Contents Foreword by Donald E. Graves Preface Acknowledgments A Note on Terminology and Numbers xv xvii xxiii xxvi 1 The Prologue The United States and Great Britain in a War-Torn World 1 Causes of the War 12 The Coming of the War 13 Rating Jefferson s Presidency 13 Has Free Ships Free Goods Been Overrated? 16 Why Was the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty Important? 17 Impressment 18 The Chesapeake Affair 21 The Orders-in-Council 23 The Restrictive System 25 Assessing American Trade and Prosperity, 1789 1807 26 Who Killed American Prosperity, 1807 15? 28 Did the British Incite the Indians? 30 The Battle of Tippecanoe 32 Did Harrison Mismanage the Campaign? 33 Was Tippecanoe a Decisive American Victory? 35 What Was the Significance of Tippecanoe? 35 The Decision for War 36 The British Offer on the License Trade 36 The Lure of Canada 36 Was National Honor at Stake? 39
2 Battles Who Were the Real War Hawks? 40 When Did the U.S. Declare War? 41 How Close was the Vote for War? 42 Was the War Vote Sectional? 42 Was the War Vote Political? 42 Was the U.S. Bluffing? 42 When Did the British Declare War? 43 Would an Atlantic Cable Have Averted War? 44 Could War Have Been Averted without an Atlantic Cable? 45 Was the War of 1812 a Second War of Independence? 46 and Campaigns 48 The Campaign of 1812 51 What Was the First Land Action? 51 What Was the First Land Battle? 52 Who Took the First Scalp? 53 Why Did General Hull Surrender Detroit? 54 The First Major Battle: Queenston Heights 56 Why Did American Militia Refuse to Fight? 56 Did Brock Have a Fiancée? 58 The Legend of Brock s Horse 58 What Were Brock s Last Words? 58 Who Killed Brock? 59 Where Did Brock Fall? 60 Brock s Well-Traveled Remains 61 The Campaign of 1813 63 The American Assault on York 63 Grenadier Pond 63 Canadian Militia at York 63 The Impact of the Battle 63 The Battle of the Thames/Moraviantown 65 How Decisive Was The Battle? 65 Who Killed Tecumseh? 67 What Happened to Tecumseh s Remains? 68 The Lanterns at St. Michaels 68 How Many Died in the Fort Mims Massacre? 68 The Burning of Newark/Niagara 69
3 The The Campaign of 1814 70 How Innovative Were General Scott s Training Methods? 70 The Battle of Chippawa 71 What Inspired Cadet Gray? 72 Who Won the Battle of Lundy s Lane? 73 The British Assault on Fort Erie 73 What Caused the Deadly Explosion? 75 Did Colonel Drummond Refuse Quarter? 75 The Battle of Plattsburgh 75 How Large Was the British Army? 76 How Close Did the British Come to Victory? 76 Who Plundered Plattsburgh? 77 How Many British Soldiers Deserted after the Battle? 77 The Capture of Washington 77 Why Did the British Burn Washington? 78 Who Plundered Washington? 81 When Did the President s House Become the White House? 81 Did the British Dine at the White House? 82 The British Assault on Baltimore 83 Did General Ross Disparage the American Militia? 84 Who Killed General Ross? 85 The Fort McHenry Flag 87 The Birth of The Star-Spangled Banner 89 Were British Soldiers Poisoned in the Chesapeake? 91 The British Occupation of Maine 91 Did the British Require a Loyalty Oath? 92 Why Did Massachusetts Refuse to Retake Maine? 92 Maritime War 93 The War at Sea 94 U.S. Naval Construction Strategy 94 U.S. Naval Deployment Strategy 96 U.S. Naval Operations 96 How Effective Was the British Blockade? 97 Were American Frigates Actually Ships-of-the-Line in Disguise? 100 Did British Seamen Man U.S. Warships? 102 Did Picked Crews Give the U.S. Navy an Edge? 103
4 Soldiers, What Was the First Naval Battle? 104 What Were the First Naval Prizes? 105 Who Captured the First Warship? 106 The U.S. Frigate Constitution 106 H.M. Ship Shannon v. U.S. Frigate Chesapeake 107 Minor Myths 110 Captain Lawrence s Last Words 111 The Longest-Serving Officer in the Royal Navy 112 Who Captured the U.S. Frigate President? 113 The Cruise and Capture of the U.S. Frigate Essex 113 How Effective Were Jefferson s Gunboats? 115 Did the French Navy Help the U.S.? 118 Privateers The Militia of the Sea 119 The Role of American Privateers 121 The Role of British Privateers 123 The War on the Lakes 124 Who Took the First Prize on Inland Waters? 124 The Battle of Lake Erie 124 How Quickly Was Perry s Squadron Built? 128 A Wagonload of Powder 129 Why Did Barclay Lift His Blockade? 129 Perry s Luck 130 The Burlington Races 131 The Battle of Lake Champlain 132 Construction of the U.S. Brig Eagle 133 Macdonough s Masterstroke 133 Who Used Hot Shot? 133 Where Was the Greatest Naval Arms Race of the War? 134 Sailors, and Civilians 137 Wartime Leadership 138 Rating Madison s Presidency 138 Sir George Prevost s Leadership 140 Army Leadership 142 Who Were the Best British Generals? 144 Who Were the Best American Generals? 145 Who Were the Worst Generals? 148
