Books on the War of 1812
Arranged alphabetically by author.


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  • Click on Image to expandA New England Farmer [Lowell, John] :  Perpetual War, The Policy of Mr. Madison.  Boston: Printed by Chester Stebbins, 1812. First Edition. Very good- in stab sewn wrapper with "Bowdoin College" and the name of an early prior owner (Ezra Abbot, Jr." written across the upper edge of the front page. An octavo of 9 by 5 7/8 inches with the fore edge and lower edge rough cut and shallow chipping to the fore edge of the front page. Written in pencil is the author's name surrounded in brackets just above the word "Boston". The contents are spotted with foxing throughout, but primarily in the margins. 117 pages of text. The author, John Lowell (1769-1840) was a Massachusetts lawyer, agriculturist, philanthropist, and a well known Federalist who wrote many pamphlets in support of his point of view. He was often at odds with the Democratic Party and published many unsigned pieces critical of President James Madison's efforts to build a standing army and navy and the War of 1812. (DAB)
    TB29956  $150.00


  • Click on Image to expandAnderson with research done by Albert Dock, Russell F.:  The British Raid On Essex April 8, 1814.  Essex, Conn.: Essex Historical Society, 1981. First Edition. Fine in heavy, printed paper wraps over a double staple binding. A small quarto measuring 10 3/4 by 8 inches containing 20 pages of text. Without a dust jacket as issued. Describes in extremely fine detail the action taken by the British during the War of 1812 to knock out the threat the ship building harbor of Essex (then called Point Pettipaug) with its production of merchant ships and vessels for privateers under construction to break the British blockade of Long Island Sound.
    TB28658  $45.00


  • Click on Image to expandBonney, Mrs. Catharina V. R.:  A Legacy Of Historical Gleanings.  Albany, NY: J. Munsell, 1875. Second Edition. Both volumes of this two volume set are are in very good- condition in brick red cloth covered boards with gilt text and black decorations on the spines and with black decorations and borders on the front and rear boards. Both are small quarto of 9 by 5 3/4 inches with the cloth at the heads and heels of the spines rubbed and worn as are the tips of the boards. Both volumes have a stamp on the first free end page reading: "discarded from the Bangor Theological Seminary" as well as two book plates on the front paste downs from two prior owners. The front and rear hinges for both volume are cracked yet the bindings are hold and strong. Volume I contains 542 pages including an index. Volume II contains 544 pages including an index. Illustrated with a number of portraits of individuals noted in the volumes. This publication contains historical documentation (to and from members of the Van Rensselaer family) for events occurring in the State of New York from the original Dutch settlement, the French and Indian War, American Revolution, the War of 1812 and up to the close of the Civil War and ending around 1871. (Klein: New York in the American Revolution, 841)
    TB29378  $150.00


  • Click on Image to expandBrown, Roger H.:  The Republic In Peril: 1812.  New York: Columbia University Press, 1964. First Edition, First printing. Fine in red cloth covered boards with a gilt on black title block on the spine. A small quarto measuring 9 1/4" by 6". Without its issued dust jacket. 238 pages including an index, chapter notes, manuscript sources and text. The author provides "An Analysis of congressional and presidential motivation for and against the war." from Dwight L. Smith's The War of 1812 An Annotated Bibliography, page 77. (Smith: The War of 1812, 328)
    TB24836  $30.00


  • Click on Image to expandBuel, Richard, Jr.:  America On The Brink: How Political Struggle Over The War of 1812 Almost Destroyed The Young Republic.  New York: Palgrave Macmillan, (2005). First Edition, First Printing"10...1". Fine in black paper covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine. A small quarto of 9 1/8 by 6 inches. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. Signed and warmly inscribed by the author on the first free end page and dated two months after it was first released. 302 including an index, chapter notes, bibliography and text. Illustrated with a section of plates from earlier works of art.
    TB30437  $60.00


