Purchase
The War That Forged a Nation
Harper Perennial
October 2005
On Sale: October 4, 2005
392 pages ISBN: 0060531134 EAN: 9780060531133 Kindle: B000OI0E0E Paperback / e-Book
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction History
In June 1812 the still-infant United States had the audacity
to declare war on the British Empire. Fought between
creaking sailing ships and armies often led by bumbling
generals, the ensuing conflict featured a tit-for-tat "You
burned our capital, so we'll burn yours" and a legendary
battle unknowingly fought after the signing of a peace
treaty. During the course of the war, the young
American navy proved its mettle as the USS Constitution,
"Old Ironsides," sent two first-rate British frigates to the
bottom, and a twenty-seven-year-old lieutenant named Oliver
Hazard Perry hoisted a flag exhorting, "Don't Give Up the
Ship," and chased the British from Lake Erie. By 1814,
however, the United States was no longer fighting for free
trade, sailors' rights, and as much of Canada as it could
grab, but for its very existence as a nation. With
Washington in flames, only a valiant defense at Fort McHenry
saved Baltimore from a similar fate. Here are the
stories of commanding generals such as America's Henry
"Granny" Dearborn, double-dealing James Wilkinson, and
feisty Andrew Jackson, as well as Great Britain's gallant
Sir Isaac Brock, overly cautious Sir George Prevost, and
Rear Admiral George Cockburn, the man who put the torch to
Washington. Here too are those inadvertently caught up in
the war, from heroine farm wife Laura Secord, whom some call
Canada's Paul Revere, to country doctor William Beanes,
whose capture set the stage for Francis Scott Key to write
"The Star-Spangled Banner." 1812: The War That
Forged a Nation presents a sweeping narrative that
emphasizes the struggle's importance to America's
coming-of-age as a nation. Though frequently overlooked
between the American Revolution and the Civil War, the War
of 1812 did indeed span half a continent -- from Mackinac
Island to New Orleans, and Lake Champlain to Horseshoe Bend
-- and it paved the way for the conquest of the other
half. During the War of 1812, the United States cast
aside its cloak of colonial adolescence and -- with both
humiliating and glorious moments -- found the fire that was
to forge a nation.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|