1813 in the United States

Federal government

• President: James Madison (DR-Virginia)
• Vice President:

vacant (until March 4)

Elbridge Gerry (DR-Massachusetts) (starting March 4)

• Chief Justice: John Marshall (Virginia)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Henry Clay (DR-Kentucky)
• Congress: 12th (until March 4), 13th (starting March 4)

January–March

• February – War of 1812:
  • Construction of Fort Meigs in Ohio begins under the command of Major Amos Stoddard.
  • General Harrison sends out an expedition to burn the British vessels at Fort Malden by going across Lake Erie via the Bass Islands in sleighs, but the ice is not hard enough and the expedition returns.
• February 19 – Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition: Manuel María de Salcedo, the governor of Spanish Texas, lifts his four-months long siege of Presidio La Bahía in Goliad, Texas and turns towards San Antonio de Bexar, the Republican Army of the North holds the Presidio until July or August.
• March 4 – James Madison is sworn in as President of the United States for his second term, and Elbridge Gerry is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
• March 22 – War of 1812: Col. Richard M. Johnson puts out an order for raising a regiment of mounted volunteers in Kentucky.
• March 29 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Rosillo Creek: The Republican Army of the North defeats the Spanish Royalist Army in present-day Bexar County, Texas, the Spanish forces retreat back to San Antonio.

April–June

• April 1 – The Spanish sign a treaty with Samuel Kemper, one of the leaders of the Republican Army of the North. Governor Manuel María de Salcedo and Simón de Herrera, the Governor of Nuevo León, are surrendered to the republicans. They and 12 other imprisoned Spanish leaders are taken back to the Rosillo Creek battle site and executed. This act is viewed with disdain by the majority of the Anglo-American leaders of the rebellion, and many Anglos leave the rebel army as a result.
• April 6 – Gutierrez de Lara drafts a declaration of independence, establishing the first Republic of Texas.
• April 27 – War of 1812 – Battle of York: United States troops raid and destroy but do not hold York, capital of Upper Canada (modern-day Toronto).
• May 1–9 – War of 1812: First Siege of Fort Meigs: British allied forces, under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh, lay siege to the fort but do not capture it.
• May 5 – War of 1812: "Dudley's Massacre": A detachment under Colonel William Dudley attempting to relieve the siege of Fort Meigs is decimated.
• May 27 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
• June 1 – War of 1812: Capture of USS Chesapeake in Boston Harbor by British Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon (1806).
• June 6 – War of 1812 – Battle of Stoney Creek: A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeat an American force three times its size under William H. Winder and John Chandler.
• June 20 – Battle of Alazan Creek: The Republican Army of the North defeats a Spanish force on the banks of the Alazán Creek, just west of San Antonio de Béxar.

July–September

• July – War of 1812: Second Siege of Fort Meigs fails to defeat General Green Clay.
• July 5 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin.
• August 18 – Battle of Medina: the Spanish authorities in Texas finally crush the Republican Army of the North at the Battle of Medina, about 20 miles south of San Antonio de Béxar, and the deadliest battle ever fought on Texan soil. This crushing defeat marks the final end of the Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition, a Filibustering expedition into Spanish Texas which had started the previous year.
• August 30 – Creek War – Fort Mims massacre: A force of Creeks belonging to the Red Sticks faction kill hundreds of settlers in Fort Mims in Alabama.
• September 10 – War of 1812 – Battle of Lake Erie: An American squadron under Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeats a British squadron, capturing six ships.

October–December

• October 5 – War of 1812 – Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada: William Henry Harrison defeats the British, and native leader Tecumseh is killed in battle.
• October 26 – War of 1812 – Battle of Chateauguay: Charles de Salaberry defeats an American invasion
• November 11 – War of 1812 – Battle of Crysler's Farm: the Americans are defeated by the British.
• November 16 – The British announce a blockade of Long Island Sound, leaving only the New England coasts open to shipping.
• December 17 – A trade embargo comes into effect, aimed at New England merchants who have been supplying the British in Canada
• December 18–19 – War of 1812: British soldiers and native allies invade the United States and are successful in the Capture of Fort Niagara and attack Lewiston, New York.
• December 30 – War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.^[1][2]

Undated

• The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is founded (the oldest continuously existing literary society in the United States).

Ongoing

• War of 1812 (1812–1815)
• Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition (1812–1813)
• Creek War (1813–1814)