Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights: A Bibliography of the War of 1812 comp. by John C. Fredriksen (review)

110 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW ofmilitaryleaders andtodismiss victories ashappyaccidents, J.Patrick Wohler shows that Charlesde Salaberry's claim to fame wasno accident.Scionof a French-Canadian militaryfamily,de Salaberryenteredthe Britisharmyasa 'gentleman volunteer.'Then, like his three youngerbrothers,he secureda commission throughthegoodgraces of hisfather'sfriend,theDukeof Kent. At thirty-fourhehadrisentotherank of lieutenant-colonel, asmuchthrough abilityasinfluence. The scholar will welcome this addition to the Dundurn Lives series, particularly for itsinsights intotheearlylifeof deSalaberry asa'soldier of the empire.'The sixteen-year-old receivedhis baptismalfire in hand-to-hand combat against Frenchtroopsin Guadaloupe. Insurrections inGrenadaandSt Vincent,campaigns in DominicaandMartiniquewerepartof hisdailyfare.In thebestswashbuckling fashionofthetimes,hedispatched afellowofficerinan affairofhonour,thoughdeSalaberry wasfar fromanexperienced swordsman at thetime. Like manyother Britishofficershebecamea MasterMasonand, somewhat coolly,slippedin and out of at leastone romanticattachment abroad. Wohlerhintsthatit wasde Salaberry's skillasa recruitingagentfor his regiment,the 6oth RoyalAmericans,that firstearnedhim the ill-will of Sir GeorgePrevost. Asthedefenderof LowerCanada(notQuebec), deSalaberry isgiven fullcreditforhisleadership duringthebattleofChateauguay, though Wohlerperhapsoverstresses de Salaberry's roleasvictimof Prevost's vindictiveness . A biographyof Sir GeorgePrevostismuchneededto balancethe testimony of deSalaberry's fellowofficers, mostof whomhada grudgeor two againstPrevost.After Chateauguay,the war hero passes out of historyto assume theroleofcountry gentleman, interested incanal building andactive in thefightagainst the Union Bill of •822. ELINOR KYTE SENIOR Montreal FreeTradeandSailors' Rights: A Bibliography oftheWarof •8•2. Compiledby jo•I• ½.gm•I•RIKSE•. Westport, Ct:Greenwood Press •985.Pp.xii,399.$45.oo Scholars whohaveusedFredriksen's Resource Guide for theWarof•8• (•979) willknowwhattoexpect inthisgreatly expanded revision. Thecompiler, ashe says, hasprovided areference tooltoameliorate research problems ofstudents oftheWarof •8•2 'bylistingallpossible combinations of dataincludingtexts, articles, bookchapters, dissertations andmanuscripts.' Satisfied that'thecause of theWarof •8•• anditssubsequent politicalramifications arewellknown,' hehasaimedtocover'virtuallyanyaspect ofthewar- military,naval,political, religious,or economic.'He could have added 'medical'as somemedical references appear.He hasorganizedhismaterialby theatresof operation, furthersubdivided by stateor territorialdesignations witha chronological REVIEWS 111 listing ofbattles, sieges, andsoforth.The planworkswell.It seems safetosay thatthisisthefirstcomprehensive andlikelythelastworkonthesubject. The numberof entriesundera fewrandomlychosen headings reveals the depthof the compiler's research. Battleof Tippecanoe shows 49 entries; DetroitCampaign, 62; Tecumseh, 94; ussConstitution, 5•; and Shannon, 59. Descriptions of manuscript depositories in theUnitedStates andCanadarun totwenty-four pages. Despitehisstated views regardingexisting coverage of thecauses of thewar,Fredriksen listsforty-threeitemsbearingonthatsubject and suggests other headings,suchas War Hawks under which further referencesappear. He rounds out the volume with a summaryof the regimental service of United States, British,Canadian,marine,and foreign regiments. A complete chronology of events of thewar from thecaptureof Mackinac, •7July •8•2, to thetakingof I-IMS Nautilus byussPeacock, 3øJune •8•5,completes thevolume,whichhasanindex. Proofreadingerrors, whichcouldcausea researchertrouble at a card catalogue orcomputer terminalkeyboard, martheworktosome extent.One canignore fusilers forfusiliers butsome errorsinpropernames meanthatonly thoseknowledgeable in the fieldwill beableto find someof the important workslisted.For example,Klinchfor Klinckand Riddlefor Riddellshould cause littletrouble.ButMatchlosse for Malchelosse couldhideasignificant title frommanyscholars. Spotchecks for specific titles,somefairlyobscure, failedto produceany omissions. However, thecompiler mighthaveincluded WilliamF.E.Morley,A Bibliographical Study ofMajorJohnRichardson (Toronto•973). JAMWS j. ZALMAS University ofWestern Ontario SirAllanNapier MacNab.DONALD R.BEER. Hamilton:Dictionaryof Hamilton Biography1984 . Pp.xii, 49• 'Biography isnolongeraspopulara formof historical writingasit oncewas,' DonaldBeercautions theprospective readerof his22oooo-word biography of SirAllanNapierMacNab.Professor Beerreallyknowsbetter.In Canada, historical biography flourishes. MichaelBliss's TheLifeandBusiness Time ofSir Joseph Flavelle recentlyreceivedthe prestigious Garneauprize asthe best historical workon Canadianhistorypublished between•978 and •982.Over thepastfiveyearsbiographies of twentieth-century mandarins, nineteenthcentury politicians andreligious leaders, eighteenth-century businessmen, and seventeenth-century explorers havedottedthereviewpages of the Canadian Historical Review. The pinnacleof sucheffort is, of course,the on-going, multi-volume Dictionary of Canadian Biography, which,according to Donald Swainson, 'reflects the stateof the art of Canadianhistorical scholarship.' Despite Beer's disclaimer, then,thereviewerisjustifiedin lookingto hisbook ...