Rare firsthand accounts from Native Americans who fought in the War of
1812.
Native peoples played major roles in the War of 1812 as allies of both
the United States and Great Britain, but few wrote about their conflict
experiences. Two famously wrote down their stories: Black Hawk, the
British-allied chief of the still-independent Sauks from the upper
Mississippi, and American soldier William Apess, a Christian convert
from the Pequots who lived on a reservation in Connecticut. Carl Benn
explores the wartime passages of their autobiographies, in which they
detail their decisions to take up arms, their experiences in the
fighting, their broader lives within the context of native-newcomer
relations, and their views on such critical issues as aboriginal
independence.
Scholars, students, and general readers interested in indigenous and
military history in the early American republic will appreciate these
important memoirs, along with Benn's helpful introductions and
annotations.