This is an interesting book on an important and overlooked aspect of American history. The account of the Florida Patriot War, and the fate of escaped slaves in Florida, is particularly memorable. Unfortunately, occasional malapropisms distracted me as I was reading. For example (p. 96): "fever ravished the marines" should read "ravaged" rather than "ravished." Little things like this, which could have been fixed by an editor, are a distraction from what is really an important story. ( )

Gene Allen Smith looks at an often over-looked aspect of an often over-looked war - the role of slaves and free blacks in the War of 1812. Just as the theater of war covered North America from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border, so do the geographic areas examined by the author. Smith looks also not just at black-Anglo and black-American relations but also black-Spanish relations in and around Florida. The Slaves Gamble is a worthwhile addition to any 1812 or slavery library. ( )

This is an important work of the history of slavery and the War of 1812. I think Smith did an excellent job of explaining how fear of slave rebellions during this period had a longstanding impact on American Society which influenced race relations for years to come. It is a scholarly work, and is written as such. It is well researched and documented. ( )

An interesting examinination of the issue of slavery during the early years of the republic. Written in an interesting and informal style, the book is composed of a number of anecdotes and biographies of black men and their families and their participation in the War of 1812.
Some unexpected facts that I wasn't aware of was that slavery was permitted in Canada but not in Michigan at this time, so a number of escaped slaves came over the border from Canada to find their freedom. Later, after slavery was abolished in Canada, many slaves left the US through Michigan for safety in Windsor.
This book also incuded information about the war in the southern states, particularly in the British Colonies of East and West Florida, and the impact of the war on the entire Caribbean and Spanish possessions.
The profuse use of footnotes allows other researchers to locate and explore the primary and secondary sources used by the author, and this is the mark of a good historian.
A recommended book for any collection of the War of 1812, and also of American History, Black History, or the American Civil War. This is also an interesting book for British history, as it describes the war with the US as part of their global war of the period, and stirkes to the issues concerning the British Empire, Canada and the United States. ( )