Tecumseh and Brock: The War of 1812
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by James Laxer
Anansi, Toronto, 2012
368 pp., $29.95 hardcover
With the exception perhaps of Laura Secord, who has been preserved through chocolate into Canadian folklore, Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh are easily the most well-known Canadian icons and heroes of the War of 1812. The timely release of Tecumseh and Brock, a new book by York University political scientist James Laxer, provides an opportunity to examine the lives of both of these heroes.
The trust they shared in each other helped to guide the British forces through the tenuous first few months of the war. Their aggressive style, which ultimately led to both of their deaths, changed the tone of the war from what could have been an easy American victory into a protracted struggle. While Brock died trying to retake his cannon on Queenston Heights, Tecumseh died making a last stand against the American forces of General William Henry Harrison, who had shattered a retreating British line.
As Laxer points out, “without meaning to, they placed themselves among the founders of a country that one day would span the continent.” Neither Brock nor Tecumseh were born in Canada, wanted to become Canadian, or had dreams of some future Canadian state. They fought for different reasons but together found a connection that likely saved Upper and Lower Canada from being swallowed by the United States.
— Joel Ralph (Read bio)
Joel Ralph is the director of programs for Canada's History Society.