u.s. military including fiasco, began golf, all of these decisions. he has served on the staff of the wall street journal for 70 years. more recently he has been at the washington post. currently a fellow at the center for new american security and is a contributing editor of foreign policy, the best defense. nicholas websterbrook is an independent historian. he is the author of a number of articles on history. between 1989, and 2009, he was

executive director of fort ticonderoga. this location played such a significant role in elliot cohen's book. nicholas websterport was curator of exhibits of the political historical society. the locale and setting the crucial to liberty. tell us what your book is about. [applause] >> thank you. thank you for coming. my old friends and former students, colleagues, appreciate it everybody on the panel. and thanks to dick westbrook for making the journey from the north country to come here.

let me say something about the book. there are plenty of seats. should keep you company. so in graduate school, like most students of international relations, i started the second world war. and the conflict with the soviet union. from 2007 to 2009, i was counselor of the department of state and spent a lot of time fretting about the taliban and al qaeda and the iranian revolutionary guard corps. after leaving government and finish the book on america's most persistent and important

animated ball. canada. that is the subject of this book conquered into liberty. describes how the american metaphor originated in canada because from the end of the seventeenth century to the first half of the nineteenth, it was anything but the sleepily frontier today, a menace and innovation. conquered into liberty is about a particular place. what native americans called the great war path. that 200 mile stretch of water between albany and montreal. the book is framed -- to give you a field staff here is how chapter one opens. at 5:00 in the morning on february 9th, 1690, a leading

man in the wounded force staggered into the fortified town of albany. despite a bullet in his 5, he had written nearly 20 miles in six hours to albany in the deep snow. mayor peter schuyler convened a meeting to hear the exhausted news. just before midnight on the eighth the party of french and indians killed most of the inhabitants' carrying off others and setting houses on fire. the following day 50 survivors suffering from frostbite tread their way to albany. they eventually piece together what happened. story was connected by franco indy and waiting party beginning of the book's battles which end with a confederate re on albany

in 1864 and a raid into canada by irish-american veterans in 1866. the fights that talked about were very big. for ticonderoga, 15,000 troops were hurled back by barely a fifth as many french men. the other fights i talked-about were mere skirmishes. some of these battles were decisive and others were not but individually and collectively they reveal a great deal about why the united states wages war the way it does and why each chapter explores how these struggles are alive today. a word about the title conquered by liberty. i explain it in chapter 5 which deals with the american invasion of canada in 1765.

launched by the united states. it is the opening phrase of a subversive pamphlets. this was spread throughout canada by american agents and it begins with concord into liberty. a pretty interesting notion, isn't it? that people can be conquered into liberty yet it is an idea americans have pursued with great success and sometimes failure and sometimes with uncertain results for a long, long time. it started here. in the case of canada the americans have failed. the pamphlet was not widely read because most of the population of canada were illiterate. neither the clergy nor anyone else were inclined to subversive ideas but the americans tried

hard. george washington who had orchestrated this command the continental army outside boston ordered the deep-seated mistrust of the catholics, we are contending for our own liberty, he wrote, should be very conscious of violating the rights of conscience of others. never considering god alone judge the hearts of men and only in this case are the answers. george washington with motivated by that power. he favored invading canada because he wanted to push britain off of the north american continent. act awaited by these ideals as well. washington did not want french backed canada either and was willing to double cross the marquis they lafayette to keep about but that is another chapter of the book.

i described benjamin franklin turning north in 1775. real ordeal for 70-year-old mad at that time of year. his instructions make for fascinating reading. my favorite line is you are establishing free press and give directions for the frequent publication as needs to be observed at the time. franklin failed but gave the british quite a scare and so doing inaugurated an american conquering into liberty being played out today. let me give you one more example of how the book draws connections between now and the present. summer of 1777 emerging forces evacuated for ticonderoga in the face of an invasion from canada led by the general. the retreat turned into a route.

the americans lost their equipment and a lot of their self-respect. some of that self-respect was beginning a few days later. the only real battle ever fought, action at which the british pursued -- it is about the battle. a year after the events, general arthur sinclair, a veteran of the british, a real regular in his out look. he had been at odds throughout the campaign, part-time soldiers and in particular the leading soldier named seth warner. at the end of that chapter, one of the scene the export is the relationship between a

professional soldier and i agreed -- had described a trip that i took to fort ticonderoga with my friend nicholas westbrook and about 40 colonels. there we re-enacted the court-martial of arthur sinclair prosecutors and witnesses. the basic charge boiled down to the record, incompetent as a general. at the end we took a vote and he is acquitted by a pretty respectful margin of that charge. here is how that chapter ends. completed the exercise with fun remarks, suggested parallels with problems. they find themselves dealing with in future, few words about carefully reconstructed sites of

fort ticonderoga itself. could of you who voted to require parter sinclair raise your hand again? 25 of the 40 raised their hands. would all of you who would be willing to have your son or daughter served under him keep your hands up? the hands went down. after a pause to this outcome, for further career as a revolution where he continued to serve never again in command. the president of the continental congress the constitution seemed drafted. disappointed the territorial governor of northwest territory and the society of cincinnati and former officers. we have found the city of cincinnati and in the summer of 1791 he went to oregon.

