Specialization:

Department of History

Biography:

Ryerson History professor Dr. Carl Benn’s new book explores two important First Nations memoirs from the War of 1812

Native peoples played major roles in the War of 1812 as allies of both the United States and Great Britain, but few wrote about their experiences in the conflict. Two, however, famously recorded their stories. One was Black Hawk, the British-allied war chief of the still-independent Sauks from the upper Mississippi River. The other was American soldier William Apess, a reservation-based Pequot from Connecticut. In Native Memoirs from the War of 1812 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), Carl Benn both presents and analyses these autobiographies, offering readers in-depth introductions and annotations to make these fascinating memoirs accessible to scholars, students, and general readers, as well as to advance historical appreciation of these men and the controversies surrounding them. The book also includes specially commissioned maps produced by Ryerson Geography student Michael Morrish. 

Department:

Ryerson History professor Dr. Carl Benn’s new book explores two important First Nations memoirs from the War of 1812