Sunday, April 21, 2013

The Slaves' Gamble: Choosing Sides in the War of 1812 by Gene Allen Smith

The Slaves' Gamble: Choosing Sides in the War of 1812
by Gene Allen Smith

 A different book on the war of 1812. It deals with the decision of slaves to either find their freedom with the British or stay with the Americans. It also covers the attempts on both sides to arm them. There's also coverage of the conflict with Spain over parts of Florida. The fear with narratives such as this is that they turn into a list of anecdotes but fortunately that is not the case here. His conclusion that the success of the armed free man for the Americans and runaway slaves for the British increased southerners fears of a slave rebellion in the era between the conflict and the Civil War. Causing more restrictions to be put in place Makes sense.

Highly recommended.

Book was part of LibraryThing's early reviewer program.-

No comments: