Both
Roosevelt and
Churchill recognized the importance of the land and naval battles of
Plattsburgh. Many other, more famous, engagements were ruses meant to divert U.S. troops away from the prize Plattsburgh would afford: a clear pathway into New England. If not for the exemplary skills of two young military officers, Commodore Macdonough and General Macomb, and the force they commanded—regular army and naval personnel, New York and Vermont Militia, Native Americans, Veteran Exempts and boys from the local school—the war and the nation would have been lost. Using original source documents, author Keith Herkalo retells the battles at Plattsburgh—the key battles of the
War of 1812.
Background Information
Franklin D. Roosevelt overcame polio to become president during the Great Depression and World War II. Sometimes called the second American war for independence, the War of 1812 was the last battle against foreign troops on American soil. Grandson of a Duke of Marlborough and son of an American mother, Winston Churchill led Britain through near defeat and eventual victory in World War II.
