The Battles of the War of 1812

Trevor S. Raymond is a teacher and librarian with the Peel Board of Education and editor of Canadian Holmes.

Seven short books from Berton’s Adventures in Canadian History
series—The Capture of Detroit, The Death of Isaac Brock, Revenge of
the Tribes, Canada Under Siege, The Battle of Lake Erie, The Death of
Tecumseh, and Attack on Montreal—first published between 1991 and
1995, have been collected in this attractive omnibus volume, with an
introduction by Charlotte Gray. It is the third such compilation in
Pierre Berton’s History for Young Canadians series, and although it is
aimed at a young audience, it is informative and exciting reading for
anyone. Each section has its own index, and there are clear and helpful
maps. Chapters are short and have dramatic and inviting titles (“The
Strange Behaviour of Jesse Elliott”) that encourage one to continue
reading.

Berton writes an exciting story. The confusion and terror of the
battles, some particularly savage, are brought vividly to life, as are
the harsh realities of pioneer living and many of the personalities who
led, or bungled, the various campaigns and were forever changed by them.
Particularly thrilling is the section on the Battle of Lake Erie.
Ultimately, of course, no writer, however skillful, can make us smell
the stench of a corpse-strewn field or feel the panic of teenage farm
boys fighting on a ship’s deck slippery with blood, but Berton’s
vivid narrative takes us as close as anyone could reasonably want to go.
Highly recommended.