Hacks, Sycophants, Adventurers, and Heroes: Madison's Commanders in the War of 1812

by David Fitz-Enz

Overview

While President James Madison was a brilliant scholar, author of much of this country's early documents, organizer of the executive branch of government, and an astute politician, he was no commander-in-chief. He relied totally upon appointed commodores and generals to conduct a war for the conquest of Canada on one hand and survival on the other. Often confused by advisors of little military talent, in the end he put his trust, and that of the people, in the grasp of hacks, sycophants, adventurers, and a few good men. This is the story of the good, the bad, and the outrageous that held the future of the young nation in their hands and prevailed in spite of a twenty-one-ship navy and an amateur army, pitched at the greatest military machine of its time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589797017
Publisher:	Taylor Trade Publishing
Publication date:	08/10/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Colonel David Fitz-Enz, USA ret., served as a regular army officer for thirty years. He served two tours in Vietnam, one as a combat photographer and another as a paratrooper and aviator. He is the author of Old Ironsides: Eagle of the Sea; Redcoats Revenge; and Why a Soldier?. He lives near Lake Placid, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments
Chronology of the War of 1812
Chapter 1: A Tale of Impressment, Isaac Hull, and William Hull
Chapter 2: Andrew Jackson
Chapter 3: Oliver Hazard Perry
Chapter 4: William Henry Harrison, Chief Tecumseh, and Zachary Taylor
Chapter 5: Henry Dearborn, Jacob Brown, and Winfield Scott
Chapter 6: Alexander Macomb, and Thomas Macdonough
Chapter 7: British Invasion, September 11, 1814; John Wool; and Benjamin Mooers
Chapter 8: Battle of Plattsburgh & Lake Champlain
Chapter 9: Charles Stewart and the Barbary Pirates
Chapter 10: Stephen Decatur, James Barron, and John Rodgers
Chapter 11: William Bainbridge, David Porter, and James Lawrence
Chapter 12: William Winder and James Wilkinson
Bibliography
Index
About the Author