ABSTRACT
In a world without paved roads and railroads, the war along the Canadian-American border was shaped by the necessity for waterborne transport of supplies, workmen, and troops in a frontier region stretching from Lake Champlain to Lake Michigan. The combatant controlling the lakes could decisively influence the ground war on the littoral by dominating the logistical tail upon which military forces are dependent. Concurrently, in a world without interservice operations doctrine, the degree in which the naval commanders cooperated with the army affected the outcome of the war effort on all these lakes. These two themes, naval superiority and joint operations, constitute leitmotifs in the warfare on the North American lakes.
