Rush–Bagot Treaty Historical Marker

This historical marker commemorates the Rush–Bagot Treaty of 1817, an agreement between Great Britain and the United States to limit the size and armament of their respective naval vessels on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. The marker was dedicated in 1935 and is located where the British Legation, a group who represent a nation, once maintained their headquarters. The treaty was named after Acting U.S. Secretary of State, Richard Rush, and British Minister to the U.S., Sir Charles Bagot, who negotiated and signed the treaty on April 27 and 28, 1817. The treaty was an important step in lowering tensions between the two nations, which were still high after the War of 1812.

The War of 1812 concluded in 1815 but tensions between the United States and Great Britain remained high after the war. The Treaty of Ghent, the peace agreement that officially ended hostilities, restored relations but did not resolve a number of issues between both countries. The breakout of another war was very real. To prepare for such a possibility, the U.S. and Britain began to build up their fleets on the Great Lakes, which had seen many battles during the war. They also started to fortify their defenses in the Americas. The British began building canals in Canada for communication, transportation, and defensive purposes, and the U.S. improved forts on the east coast, which had proven to be vulnerable during the war.

However, both countries recognized that another war would be unwelcome. It would be very costly, particularly for Britain, and disrupt the trade that had returned. Thus on January 25, 1816, President John Quincy Adams proposed the idea of disarmament to British Foreign Secretary Viscount Castlereagh, who agreed. By then, Britain had actually already sent Bagot to the United States to discuss a disarmament treaty and how to improve relations. Interestingly, he and Rush never met in person, but rather communicated via correspondence. The treaty stipulated that each country would cut the number of naval vessels to two on the Upper Great Lakes, and one on Lake Ontario and one on Lake Champlain, and that those ships could be no longer than 100 tons and only have one 18-pound canon. The U.S. Senate ratified it on April 16, 1818.

The possibility of armed conflict persisted, however. Neither country agreed to destroy dockyards or their ships, which they stored on land in case they needed them in the future. Both countries violated the treaty on numerous occasions in the coming decades as well. During the Canadian Revolution in 1838, for example, the British built vessels but did not disarm them after the hostilities ended. As a result, the U.S. built its first iron-hulled warship, the USS Michigan, which weighed 498 tons and contained four 32-pound canons. Despite these ongoing points of tension, the treaty did help pave the way for cooperation and future peace between the U.S. and Britain (the U.S.-Canada border was not officially demilitarized until 1871). It also serves as the foundation for the current border relations between Canada the U.S.

"Rush-Bagot Agreement." Britannica. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/event/Rush-Bagot-Agreement.

"Rush-Bagot Pact, 1817 and Convention of 1818." Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/rush-bagot.

"What is the Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1817?" History in Charts. February 14, 2022. https://historyincharts.com/what-is-rush-bagot-treaty-1817.