For Canadians, the War of 1812 has held various meanings at different times. In the immediate aftermath, alongside the “Loyalist” narrative of fleeing from the defeat of the British at the hands of American rebels, the war was regarded as redemptive for those still loyal to British North America. From the American perspective, it is merely one in a host of small-scale wars in North America, and the events of 1812–1815 are mostly forgotten in the collective memory of the United States.
The authors of 1812: A Guide to the War and Its Legacy believe that the War of 1812 was an important event in North American history with lasting consequences for Canadians, Americans, and First Nations. This guidebook, published by the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, uses modern satellite images, archival records, paintings, and contemporary photographs to help readers understand what happened during the war and why it happened that way.
The book includes a historical section that seeks to place events in their strategic, operational, and human context. A tour section is designed to introduce and guide readers to key locations of war and memory and offer an explanation of the fluid memory that has evolved over the last two hundred years. The War of 1812 has been forgotten, reimagined, and invented anew many times, and the itineraries of the guide illustrate that ever-changing process of commemoration.

Terry Copp is the director of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies and a professor emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is the author or co-author of fourteen books and many articles on the Canadian role in the Second World War, including travel guides to the Canadian battlefields. Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy won the 2004 Distinguished Book Award for non-US history from the American Society for Military History.

Matt Symes is a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University. He works as the publications manager for the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies and as the online editor for canadianmilitaryhistory.ca. With Eric McGeer, Matt has published three Battlefield Guides on the Italian Campaign in the Second World War.

Nick Lachance is a mature student finishing his BA in Honours History at Wilfrid Laurier University. As a research assistant at LCMSDS he manages the digitization of the 300,000 Second World War aerial reconnaissance photographs the center has in its possession. A freelance photographer and photojournalist, many of Lachance’s photos appear in this and other LCMSDS publications.

Terry Copp's profile page

Matt Symes is the Publications Manager for LCMSDS, the editor of canadianmilitaryhistory.ca and a PhD Candidate (ABD) at Wilfrid Laurier University. 1812: A Guide to the War and its Legacy is the fifth battlefield guide that Symes has worked on, including Canadian Battlefields 1915-1918: A Visitor’s Guide and three battlefield guides on the Italian Campaign during the Second World War. Symes was also the co-editor (with Geoffrey Hayes and Mike Bechthold) of Canada and the Second World War: Essays in honour of Terry Copp.

Matt Symes' profile page

Terry Copp is the director emeritus of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies and a professor emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is the author or co-author of fourteen books and many articles on the Canadian role in the Second World War, including travel guides to the Canadian battlefields. Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy won the 2004 Distinguished Book Award for non-US history from the American Society for Military History.

Caitlin McWilliams' profile page

Nick Lachance is a mature student finishing his BA in Honours History at Wilfrid Laurier University. As a research assistant at LCMSDS he manages the digitization of the 300,000 Second World War aerial reconnaissance photographs the center has in its possession. A freelance photographer and photojournalist, many of Lachance’s photos appear in this and other LCMSDS publications.

Nick Lachance's profile page

Matt Symes has worked and taught extensively on the history of war and memory and is co-author of five battlefield guidebooks, including Canadian Battlefields 1915–1918: A Visitor’s Guide. Symes was co-editor (with Geoffrey Hayes and Mike Bechthold) of Canada and the Second World War: Essays in Honour of Terry Copp.

Geoff Keelan's profile page

Jeffrey W. Mott is an MA (History) graduate from the University of New Brunswick. He has worked extensively on the War of 1812 for the Gregg Centre at UNB and for the St. John River Society. Mott was responsible for adding the historical context of the war in what is now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in addition to writing the touring sections for the two provinces.

Jeffrey W. Mott's profile page

An interesting book dealing with a seldom remembered chapter of the history of Canada and the USA.... A worthy addition to libraries in the area along the Canadian-US border from the Maritimes to Michigan and Ohio.

Douglas K. Lehman, Wittenberg University, Reference Reviews, Volume 28, number 1, 2014, 2014 June

The Copp/Mott history is as succinct a piece on the War of 1812–1814 as anyone could want—not a ‘Cole's notes’ version, but a detailed and observant telling of the highs and lows of the military and political manoeuvres.... The tour portion of the book comes with Google maps of the present-day locations and road directions, plus such helpful information as the beer selection offered at a potential lunch-stop in Sandwich, Ont. (30 types) and the tip that one can blissfully ignore the ‘No trespassing’ signs at Boblo Island on the Detroit River.... 1812: A Guide to the War and its Legacy is worthy of a place in any Canadian's bookcase, and likely somewhere handy in the car as well.

Bill Bean, The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo), May 18, 2013, 2013 May