Robert Leckie.
From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican War, the Saga of America's Expansion.
New York: HarperCollins, 1993 (HarperPerrenial, 1994).

(Book information at Amazon.com.)

This books is a popular (i.e., non-academic: no footnotes, limited bibliography) military history of the United States for the period from after the American Revolution through the Mexican-American War; that is, for the years from the 1780s through 1848. (The author has written separate books on the American Revolution and the Civil War.) The book focuses on four conflicts:

1. War with the "Barbary Pirates" (1801-1805); this involved a series of conflicts with the North African states that egaged in priacy: Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli. This War was the source of the quote "Millions for Defense but Not One Cent for Tribute." For several centuries the major European trading nations had paid off these states to protect their trade from attack.


2. War of 1812 (1812-1815)


3. Texas Revolution (1835-1836)


4. Mexican-American War (1845-1848)

I found the book an excellent introduction to these subjects.

Some Links:

• First Barbary War (aka: the Barbary Coast War; the Tripolitan War)


• Louisiana Purchase


• The War of 1812


• Battle of New Orleans


• Andrew Jackson


• Monroe Doctrine


• Texas Revolution


• Texas Revolution (The Handbook of Texas Online)


• Santa Anna


• Republic of Texas


• Texas, a State in the United States of America


• Manifest Destiny


• The Mexican-American War


• The U.S.-Mexican War by The Descendants of Mexican War Veterans


• James Knox Polk


• Zachary Taylor


• History of the United States Navy


• United States Marine Corps


• United States Marine Corps History and Museums Division


• Military History of the United States