No longer willing to accept naval blockades, the impressment of American
seamen, and seizures of American ships and cargos, the United States
declared war on Great Britain. The aim was to frighten Britain into
concessions and, if that failed, to bring the war to a swift conclusion
with a quick strike at Canada. But the British refused to cave in to
American demands, the Canadian campaign ended in disaster, and the U.S.
government had to flee Washington, D.C., when it was invaded and burned
by a British army.
By all objective measures, the War of 1812 was a debacle for the young
republic, and yet it was celebrated as a great military triumph. The
American people believed they had won the war and expelled the invader.
Oliver H. Perry became a military hero, Francis Scott Key composed what
became the national anthem and commenced a national reverence for the
flag, and the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," became a symbol of
American invincibility. Every aspect of the war, from its causes to its
conclusion, was refashioned to heighten the successes, obscure the
mistakes, and blur embarrassing distinctions, long before there were
mass media or public relations officers in the Pentagon.
In this entertaining and meticulously researched book by America's
leading authority on the War of 1812, Donald R. Hickey dispels the many
misconcep-tions that distort our view of America's second war with Great
Britain. Embracing military, naval, political, economic, and diplomatic
analyses, Hickey looks carefully at how the war was fought between 1812
and 1815, and how it was remembered thereafter. Was the original
declaration of war a bluff? What were the real roles of Canadian traitor
Joseph Willcocks, Mohawk leader John Norton, pirate Jean Laffite, and
American naval hero Lucy Baker? Who killed the Shawnee chief Tecumseh
and who shot the British general Isaac Brock? Who actually won the war,
and what is its lasting legacy? Hickey peels away fantasies and
embellishments to explore why cer-tain myths gained currency and how
they contributed to the way that the United States and Canada view
themselves and each other.
