"At the turn of the nineteenth century, the British Empire is at the height of its ascendancy; Napoleonic France is struggling to maintain its position as a world power; and the incumbent American empire is quickly expanding its territory, while the Native peoples struggle to establish their own confederacy, their own independent nation. James Laxer offers a fresh and compelling view of this decisive war ? which historians have long treated as a second American revolution ? by bringing to life the Native struggle for nationhood and sovereignty; the battle between the British Empire and the United States over Upper and Lower Canada; and finally, at the heart of it, the unlikely friendship and political alliance of two towering figures of history: Tecumseh, the Shawnee chieftain and charismatic leader of the Native confederacy, and Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, protector and defender of the British Empire."--Dust jacket.

Includes maps on cover linings.

Introduction: two wars in one -- Tecumseh, the shooting star -- A warrior's odyssey -- A new power -- Isaac Brock and the defence of the Canadas -- Showdown -- The prophet -- Brock on the eve of war -- The United States declares war on Great Britain -- Two warriors -- The capture of Fort Detroit -- Death of the general -- York in flames -- Tecumseh's last days -- The Creek war -- Out of the furnace of war, an upper Canadian identity -- Rockets' red glare -- American victories at Lake Champlain and New Orleans -- The treaty of Ghent -- Two mysteries.