Today the National Guard is ready and able to send well-trained civilians into crisis situations on a moment's notice. But it was not always so.State militias provided the majority of soldiers during the War of 1812, and it almost cost the fledgling country dearly. The Americans' ingrained fear of a standing army laid the groundwork for poor coordination between state and federal control of the militias, creating a system in which the disaster of the Detroit campaign was much more common than Andrew Jackson's triumphant defense of New Orleans.Edward Skeen reveals states' responses to federal requests for troops and details problems faced in equipping, training, and paying ordinary citizens. He also provides in-depth descriptions of the conditions, morale, and experiences of the militia in camp and in battle.