America's First Crisis
Description
The War of 1812, sometimes called "America's forgotten war," was a curious affair. At the time, it was dismissed as "Mr. Madison's War." Later it was hailed by some as America's "Second War for Independence" and ridiculed by others, such as President Harry Truman, as "the silliest damned war we ever had." The conflict, which produced several great heroes and future presidents, was all this and more.
In America's First Crisis Robert P. Watson tells the stories of the most intriguing battles and leaders and shares the most important blunders and victories of the war. What started out as an effort to invade Canada, fueled by anger over the harassment of American merchant ships by the Royal Navy, soon turned into an all-out effort to fend off an invasion by Britain. Armies marched across the Canadian border and sacked villages; navies battled on Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain, and the world's oceans; both the American and Canadian capitals were burned; and, in a final irony, the United States won its greatest victory in New Orleans-after the peace treaty had been signed.
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Robert P. Watson is Professor of American Studies at Lynn University. His many books include The Obama Presidency: A Preliminary Assessment, George W. Bush: Evaluating the President at Midterm, and Life in the White House: A Social History of the First Family and the President's House; all published by SUNY Press. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
Content
Preface
The Forgotten War
1. "The Silliest Damned War"
2. Stumbling Toward War
3. The Chesapeake Affair
4. "Leopardized"
Drumbeats
5. Land, Empire, and Intrigue
6. The Indian Question
7. Tippecanoe and the Course of History
8. A Declaration of War
"On to Canada"
9. The Invasion Begins
10. The Battle of Queenston Heights
11. Three-Pronged Disaster
12. "Remember the Raisin"
1813
13. The Sacking of York
14. Victories at Last
15. The Battles of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams
16. The Battle of Thames
The High Seas
17. The Making of a Navy
18. A New Generation of Heroes
19. Blockade
20. The Cursed Chesapeake
The Great Lakes Theater
21. "We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours"
22. The Battle of the Carpenters
23. Saving Canada
24. Turning the Tables on the Invaders
1814
25. Canada's Bloodiest Battle
26. Victory on Lake Champlain
27. "The Bladensburg Races"
28. The Burning of the White House
Turning Points
29. The Defense of Baltimore
30. "Oh Say Can You See"
31. The Siege of Fort Erie
32. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend
Echoes
33. The Southern Campaign
34. The Treaty of Ghent
35. The Battle of New Orleans
36. The Making of a Nation
Appendix
Notes
Select Bibliography
About the Author
Index
