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“I wanted to find out what truly occurred when the British occupied the American capital in 1814. Nothing like Ross’s seizure of the capital of a great power with a small attacking force has happened elsewhere in modern times. No other event gives so clear a view of the trials of our young government. Searching out the details of Ross’s conquest, I found them gripping, but meagerly reported and often with a farcical touch. Often the incidents, which many have regarded as humiliating and have wished forgotten, abound in human interest and pointed lesson.
“The interest and significance of the story of the Ross expedition led me to the story of the entire war. Study of the war as a whole revealed strong contrast of cowardice and courage. I have been amazed by the poltroonery and incompetence of some of the generals and cabinet members; I have been stirred by the patriotic devotion of James Monroe, by the flashing genius of Henry Clay, by the patience and true greatness of James Madison. And I discovered that not only men of high position played exciting roles in the war. Soldiers, seamen, newsmen, couriers and many others, whose names are now obscure, played brilliant, if brief, scenes—some comic, some adventurous, some tragic.
“The course of the War of 1812, like that of all wars, was determined as much by emotion as by economic and political pressures. Men acted and reacted violently, passionately. Today the wisdom and courage of some of their deeds evoke tremendous respect; the foolhardiness of others evokes laughter. Throughout these volumes I have made an effort to discern the thoughts and feelings of the people whose actions wove the variegated pattern of the war.”
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Glenn Tucker (November 30, 1892 - October 26, 1976) was an American author and historian. He also served as captain in the U.S. Army during World War I. He was president of the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Literature and History Association in 1965.
Born in Tampico, Indiana, the son of William W. Tucker and Bertha (Clark) Tucker, Tucker received his Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University in 1914, Bachelor of Letters from Columbia in 1915, and his Doctor of Literature from the University of North Carolina in 1966. Following service in the infantry during WWI, he began his career as a newspaperman in Washington, at which point he became interested in the War of 1812, before becoming an account executive. In his spare time, continued to write stories on the different battles that were fought in the War of 1812, and he was later persuaded to publish an account of the war as a whole. The result, Poltroons and Patriots, was published in two volumes in 1954.
His numerous awards include the Mayflower Award for Best Nonfiction by a North Carolina author (1956, 1964 and 1966); the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Award for Distinguished Writing (1956 and 1966); the Distinguished Alumnus Award from DePauw University; the Historians Cup Award from the Western North Carolina History Association (both in 1958); the Fletcher Pratt Award for best Civil War book from the New York Civil War Round Table (1962); and the Harry S. Truman Award for meritorious service in the field of Civil War history in 1968.
Dr. Tucker was married to Dorothy Gail Thomas, and the couple had two sons, William and Richard. He died in 1976, aged 83.
