The War of 1812 saw America threatened on every side. Encouraged by the British, Indian tribes attacked settlers in the West, while the Royal Navy terrorized the coasts.  By mid-1814, President Madison’s generals had lost control of the war in the North, losing battles in Canada. Then British troops set the White House ablaze, and a feeling of hopelessness spread across the country.

Into this dire situation stepped Major General Andrew Jackson. Having witnessed the horrors of the Revolutionary War and Indian attacks, Jackson was glad America had finally decided to confront repeated British aggression. He feared that the President’s men were overlooking the most important target of all: New Orleans. If the British conquered New Orleans, they would control the mouth of the Mississippi River, cut Americans off from an essential trade route, threaten the previous decade’s Louisiana Purchase, and crush the new nation’s dreams of western expansion.

Jackson had to convince President Madison and his War Department to take him seriously. He had to assemble a coalition of frontier militiamen, French-speaking Louisianans, Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, freed slaves, and even some pirates. And, he had to defeat the most powerful military force in the world.

As in their two previous bestsellers, Kilmeade and his co-author Don Yaeger bring history to life, offer a new understanding of one of our greatest generals, and provide a renewed appreciation for the brave men who fought so that America could one day stretch “from sea to shining sea.”