Preface emotion, persuasion, and the meaning of war -- Celebrating love, liberty, and progeny: United States, circa 1811 -- Failures of feeling as national disasters: Detroit, August 1812 -- Romantic stories of republican conquest on the Great Lakes: Lake Erie, September 1813 -- Demographic strategies and the defeat of Tecumseh: Moraviantown, Canada, October 1813 -- Liberty, slavery, and the burning of the capital: Washington, D.C., August 1814 -- Conclusion ardor and triumph: New Orleans, January 1815.