Customer Reviews

Flames Across the Border: The Canadian-American tragedy, 1813-1814

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Pierre Berton's second volume of the history of the War of 1812 is as polished, accurate, and gripping as his first volume. In fact, he even goes into detail over the hardhships and difficulties endured by the US diplomatic delegation seeking an end to the war, and the internal turmoil the war causes in the New England states of the new republic. He details the rise of a younger and more competent officer corps, in both the US Navy and the US Army, which greatly improves US performance in period battles compared to the earlier military disasters of the war. He further details the improved performance of Canadian militia in upper Canada, and goes into some detail of the burning of Washington DC (and documents the reasons leading up to it in suitable depth). In summation, an excellent companion to the first volume, concentrating on relevant occurrences and facts, and using excellent narrative prose to hold the reader's interest throughout. Highly recommended.

If you want to learn about the war of 1812, the books you should read are the two Pierre Berton offerings, Flames Across the Border and The Invasion of Canada, and two from Donald E. Graves on the battles of Lundy's Lane and Crysler farm. They are quite simply the best work out there.

Few people know the details of the War of 1812; heck, most Americans have no idea that we were ever in a shooting war with Canada! "Flames" is the second of two books by Berton that cover this war, and picks up in the spring of 1813, with the war in full swing. But don't think of this as some dusty dry old history tome. Berton uses hundreds of primary and secondary sources to put you right there on the battlefield. The result is a story told more in the fashion of an war novel than a simple chronology of events. It's one of the very rare history books that's harder to put down than to pick up!

The book covers all of the major battles on both sides of the border, as well as the naval warfare on the Great Lakes. It also covers the British marching on, and then burning, Washington. But there are much more than military details, there is a fascinating look at the pressure on both sides to end the war, and the work of mediators to achieve a peace settlement.

Although the author is Canadian, the coverage is extremely even-handed. Major players on both sides made some incredible mistakes, and no one's reputation is spared. In the Author's Note, he says: "This is . . . a social history of the war ... I have tried to tell not only what happened but also what it was like . . . " I would say he succeeded brilliantly. I highly recommend this book to everyone, on both sides of the 49th parallel!

This book is available in other hardcover and paperback editions at prices far below those which were listed for this title in mid-2008. Search using these ISBN `s:

0140108882

0771012446

0771012462

0316092177

Pierre Berton's "Flames Across The Border 1813-1814" is the second volume of an immensely readable popular history of the War of 1812. Berton, an accomplished Canadian journalist and historian, writes in a breathless, immediate style wrapped around the personal experiences of leaders, soldiers, and civilians caught up in the conflict.

"Flames Across the Border" keeps a tight focus on the fighting in and around Canada during 1813-1814. Berton's narrative ranges from Fort Michilimackinac on Lake Huron to Lake Erie and Upper Canada, Lake Ontario and the Niagara Peninsula, to Montreal and upstate New York. He digresses only to cover the burning of Washington D.C. in 1814 and the peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium, that finally ended the war.

Berton's narrative captures the ugliness and appalling waste of a war fought on one side by indifferently trained American militia and on the other by small numbers of British regulars augmented by Canadian militia and Indian allies. The superior British military is preoccupied with the death struggle with Napoleon for Europe, while the US has to build a professional military force under fire. The two sides, lacking resources and senior leadership, are each unable to put together a decisive campaign. The war along the Canadian border ends in bloody stalemate. As Berton's epilogue makes clear, the real losers are the Indian tribes.

"Flames Across the Border" is highly recommended for its even-handed and highly readable treatment of the Canadian portion of a war almost forgotten among American readers.

"Flames Across the Border" is a very important historical work, for it describes the birth of militarism, expansionism and first appearance of War Hawks within USA government.

Canada has been invaded only once during the history. It was extremely senseless and ad hock invasion. Many farmers, city dwellers lost their homes and thousands of (poor, desperately hoping for being paid) soldiers were killed or terribly maimed. Author pays considerable attention to Great Lakes' Indian tribes and legendary leader Tecumseh. False premises of land grant drugged Indians into this brutal straggle against Long Knives, while bellicose congressmen searched for glory. This fragment presents the utter insensitivity of politicians ordering killings and suffering: " "To give immediate occupation to your troops, and to prevent their blood from stagnating, why not take Fort Erie?" the Secretary (of War John Armstrong) suggested to Major-General Jacob Brown, almost as though he were planning a weekend outing ".

Book contains plenty of maps depicting battlefields and movements of both armies. I read it almost non-stop; especially great is naval battle on Lake Erie. Next fragment succinctly summarizes irony and tragedy of this conflict: "Thousands are dead, more are crippled, hundreds are in prison. In the glowing reports of the opposing commanders, scores of officers have achieved immortality of a sort, their deeds of heroism, zeal, steadfastness, loyalty, leadership, and resolve recorded for all time. But where is the victory? Here (at Fort Erie), as at Chippawa and Lundy's Lane the dead lie mouldering in common graves. To what purpose have they fought? For whose honour have they bled? For what noble principle have they fallen?"

Got tired of reading about one battle after another but it is well written. Learned alot about the War of 1812 that sure wasn't taught in the American History 101 I took in high school or college.

I feel a little petty saying I was disappointed in Pierre Berton's Flames Across the Border, the second volume in his opus about the vastly underrated (and misnamed) War of 1812. It's just that the first book, The Invasion of Canada, was one of the most interesting and insightful histories I've ever read. Flames, while a well-written and thorough survey of the war in 1813-14, just isn't as thought-provoking or compelling as Invasion.

Together the two books focus on the border war between the United States and Canada (leaving out other large topics such as the naval war in the Atlantic and the Battle of New Orleans). To the British, the war was an annoying sideshow in the larger picture of the Napoleonic Wars. To the Americans, the war was a matter of national honor, a Second American Revolution to determine who would dominate North America. To the Canadians, it was the beginning of their own national identity.

And to the people who lived along the U.S.-Canadian border, it was three years of misery and terror, culminating in a series of incendiary raids that climaxed when the British burned Washington, D.C. in August 1814. With some notable exceptions, the military and political leadership on both sides was stunningly incompetent, and the two sides slugged to a standstill without accomplishing much of anything.

While the historical consequences of the war were enormous, reading the detailed accounts of the battles was depressing rather than edifying. Each battle was different yet mind-numbingly the same. As Berton sums it up: "The two forces resemble equally matched prize fighters, staggering about the ring in the last round, scarcely able to raise their arms in combat."