By one of the nation's foremost legal historians, a groundbreaking history of the pioneering American role in establishing the modern laws of war. In the fateful closing days of 1862, just three weeks before Emancipation, Abraham Lincoln's top military advisors commissioned a code of rules to govern the armies of the United States in a newly intensified war effort. The code Lincoln issued the next spring helped shape the remaining two years of Civil War. Its rules on torture, prisoners of war, assassination, and more quickly became foundations of the modern laws of war and today's Geneva Conventions. Yet the hidden story of Lincoln's code, and of the decades of controversy that lay behind it, has never been told. In this masterful and strikingly original history, John Witt charts the alternately troubled and triumphant course of the laws of war in America from the Founding Founders to the dawn of the modern era, revealing the history of a code that reshaped the laws of war the world over. Ranging from the Revolution to the War of 1812, from war with Mexico to the Civil War, from Indian wars to the brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the Philippines, Witt tells a story that features presidents as well as men in the throes of battle, one that spans war-makers and pacifists, Indians and slaves. In a time of heated controversy about the nation's conduct in the war on terror, Lincoln's Code is a compelling story of ideals under pressure and a landmark contribution to our understanding of the American experience."--
The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.
The War of 1812 is a perfect example of how a war should not be conducted. Congress failed to supply sufficient revenue to support the ill-equipped, poorly trained militia. There was little effective coordination of the war effort from Washington. The American people themselves were sharply divided over the nation's involvement, and many states failed to mobilize their militias when directed by the government, declaring that the federal demands were unconstitutional. From the Battle of Tippecanoe to the Treaty of Ghent, John K. Mahon's War of 1812 is the definitive story of this blunder-filled episode in American history. Here are the exciting tales of Zachary Taylor's brave defense of Fort Harrison; the massacre at Fort Mims; the duel between the frigates Constitution and Java off the coast of Brazil; the disaster at the River Raisin; William Hull's loss of Detroit and his subsequent court-martial for treason and cowardice; Francis Scott Key's composition of ”The Star Spangled Banner”; the contest for naval supremacy on the Great Lakes; the burning of Washington; and the Battle of New Orleans. Detailed enough for scholars, yet vivid enough for the general reader, Mahon's study will remain the standard source for anyone who wishes to gain a complete understanding of the War of 1812.
From his first court martial as a cadet at West Point through his dismissal from the United States Army at the age of 49, Justus McKinstry made his career through outright cunning and manipulation of the legal system. Graduating from West Point in 1838, he eventually landed a long-sought-after position in the quartermaster corps. During his service here he took advantage of the extraordinary wartime circumstances to betray the public trust and make a profit for himself in the guise of acquiring much needed supplies. He was brought before a court of inquiry or a court martial six times during his nefarious career, yet only one time were charges initiated from within the Army itself. The final charges--once again initiated from a source outside the Army--brought his crimes to light and resulted in his dismissal from the service. This biography takes a look at the forces within the life of Brigadier General Justus McKinstry that shaped him into the man he eventually became. It briefly discusses his upbringing as well as his unprecedented six years at West Point and his service during the Second Seminole and Mexican wars. The bulk of the text, however, concentrates on his Civil War commission and his duties as an officer of the quartermaster corps, especially his position as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the West during the summer and fall of 1861. Special emphasis is placed on the ways in which the system itself failed McKinstry, bringing into question the ability of the Army to police itself. Sources incorporate an abundance of official records from the time period, including a transcript of McKinstry's final court martial.
General William Tecumseh Sherman has come down to us as the implacable destroyer of the Civil War, notorious for his burning of Atlanta and his brutal march to the sea. A probing biography that explains Sherman's style of warfare and the threads of self-possession and insecurity that made up his character. Photos.
Much is known about the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Relatively little is known about the wars to conquer the Trans-Appalachian West; the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Yet, in terms of political ramifications and intrigue, military strategies and tactics, and interactions between different entities and individuals, these campaigns rank high on the scale of complexity and interest. Just as other wars highlighted great generals; Washington, Lee, and Grant, and memorable battles; Spotsylvania, The Bulge, and The Persian Gulf Flank Run, the Trans-Appalachian Wars had impressive features as well. These wars encompassed the five action phases: The Indian (or Woodland) Wars, 1790-1795, The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest, 1811-1813, The Creek War, 1813-1814, The War of 1812 in the Old Southwest, 1814-1815, and The Stabilization of the Gulf Coast, 1811-1818. They brought to the fore three great generals; Mad Anthony Wayne, William Henry Harrison, and Andrew Jackson, who fought and won five great battles: The Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794; The Battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 1811; The Battle of the Thames, October 8, 1813; The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, March 27, 1814; and The Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.
When we published our initial work on the Seminole Wars in 2004, we lamented the fact that such an important series of events was widely unknown to the American public in general and to the majority of Floridians. Not that we should have been surprised: The war was fought in one small corner of the nation and therefore of little concern to Americans as a whole, and most Floridians weren’t born in the state and would have had little opportunity to learn about the wars. Yet it shouldn’t have been that way. The Seminole Wars were a major conflict for the nation and arguably one of the most formative events for the State of Florida. The Indian Wars of the American West are famous worldwide, yet the Seminole Wars were bigger than any western Indian war. The foundations for most of Florida’s great cities are a result of the Seminole Wars, yet few of those cities’ residents are aware of the fact. It was an historical oversight we felt was in need of correction.
This definitive account of the final war between the US government and Florida’s Seminole tribe “brings to life a conflict that is largely ignored” (San Francisco Book Review). Spanning a period of over forty years (1817–1858), the three Seminole Wars were America’s longest, costliest, and deadliest Indian wars, surpassing the more famous ones fought in the West. After an uneasy peace following the conclusion of the second Seminole War in 1842, a series of hostile events, followed by a string of murders in 1849 and 1850, made confrontation inevitable. The war was also known as the “Billy Bowlegs War” because Billy Bowlegs, Holata Micco, was the central Seminole leader in this the last Indian war to be fought east of the Mississippi River. Pushed by increasing encroachment into their territory, he led a raid near Fort Myers. A series of violent skirmishes ensued. The vastness of the Floridian wilderness and the difficulties of the terrain and climate caused problems for the army, but they had learned lessons from the second war, and, amongst other new tactics, employed greater use of boats, eventually securing victory by cutting off food supplies. History of the Third Seminole War is a detailed narrative of the war and its causes, containing numerous firsthand accounts from participants in the conflict, derived from virtually all the available primary sources, collected over many years. “Any reader interested in learning more about Indian wars, Army history, or Florida history will profit from reading this book,” as well as Civil War enthusiasts, since many of the officers earned their stripes in the earlier conflict (The Journal of America’s Military Past).
Separating fact from myth, the author resurrects the remarkable Andrew Jackson and his rise to American hero., bringing to life the thrilling details of frontier warfare and of Jackson’s exploits as an Indian fighter.
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