by Joseph F. Stoltz III.
Softcover (6.75×9.4 inches). 128 pages. 2026.
Subtitle: Casemate Illustrated
Like just about all of these Casemate Illustrated War of 1812 booklets, this is based on the US Army “blue” book — a public domain publication that gets edited and a copious amount of additional illustrations. I call it a “blue” book because my US Army copy has a blue cloth cover.
That said, this volume delivers a fine overview of the war in and around the Gulf of Mexico. Per usual, you get a timeline, examination of weapons and equipment, short bios of commanders, and information on a couple obscure, or at least obscure to me, sieges and battles.
Two scenarios stand out: the night-time Battle of Villere Plantation and the daytime Battle of New Orleans (Chalmette). Good maps for both and the text includes good distances between salient features of the battlefields.
One thing I wish would have been added is a formatted OOB (although you get one for the British inside the text — p47) with numerical strengths (some numbers intertwined in the text).
Oh yeah, and a larger font. Yes, I will continue to lobby for larger fonts for us grognard-eyed folks.
A possible third scenario: The Second Battle of Fort Bowyer in what-if mode had the US relief column arrived sooner before the British siege compelled the US defenders to surrender. It was only two days before official word that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed arrived at the fort.
So, the volume delivers a nice foundation with lots of illustrations populating the pages and inspiration for a couple of tabletop scenarios.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
