The War of 1812

Harry L. Coles

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780226220291
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

This compact history of the war attempts to separate myth from reality. Professor Coles narrates the main operations on both land and sea of the three-year struggle. He examines the conflict from the British (and Canadian) as well as the American point of view, relating events in America to the larger war going on in Europe."A balanced analysis of tactics and strategy, this book also summarizes succinctly and clearly recent scholarship on causes and describes briefly the war's military, economic, and political consequences. Coles has surveyed thoroughly the existing literature but arrives at a number of independent judgments. It is the best single-volume account of the war in all its aspects. In recounting sea battles, Coles puts aside the patriotic blinders that have for so long prevented a sensible understanding of American capabilities and strategic necessities; thus American naval victories are put in a proper perspective. And in dealing with land engagements, he has shunned the mocking and amused attitude which has so often passed for historical judgment. Undergraduates will be stimulated by the hints of modern parallels and will find useful the excellent annotated bibliography and simple maps."— Choice

Index

NOTE: Forts will be found alphabetically under the general heading of “Forts.”

Adair, Gen., 228, 229

Adams, Henry, 23, 30, 31, 241, 261; on financing the war, 239; on the naval war, 76, 81, 95, 100, 263; on the Northwest campaign, 55, 57, 59; on the Treaty of Ghent, 250

Adams, John, 1, 2, 32, 254

Adams, John Quincy, 247, 250

Adams, William, 250

“Africa,” 71, 76–77

Alexander, Tsar, 247, 248

Alexandria, Va., 182, 244

Allen, John, 115

Amelia Island, 189, 192

Amherstburg, 39, 42, 52, 61, 118, 122, 125, 131; see also Fort Maiden

Amiens, Peace of, 2

Ancaster, 134

Annapolis, Md., 76

Apalachicola River, 194, 206, 208

“Ariel,” 127

Armistead, George, 183

Armstrong, John, minister to France, 13; resigns as Secretary of War, 183; as Secretary of War, 110, 150, 173, 174, 191, 203; and the war on the Northwest frontier, 130, 135, 136, 143–44, 146, 153, 154, 155, 162, 165–66

Army, U.S., 1, 11; Congress increases size of, 18–19; officers in, 150, 258; organization of, 266–67; raising of, 241–42; training of, 150; see also Northwest Army

Auglaize River, 113

Aux Canards River, 48

Back River, 183

Bacon, Ezekiel, 18, 21

Bailey, Dixon, 195

Bainbridge, William, 81–82, 84

Baker, Anthony St. John, 235–36

Ba...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Editor’s Preface
• Table of Contents
• Illustrations
• I. Prologue to War
• II. Brock and the Defense of Canada
• III. The War at Sea
• IV. American Redemption of the Northwest
• V. 1814: The British Offensive in the North and in the East
• VI. Jackson and the War in the South
• VII. Peace Without Victory
• VIII. Epilogue
• Important Dates
• Suggested Reading
• Acknowledgments
• Index