  • Click on Image to expand[Dallas, Alexander J.]:  An Exposition Of The Causes And Character Of The Late War Between The United States And Great-Britain.  Middlebury, Vermont: William Slade, Jun., 1815. First Edition. Very good in early light brown leather (calf) covered boards with a more recently applied cloth back strip to the spine. The pages of the text block are rough cut and uniformly tanned with age. 59 pages of text. This title, although written without attribution, recognizes its authorship on the copyright page as Alexander J. Dallas. Dallas was the U.S. secretary of the treasury under James Madison. During his tenure as treasury secretary he realized that the War of 1812 was going to bankrupt the country so he took definitive steps to save the country financially by advocating the end of the war and recommending an increase of taxes. Considered "mildly scarce" by Howes. (Howes, D-25; only the Boston printing noted by Sabin, 18130)
    TB26698  $200.00


  • Click on Image to expandde Boucherville, Thomas Vercheres:  War on the Detroit.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1940. First thus. Very good+ in decorated red cloth covered boards with a gilt top edge to the text block and with light rubbing to the head and heel of the spine. The gilt text stamping on the spine remains clear and bright; however, the gilt is somewhat flecked on the text stamping of the publisher's name at the heel of the spine. A Lakeside Classic release of 1940 with a fold-out map before the historical introductory page and a second map following the same. Edited by Milo Milton Quaife. A reprinting of the journal Thomas Vercheres de Boucherville and a journal by James Foster titled: The Capitulation which deals with the War of 1812. The fold-out map preceding the historical introduction by Quaife is in perfect condition.
    TB27282  $35.00


  • Click on Image to expandde Kay, James Tertius:  The Battle of Stonington Torpedoes, Submarines, and Rockets in the War of 1812.  Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990. First Edition. Fine in red cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo of almost 9 inches by 5 7/8 inches. In a near fine dust jacket with no price clipping with a 1/4" long closed tear at the upper edge of the front panel which is barely visible. (Note: first printings of books published by the Naval Institute Press have no price on the dust jacket flap. Reprints do however.) 216 pages including an index, list of sources, appendices, text with photographs, illustrations and maps.
    TB29218  $30.00


  • Click on Image to expandDe Kay, James Tertius:  A Rage for Glory The Life of Commodore Stephen Decatur, USN.  New York: Free Press, (2004). First Edition, First Printing. Fine in 1/4 brown cloth and tan paper covered boards with gilt text on the spine. An octavo of 9 by 6 inches. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. 237 pages including an index and a section on notes and comments. Due initially to his daring feat of bravery during the Barbary Wars, Stephen Decatur (1799-1820) was one of the most popular and well respected naval commanders in America. He added to his fame with several naval victories during the War of 1812. His unfortunate death in 1820, a result of a duel with another naval commander, occurred near the height of his career with the then fledging Navy.
    TB29302  $20.00


  • Click on Image to expandField, James A., Jr.:  America and the Mediterranean World 1776-1882.  Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in light blue cloth covered boards with a gilt on black title block on the spine and map end sheets. A small quarto measuring 9" by 6" with a prior owner's name at the upper edge of the second free end page. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with very light wear and rubbing to the spine and the ends of the spine area. Warmly signed and inscribed by the author to one of the editors of this title on the second free end page. 485 pages including an index.
    TB28281  $40.00


  • Click on Image to expandForester, C. S.:  The Age of Fighting Sail.  New York: Doubleday & Company, 1956. Reprint. Fine in tan cloth covered boards with a gilt on blue title block on the spine, gilt text and decorations on the front board and map end sheets. A small quarto measuring 9 1/4" by 6". In a very good+ unclipped dust jacket with the spine area faded and with light rubbing and wear to the ends of the spine area. The 6th volume in The Mainstream of America Series dealing with the story of the Naval War of 1812. Published in the UK under a different title and in a slightly different format. 284 pages including an index and text.
    TB27961  $15.00


