Richard Feltoe - The Ashes of War: The Fight for Upper Canada, August 1814—March 1815

N othing would be further from the truth than if I tried to take the sole credit for the six books that have made up this Upper Canada Preserved War of 1812 series. My name may be on the covers as their author, but it is only through the kind and generous support and assistance of a host of other individuals and institutions that the contents were researched, compiled, written, reviewed, amended, edited, printed, and distributed. Unfortunately, unless a separate chapter was attached, there could not be enough space within these published pages to adequately recognize each and every individual or institution by name, and for this I wholeheartedly apologize. However, as in the past, certain people and organizations have made exceptional efforts on my behalf to support this project and it would be remiss of me not to at least recognize as many as possible.

Without any doubt, the first on my list must be my wife, Diane. Not only because she has steadfastly supported this work as well as tolerated my ongoing absences and hermit-like seclusions when Im upstairs in the computer room, writing for hours on end, but also for having taken upon herself the duties of acting as my frontline manager in the administration and bookkeeping of the business end of things to do with this effort.

Second, my grateful thanks go to a dedicated cadre of fellow War of 18121815 historians and historical enthusiasts. These have included:

An international collection of professional authors and historians such as Donald Graves, John Grodzinski, Brian Dunnigan, and Carl Benn.

A host of dedicated and knowledgeable museum and archive staff members such as Constance Barone (Sackets Harbor), Peter Martin (Parks Canada), Jim Hill (Niagara Parks), David Webb (Parks Canada), Susan Ramsay (Stoney Creek), Kevin Windsor (formerly Lundys Lane), Cynthia Van Ness (Buffalo), and in particular for this volume, Craig Wilson and Brian Jaeschke (Mackinac).

A veritable battalion of enthusiastic Living History re-enactors and keen local historians such as David Brunelle, David McMeekin, Pat Kavanagh, Glenn Stott, Dan Pearson, John Harris, Rob Trumble, Betsy Bayshore, Keith Raynor, and Bryan Gibbins.

These few who I have been able to mention, plus a host more, provided me with valuable source information, acted as sounding boards for ideas, and/or reviewed my work and proffered valuable corrections where needed. For these professional, academic, and personal generosities, I will always be grateful. Beyond that, in many cases they have also allowed me the honour to call them not only associates, but friends, and for that I am most humbly and sincerely appreciative.

Nor can I fail to acknowledge the extensive guidance and support provided by my editorial team, Cheryl Hawley and Allison Hirst, as well as my talented designer, Jennifer Scott all backed by the extensive creative team at Dundurn Press, who turned this idea into a reality.

Penultimately, I wish to thank Barry Penhale and Jane Gibson of Natural Heritage publications and my friend Karen, who, sadly, has now passed away. Collectively, they put my feet on the path that allowed me to become an author.

Finally, I want to once again go on record in expressing my deepest gratitude and thanks to all my readers, who have supported me by buying my books, overwhelmed me by their kind reviews and compliments on the series, and provided suggestions for future works.