Engineering Expansion: The U.S. Army and Economic Development, 1787–1860 by William D. Adler (review)

Abstract

Does Dishman’s work have a place in the historiography of 1812? Yes, it does. For those who want to read about the war on the northern border without devoting time to other and less impor tant theaters or to the conflict’s domestic or diplomatic history, this work offers a reasonable option. Dishman’s story moves along at a reasonable pace, and although he might have done a little more to highlight the role of Native Americans, he effectively covers the British and American sides of the story. Hence, readers will finish with a decent sense of the course of this inconclusive war along the long and exposed Canadian– American border.