  • Click on Image to expandHammersley, Sydney Ernest:  The Lake Champlain Naval Battles of 1776-1814.  Waterford, New York: Self-published, 1959. First Edition, First printing. Fine in green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine and front board. An octavo measuring 9" by 6". Without a dust jacket (probably as issued); however, the covers are protected by a thick acetate jacket. Laid-in is a mimeographed, one page advance ad by the author for this book. Additionally, the book is signed by the author on the title page. 28 pages of text including a list of references and bibliography. Illustrated with black and white photographs.
    TB25170  $85.00


  • Click on Image to expandHammersley, Sydney Ernest:  The Lake Champlain Naval Battles of 1776-1814.  Waterford, New York: Self-published, 1959. First Edition, First printing. Fine in green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine and front board. An octavo measuring 9" by 6". There is a dated ("June 1959") gift inscription on the front free end page. The book is in otherwise perfect condition. Without a dust jacket (probably as issued); however, the covers are protected by a thick acetate jacket. 28 pages of text including a list of references and bibliography. Illustrated with black and white photographs.
    TB22631  $40.00


  • Click on Image to expandHickey, Donald R.:  The War of 1812 A Forgotten Conflict.  Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt on brown title block on the spine with a prior owner's name and address stamped on the first free end page. In a very near fine dust jacket with minor light rubbing at the upper edge of the spine. Not price clipped as there is no price on the front flap. The author spent 20 years of time researching to produce this history of the United States' second war with Great Britian. 457 pages including an index, chapter notes, a list of sources, text and illustrated with reproductions of contemporary art.
    TB22591  $35.00


  • Click on Image to expandJohnston, Henry P.:  The Record Of Connecticut Men In The Military And Naval Service During the War Of The Revolution 1775-1783.  Hartford, Conn.: General Assembly of Connecticut and printed by Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1889. First Edition. Fine in an elegant late 20th century binding of 1/4 dark blue leather and marbled paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on black and green leather labels on the spine. A quarto of 11 3/8 by 8 1/8 inches. The contents are fine with no tanning or foxing. Without a dust jacket. 779 pages of text followed by Part II Record of Connecticut Men Who Served in The War of 1812 containing 169 pages of text. Part III Record of Connecticut Men Who Served in the Mexican War appearing on pages 170 to 180.
    TB30090  $300.00


  • Click on Image to expandKimball, Horace:  American Naval Battles: Being A Complete History Of The Battles Fought By The Navy of the United States From Its Establishment in 1794 To The Present Time.  Boston: J. J. Smith, Jr., 1831. Third Edition revised from the 1816 first edition. Elegantly rebacked in leather (calf) preserving the original leather covered boards and with a new gilt stamped, black leather title block on the spine and new end sheets. An octavo measuring 8 1/2 by 5 1/4 inches with new headbands. The contents area clean and free of foxing and tanning. Without a dust jacket. 279 pages of text. Illustrated with an engraved title page and "twenty-one elegant engravings" only eighteen of which are present. (Two missing if engraved title page is included in count.) (Howes, K-135; Sabin, 1165)
    TB28749  $80.00


  • Click on Image to expandLangguth, A. J.:  Union 1812 The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006. First Edition, First printing. Fine in tan paper covered boards with metallic red text stamped on the spine. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. 482 pages including photo credits, index, bibliography, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with a frontispiece, maps and reproductions of contemporary works of art.
    TB22833  $20.00


  • Click on Image to expandLatimer, Jon:  1812 War with America.  Cambridge, Mass. and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in 1/2 red cloth and tan paper covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A small quarto measuring 9 3/16 by 6 1/4 inches. In a fine, unclipped dust jacket. 637 pages including an index, bibliography, chapter notes, a list of abbreviations and text. Illustrated with maps and reproductions of earlier works of art. An examination of "the history of the War of 1812 written from the British perspective." (from the dust jacket flap)
    TB29029  $25.00