sinclair led the bulk of the united states army such as it was, in confederation mounted a fierce opposition across the appalachians. most painful marching in the construction of an isolated fort along the river on november 4th, 1791. viewed as the regular or the militia company in them, the indians killed over 600 soldiers, adding 250 inflicting the greatest defeat ever suffered by the united states army before or since. washington replaced none other than the defeated general's predecessor 15 years before in ticonderoga. in the meantime congress once again investigated sinclair. on due consideration of the

quality of troops in physical predicaments and the challenges was acquitted. as well as the instructor. whose fault was that? sinclair or the people? prolonged silence, reflected colonels filed off to a pleasant dinner and comfortable dining room overlooking the dark waters of lake george and the hills. that chapter like the book as hole does several things. did describes dramatic events and explores the choices and the conflict that shapes events and their consequences and suggests some of the enduring legacies. book, i hope is a good read. but it makes some serious arguments and as a close friend it is also a kind of love notes.

the have been visiting since i was a boy. let me conclude where the book begins with the author's introduction. the bizarre notion of conquering others into liberty, the last paragraph describes my deepest kepler -- desperation for to readers and as for the charms subject of this prompts those who read it to explore for themselves the places to try i will be glad. they will discover as i did it was an intensive year with a modicum of lot of imagination and a whole -- one can still hear the as cote -- echoes of musket and canon shots, even with some effort in near silence having. i hope you will read the book and if you do i can promise you vicariously you will hear some

of those echoes. [applause] [applause] >> at don't have a chance -- a lively panel. i would just point out one of the things that makes this book so fascinating is elliott has the eye of a historian and those fins at greatly to it. >> i am somebody who makes a living from writing. i don't care if you read the book. adjust care if you buy the book. nothing is more painful to me than somebody saying i got your book out of the library. what is more painful is the guy who says it was so good i sat

and -- at borders the whole day and finished it. elliot cohen has done something unusual, even daring. he made canada interesting. after you buy and read this book you will never again fink of canada as a number simpson's america junior. it is a terrific book. i read it twice. once as a manuscript, hard or last night. it is more fun the second time around and figure out a bracket to give you a battle that connects something. where will you take it this time? structurally i found it really enjoyable. my favorite is chapter 3, takes you to the battle of snow shoes,

the army rangers, october of 1993. and the military. the actions are made. a good point the really enjoyed this book but early on, unlike in europe or year round. second the french did better with the indians and this struck me because we continue to be followed by tribes in iraq. he points out another way that the past is not the past. like the codename it points out that gave to the party in pakistan or osama bin laden or geronimo. most striking to me is something

professor cohen's seem, first sustained campaign against americans with a terrorist threat. this is a french sponsored series of indian raid on the american frontier in places like massachusetts. description, somewhat the same effect including americans in the world trade center and the pentagon years ago. a galvanizing effect not only with a certain type of response. i was thinking about the fidelity all week, it had me wondering how far to take this analogy. the colonial world lasted for decades. general officers tell you

repeatedly that americans don't like long wars. but they do. not only are they comfortable fighting a long war but a long limited war. that is not what douglas macarthur believed. one question i would like to hear is -- doesn't the american response to the war on terror have more in common with the campaign -- than it does with our big war of the 40 eighth century that looms so large in our historical leverage. finally, one last point. i found myself wondering when i finished it the second time, quite a feat to write a book like this. it is clear when you read this that our ancestors did and wondered as i finished it if our

descendants will as well. if global warming and energy shortages in the coming decades, within a few decades some in canada may be more livable in the united states. and once again canada will be something worth fighting for. thank you. >> there goes my canadian book for. >> i did you a favor. >> error next discussion, a few acres of snow. conquered into liberty sweeps up and down lake george and lake champlain and across three centuries of conflict to tell

