ABSTRACT

The War of 1812 ranged over a remarkably large territory, as the fledgling United States battled Great Britain at sea and on land across what is now the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada. Native people and the Spanish were also involved in the war’s interrelated conflicts. Often overlooked, the War of 1812 has been the subject of an explosion of new research over the past twenty-five years. The Routledge Handbook of the War of 1812 brings together the insights of this research through an array of fresh essays by leading scholars in the field, offering an overview of current understandings of the war that will be a vital reference for students and researchers alike.

The essays in this volume examine a wide range of military, political, social, and cultural dimensions of the war. With full consideration given to American, Canadian, British, and native viewpoints, the international group of contributors place the war in national and international context, chart the course of events in its different theaters, consider the war’s legacy and commemoration, and examine the roles of women, African Americans, and natives. Capturing the state of the field in a single volume, this handbook is a must-have resource for anyone with an interest in early America.

chapter 1|3 pages

Introduction

chapter 3|21 pages

American “Independence is not Threatened”

British Priorities in the War of 1812 1

chapter 4|19 pages

The War on the High Seas

chapter 5|15 pages

Privateering, Prizes, and Profits

The Private War of 1812

chapter 6|17 pages

The War on the Lakes

chapter 7|16 pages

The War in the Chesapeake

chapter 8|14 pages

War on the Gulf Coast

American Ascendancy and the New Order

chapter 9|15 pages

Mars in the Wilderness

Weapons and Tactics of the War of 1812

chapter 11|12 pages

The American Home Front, 1812–1815

chapter 12|14 pages

Heavy Lies the Crown

The Canadian Social Context of the War of 1812

chapter 13|15 pages

The British Home Front

chapter 14|15 pages

American Blacks in the War of 1812

chapter 15|13 pages

War Stories and Love Stories

Conflict and Culture in the War of 1812

chapter 16|13 pages

The Treaty of Ghent

chapter 17|12 pages

A Lasting Legacy

How a Little War Shaped the Transatlantic World

chapter 19|15 pages

Remembering the Forgotten Conflict

Two Hundred Years of Literature on the War of 1812

chapter 20|31 pages

War of 1812 Chronology