Books on the War of 1812
Arranged alphabetically by author.


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    A 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



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    Anderson, Russell F. with research done by Albert Dock:  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  $35.00



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    Bonney, 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



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    Brown, 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



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    Buel, 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. 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



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    [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



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    de Boucherville, Thomas Vercheres:  War on the Detroit.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1940. First thus. Near fine in decorated red cloth covered boards with a gilt top edge to the text block and with light rubbing to the cloth at the corners of the heel of the spine. The gilt text stamping on the spine remains clear and bright. A Lakeside Classic release of 1940 with a fold-out map before the historical introductory page and a second map following the same. There is a prior owner's name in pencil on the first free end page. 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.
    TB31821  $50.00



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    de 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



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    De 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



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    Hammersley, 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



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    Hammersley, 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 inches. 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



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    Langguth, 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




  • 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



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    Malcomson, Thomas, and Robert Malcomson:  HMS Detroit The Battle For Lake Erie.  Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, (1990). First Edition, First Pringint. Fine in black cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A quarto of 11 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches. In a fine, unclipped (no price) dust jacket with a minor 1/4 inch closed tear at the upper edge of the spine area. 151 pages containing picture credits, index, bibliography, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with maps, line drawings, images from black and white photographs and earlier works of art.
    TB31328  $40.00



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    Nevin, 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



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    Pack, 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



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    Picking, 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  $195.00



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    Roberts, 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



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    Roberts, Kenneth:  Captain Caution.  Garden City: Doubleday Doran, 1934. First Edition, First Printing. Very near fine in blue cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and with a pattern to the cloth and a gilt eagle on the front board. A 12mo of 7 7/16 by 5 1/8 with the cloth at the head and heel of the spine is very lightly rubbed. In a very good, unclipped dust jacket with 1/4 inch deep chips at the upper and lower edges of the spine area and two closed tears at the lower fore edge of the front panel. Signed and inscribed by the author on the title page with "With Best Wishes | Kenneth Roberts". An historical fiction novel which takes place during the War of 1812. 310 pages of text followed by ads from the publisher.
    TB31422  $200.00



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    Roberts, Kenneth:  Captain Caution.  New York: Editions for the Armed Services, Inc., 1934. Armed Forces Overseas Edition. Very good+ in printed, heavy paper wraps over a stapled binding. An oblong 32mo of 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches with light rubbing to the edges of the front cover and a stamp of the "Army War College Washington, D." stamped on the front cover and the second to last page of the text. An historical fiction novel which takes place during the War of 1812. 285 pages followed by a page of acknowledgments by the author and a list of other volumes in the Armed Services Editions.
    TB30869  $35.00




  • Roberts, Kenneth:  Lydia Bailey.  Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1947. First Edition, First printing. Very good in decorated black cloth covered boards with bright gilt text stampings on the spine and front board with map end papers. The outer margins of many of the pages show a dampness stain that fortunately does not impact on the printing on the pages. In a good+ unclipped dust jacket with heavy wear to the ends of the spine area. 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.
    TB22970  $20.00




  • 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



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    Secretary 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



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    Smith, Zachary F.:  The Battle of New Orleans Including The Previous Engagements between the Americans and the British, the Indians, and the Spanish which let to the Final Conflict on the 8th of January, 1815.  Louisville, Kentucky: John P. Morton & Company, 1904. First Edition. Near fine in heavy printed wraps with a sewn binding and untrimmed fore edge to the text block. A quarto of 12 1/2 by 9 3/4 inches. The heavy gray-green wrap shows minor fading of the spine area and two shallow chips at the corners of the heel of the spine the fore edges are rough matching the uncut fore edge of the text block. Without a dust jacket as issued. A Filson Club Publication numbered 19. 209 pages including a seven page index, appendices listing the Kentuckian participants in the battle and text. Illustrated with maps and photographic reproductions of contemporary works of art. "A narrative account of the campaign including rationale for the Kentuckian participants who left the fight on the West Bank of the MIssissippi. Appended with a roster of participants from Kentucky." (Smith: The War of 1812 An Annotated Bibliography, 946) A very clean and handsome copy.
    TB31325  $175.00




  • 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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