The War of 1812

This book provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the war. More importantly, the coverage is well balanced. The author, Carl Benn, did an excellent job of describing the conflict from both sides. A common belief is that the War of 1812 was caused by the British practice of stopping U.S. ships and removing sailors they deemed to be deserters. The impressment of sailors into the British navy was a major point of contention. That said, the author also points out that the U.S. Government was looking for an excuse to conquer Canada. Interestingly, the British Government revoked the Orders in Council, which was one of the main reasons for going to war. News of the revocation did not reach the U.S. until after war had been declared. Even if it had, it still would not have been enough to cause President Madison to halt the fighting. The book has some good geographic campaign maps. One map shows the timeline for the British blockade of the North American coast. Another map shows the extent of the conflict in the Atlantic Ocean. The chapter on fighting is broken down by year. This is an easy way for the reader to follow the conflict. Unfortunately, the book does not contain any specific battle maps. Also, the battle narratives are short and hard to follow. The reader will know the basics of a specific battle, but not much more. The ending chapters provide some interesting perspectives on the war. The "Portrait of a Soldier" chapter focuses on an Indian war chief named Black Hawk. It gives insight into the war from a Native American point of view. This is followed by a chapter on propaganda. Both sides accused the other of committing atrocities. The Americans were outraged by the scalping of civilians by Indians. Even so, the Americans and their Indian allies also engaged in this savage practice. Although the book lacks meaningful detail on individual battles, it does provide a high level overview of the entire war and its causes. It is an enjoyable book, written in a clear chronological order. As with all Osprey books, this one contains a wide assortment of contemporary sketches in both black & white and color. Bottom line: the reader will walk away with a comprehensive, albeit high level, overview of the war.

This book is a good, even-handed introduction to the War of 1812. The causes of the war, the major campaigns and battles, some of the major personalities, and the concluding Treaty of Ghent are all covered in varying levels of detail. American readers, who learned in school (as I did) that the War of 1812 was a "second war of independence", will find that not everyone shares this point of view. In some sections it would have been nice to have a little more detail, but the author did a good job to cover so much within the limitations of the Essential History series. The book is a good overview and provides many references for further reading. I recommend it.

I agree with the other reviewer. Osprey books are designed for quick overviews of influential battles in world history. This is not meant as the 'be all end all of war of 1812' books. I suggest you read J. Mackay Hitman's 'The Great War of 1812' perhaps you will find that your liking. Now for this book, its a great mini-intro to an often forgotten conflict that is-for the most part-overlooked. So take it from me, Ive built up my osprey collection and this one is one of the better volumes.

I have given this book four stars to try and even up the previous reviewer's harsh judgement. The book, like all Ospreys, is only designed to be a brief overview in which it is quite adequate; there are other publications for those who want more in-depth accounts. As for the accusation by the previous reviewer that it makes the Americans look like 'aggressors', he appears unaware that the US started the war with the express aim of conquering Upper Canada (Ontario), something it repeatedly tried to do; or of Jefferson's claim that the capture of Quebec was 'a mere matter of marching'. If an account is 'unbiased' only when it is uncritical of US policy and actions, he is going to be doubly disappointed, and will find little solace in serious American accounts such as those by John K. Mahon or Donald R. Hickey - American's leading expert on the War. Instead, he will find Carl Benn's view, far from being 'disappointing for a historian', is the generally accepted outlook by serious students of the subject, both Canadian and American.