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.