British generals in the War of 1812 : high command in the Canadas / Wesley B. Turner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Turner, Wesley B.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Army--Officers--Biography.

Great Britain.

Generals--Canada--Biography.

Generals.

Generals--Great Britain--Biography.

Command of troops--History--19th century.

Command of troops.

United States--History--War of 1812--Biography.

United States.

United States--History--War of 1812--Participation, British.

United States--History--War of 1812--Campaigns.

Physical Description:

xvi, 260 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In British Generals in the War of 1812 Wesley Turner takes a fresh look at five British Generals - Sir George Prevost, Isaac Brock, Roger Sheaffe, Baron Francis de Rottenburg, and Gordon Drummond - who held the highest civil and military command in the Canadas. He considers their formative experiences in the British Army and on active service in European and West Indian theatres and evaluates their roles in the context of North American conditions, which were very different from those of Europe. Turner answers questions about the quality of each general's leadership, particularly that of Isaac Brock, the best known of these five generals. He argues that Brock's charge up Queenston Heights - the basis for his heroic stature - was brave but hardly a demonstration of competent leadership. Turner also shows us that while the other generals displayed courage in combat, they had to face problems raised by American military successes and by the strains of warfare on the civilian population. British Generals in the War of 1812 explores why these commanders succeeded or failed and why, except for Brock, they are all but forgotten.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Maps

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Generals and Generalship

Disappointment: The Leadership of Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost

Audacity: The Leadership of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock

Prudence: The Leadership of Major-General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe

Detachment: The Leadership of Major-General Baron Francis de Rottenburg

Persistence: The Leadership of Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Drummond

Comparing Generals

Chronology of the War of 1812

The Military Careers of British and American Officers in the War of 1812

Correspondence between the Commander of the Forces and Captain Downie

Prevost’s Reports to Earl Bathurst

Abbreviations Used in the Sources

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-255) and index.

ISBN:

9786612857935

9780773586314

0773586318

9781282857933

1282857932

9780773567702

0773567704

OCLC:

1394872117