Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Carol Ann Strahl:
This is an information-packed spirited story of the first half of the 19th century in America and the many forces that shaped our subsequent history. Episodes include the Fort Mims massacre in Mississippi — the worst frontier massacre in American history. Read about the enigmatic and treacherous James Wilkinson, and William Weatherford, the half-Creek Indian, half-white messianic leader, and why the Battle of New Orleans should never have been fought.
Natives of San Dominique, which later became Haiti, struggled against Napoleon’s Army. The French lost 50,000 men, a loss greater than that which Napoleon suffered at Waterloo. There is also a fascinating account of the two Seminole wars fought in Florida. The second Seminole War, under the leadership of Osceola, was the longest-fought war between the American Revolution and the Viet Nam War.
Lots of stories recounted here that serve as good reminders or may well be new insight. Anti-Catholic sentiment, beginning in the 1820’s, was rampant throughout the known territories. The Mexican War, fought unapologetically for territorial expansion, reminds the reader of the Gulf of Tonkin and WMD’S as a rush to war.
History does repeat itself–only the names and faces change.
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