the story of a contest for empire and freedom that shaped the destiny of north america. with a biting boyhood enthusiasm, we heard that in the closing words. elliot cohen also focuses on the analytical eye of the modern strategist operating at the highest international level. the drama is played out by dozens of remarkable characters captured in witty financial portraits. eight major battles, two periods of strikes and uncertainty send tremors across the complex web of diplomatic and political maneuvering. repeated efforts, by ego and contempt for allies. personal courage and stupidity and the often competing psychology of tradition and

defeat. sometimes selfless fowler, personal courage and enormous personal perseverance saved the cause and to those capabilities in human nature, americans fashioned a new way of striving for peace. this is about a place. i would like to take you to that place as europeans were taken for the first time. to do that we need to reach back 150 years earlier than that chapter of the french and indian raid that took place in february of 1690. i want to take you back to the st. lawrence river in 1535 on board a tiny little ship. the shot cartier goes to the point where originally the river meets the st. lawrence and the

river is draining lake george and lake champlain in to the same lawrence. 1535. he talked to the natives who have to live there in the area and that is as much geographical information as he can. doesn't plunged into lake champlain. but collecting world geography. shot cartier's geographical report turned into a grand compilation map, prepared for king francis the first in fifteen 50 and by 1567, europeans are seeing for the first time in printed form on a mercator map the interior of north america and this great warpath. 1567, it appears the first time a definable place in the

interior of north america that the map doesn't show the hudson river or long island or cape cod but it shows the south toward reaching border stretching from the st. lawrence river down to the place where the waterway forked. there is an important piece of information and the place where the waterway forecast to the south is the place of the mohawk. this is america's warpath. in the distance is the place where we will meet our enemies. friends is not able for a variety of wars of religion taking place to follow-up on the exploration of that time. it is almost 75 years to come back and penetrate into the lake

which he modestly named after himself, lake champlain. the great explore we learned growing up in new york state, he was an explorer by force, not by choice. he was being taken as a willing prisoner by a party of you're on, elgon indians, the iroquois lake down to that place where the mohawks live. the reason they were taking champlain and his french companions was because they had fire power. they could use their fire power. for the first time ever in the

champlain basin to make a power move. in an illustration, in champlain's book published that year when he returns to france illustrates the sight of that battle and the fortune built by the mohawks on land the night before the battle. the first known pictorial representation in the interior of north america on the shores of lake champlain and on the shores of this great war path that connects the native people living in the st. lawrence valley with the mohawks and other members of the iroquois confederacy. that is the prequel to elliot cohen's tale of the next 200 years. talked a little bit about place. the long history of america's great warpath. so we can talk about grand

geography, grand international alliances, strategies and the lionss with the urine and algonquin and forced french allies and driving the mohawks out of that smeal of the 7 end of lake champlain but war as you all know is a story of individuals. individual valor, individual fear, individual courage, individual memories. i want to wind up by sharing with you the story of one young man who was born the year of the fort -- born in newhaven, connecticut. young man joined the connecticut regiment two weeks after the fighting begins and marches of with daniel worse perhaps regiment to lay siege to boston. he spends the summer helping to

build the american fortifications in boston and when the drum is beat to recruit men to follow benedict arnold of a crazy march through the maine wilderness benjamin warner signed up for that effort and marches to lay siege to quebec. that invasion of canada, don't want to -- the american invasion to conquer liberty was an abject failure and they retreated back south to ticonderoga. he went home after that failed invasion but his country called him again three months later and he signed up with washington's army to fight in the battle of long island. benjamin warner went back to war, three more campaign years before the war was over. we have the fort ticonderoga

museum collection. a simple canvas knapsack made of linen, painted barn red and inside that knapsack is a pend note written with a quill pen by a very old man in his 80s. he tells us in that end note, this knapsack i carried through the war to achieve the american independence, i transmit to my oldest son benjamin ward jr. with directions to keep it and transmits it to his oldest son and so on to the latest austerity and one shred will remain, never surrender your liberties to a foreign invader or aspiring demagogues. benjamin water lived another nine years and was buried in ticonderoga and has a very

simple epitaph on his gravestone in 1846. benjamin warner, revolutionary soldier and friend of a slave. those are the stories elliott is telling in this grand book. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. those were interesting comments on the book. let me start with neck and go to tom. my oldest son and i, he is in a veteran leader delayed discussion this morning about -- today's veterans. -all at least -- memorial day

for people -- what exactly is veterans day. more about who didn't fall in battle. the conclusions i came to after an interesting discussion was what veterans they should be about is not just veterans but all of us like benjamin ward. if it weren't for the willingness of the benjamin warners, go home and come back. we wouldn't be here today. to respond to tom's question is the american response to the war on terror -- i would say he yes in a number of play is. try to mention some of them. the first is off of the earlier description of champlain's