Did Wellington Refuse the American Command? 150 Naval Leadership 151 Who Were the Best British Naval Commanders? 151 Who Were the Best American Naval Commanders? 153 Who Were the Worst Naval Commanders? 155 Regulars and Volunteers 156 Wellington s Troops in America 156 The Role of Canadian Regulars 156 The Companies of Independent Foreigners 158 The Canadian Volunteers 159 Who Was the Canadian Paul Revere? 160 Marines 160 The Role of the Royal and Colonial Marines 160 The Role of the U.S. Marines 164 Militia 165 The Role of Canadian Militia 165 The Role of American Militia 168 Why Was the Militia so Poorly Armed? 171 Indians 173 Native Allies and Adversaries 173 Tecumseh and the Pan-Indian Movement 180 John Norton: Mohawk Chief 183 Blacks 185 Blacks in the Armed Services 185 Blacks and the Indians 187 Runaway American Slaves 187 Runaway Canadian Slaves 191 Women 191 The Role of Women 191 Women and the Armed Services 192 Laura Secord s Heroic Trek 195 Dolley Madison s Heroism 198 Who Was Louisa Baker/Lucy Brewer? 199 Hatred, Resentment, and Intolerance 200 Wartime Hatreds 200 The Most Hated Man in the U.S. 201
5 The The Most Hated Man in Canada 204 Did Republicans Threaten Freedom of Speech? 205 Unsung Heroes 208 Forgotten Soldiers and Civilians 208 Lieutenant John M. Gamble 208 Lieutenant Miller Worsley 210 The Reverend John Strachan 212 Judge Augustus B. Woodward 217 Birth of a Symbol 220 Where Did Uncle Sam Come From? 220 Mechanics of Waging War 225 Military Tactics 227 Tactics and Conventional Warfare 227 British Tactical Doctrine 228 American Tactical Doctrine 229 The Weapons of War 230 Artillery 230 Congreve Rockets 236 Muskets 238 The Brown Bess 238 The Springfield Model 1795 239 How Effective Was Buck and Ball? 240 Rifles 240 The Harpers Ferry Model 1803 241 The Pennsylvania Rifle 241 U.S. Rifle Units 242 The Baker Rifle 242 British Rifle Units 243 The Bayonet 244 Logistics 245 Supplying a Wilderness War 245 American Supply Routes 246 British Supply Routes 248 What Was the Impact of Logistics? 249 What Were the Most Impressive Marches? 250 The Great Rope Walk 251
6 The Military Posts 252 Forts 252 Fort Malden or Fort Amherstburg? 252 Fort Michilimackinac or Fort Mackinac? 253 Fort Oswego or Fort Ontario? 254 Deserters 255 Why Did Soldiers and Sailors Desert? 255 What Was the Desertion Rate? 257 How Were Deserters Punished? 259 Andrew Jackson and Deserters 261 Military Intelligence 263 Gathering Intelligence 263 Newspaper Sources 263 Civilian Sources 263 Military Sources 264 Spies 265 Intelligence at Sea 267 Intelligence Coups and Disasters 267 Martial Law 268 Martial Law in the United States 268 Martial Law in Canada and British-Occupied Territory 271 End of the War 274 Final Battles 274 The Battle of Malcolm s Mills 274 The Battle of New Orleans 276 Was the Battle Fought after the War Was Over? 278 Did the British Seek Beauty and Booty? 279 What Was Jean Laffite s Contribution? 282 What Role Did Bales of Cotton Play in Jackson s Lines? 284 Did Riflemen Win the Battle? 284 What Uniform Did the 93rd Regiment Wear? 285 How Close Did the British Come to Victory? 285 What Would a British Victory Have Meant? 286 How Decisive Was the Battle? 287 What Was the Last Battle of the War? 287
The Treaty of Ghent 289 The Peace Negotiations 289 Did the War Annul the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783? 292 Why Did the U.S. Drop Impressment? 294 The Indian Barrier State 294 When Did the War End? 295 Winners and Losers 296 Estimating Casualties 296 American Losses 297 British and Canadian Losses 298 Indian Losses 298 Who Won the War? 299 Who Won the Peace? 305 Could the U.S. Have Conquered Canada? 305 Epilogue The Legacy of the War 309 Chronology 323 Appendix A: The Hunters of Kentucky 347 Appendix B: The Bold Canadian 351 Appendix C: Shipwrecks and Rebuilt Ships 355 Appendix D: The Name of the War 363 Notes 369 Index 413 maps Eastern North America in 1812 9 The Old Northwest 31 The Detroit Frontier 52 The Niagara Frontier 71 The Chesapeake Bay 79 The Attack on Baltimore 83 The Northern Theater 126 127 New Orleans and the Southern Theater 277 The Northeast 306