Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812

Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812 PDF Author: C. Edward Skeen
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813188784
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Book Award During the War of 1812, state militias were intended to be the primary fighting force. Unfortunately, while militiamen showed willingness to fight, they were untrained, undisciplined, and ill-equipped. These raw volunteers had no muskets, and many did not know how to use the weapons once they had been issued. Though established by the Constitution, state militias found themselves wholly unprepared for war. The federal government was empowered to use these militias to "execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;" but in a system of divided responsibility, it was the states' job to appoint officers and to train the soldiers. Edward Skeen reveals states' responses to federal requests for troops and provides in-depth descriptions of the conditions, morale, and experiences of the militia in camp and in battle. Skeen documents the failures and successes of the militias, concluding that the key lay in strong leadership. He also explores public perception of the force, both before and after the war, and examines how the militias changed in response to their performance in the War of 1812. After that time, the federal government increasingly neglected the militias in favor of a regular professional army.

Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812

Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812 PDF Author: C. Edward Skeen
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813188784
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Book Award During the War of 1812, state militias were intended to be the primary fighting force. Unfortunately, while militiamen showed willingness to fight, they were untrained, undisciplined, and ill-equipped. These raw volunteers had no muskets, and many did not know how to use the weapons once they had been issued. Though established by the Constitution, state militias found themselves wholly unprepared for war. The federal government was empowered to use these militias to "execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;" but in a system of divided responsibility, it was the states' job to appoint officers and to train the soldiers. Edward Skeen reveals states' responses to federal requests for troops and provides in-depth descriptions of the conditions, morale, and experiences of the militia in camp and in battle. Skeen documents the failures and successes of the militias, concluding that the key lay in strong leadership. He also explores public perception of the force, both before and after the war, and examines how the militias changed in response to their performance in the War of 1812. After that time, the federal government increasingly neglected the militias in favor of a regular professional army.

Citizens in Arms

Citizens in Arms PDF Author: Lawrence Delbert Cress
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469639963
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
This first study to discuss the important ideological role of the military in the early political life of the nation examines the relationship between revolutionary doctrine and the practical considerations of military planning before and after the American Revolution. Americans wanted and effective army, but they realized that by its very nature the military could destroy freedom as well as preserve it. The security of the new nation was not in dispute but the nature of republicanism itself. Originally published 1982. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

The Citizen Soldier, His Part in War and Peace

The Citizen Soldier, His Part in War and Peace PDF Author: John Clark Ridpath
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Memorial Day addresses
Languages : en
Pages : 94

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Book Description


America at War

America at War PDF Author: Matthew Strange
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 142229692X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
From an isolated and inward-looking new nation clinging to the East Coast, America in the 1800s grew in size, strength, and military might. From the War of 1812 to the century-long campaigns of conquest against Native American peoples, territorial expansion through war with Mexico to the great national tragedy that was the Civil War, American soldiers and sailors forged a tradition of pride and heroism that is part of our national heritage. Sometimes misguided, sometimes truly inspired, nineteenth-century America produced some of the greatest military leaders and witnessed some of the bloodiest battles in our history. Behind the scenes, and often neglected in our official histories, the life of America's citizen soldiers was a tough and brutal one. Patriotism, heroism, and human folly all combine in the story of the roots of America's rise to the status of world military power.

Citizen Soldier

Citizen Soldier PDF Author: Joseph Bloomfield
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description


