While Washington Burned

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On 25 August 1814, horrified Americans watched the summer skies over Washington darken with the smoke of their capital under British attack. The assault rocked an inexperienced U.S. military machine already undergoing painful tests of battle in theaters to the north. While Washington burned that night, the costliest fighting between U.S. and British regular troops during the War of 1812 raged along the Niagara Frontier. Earlier in the summer, an American force has crossed the Niagara River to capture the British fort at Fort Erie by the end of July. The story of the battle for Fort Erie recounts the first U.S. victory on the land against on organized British force and details the series of bloody attacks and counterattacks...Featuring maps and extensive appendixes of the armies involved, the book analyzes the strategy and tactics of the battle and highlights the emergence of the new military leaders, like Brigadier General Winfield Scott, who instilled new standards of military professionalism in the U.S. Army. The lessons learned from this period shaped the nation's young warriors - who later would lead the country through the Civil War. -- back cover.