BOOK REVIEW: THE DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT.

THE CLIMACTIC SHAPING OF "THE LAND OF THE FREE" DURING THE HAZARDOUS EVENTS OF 1814 IN WASHINGTON, BALTIMORE AND LONDON.

I bought this book recently in a second hand book store for £4, a real bargain. Strangely however, the book, printed and published in the USA only in 1972 , uses paper that is reminiscence of that used in UK books during the world wars, very cheap, slightly differing page sizes and with an almost card like consistency. 

The War of 1812 was started by the US for various reasons related to trade during the Napoleonic war and was mainly concerned with US efforts to invade and seize parts of Canada. Apart from defending Canada the British response was to send a naval and army expeditionary force to the east coast to "ravage" the enemy and teach them the lesson that the British were not to be trifled with.

The first British landing resulted in the rapid dissolution of the defending US militia by the very professional British troops and the capture and burning of Washington. The next landing was against Baltimore. Here the US militia, better led this time, was able to hold out against the British causing them to retreat after the commanding British officer was killed. This action was supported by a navel bombardment of Fort McHenry by British warships. That event was witnessed by Francis Scott Key who, reflecting on what he had seen, was inspired to write "The Star Spangled Banner" hence the title of the book.

The final British assault was on New Orleans but this resulted in an overwhelming US victory that caused the British to rapidly fall back to their ships. Around this time the British government, dismayed at the cost of making war on the US  and with Canada secure by then, decided to make peace with a US delegation in Europe for that very purpose. This was soon agreed as the US had also had enough.

The theme of the book describes how the humiliation of seeing the capitol city burned almost caused the total collapse of the US yet with just a matter of weeks, the victories at Baltimore and New Orleans caused a complete change by bring the nation together and setting it on the path of internal development and isolation from world affairs that lasted 100 years.

Overall an excellent book about a fascinating time. However I would really commend this book to wargamers of the AWI period. This book contains a large number of scenarios for battles and actions including navel landings and bombardments using the same tactics and weapons of the AWI but in a setting very different to that conflict. Recommended.