Book Synopsis
The War of 1812, often called the second war for American independence, took place during a global conflict between Britain and Napoleonic France, which then controlled most of Europe. The causes for the war are often obscured, and go far beyond the impressment of sailors so often cited. The long-ranging effects of the conflict are still being felt, and may be most evident in the American way of war, with the conduct of warfare at sea for the rest of the 19th century, and in the nature of the military and political systems of the United States.