famous battles with the turks and when you read that accounted is not so much that champlain -- is actually the indians who are manipulating him and using him as much as he is using them. one of the really interesting things about contemporary history about native americans is -- makes it clear they were in important ways division a similar way as we think about different debentures this country has been on in the last ten years it is important that we may think we're moving the chess pieces around the chessboard. we are often being moved around there chessboard so there's a similarity. the second thing, one of the underlying themes of the book,

the book has the first half of it about the contest with the french and through the seven years war, one of the points that i make is actually why is french canada only 80,000 people, able to hang on against the english colonies? there are number of reasons for that but one of them is the french were so much better dealing with it. so much better understanding of the indian culture and ability to work with indian culture, cultural content. what you eventually got on the side of the english and americans was a good enough ability with the indians and that is where we are. not as if we naturally have

reform with the locals but lot of effort and in a variety of ways wt some of which are essentially a more substantial flotilla on

lake champlain and completely -- a slightly superior royal navy so one of the things the book brings out -- the multiplicity of that. even as we do all the things we have done in iraq and afghanistan we are also getting ready for much larger kinds of forces. >> we have a little time because the efficiency -- we might take a couple of questions from the audience. go ahead. [inaudible] [laughter] >> we would have to go through the institutional review board at johns hopkins university.

the medical school would be passing on whether i could use human subjects. [inaudible] >> no. as i said to somebody it is a real book with footnotes and foreign languages and everything. in washington that is sometimes a rare thing. i very much tried to use primary sources and not entirely -- one of the joys of this book, what is scary about is the different pieces of subjects, fabulous historian over the last century, frequently family say what on earth were you doing trespassing on their turf? there are wonderful historians

and wonderful histories. i try wherever possible to use documentary collections. for a book like this you don't go to a single archive. there are different documents published at different times. there's a massive documentary collection on colonial history in new york, a similar set of collections used by all students of the american revolution which covers the american archivists which covers 1774-76. thank goodness a lot of that is increasingly the best stuff on the web. you can tap it there. and then other stuff here and there. it requires a more scattered shot. you go in lots of different places. there is no central repository that you can go to but there are

some wonderful documentary collections. in the same way that when you look at the ground it never looks the way it looks. when you look at the documents they reveal a slightly different world than the books would have you think. the most notable cases. the one of my favorites is benedict arnold. i do my best to rehabilitate his reputation. former colleagues in government are rolling their eyes and shaking their heads as i say that but one thing that strikes you is when you read his correspondence in 76-77 campaign and read his letters, all that you see is a shrewd commander and truly gallant patriot which makes his treason even greater but it really hits you when you

see these letters. even with the benefit of hindsight, couldn't really improve on his assessment of the situation. his recommendation on what ought to be done and so on. it is very much about using documents. way in the back. >> what impression did you come away with about george washington as a commander and a strategist? >> glad you asked that. there are two chapters about conflicts that never happened and this is one of the ways in which having been in government affected how are wrote the book because one thing that took away is a powerful sense of the

reality of things that happen. one of the things that does not happen. there's a chapter called phantom campaign that deals with two things. one was an effort to make vermont and independent republic under british protection. ac areas of negotiations conducted by ethan allen of all people. not the french company. the outsized figure from vermont history. which take place in the 1780s and 1780 one. there is a fantastic story in this. the americans get wind of this because new york transponders -- and reported back. washington is brought into this and write a letter to the governor of vermont who was part of these negotiations and the

letter reads like something out of, i hate to say it, michael corleone. it would be a truly awful faint -- thing if all the states had to turn on one of their brothers. it would be bad for that state. that is all he had to say. we are with the united states of america. the other one is the campaign takes place before that. that is the second invasion of canada. the first innovation fails in 76 for a variety of reasons. there was an idea about one in 78 but there was a really serious consideration of a second invasion in seventeen 79. the idea would be that a french fleet would sail up to st.

lawrence and the american army led by the marquis they lafayette march north on the great work ethic -- warpath and benjamin franklin was keen on the continental congress was really keen on this and lafayette, at the end of his life, he said i didn't get to bring canada into the united states of america by the force of french arms. they story is how washington does it. he very quietly goes behind his back to the president of the continental congress and says we have to stop. the congress--it makes complete strategic sense. you cannot trust the french.