  • Lemmon, Sarah McCulloh:  Frustrated Patriots North Carolina and the War of 1812.  Chapel Hill: University of N.C. Pres, 1973. First Edition, First printing. Fine in charcoal gray cloth covered boards with silver colored text stamping on the spine. In a near fine dust jacket with a price clipped flap and very faint rubbing on the front panel. 223 pages containing an index, bibliography and text. The author presents the history of North Carolina's motivations for joining the war and its participation.
    TB11675  $28.00


  • Click on Image to expandMahan, Captain A. T.:  Sea Power in its Relations to The War of 1812.  Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1905. First Edition. Both volumes in this two volume set are in very good+ conditions in gilt decorated blue cloth covered boards with black end sheets. The top edges of the text blocks are gilt and there is are the gilt images of square riggers on the front boards. Both are octavos measuring 8 3/4 by 6 inches with several short (1/16") closed tears to the cloth at the head of the spines with related rubbing, rubbing to the cloth at the heel of the spines and the cloth is worn through at the tips of the boards. The hinges and joints are tight and strong. There are two minor 1/2" water marks on the front board of volume I. There are no prior ownership markings of any kind in either volume. Without dust jackets. This set is considered one of the better sources of information on the War of 1812. 423 pages in Vol. I with 456 pages including an index in Vol. II. Both volumes are illustrated with battle movements and fold-out maps.
    TB29846  $175.00


  • Click on Image to expandNevin, David:  1812.  New York: Tom Doherty Assoc., 1996. First Edition, First printing. Fine in 1/4 blue cloth and paper covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with only a hint of rubbing to the upper edge of the spine area. Warmly inscribed to a prior owner by the author and dated in the year of publication on the title page. Author of the bestseller, Dream West. The jacket contains very favorable reviews by John Jakes, James Michener, Thomas Fleming, Philip B. Kunhardt and Edmund S. Muskie.
    TB23320  $35.00


  • Nevin, David:  1812.  New York: Tom Doherty Assoc., 1996. First Edition, First printing. Fine in 1/4 blue cloth and paper covered boards. In a near fine dust jacket with just a hint of rubbing at the ends of the spine area. Author of the bestseller, Dream West. The jacket contains very favorable reviews by John Jakes, James Michener, Thomas Fleming, Philip B. Kunhardt and Edmund S. Muskie.
    TB10465  $21.00


  • Click on Image to expandPack, James:  The Man Who Burned the White House Admiral Sir George Cockburn 1772-1853.  Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, (1987). First Edition, First printing. Fine in black paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo measuring 8 1/2" by 5 1/4". In a fine unclipped dust jacket. A biography of the man who planned and executed the burning of Washington, D.C. in 1814, and later became the gaoler of Napoleon at St. Helena and eventually First Naval Lord.
    TB30032  $35.00


  • Click on Image to expandPeterson, Harold L.:  Round Shot and Rammers.  New York: Bonanza Books, 1969. Reprint. Very good+ in 1/4 gray cloth and red-orange paper covered boards with black text on the spine. There is a prior owner's book plate on the front paste down, a child's depiction of a rifle on the first free end page in green marker and with two small illustrations colored in by a child. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with very light wear and rubbing to the ends of the spine area. 128 pages including an index, bibliography and text. Illustrated throughout with line drawings of mussle-loading land artillery which help to provide a "comprehensive history from 1539 to 1865 of mounted guns used in field, seacoast, siege and garrison warfare...."
    TB22753  $15.00


  • Click on Image to expandPicking, Sherwood:  Sea Fight Off Monhegan Enterprise and Boxer.  Portland: Machigonne Press, 1941. First Edition. Near fine in royal blue cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and front board. A small quarto measuring 9 1/8" by 6" with only a hint of rubbing to the cloth at the heel of the spine. In a very good+ unclipped, printed, bright yellow dust jacket with the spine area tanned and lightly soiled and two chips and a closed tear to the upper edge of the rear panel and with a prior owner's name at the upper right corner of the front flap. The author documents the battle between the U.S. Naval ship Enterprise and the British ship Boxer just off of Pemaquid Point and west of Monhegan Island off the cost of Maine in 1813. 196 pages including a bibliography and text. Illustrated with a frontispiece of "Enterprise and Boxer" in battle and with a map and several line drawings. An extremely uncommon title dealing with a little known event during the War of 1812 and nearly impossible to find in a dust jacket.
    TB30315  $200.00


