Tennesseans at War, 1812–1815 by Tom Kanon tells the often forgotten story of the central role citizens and soldiers from Tennessee played in the Creek War in Alabama and War of 1812.

Although frequently discussed as separate military conflicts, the War of 1812 against Great Britain and the Creek War against Native Americans in the territory that would become Alabama were part of the same forceful projection of growing American power. Success in both wars won for America security against attack from abroad and vast tracks of new land in “the Old Southwest.” In Tennesseans at War, 1812–1815, Tom Kanon explains the role Tennesseans played in these changes and how they remade the south.

Because it was a landlocked frontier state, Tennessee’s economy and security depended heavily upon the river systems that traversed the region; some, like the Tennessee River, flowed south out of the state and into Native American lands. Tennesseans of the period perceived that gaining mastery of these waterways formed an urgent part of their economic survival and stability.

The culmination of fifteen years’ research, Kanon’s work draws on state archives, primary sources, and eyewitness accounts, bringing the information in these materials together for first time. Not only does he narrate the military campaigns at the heart of the young nation’s expansion, but he also deftly recalls the economic and social pressures and opportunities that encouraged large numbers of Tennesseans to leave home and fight. He expertly weaves these themes into a cohesive narrative that culminates in the vivid military victories of the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the legendary Battle of New Orleans—the victory that catapulted Tennessee’s citizen-soldier Andrew Jackson to the presidency.

Expounding on the social roles and conditions of women, slaves, minorities, and Native Americans in Tennessee, Kanon also brings into focus the key idea of the “home front” in the minds of Tennesseans doing battle in Alabama and beyond. Kanon shows how the goal of creating, strengthening, and maintaining an ordered society permeated the choices and actions of the American elites on the frontiers of the young nation.

Much more than a history of Tennesseans or the battles they fought in Alabama, Tennesseans at War, 1812–1815, is the gripping story of a pivotal turning point in the history of the young American republic.

Considered the foremost expert on Tennessee’s role in the War of 1812, Tom Kanon is an archivist for the Tennessee State Library and Archives. He is the author of Brief History of Tennessee in the War of 1812 and Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units during the War of 1812.

 

"Throughly researched [Tennesseans at War] provides a much needed perspective on the conflicts in the South from 1812–15. The foremost expert on Tennessee's place in the war, Kanon convincingly demonstrates their importance in the instigation and legacy of these wars as well as the integral place of these conflicts in their identity."
—The Alabama Review

"Kanon's work demonstrates convincingly why Tennessee carries the moniker 'Volunteer State.' Tennesseans at War could easily be utilized as a guide while visiting the Creek War battlefields in Alabama and battlefields of New Orleans with first-hand accounts providing an image of the personal sacrifice experienced by those involved."
—Montgomery Advertiser

Tennesseans at War is a must for the library of the student of the Creek War."
—Friends of Horseshoe Bend

“Tennesseans at War brings forth new evidence and insight to the state’s first international conflict, and the prominent role that Tennesseans played in the War of 1812. Although Tennessee was never a significant battlefield—as it would be fifty years later in the Civil War—the state provided soldiers, materials, supplies, and leadership to the cause. And what happened on the battlefields to the south and the west impacted a generation of Tennessee leaders, who shaped political careers and fortunes from the war’s results. Tom Kanon’s new book makes a significant contribution to the study of the war and especially its impact in the South.”
—Carroll Van West, editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture and editor of Tennessee History: The Land, The People, and The Culture

“Kanon’s detailed and highly readable account of Jackson’s wars in the territory that would become Alabama and of how Tennesseans fit into, indeed helped foment and win, those wars makes a significant contribution to the field. Scholars and general readers will value his clear re-telling of the Creek War, particular the northern campaign, as well as his explanation of Jackson’s organization of the army and militia. Kanon’s even-handed coverage of Indian motives and actions adds much-needed nuance to accounts of the period.”
—Kathryn E. Holland Braund, editor of Tohopeka: Rethinking the Creek War and War of 1812