At the beginning of the 18th century, America was a colonized land with European countries squabbling over its many natural resources. In 1754, the French-Indian War broke out as a decisive battle between the French and British for control of North America. Britain's victory led to greater governmental involvement in the American colonies that developed into rebellion in 1775. Following the American Revolution, the USA and Britain shared an uneasy peace that erupted in war again in 1812; the ensuing conflict tore through the American frontier. This book examines the wars in North America from the French-Indian War until the end of the War of 1812, which brought lasting peace between Britain and the United States.

Daniel Marston is a Research Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University and a Visiting Fellow with the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War. He was previously a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He has focused on the topic of how armies learn and reform as a central theme in his academic research. Dr Marston was responsible for overseeing the counter-insurgency modules for Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the British Army. He has lectured widely on the principles and practices of counter-insurgency to units of the American, Australian, British and Canadian armed forces, as well as serving as a reviewer of and contributor to counter-insurgency doctrine for all of the above. He also continues academic research in this area, and in 2005 was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Carl Benn, PhD, is the Chair of the Department of History at Ryerson University in Toronto, having previously been Chief Curator of the City of Toronto's Museums and Heritage Services. He has curated numerous exhibits and restored various historic facilities, including Canada's most complete War of 1812 fort. His extensive publications include Historic Fort York, 1793-1993, The Iroquois in the War of 1812, Mohawks on the Nile: Natives among the Canadian Voyageurs in Egypt, 1884-1885, and the forthcoming Warriors: First Nations Memoirs from 1812.

Fred Anderson received his BA from Colorado State University in 1971and his PhD from Harvard in 1981. He has taught at Harvard and at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he is currently Professor of History. He is the author of four books, including Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf; London: Faber and Faber, 2000) which won the 2001 Francis Parkman Prize as best book in American history. Together with Andrew Cayton, he has published The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North America, 1500–2000 (New York: Viking; London: Atlantic Books, 2005).