  • Click on Image to expandRoberts, Kenneth:  Lydia Bailey (Limited Edition).  New York: Doubleday & Company, 1947. First Limited Edition. Fine in white cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and a gilt top edge. The cloth on the spine is very slightly tanned. The book is contained within a very good+ original, paper covered slipcase with minor wear at the corners. Signed by the author and numbered 191 out of 1,050 copies. What makes this limited edition particularly unique is that laid-in at its front is a page from Robert's, typewritten working manuscript complete with his penciled annotations and corrections. This particular page is quite unique. The typewritten side is completed crossed-out in pencil and the verso side of the page is entirely in pencil by the author which is quite unusual! An extremely attractive copy with a very unusual page from his manuscript.
    TB24345  $200.00


  • Roberts, Kenneth:  Lydia Bailey.  Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1947. First Edition, First printing. Near fine in decorated black cloth covered boards with bright gilt text stampings on the spine and front board with map end papers. There is a prior owner's book plate on the verso of the fly title page and a prior owner's signature in ink on the front paste down behind the jacket flap. In a very good- unclipped dust jacket with 1/8" chips from the upper corners of the spine area with related creasing. The spine area is tanned as is the rear panel. An historical fiction novel which takes place in 1800 during America's Quasi-War with France and extends on to the slave rebellion in Haiti and then moves on to Tripoli to witness the U.S. war with the pirates from the Barbary States.
    TB22403  $25.00


  • Robotti & James Vescovi, Frances Diane:  The USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy.  Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 1999. First Edition, First printing. Fine in green paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. In a fine dust jacket with the price intact on the front flap. 302 pages including an index, glossary, appendices, bibliography, text with illustrations.
    TB14105  $15.00


  • Click on Image to expandSecretary of the Navy:  Letter from The Secretary of the Navy, of the Twenty-Seventh Instant, To The chairman of the Naval Committee, together with sundry documents. December 31, 1813. Printed by order of the Senate of the United States..  Washington City: Printed by Roger C. Weightman, 1813. . Recently bound in royal blue cloth covered boards with a paper label on the front board. A small octavo measuring 8" by 5". The contents show only light tanning and a few minor spots of foxing. Without a dust jacket. 19 pages comprising letters detailing the victory of USS Enterprise against HMS Boxer on Sept. 5, 1813 off the coast of Monhegan Island, Maine; and, letters from Oliver Hazard Perry detailing the victory of the US squadron on Lake Erie over the British squadron occurring on September, 10, 1813.
    TB26978  $60.00


  • Shepard, Betty:  Bound for Battle The Cruise of the US Frigate Essex in the War of 1812.  New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967. First Edition, First printing. Fine in light gray cloth covered boards with dark blue text on the spine. In a very good- dust jacket with the price intact on the front flap, the spine area is faded and with shallow chips at the corners of the spine area and rubbing at the folds. The captain of the Essex, Captain David Porter, orginally wrote this journal which was edited and condensed by Ms. Shepard. 221 pages containing a glossary text & illustrations.
    TB13066  $17.00


  • Watts, Steven L.:  The Republic Reborn War and the Making of Liberal America, 1790-1820.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. First Edition, First printing. Fine in 1/4 charcoal and white cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. In a near fine dust jacket with mild creasing at the upper edge of the spine area. The author offers up a new interpretation of the War of 1812 and the foundation of liberal America. 378 pages containing an index, chapter notes and text.
    TB13283  $24.50






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