They DID participate in this war, you know! And their record keeping is excellent.
In fact, The National Archives in London contains a treasure trove of documents from the War of 1812, including plenty about the men who fought on the American side, not just the British. If you ancestor was a prisoner of war of the British, he is almost certain to be documented at The National Archives, or TNA. Many American genealogists are unaware of these records, but when they do see them they are usually impressed. Better still, the names of the American prisoners from 1812 to 1815 are name-indexed, although unfortunately the index is not online. Some of the records are simple lists of names while others may provide more information, such as a physical description. Men who were sick often have detailed records available.
Audrey Collins of TNA recently gave a talk about the War of 1812 records available at The National Archives (TNA) and a recording of that talk is now available online as a podcast at http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/the-war-of-1812-from-the-british-side/
For background information and for pictures of some samples of the records available, I suggest you read Audrey's excellent blog at http://thefamilyrecorder.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-war-of-1812-from-british-side.html
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