Suggested Reading

Many books are available on almost every aspect of the War of 1812. The listing of resources below does not presume endorsement by the National Park Service. Although the War of 1812 is often forgotten in American History when making a list of books about it you will never be able to include all of the books in a short simple list. This list does include both older books along with newer research on the war from many perspectives including that of the British, Canadian, American Indians, Women, and African Americans. Topics range from military to civilian to political and many others.

Secondary Sources:

Battle of Lake Erie or Participates in Battle

A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813 by: David Curtis Skaggs & Gerard T Altoff

Amongst My Best Men: African Americans and the War of 1812 by: Gerard T Altoff

Deep Water Sailors, Shallow Water Soldiers by: Gerard T Altoff *Contains extensive list of men in battle.

Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie by: Gerard T Altoff

Oliver Hazard Perry: Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S. Navy by: David Curtis Skaggs

Surgeon of the Lakes: The Diary of Dr. Usher Parsons 1812-1814 by Ph.D. John C. Fredriksen

The Lake Erie Campaign of 1813: I Shall Fight Them This Day by Walter P. Rybka

War of 1812

187 Things You Should Know about the War of 1812: An Easy Question-and-Answer Guide by Donald R. Hickey

1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman

1812: War with America by Jon Latimer

America on the Brink: How the Political Struggle Over the War of 1812 Almost Destroyed the Young Republic by Richard Buel

Don't Give Up the Ship!: Myths of the War of 1812 by Donald R. Hickey

Flames Across the Border: 1813-1814 by Pierre Berton

In the Midst of Alarms: The Untold Story of Women and the War of 1812 by Dianne Graves

The Invasion of Canada: 1812-1813 by Pierre Berton

Lossing's Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812 by Benson Lossing *Available at Google Books for free

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll

Tecumseh: A Life by John Sugden

Tecumseh and Brock: The War of 1812 by James Laxer

The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies by Alan Taylor

The Incredible War of 1812: A Military History by J. Mackay Hitsman, Donald E. Graves

The Naval War of 1812 by Theodore Roosevelt *Available at Google Books for free

The War of 1812 by Henry Adams

The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict by: Donald R. Hickey * New Bicentennial Edition available

The War of 1812: A Short History by: Donald R. Hickey

The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides Won by Wesley B. Turner

Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence by A. J. Langguth

Primary Sources:

James Madison's Papers at the Library of Congress

The War of 1812 in Person: Fifteen Accounts by United States Army Regulars, Volunteers and Militiamen by John C. Fredriksen

Surgeon of the Lakes: The Diary of Dr. Usher Parsons 1812-1814 by Ph.D. John C. Fredriksen

Primary Sources can be found online for free at Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free Books use search term "War of 1812 Personal narratives".

Last updated: April 10, 2015

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