peter douglas elias

The first and last battles of the Anglo-American War of 1812 - 15 were fought far west of the boundaries of civilized North America. These battle sites between Lake Erie and the Mississippi River—Michilimackinac, St Joseph Island, Sault Ste Marie, Prairie du Chien, the Maumee River, Fort Stephenson, and Fort Dearborn—are barely mentioned in the histories of Canada, Britain and the United States, yet some of the most dramatic personalities of that era were deeply involved in the events which drew the map of the continent’s far west. This historical novel builds on a sparse archival record to enliven the people and drama of the forgotten War of 1812, the war on the western frontier. Here, Robert Dickson, Tototwin, Wapasha, Captain Charles Roberts, Toussaint Pothier, John and Charles Askin, Augustin La Rocque, Lieutenant Porter Hanks, Joseph Rolette, and Red Thunder Bolt, the heroes and antiheroes of that time and place, are given the life they deserve, at least in our imaginations.