Glorious Victory

Glorious Victory PDF Author: Donald R. Hickey
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421417057
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
The story of the battle that saved New Orleans, made Andrew Jackson a hero for the ages, and shaped the American public memory of the war. Whether or not the United States “won” the war of 1812, two engagements that occurred toward the end of the conflict had an enormous influence on the development of American identity: the successful defenses of the cities of Baltimore and New Orleans. Both engagements bolstered national confidence and spoke to the élan of citizen soldiers and their militia officers. The Battle of New Orleans—perhaps because it punctuated the war, lent itself to frontier mythology, and involved the larger-than-life figure of Andrew Jackson—became especially important in popular memory. In Glorious Victory, leading War of 1812 scholar Donald R. Hickey recounts the New Orleans campaign and Jackson’s key role in the battle. Drawing on a lifetime of research, Hickey tells the story of America’s “forgotten conflict.” He explains why the fragile young republic chose to challenge Great Britain, then a global power with a formidable navy. He also recounts the early campaigns of the war—William Hull’s ignominious surrender at Detroit in 1812; Oliver H. Perry’s remarkable victory on Lake Erie; and the demoralizing British raids in the Chesapeake that culminated in the burning of Washington. Tracing Jackson’s emergence as a leader in Tennessee and his extraordinary success as a military commander in the field, Hickey finds in Jackson a bundle of contradictions: an enemy of privilege who belonged to Tennessee’s ruling elite, a slaveholder who welcomed free blacks into his army, an Indian-hater who adopted a native orphan, and a general who lectured his superiors and sometimes ignored their orders while simultaneously demanding unquestioning obedience from his men. Aimed at students and the general public, Glorious Victory will reward readers with a clear understanding of Andrew Jackson’s role in the War of 1812 and his iconic place in the postwar era.

The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815

The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815 PDF Author: William Matthew Marine
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bladensburg, Battle of, Bladensburg, Md., 1814
Languages : en
Pages : 542

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Book Description
"This volume is an attempt to present in permanent form the history of the British invasion of Maryland during the War of 1812. The story has not heretofore been fully told; the record is deplorably incomplete, and the following pages are intended to be an adequate chronicle of the events of that period in Maryland, and to that end even trifling circumstances have been interwoven in the narrative"--Preface.

Defending a New Nation, 1783-1811

Defending a New Nation, 1783-1811 PDF Author: John R. Maass
Publisher: Department of the Army
ISBN: 9780160920301
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Defending a New Nation, 1783-1811, the first volume of the "U.S. Army Campaigns of the War of 1812" series, tells the story of several military campaigns against Indians in the Northwest Territory, the Army's role in suppressing the Whiskey Rebellion (1794), the Quasi-War with France and confrontations with Spain, the influence of Jeffersonian politics on the Army's structure, and the Lewis and Clark expedition. From the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 to the beginning of the War of 1812, the nascent United States Army encountered significant challenges, both within its own ranks and in the field. The Army faced hostile American Indians in the west, domestic insurrections over taxation, threats of war from European powers, organizational changes, and budgetary constraints. It was also a time of growth and exploration, during which Army officers led expeditions to America's west coast and founded a military academy.

Preparing for War

Preparing for War PDF Author: J. P. Clark
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674973100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The U.S. Army has always regarded preparing for war as its peacetime role, but how it fulfilled that duty has changed dramatically between the War of 1812 and World War I. J. P. Clark shows how differing personal experiences of war and peace among successive generations of professional soldiers left their mark upon the Army and its ways.

Pierre Berton's War of 1812

Pierre Berton's War of 1812 PDF Author: Pierre Berton
Publisher: Anchor Canada
ISBN: 0385676506
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 962

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Book Description
To commemorate the bi-centenary of the War of 1812, Anchor Canada brings together Pierre Berton's two groundbreaking books on the subject. The Invasion of Canada is a remarkable account of the war's first year and the events that led up to it; Pierre Berton transforms history into an engrossing narrative that reads like a fast-paced novel. Drawing on personal memoirs and diaries as well as official dispatches, the author has been able to get inside the characters of the men who fought the war - the common soldiers as well as the generals, the bureaucrats and the profiteers, the traitors and the loyalists. The Canada-U.S. border was in flames as the War of 1812 continued. York's parliament buildings were on fire, Niagara-on-the-Lake burned to the ground and Buffalo lay in ashes. Even the American capital of Washington, far to the south, was put to the torch. The War of 1812 had become one of the nineteenth century's bloodiest struggles. Flames Across the Border is a compelling evocation of war at its most primeval - the muddy fields, the frozen forests and the ominous waters where men fought and died. Pierre Berton skilfully captures the courage, determination and terror of the universal soldier, giving new dimension and fresh perspective to this early conflict between the two emerging nations of North America.