The War of 1812 Magazine
Issue 21 January 2014
Donald E. Graves. And All Their Glory Past: Fort Erie: Plattsburgh and the Final Battles
in the North. Montreal: Robin Brass Studio, 2013. 419 pages, maps, illustrations, notes,
bibliography, index. $24.95 (Canada)/$27.95 (U.S.) paper.
Review by Robert Burnham
And All Their Glory Past is the third book in Donald Graves “Forgotten Soldiers Trilogy”.
Unlike his previous two volumes, Where Right and Glory Lead and Field of Glory: The Battle of
Crysler’s Farm, 1813, which dealt with either a specific geographic area or a single battle, And
All Their Glory Past, for the most part, covers the action along the border between the United
States and Canada in the latter half of 1814. This was a critical time of the war, for the fledgling
American Army had become a force to be reckoned with, while the war on the European
continent had ended and the British were able to send a large number of battle hardened regulars
from Wellington’s disbanded Peninsular Army.
Although the book is divided into five parts, it really focuses on two major campaigns and a
cavalry raid unlike any previously seen in North America. Much of the book centers around Fort
Erie, which sits on the Canadian side of the Niagara River about a kilometer from Lake Erie.
Whoever held the fort, controlled any traffic that moved on the river into the Great Lakes.
Because of it strategic importance, it would become the site of the bloodiest battle on Canadian
soil. Fort Erie was captured by the Americans in early July 1814 and much of And All Their
Glory Past is about the attempt by the British to re-take it from August to November 1814. It is
an epic account of the miserable conditions endured by both the besieged and the besiegers that
were beset by earlier than usual torrential rains, failed logistics, constant skirmishing only broken
up by artillery duels, unparalleled heroics, and massive casualties.
The second part of the book tells of the British invasion of New York, known as the Plattsburgh
Campaign. Key to victory along the border was control of the lakes. To do this the British had to
Copyright War of 1812 Magazine, 2014
The War of 1812 Magazine
Issue 21 January 2014
neutralize American naval capability. By the late summer of 1814, Wellington’s veterans had
arrived and a plan was conceived to destroy the American naval forces on Lake Champlain. The
British forces in the Plattsburgh Campaign consisted of over 9,000 soldiers, 4 ships, and 11
gunboats. General George Prevost would command this combined force. Opposing them was an
American force of 6300 soldiers (about 45% were militia), 4 ships, and 10 gunboats. The
campaign was marked by a slow retreat by the Americans, refusing to meet the British in an open
battle, all the while drawing the British deeper into hostile territory, and over-extending their
supply lines. The Americans were finally brought to bay at Plattsburgh, however the General
Prevost was reluctant to order the attack, hoping to have the navy engage and destroy the
American fleet; thus accomplishing his mission with little cost to his own army. Unfortunately
for the British, the wrong fleet was destroyed on 11 September. Unable to fulfill his mission,
General Prevost ordered his army to retreat back to Canada.
In a departure from the battlefields in the east, Mr. Graves turns his attention to the war in the
west beginning with two important battles of 1813. He briefly examines the destruction of the
British flotilla on Lake Erie on 10 September and the defeat of the British / Aborigine force on at
Moraviantown on 5 October. These two defeats gave control of the west to the Americans. The
author also writes about an event that was previously unknown to me. In the fall of 1814,
Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur led a force of 700 mounted Kentucky and Ohio militia men
on a raid deep into Canada; their mission was twofold. First was to force the British to divert
some of their units back into territory they had essential abandoned after their defeat at
Moraviantown the previous year.1 The second was to destroy any resources, such as mills, that
could be used to support the British Army. McArthur’s force headed east and raided for over
200 miles before the British could organize a force to stop them. Even then, it was the flooding
of the Grand River that forced them to retreat back to Detroit. During the 22 day raid, the
Americans had ridden over 400 miles.
Mr. Graves draws on numerous primary sources written by the men who fought to bring the
story of the war along the border to life. Not unexpectedly there are numerous accounts by both
senior and junior British officers, but what makes And All Their Glory Past unique is how he
weaves into the narrative the voices of those who rarely are heard in most histories. These
include from the Canadian side aborigine leaders and women. Nor are the Americans
overlooked. There are many quotes not only from diaries and letters of American officers, but of
enlisted soldiers, militia, and even of a drummer boy!
Rather than bogging down the narrative with a lot of technical data, the author provides seven
appendices that contains nice to have information, but not necessary to understand the story.
These include data on the various weapons used by both sides, orders-of-battle, daily weather
reports for the siege of Fort Erie, and the strength, composition, and desertion rate in the British
Army. Appendix C, is particularly fascinating. It explores two myths that have sprung up about
the siege of Fort Erie. The first is whether the commander of the British assault gave orders to
Copyright War of 1812 Magazine, 2014
The War of 1812 Magazine
Issue 21 January 2014
give “No Quarter” (i.e. to take no prisoners), while the second examines the cause of the
explosion in the Northeast Bastion, which broke the back of the British assault.
The book is lavishly illustrated with over 150 contemporarily drawings and paintings, plus
photographs from the author’s collection. There are also 14 maps. Both the illustrations and
maps are inter-twined with the text, which makes the narrative easier to follow.
And All Their Glory Past has all the hallmarks of the author’s earlier books. It is meticulously
researched, very readable, and highly entertaining. Don Graves is one of the few historians who
actually use humor in his writing. All of his previous books are interspersed with dry wit and he
is the master of one liners. This book is no exception. A few examples . . . he wrote that after
1816, Lieutenant Colonel George Hay, the Marquis of Tweeddale, “had seven sons and six
daughters and was apparently too busy siring children to have much time for his military career,
“2 while Surgeon William Dunlop, of the 89th Foot, “never lost his sense of humor – possibly
because he was wise enough to remain single.”3 He described the modern reconstruction of Fort
Erie:
“A splendid new interpretation centre has recently been opened at Fort Erie complete with a
display that interprets the siege (and is surprisingly accurate, which is not always the case with
historic site interpretation.) An outside annex features partially rebuilt battery positions complete
with artillery pieces and Congreve rockets, as well as a representative of the type of primitive
huts the besiegers lived in for almost two months. The only thing missing is the nearly constant
downpour of rain, but perhaps in future a sprinkler system could be installed to enhance the
visitor’s experience.”4
Once again Don Graves has written a superb book on the War of 1812. His engaging writing
style will hold the interest of the casual reader, while the wealth of detail will satisfy the serious
scholar. And All Their Glory Past is not just for those interested in the War of 1812; I highly
recommend it for anyone interested in American and Canadian military history or the
Napoleonic Wars.
1
The Canadian settlers had been essentially unprotected, but fortunately left alone by the Americans for a year.
P. 337
3
P. 338
4
P. 348
2
Copyright War of 1812 Magazine, 2014