still wanted to be loyal to the Crown. America was not at all the uncontested powerhouse it is today, but Britain was a world power. So how could it possibly happen?

In 1812, Napoleon was at the height of his power, but constantly harassed by Britain, who funded revolts and rebellions on the Continent, and Russia, who was far too vast to defeat.

By 1814, Napoleon had been defeated, but in that time, America had gotten its act together and reversed most of its earlier disappointments. Now at the bargaining table, America and Britain hammered away at a peace deal to no avail. Freed from European war, Britain attempted to get the upper hand back by sending its battle-hardened troops across the sea.

Britain faced a bit of bad luck in this. As they burned Washington DC, a hurricane blew in and slaughtered many British soldiers. The intense shelling of Baltimore also failed to yield the city. Though they had command of the seas, they could not maintain a beachhead, nor could the Canadians break through to aid them. The war was at stalemate. And so, by Christmas of 1814, the two countries came to terms. No territory changed hands, but otherwise America got what it wanted. The Battle of New Orleans, in which another British invasion was repelled, took place after the peace had been signed.

At the beginning of 1815, Napoleon escaped his prison and returned triumphantly to France, beginning the Hundred Days, which were only put to an end by the Duke of Wellington.

What if the Battle of New Orleans had taken place before the treaty was signed? What if America held out longer due to this massive burst of pride? What if Wellington had to be sent to America, and could not face and defeat Napoleon? Is there enough unity of purpose between America and France that they could have both made out against Britain?

Luck played a significant role in how the war progressed and turned out. It’s not hard to imagine any number of points at which things could have gone slightly differently and major changes could have resulted for any side.