I already own several of Ian Hernon's books about colonial history, and when I saw that he had recently written a new addition to the series, I had to buy a copy.
The books I already own include:
- MASSACRE AND RETRIBUTION: FORGOTTEN COLONIAL WARS OF THE 19TH CENTURY
- THE SAVAGE EMPIRE: FORGOTTEN WARS OF THE 19TH CENTURY
- BLOOD IN THE SAND: MORE FORGOTTEN WARS OF THE 19TH CENTURY
- BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN WARS: COLONIAL CAMPAIGNS OF THE 19TH CENTURY
- THE SWORD AND THE SKETCH BOOK: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S WARS
His latest book is entitled AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN WARS: FROM LORD DUNMORE TO THE PHILIPPINES and covers the period between 1774 and 1902.
It follows a similar pattern to his earlier books, and includes short chapters on each of the following:
- Lord Dunmore's War (1774) and Native Americans in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
- Little Turtle's War (1785-1795)
- Shay's Rebellion (1786-1787) and the Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794)
- The Quasi War (1798-1800)
- The Barbary Wars (1801-1805 and 1815)
- The German Coast Rebellion (1811)
- Aegean Sea Anti-piracy Operations (1825-1828)
- Sumatra Operations (1832 and 1838)
- The Pork and Beans War (1838-1839) and the Pig War (1859-1872)
- More Pirates and 'Savages' (1838-1842)
- The Exploring Expedition (1838-1842)
- Ivory Coast (1842)
- Fiji Expedition (1849 and 1859)
- Cortina Wars, Texas (1859-1861)
- The Shinmiyangyo Korean Expedition (1871)
- The Modoc War (1872-1873)
- The Samoan Crisis (1887-1889)
- The Spanish-American War (1898)
- The Philippines War (1899-1902)
I knew a quite a bit about some of the wars covered in the book, I had heard of several that I did not know much about, and there are some that were completely new to me!
From what I have read so far, this is a book that will give Colonial wargamers all sorts of inspiration for odd little campaigns they can fight. In most cases, the armies are small and would not be too dificult to reproduce ... especially if one were to use a suitably adapted version of my PORTABLE WARGAME rules.
AMERICA'S FORGOTTEN WARS: FROM LORD DUNMORE TO THE PHILIPPINES was written by Ian Hernon and published in 2021 by Amberley Publishing (ISBN 978 1 4456 9530 3).
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That sounds interesting Bob.
ReplyDeleteI’ve just ordered a copy from Amazon.
All the best,
Geoff
Elliesdad,
DeleteI had no idea that America had been involved in so many wars across the world. For example, I knew about the fighting against the Barbary pirates, but had never heard of the operations in the Aegean.
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I am.
All the best,
Bob
Yep, it seems we've had our fair share of empire building in the past. Only we didn't call it an empire, just "interests".
DeleteThis video talks briefly about the colonialism of the USA:
https://youtu.be/ZaKOOqXDnqA
Sadly the US education system never covers these kinds of things and leaves us to find out on own own.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteLarge chunks of what became the British Empire were ‘acquired’ due to the influence of large (and small) commercial enterprises. The most obvious is the Honourable East India Company, but others - like the Hudson’s Bay Company, the British South African Company, and the Royal Niger Company - played a not insignificant part.
Very little of this is covered in the UK school curriculum, and yet it accounts for so much of why - as a country - we are what we are.
All the best,
Bob
I was unaware of some these conflicts as well although the obscure Pig War being a conflict of regional interest was well known.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteI had heard of the Pig War, but not the Pork and Beans War ... which sounds very interesting if a little flatulent-sounding!
All the best,
Bob
I'm presuming that the Pork & Beans War is what we know as the Aroostock War?
DeleteRoss Mac,
DeleteYou are right; they are one and the same thing.
All the best,
Bob
I just looked it up. What a ... bizarre little "war".
DeleteMr. Pavone,
DeleteIt was indeed a very odd little war!
All the best,
Bob