Treaty of Ghent Signed

Date: December 24, 1814 • Location: Gent, Belgium

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1812–1814.

The United Kingdom and the United States signed a peace treaty in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending the War of 1812.

The Treaty of Ghent was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands. The treaty restored relations between the two parties to status quo ante bellum by restoring the pre-war borders of June 1812. Both sides were eager to end the war. It ended when the treaty arrived in Washington and was immediately ratified unanimously by the United States Senate and exchanged with British officials the next day.