"This is a comprehensive research guide to the careers and manuscript sources for President and Commander-in-Chief James Madison, his secretaries of war, major generals, brigadier generals, departments and regiments during the War of 1812. Each unit has a history and a listing of resources. A directory of manuscript repositories and their addresses is included"--Provided by publisher.
Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Book Award During the War of 1812, state militias were intended to be the primary fighting force. Unfortunately, while militiamen showed willingness to fight, they were untrained, undisciplined, and ill-equipped. These raw volunteers had no muskets, and many did not know how to use the weapons once they had been issued. Though established by the Constitution, state militias found themselves wholly unprepared for war. The federal government was empowered to use these militias to "execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;" but in a system of divided responsibility, it was the states' job to appoint officers and to train the soldiers. Edward Skeen reveals states' responses to federal requests for troops and provides in-depth descriptions of the conditions, morale, and experiences of the militia in camp and in battle. Skeen documents the failures and successes of the militias, concluding that the key lay in strong leadership. He also explores public perception of the force, both before and after the war, and examines how the militias changed in response to their performance in the War of 1812. After that time, the federal government increasingly neglected the militias in favor of a regular professional army.
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The U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812 (Illustrated Edition) presents a comprehensive exploration of a pivotal period in American history, woven together by the collective expertise of several distinguished historians and scholars affiliated with the Center of Military History. This anthology traverses the multifaceted military and political narratives that characterized the War of 1812, employing a rich variety of literary styles and analytical approaches. The collection stands out for its depth of research and the breadth of perspectives offered on the strategic, tactical, and human dimensions of the conflict, providing readers with a nuanced understanding of its complexities and consequences. The contributing authors, including John R. Maass, Steven J. Rauch, Richard V. Barbuto, Richard D. Blackmon, Charles P. Neimeyer, and Joseph F. Stoltz III, bring to the fore their extensive backgrounds in military history and scholarly research. Collectively, their work reflects a rigorous engagement with both primary sources and historiographical debates, situating the War of 1812 within broader historical, cultural, and literary movements. This collaborative effort enriches the anthology's narrative, allowing for a comprehensive examination of the war's multifaceted campaigns and their long-term implications on American and global history. The U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812 (Illustrated Edition) is an essential resource for scholars, students, and enthusiasts of military history, offering a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the extensive and diverse analyses of the War of 1812. The anthology's integration of meticulous scholarship with accessible writing makes it particularly valuable for readers seeking to deepen their understanding of this period. It invites a renewed scholarly dialogue on the War of 1812, its legacies, and its lessons, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary perspectives in enriching our historical consciousness.
This commemorative brochure details the disappointing first campaigns of the War of 1812. Although the United States declared war on Great Britain, events soon illustrated that the nation, as well as the Army, were ill-prepared for the conflict. On the battlefield, the Army's training, logistical, and leadership deficiencies resulted in a series of embarrassing defeats. Despite these setbacks, the Army ended the year looking optimistically toward the next campaign season to restore its confidence and reputation. The Campaign of 1812 is the second brochure in The U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812 series.
In the early nineteenth century, Britons and Americans renewed their struggle over the legacy of the American Revolution, leading to a second confrontation that redefined North America. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor’s vivid narrative tells the riveting story of the soldiers, immigrants, settlers, and Indians who fought to determine the fate of a continent. Would revolutionary republicanism sweep the British from Canada? Or would the British contain, divide, and ruin the shaky republic? In a world of double identities, slippery allegiances, and porous boundaries, the leaders of the republic and of the empire struggled to control their own diverse peoples. The border divided Americans—former Loyalists and Patriots—who fought on both sides in the new war, as did native peoples defending their homelands. And dissident Americans flirted with secession while aiding the British as smugglers and spies. During the war, both sides struggled to sustain armies in a northern land of immense forests, vast lakes, and stark seasonal swings in the weather. After fighting each other to a standstill, the Americans and the British concluded that they could safely share the continent along a border that favored the United States at the expense of Canadians and Indians. Moving beyond national histories to examine the lives of common men and women, The Civil War of 1812 reveals an often brutal (sometimes comic) war and illuminates the tangled origins of the United States and Canada. Moving beyond national histories to examine the lives of common men and women, The Civil War of 1812 reveals an often brutal (sometimes comic) war and illuminates the tangled origins of the United States and Canada.
Between June 1812 and January 1815, US and British forces, notably the regular infantrymen of both sides (including the Canadian Fencibles Regiment), fought one another on a host of North American battlefields. This study examines the evolving role and combat performance of the two sides' regulars during the conflict, with particular reference to three revealing battles in successive years: Queenston Heights, Crysler's Farm, and Chippawa. Featuring full-color artwork and battle maps, this fully illustrated study investigates the US and British regular infantry's role, tactics, junior leadership, and combat performance on three battlefields of the War of 1812. The actions assessed here notably demonstrate the evolution of US regulars from their initial poor showing to an emerging professionalism that allowed them to face their British opponents on equal terms.
American Military History provides the United States Army-in particular, its young officers, NCOs, and cadets-with a comprehensive but brief account of its past. The Center of Military History first published this work in 1956 as a textbook for senior ROTC courses. Since then it has gone through a number of updates and revisions, but the primary intent has remained the same. Support for military history education has always been a principal mission of the Center, and this new edition of an invaluable history furthers that purpose. The history of an active organization tends to expand rapidly as the organization grows larger and more complex. The period since the Vietnam War, at which point the most recent edition ended, has been a significant one for the Army, a busy period of expanding roles and missions and of fundamental organizational changes. In particular, the explosion of missions and deployments since 11 September 2001 has necessitated the creation of additional, open-ended chapters in the story of the U.S. Army in action. This first volume covers the Army's history from its birth in 1775 to the eve of World War I. By 1917, the United States was already a world power. The Army had sent large expeditionary forces beyond the American hemisphere, and at the beginning of the new century Secretary of War Elihu Root had proposed changes and reforms that within a generation would shape the Army of the future. But world war-global war-was still to come. The second volume of this new edition will take up that story and extend it into the twenty-first century and the early years of the war on terrorism and includes an analysis of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq up to January 2009.
Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface to the First Edition -- Preface to the Bicentennial Edition -- Introduction -- 1. The Road to War, 1801-1812 -- 2. The Declaration of War -- 3. The Baltimore Riots -- 4. The Campaign of 1812 -- 5. Raising Men and Money -- 6. The Campaign of 1813 -- 7. The Last Embargo -- 8. The British Counteroffensive -- 9. The Crisis of 1814 -- 10. The Hartford Convention -- 11. The Treaty of Ghent -- Conclusion -- A Note on Sources -- Notes -- Index -- back cover.
