The United States Army in the War of 1812

While the Revolutionary and Civil wars have been the object of much research and documentation, the war that bridged them has been comparatively neglected. This comprehensive research guide summarizes the careers of President and Commander-in-Chief James Madison, his three secretaries of war, nine major generals, and 27 brigadier generals, and traces the operations of various departments, five artillery regiments, three cavalry regiments, the Corps of Engineers, 48 infantry regiments, and four rifle regiments of the United States during the War of 1812. For each it provides a bibliography of primary and secondary sources and a listing of manuscripts and archival resources. A directory of more than 100 manuscript repositories and their addresses is included.

The late John C. Fredriksen was the author of more than 20 books about military history. He lived in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

John C. Fredriksen
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 311
Bibliographic Info: 60 photos, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4143-3
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Richard V. Barbuto      1
Preface and Acknowledgments      5

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF      9
SECRETARIES OF WAR      15
MAJOR GENERALS      29
BRIGADIER GENERALS      70
VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS      153
ARTILLERY      161
CAVALRY      179
ENGINEERS      187
INFANTRY      193
RIFLES      280

Archival and Manuscript Depositories      291
Index      299

“a valuable contribution to the historiography of the War of 1812…. Fredriksen’s excellent volume is recommended for academic libraries supporting programs in U.S. history”—ARBA; “most useful”—Michigan Historical Review; “readers and researchers will find the work an essential resource. Find a space in your library for this one!”—Journal of the War of 1812; “good reference works help historians to find and deal coherently with the mass of material that often surrounds a subject. More that that they can highlight gaps in the literature that have been overlooked and deserve attention. John Fredriksen’s is such a reference work…fills an important gap in the military history of the United States Army. Historians using this useful guide to the essential documents will be able finally to do justice to the histories of the regiments in the War of 1812”—Army History; “valuable”—The NYMAS Review; “authors writing even a brief summary of the War of 1812 will find in Fredriksen’s book a more solid basis for their work and a corrective to conventional wisdom. McFarland and Company deserves praise for publishing this fine work and introducing to a broader audience the generals and regiments of the War of 1812”—Michigan War Studies Review.