The War of 1812

Children's Literature

While the American Revolution gave the United States independence from Britain, it was the War of 1812 that guaranteed its continuance. In many ways, the War of 1812 is a strange footnote in American history. While struggles such as the Revolution, the Civil War and the World Wars of the 20th century are relatively well known to those readers interested in history, the 1812 conflict is little noted. Without the efforts of the brave citizens who took part in that three-year conflict, it is conceivable that the United States would have ceased to exist after only three decades of life. The War of 1812 was also marked by savage fighting with Native American populations, including Tecumseh, one of the most fascinating leaders of that era. Reaching across a broad geographic area, the War of 1812 was really an extension of Britain's conflict with Napoleonic France. Fought on a miniature scale compared to continental warfare, the conflict in America and Canada was not without drama. One need only recall figures such as Stephen Decatur, John Paul Jones and William Henry Harrison, or the origin of the Star Spangled Banner to remember that some memorable moments in U.S. history trace their roots to the War of 1812. In this illustrated history, the author does a fine job of presenting the complex and wide ranging events of that struggle. It is the final volume in the "North American Historical Atlases" series and is an excellent resource for the study of this complicated time period. The smooth flowing text comes together well with the rich illustrations and provides a solid overview of a little understood series of events. 2000, Benchmark Books,