Union 1812 by A. J. Langguth

Becky and Jesse were recently commenting on the fact that they were never taught anything about the War of 1812 in any history class from elementary school through college.  Indeed, the History Channel's A History of Us skated right over this period.  Professor A. J. Langguth has filled in the national blank that we seem to draw regarding this part of our history with his 2006 work entitled, Union 1812:  The American Who Fought the Second War of Independence.

Langguth, who penned the best book that I've ever read, entitled Patriots:  The Men Who Started the American Revolution (click here for my review), covers the thirty year period from the end of the Revolution through the War of 1812.  It is a fascinating, if largely ignored period of our history, and includes such disparate characters as Dolly Madison, Davy Crockett, Oliver Perry, Andrew Jackson, Aaron Burr, Sam Houston, and Tecumseh to name a few.  Professor Langguth brings his considerable talent for narrative to bear on the part each played in the growing republic.

Indeed, the best chapters were the ones leading up to the war itself as well as the final one entitled "Afterword: 1815-1861" in which Langguth draws many interesting, even thrilling connections across American history.  The chapters on the war itself, though well-written, seemed rather disjointed to me, however, and that's not meant as a reflection on the author.  The war itself seems to have been a disjointed, stop and start affair.  There were no grand campaigns nor set battles pitting the American army against the British army as took place during the Revolution.  Much of this war occurred on the frontier surrounding the Great Lakes.  I often felt that I had missed something from one chapter to the next, which was disconcerting even if there was apparently nothing to miss.

Furthermore, the "main characters" simply aren't as familiar to me as those in Patriots.  In that work, if John Hancock, for example, was mentioned, I could mentally reference a dozen different sources to fill in a complete picture.  I have no such background for Oliver Perry or William Henry Harrison.

In addition, were I the editor, I would have moved the "Acknowledgments" from the end of the book to the beginning because it is an excellent summary of the author's approach to the subject, something I would want to know before chapter one.

I definitely recommend Union 1812 for anyone interested in this period of American history as well as to anyone who finds fascinating the human connections that form history.  It is also for anyone who enjoys well-told history of any kind.

Comments

[Al Smith]

I have found History Channel's A History of US to be a complete disappointment. Consider the episode on the years leading up to the "Civil War" AKA The War Between the States as it should be referred. Here we have Bill Maher, Rev Al Sharpton and Sheryl Crow lecturing on the causes leading up to the war. Of course we all know from this panel of experts that it was all about cotton and slaves. But as I always say history and the accounts thereof are always written by the victors.