Most books on the War of 1812 focus on the burning of Washington,
D.C., the Battles of Baltimore and New Orleans, and the war in the
Old Northwest. Scant attention, however, has been paid the Niagara
Campaign of 1814-the American army's ambitious but failed attempt
to wrest Canada from British control. While a few writers have
dealt with aspects of this effort, Richard Barbuto is the first to
offer a comprehensive study of the entire campaign.
Barbuto covers every aspect of a campaign that saw the American
army come of age, even as its military leaders blundered away
potential victory and the acquisition of a coveted expanse of North
American territory. Vividly recreating the major battles on the
Niagara peninsula--at Chippawa, Lundy's Lane, Fort Erie, and Cook's
Mill--Barbuto also clarifies the role of these engagements within
the overall framework of American strategy.
Despite early success at Chippawa, four long months of fighting
finally ended in something like a draw, with the British still in
control of Canada. Barbuto argues convincingly that the American
government was never really able to harness, coordinate, and focus
its tremendous resources in ways that would have allowed the
campaign to succeed. Much of the blame, he shows, can be attributed
to the poor leadership and confused strategic thinking of President
James Madison and his secretary of war, John Armstrong.
The American effort was further undermined by manpower
shortages, a few ineffective field commanders, and the army and
navy's inability to coordinate their objectives and operations.
Even so, Barbuto contends that the American soldier, led by the
likes of Jacob Brown and the legendary Winfield Scott, performed
surprisingly well against one of the great armies of the nineteenth
century.
Barbuto's analysis, unmarred by national bias, presents a
balanced picture of these events from the perspective of all
participants--American, British, Canadian, and Native American. He
also fills an important gap by providing the first ever capsule
histories of all regimental-sized units involved in the campaign.
Breathing new life into these events, his far-ranging study should
become the definitive work on this long-neglected campaign.
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