Robert P. Watson is Professor of American Studies at Lynn University. His many books include The Obama Presidency: A Preliminary Assessment, George W. Bush: Evaluating the President at Midterm, and Life in the White House: A Social History of the First Family and the President's House; all published by SUNY Press. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

Preface

The Forgotten War

1. "The Silliest Damned War"

2. Stumbling Toward War

3. The Chesapeake Affair

4. "Leopardized"

Drumbeats

5. Land, Empire, and Intrigue

6. The Indian Question

7. Tippecanoe and the Course of History

8. A Declaration of War

"On to Canada"

9. The Invasion Begins

10. The Battle of Queenston Heights

11. Three-Pronged Disaster

12. "Remember the Raisin"

1813

13. The Sacking of York

14. Victories at Last

15. The Battles of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams

16. The Battle of Thames

The High Seas

17. The Making of a Navy

18. A New Generation of Heroes

19. Blockade

20. The Cursed Chesapeake

The Great Lakes Theater

21. "We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours"

22. The Battle of the Carpenters

23. Saving Canada

24. Turning the Tables on the Invaders

1814

25. Canada's Bloodiest Battle

26. Victory on Lake Champlain

27. "The Bladensburg Races"

28. The Burning of the White House

Turning Points

29. The Defense of Baltimore

30. "Oh Say Can You See"

31. The Siege of Fort Erie

32. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend

Echoes

33. The Southern Campaign

34. The Treaty of Ghent

35. The Battle of New Orleans

36. The Making of a Nation

Appendix
Notes
Select Bibliography
About the Author
Index