For Honour's Sake: The War of 1812 and the Brokering of an Uneasy Peace

by Mark Zuehlke

In the tradition of Margaret MacMillan’s Paris 1919 comes a new consideration of Canada’s most famous war and the Treaty of Ghent that unsatisfactorily concluded it, from one of this country’s premier military historians.

In the Canadian imagination, the War of 1812 looms large. It was a war in which British and Indian troops prevailed in almost all of the battles, in which the Americans were unable to hold any of the land they fought for, in which a young woman named Laura Secord raced over the Niagara peninsula to warn of American plans for attack (though how she knew has never been discovered), and in which Canadian troops burned down the White House. Competing American claims insist to this day that, in fact, it was they who were triumphant.

But where does the truth lie? Somewhere in the middle, as is revealed in this major new reconsideration from one of Canada’s master historians. Drawing on never-before-seen archival material, Zuehlke paints a vibrant picture of the war’s major battles, vividly re-creating life in the trenches, the horrifying day-to-day manoeuvring on land and sea, and the dramatic negotiations in the Flemish city of Ghent that brought the war to an unsatisfactory end for both sides. By focusing on the fraught dispute in which British and American diplomats quarrelled as much amongst themselves as with their adversaries, Zuehlke conjures the compromises and backroom deals that yielded conventions resonating in relations between the United States and Canada to this very day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada, War

464 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2006

About the author

On January 1, 1981, Mark Zuehlke walked away from a journalism career to pursue magazine and book writing fulltime. He has never looked back. In 1992, Mark published his first book—Magazine Writing From the Boonies (co-authored with Louise Donnelly)—and now concentrates almost exclusively on writing of books.

Fascinated by Canada’s military heritage, Mark first set to writing about the role Canadians played in World War II after discussing the Battle of Ortona with several veterans in a Royal Canadian Legion following a Remembrance Day Ceremony in Kelowna, B.C. Discovering no book had been written on this pivotal battle, Mark decided to fill that gap. Ortona: Canada’s Epic World War II Battle was the result. The book’s success encouraged him to develop The Canadian Battle Series, which documents the Canadian World War II experience and has resulted in his being declared by Jack Granatstein as the nation’s leading popular military historian.

Mark is also an award winning mystery writer, whose popular Elias McCann series has garnered much critical praise. Set in storm-swept west coast Vancouver Island village of Tofino, the series follows the investigations of reluctant community coroner Elias McCann. Hands Like Clouds, the debut title in this series, won the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for the 2000 Best First Novel and the third instalment, Sweep Lotus, was nominated for the 2004 Arthur Ellis Best Novel.

When not writing, this Victoria, British Columbia resident can often be found tinkering around the Fernwood heritage house he shares with partner and fellow writer Frances Backhouse. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, cycling, kayaking, travelling, and cooking.

Reviews

[Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! History as it ought to be written!

Mark Zuelke writes a fast moving detailed blow by blow account of the War of 1812 and the subsequent negotiated peace treaty at Ghent, swiftly describing personalities, relationships and strategies and misteps on both sides. The account of the battles for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario kept me on the edge of my seat as did the failed campaign on Montreal and the battle for the Niagara Peninsula. The story of Laura Secord alas is not quite verifiable. (Secord's warning on Tanglefoot's album Captured Alive (IMPORT) and other of their albums is a personal favorite.)

Oddly enough the War was only an echo of the Napoleonic Wars and the Americans are shown to have greater reason to grieve against the French, yet they decided to side against and attack the British.

My only complaint is that the constant change of viewpoints and the sheer number of people referenced in the space of a few paragraphs made the narrative confusing and might be boring for the younger reader but the book had no problem holding my attention.

There are also incredible parallels for our own time - the Raisin River massacre where the British left a group of natives to guard American prisoners; the fascinating account of how the Americans due to the advocacy of men like Henry Clay pushed the country into war that they were not prepared to fight and their mistaken notion that the Canadians would welcome their advance. There is also the lesson of a military advantage not used is no advantage at all when held by overly cautious officers such as the British Prevost and the American General Henry "Granny" Dearborn. A similar example is related when American ships which have superior canon to the British are held back by a sandbar on Lake Erie. And even though the focus of the book is on the military campaign it also records the political pressures of external concerns such as taxes and elections on the outcome of negotiations.

