This collection of essays arose from my attendance at a series of speeches presented by academic historians and historical authors, occurring in January, March, and June of 2018. The presentations revolved around the subjects of the prosecution of the War of 1812 in the Northwestern and Southwestern Theaters, the importance of forts to the prosecution of the War in the Northwestern Theater, and the practicing of psychological warfare in the Indian Wars of the Old Northwest. During these presentations, the academics made what I considered to be definitive statements regarding certain aspects of the War of 1812. I disagreed with several of these conclusory statements, as I held a different view on these subjects. At the very least, I felt there was room for debate of different positions on certain of the statements that had been presented as established facts. At that point, I had studied the War of 1812 for just over 50 years, including quite intensive study since 1991, and I felt my positions had merit. I determined to establish dialogs with these academicians to debate the issues. These debates continued throughout the first nine months of 2018.
In the midst of the debates, one of the academicians said, “And keep in mind that on the…issues you raised, honest scholars can disagree.” This academician suggested that I discuss these topics in a second edition of my book, The Trans-Appalachian Wars, 1790-1818. Since a second edition did not seem to be in the offing, I thought this on-line compendium of essays might be a good alternative for laying out the arguments.