The war of 1812 started over economic conflicts between Britain, France and the U.S., which led to the Napoleonic Wars. The U.S. tried to retaliate but only hurt themselves more than Britain, causing angry Americans. With President Madison in office, the U.S. had declared war against the British forces. The war began with an attack on Canada, both as an effort to gain land and to cut off British supply lines to Tecumseh's Indian confederation, which had long troubled the US. Because of the lack of experience that the young soldiers had, they were being rapidly pushed back. Andrew Jackson's army had defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. The battle had been won by the US but the treaty was already signed, so the ongoing war was unnecessarily fought.