The coverage of the peace negotiations at Ghent was a treat. I was astounded and impressed to discover that one of the primary British demands in was the formation and recognition of an Indian buffer nation in Ohio and Michigan, not only to contain American expansion and protect Upper Canada but also in respect of native support and native claims. The primary British negotiator Ghoulburn had strong feelings on that point, only to be undermined by lack of interest or obligation of its importance by Wellington who wanted the matter wrapped up as quickly as possible. North America was just a side show and wrapping up the Concert of Europe after Napoleon was the main event. Indeed Wellington's historical lustre drops by the revelation of his sending a letter to the American lead negotiator Albert Gallatin the content of which would be considered no less than treason.

Canadian children learn a short version about the War in middle school, though I remember learning more than my children were exposed to. American children seem to know nothing at all. This book is too old for them. I'd certainly recommend it to history teachers, upper year college students, history buffs or those with an interest in military strategy. Be warned though - this is not a skimmable book - each paragraph is loaded with six or eight people and rapidly changing points of view so it can be hard to follow but Zuehlke ties it all together.

Fascinating and Recommended.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview which deals mostly well with the multiple personages and sprawling battlefields and battles (and I would include both sides of the negotiating table as combat zones) it can be difficult to follow all the elements but in the end it is well worth it.

[Petr1108 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. Too much focus on this american said that, and that was born there...

[Don Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read numerous books on WW2 by Mark and was to be blunt, surprised that he would leave what I thought was his comfort zone and take on the war of 1812. For me 1812 was a deciding point for Canada. Would we remain British or become another state in the USA or not?
Loyalist's or Tories as they were called; were not treated well after the American War of Independence. Many fled to Atlantic Canada. Others to Quebec ( lower Canada ) and the Eastern Townships while other to Upper Canada ( Ontario ). All to start over again. Having to clear away forests and plant their crops amongst the stumps. It was not an easy choice and having left their comforts and lost nearly everything they had. Then in 1812 while Britain was tied up in Europe with Napoleon a new war. In reality it was a civil war as most of the new Colonists / Loyalists were being forced to make a call to fight against their previous neighbours. It was an expensive war and one that should never have happened. It could not be afforded and through major blunders on both sides was costing everyone too much to be continued. How to end it however was a question.
In Europe a group of Diplomats ( American and British )tried to figure out how to bring about an acceptable peace treaty to end a war and yet have both sides save face. It is very interesting to see how they worked on this and how we Canadians are still living with some of the decisions made in 1814 by these 8 gentlemen. Their points of view and hidden agendas and personalities all make for interesting views.
This was not what I had expected and it was a complete surprise for me. Mark carried this off and it certainly made a whole gap in my knowledge of our North American History.
Please do read.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-paced and engaging general history of the War of 1812 and the peace negotiations in Ghent. Zuehlke does a fine job sketching the personalities involved and the strategy and aims of both sides. Although the narrative has a tendency to shift between the British and American sides a bit too abruptly and tries to cover too many figures in too few paragraphs, it still does a fine job telling his story.

Zuehlke covers the British proposal for an Indian buffer state in the northwest and Great Lakes regions, a proposal that quickly died because much of the territory, apparently unknown to British policymakers had already been ceded away by the Indians following US coercion. And in any case, the British cabinet never came around to supporting a buffer state because they wanted to end the war as speedly as possible since Ghent was just a sideshow compared to the ongoing conference in Vienna were the fate of post-Napoleonic Europe was being decided.

Lively and enjoyable. Zuelke does hint at such themes as international politics, Canadian nationalism, and the fate of the Indians, but these are never discussed in detail.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The War of 1812 lasted a little over two years. The U.S. wanted to increase their territory, so they invaded Canada (or what was to later become Canada). The British, Canadians, French-Canadians, and Indians all fought back and in fact, won almost all the battles, though the one battle convincingly won by the Americans, The Battle of New Orleans, was just after the peace treaty was signed.

I'm sure I learned a bit about this war in high school, but I don't remember. I really knew very little about the war going into reading the book (except that the White House was burned – I know that because of a song). I have to admit that I had a hard time getting into the book and a hard time focusing. I still learned some from what I was able to focus on and I'd still be willing to read more about it. Overall, I'm rating it ok.

[Rod · Rating 3 out of 5]

How the British won the war and lost the peace. Well. ok: militarily it was mostly a draw. This is a "Paris 1919" type look at the the peace process; the personalities and intrigues around the negotiations at the the Treaty of Ghent.

It seems the British were otherwise occupied with the daeling with the European peace process and lost interest in the terms of the North American agreement. Mark Zuehlke makes the case that while there were no significant winners, the real losers were the North American first nations peoples that had thrown their lot in with the British only to have most of the commitments ignored during the negotitations.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great writing but not one single map!