Suggested Reading

Listed below is a sampling of some excellent published works regarding the War of 1812 including primary accounts, secondary sources, novels, childrens books, illustrated histories, guides to historic sites, as well as films. For a listing of related websites and online materials, please visit our Links and Resources page.

Printed Books & Material:

Aitchison, Robert, and Gene A. Smith. A British Eyewitness at the Battle of New Orleans: the Memoir of Royal Navy Admiral Robert Aitchison, 1808-1827. New Orleans, LA: Historic New Orleans Collection, 2004.

Allgor, Catherine. A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation. New York: Henry Holt &, 2006.

Andrew Jackson His Life and Times. Paw Prints, 2010.

Antal, Sandy. A Wampum Denied: Procter's War of 1812. [Ottawa, Ontario]: Carleton UP, 1997.

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell., and Claire A. Nivola. The Flag Maker. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.

Benn, Carl. The Iroquois in the War of 1812. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1998.

Berton, Pierre. Flames across the Border: 1813-1814. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981.

Berton, Pierre. The Invasion of Canada, 1812-1813. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1980.

Black, Jeremy. The War of 1812 in the Age of Napoleon. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 2009.

Borneman, Walter R. 1812: the War That Forged a Nation. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.

Bowdish, Lynea, and Harry Burman. Francis Scott Key and "The Star-Spangled Banner" New York: MONDO, 2002.

Budiansky, Stephen. Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.

Buel, Richard. America on the Brink: How the Political Struggle over the War of 1812 Almost Destroyed the Young Republic. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Bunn, Mike, and Clay Williams. Battle for the Southern Frontier: the Creek War and the War of 1812. Charleston, SC: History, 2008.

Cole, Merle T., and Scott S. Sheads. Fort McHenry and Baltimore's Harbor Defenses. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2001.

Collins, Gilbert. Guidebook to the Historic Sites of the War of 1812. Toronto: Dundurn, 2006.

Côté, Richard N. Strength and Honor: the Life of Dolley Madison. Mt. Pleasant, SC: Corinthian, 2005.

Dale, Ronald J. The Invasion of Canada: Battles of the War of 1812. Toronto: J. Lorimer, 2001.

Daughan, George C. If by Sea: the Forging of the American Navy-- from the American Revolution to the War of 1812. New York: Basic, 2008.

Davis, William C. The Pirates Laffite: the Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2005.

Elting, John Robert. Amateurs, to Arms!: a Military History of the War of 1812. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin of Chapel Hill, 1991.

Eshelman, Ralph E., Scott S. Sheads, and Donald R. Hickey. The War of 1812 in the Chesapeake: a Reference Guide to Historic Sites in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 2010.

Figley, Marty Rhodes, and Craig Orback. Washington Is Burning. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook, 2006.

Fitz-Enz, David G., and John Robert. Elting. The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle. New York: Cooper Square, 2001.

Flint, Eric. 1812: the Rivers of War. New York: Del Rey/Ballantine, 2006.

Forester, C. S. The Age of Fighting Sail; the Story of the Naval War of 1812. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1956.

Fredriksen, John C. The United States Army in the War of 1812: Concise Biographies of Commanders and Operational Histories of Regiments, with Bibliographies of Published and Primary Resources. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2009.

Fredriksen, John C. The War of 1812 in Person: Fifteen Accounts by United States Army Regulars, Volunteers and Militiamen. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2010.

Fritz, Jean. The Great Little Madison. New York: Putnam, 1989.

Gilbert, Oscar E. Frontier Militiaman in the War of 1812: Southwestern Frontier. Oxford: Osprey Pub., 2008.

Graves, Dianne. In the Midst of Alarms: the Untold Story of Women and the War of 1812. [Montreal]: Robin Brass Studio, 2007.

Groom, Winston. Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.

Healey, David. 1812: Rediscovering Chesapeake Bay's Forgotten War. Rock Hill, SC: Bella Rosa, 2005.

Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler. Encyclopedia of the War of 1812. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1997.

Hickey, Donald R. Don't Give up the Ship!: Myths of the War of 1812. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2006.

Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: a Forgotten Conflict. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1989.

Hickey, Donald R. The War of 1812: a Short History. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1995.

Hillerman, Tony, and Otto Penzler. The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Hitsman, J. Mackay. The Incredible War of 1812 a Military History. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto, 1968.

Katcher, Philip R. N. The American War, 1812-1814. London: Osprey, 1990.

Laffite, Jean. The Journal of Jean Laffite; the Privateer-patriot's Own Story. New York: Vantage, 1958.

Langguth, A. J. Union 1812: the Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Latimer, Jon. 1812 War with America. Cambridge, Mass [u.a.: Belknap of Harvard Univ., 2007.

Malcomson, Robert. Lords of the Lake: the Naval War on Lake Ontario, 1812-1814. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute, 1998.

McCoy, Drew R. The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1989.

Meacham, Jon. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. New York: Random House, 2008.

Meyer, Sam. Paradoxes of Fame: the Francis Scott Key Story. Annapolis: Eastwind Pub., 1995. Print.

Mills, James Cooke. Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie. [Charleston, SC]: Bibliobazaar, 2010.

Mills, James Cooke. Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie. Detroit: J. Phelps, 1913.

Mulhall, Jill K. The War of 1812. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2005.

Nevin, David. 1812. New York: Forge, 1996.

Perry, Oliver Hazard, and Charles Oscar Paullin. The Battle of Lake Erie: a Collection of Documents, Chiefly by Commodore Perry, including the Court-martial of Commander Barclay and the Court Enquiry on Captain Elliott. [Whitefish, Mont.]: Kessinger Pub., 2007.

Pitch, Anthony. The Burning of Washington: the British Invasion of 1814. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute, 1998.

Ransom, Candice F., and Greg Call. Flames in the City: a Tale of the War of 1812. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008.

Reilly, Robin. The British at the Gates; the New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812. New York: Putnam, 1974.

Remini, Robert Vincent. Andrew Jackson. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Remini, Robert Vincent. The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory. London: Pimlico, 2001.

Robinet, Harriette. The Twins, the Pirates, and the Battle of New Orleans. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 1997.

Saxon, Lyle. Lafitte the Pirate. Gretna: Pelican Pub., 1989.

Standiford, Les. Washington Burning: How a Frenchman's Vision for Our Nation's Capital Survived Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the Invading British Army. New York: Three Rivers, 2008.

Tallant, Robert. The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans. New York: Random House, 1951.

Taylor, Alan. The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.

Wills, Garry. James Madison. New York: Times, 2002.

Wood, Gordon S. Empire of Liberty: a History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.

Film & Documentary:

Andrew Jackson. Dir. Jim Lindsay. Perf. Edward Herrmman and Peter Kiklowicz. The History Channel, 2007. DVD.

Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency. Dir. Carl Byker and Mitch Wilson. Perf. Martin Sheen. PBS, 2008. DVD.

The Buccaneer. Dir. Anthony Quinn. Perf. Yul Brenner and Charlton Heston. Paramount, 1958. Videocassette.

First Invasion: The War of 1812. Dir. Gary Foreman. Perf. Mark D. Hutter and Dave Fagerberg. The History Channel, 2004. DVD.