even if they act with the genuine intention of turning can this over to us you have a french fleet and a french army, they change. by the way, lafayette says i am not so sure. then he encourages the marquee to take a long overdue leave to go back to paris. lafayette never does. he had no idea is good buddy george washington, who really put the car barge on this project of this. washington be in washington had devious idea. he used this information for deception purposes against the british so he put the word out that this would actually happen. he wants to divert french forces to canada where they can't do any damage and the markey also -- washington--washington who

did not visit the great warpath until after the revolution, is actually -- shopping for property. actually has very interesting -- on what happened. >> you have a question? >> congratulations. question on the international partners you just spoke of your book will be in britain and france as well. i want to know what you expect your most knowledgeable french, british and canadian readers, how do you expect them to react? and second, only you would be able to figure out so quickly,

you have taught a generation of students how difficult alliance wars are. is there anything in this book that you think would have helped when the allies were struggling away? >> back to a trip dean took with us, one of our annual rides. first i will tell you what i think non knowledgeable readers here and abroad would say. and that is warmonger -- adviser to condoleezza rice, now advising mitt romney -- says canada also an enemy. oh my god, makes the stop.

i think i can put that into a tweet. expect it will be out there but it is okay. i think and i hope knowledgeable readers from those countries particularly canada will feel that i gave their side a fair shake. because i really do my best to control myself into a very arrayed characters. talking about canada for a moment -- justice sure would. you never heard of. who was one of the founders of green mountain boys. he is a vermont hero but when revolution comes he cannot bear the idea of breaking with the monarchy. his family is persecuted.

he is thrown into the gulag of the american revolution. that was like siberia. never coming back. he escapes and becomes head of the intelligence network of the british running out of canada and conducting covert negotiations with ethan allen. he is a decent man in an indecent business because it is real skulduggery. i think i portray him -- in many ways, very admirable character. there were others. one of the things i hope our do also is interested americans in french canadians because french canadians including the village are fantastic. they do extraordinary things. i will mention my favorite villain people this french canadian who shows up in three

of these wars. he becomes a real bogeyman, a brilliant leader from different tribes but he can do whatever you wants to. they have been responsible for the fort his fate--ford henry massacre. after canada falls to the british he decides to go home and sales and a leaky old ship which catches fire three times along the st. lawrence. he gets to keep renton island and a storm blows up, the ship is wrecked. there were 120 people on board. all except six drowned including his two sons who slip out of his arms. six of them get a short including the captain. he organizes these six and they

buried the dead, build a fire. he goes into the woods and finds some indians and persuade the indians to take care of these five survivors, makes himself some snowshoes and walks 1500 miles. quite a guy. he makes his peace with the british. when the americans invade he offers his service to the americans. the americans don't trust him. he goes back to the british. he quickly gets a sense before saratoga that this won't turn out well so he will dematerialized before saratoga and end up with a beautiful young wife, 35 years younger than he is and the second richest man in canada. you know?

what a guy. and other figures too. people like the governor of canada during the french and indian war. i tried to read the whole thing, his reputation which was denounced the lot by the french. i do my best -- i tell my students one great strategic virtue, i try to make this as apathetic as i possibly can. a lot of the book is about coalition warfare. although it is more about coalition warfare between very different kinds of people and the difference between indians and europeans and the americans and canadians. a lot of this is about the difficulty of understanding how even an allied culture -- what war is all about.

so i think -- that is the good thing. >> i think i must admit something to this group. most of the know this already. i have been and am the director of canadian studies. for long time. i have to tell you that i think you are exactly correct when you say you are empathetic and fair. one of los things i am wondering about is this. in different periods there really is not canada per se, there is a group of people living in canada associated with foreign power, either france or britain. i am just wondering, have you identified a sense of independence, this sense of

somehow being canadian in any of these periods prior to 1865? were somewhat independent? >> that is an interesting question. i think the french presidents established themselves as not being simply french quite early on. i think the english who settled there after the seven years war don't really. it is the canadian story after the war of 18 for of where you do have french canadians fighting alongside english canadians, that there is this period. but even the canadian intent, the storage driven in large measure by the threat of invasion. something canadians are very well aware of but no american i

ever heard of. in 1866, substantial incursion into canada something like 1,000 very mad irish men who were veterans of the union army following a plan devised by william tecumseh sherman, division commander with a view of creating new hibernia. possible strategic notion. it points out the crisis that the canadian sense of who they are. >> time for one more. >> i am feeling just great actually. [inaudible] >> really looking forward to reading this book. i have two questions. was the st. lawrence river

always a natural boundary between canada and english colonies? were there ever a lot of french canadians? and the second question is where did new hampshire come from? >> the french settlement of canada is on the shores of the st. lawrence. it does not penetrate in terms of settlement very deeply. early on people trading with the indians very far west. which we tend to forget. the st. lawrence was not the boundary. was this ill-defined, very fine

story by alan taylor who has written a lot about this, people with different kinds of allegiances and loyalties. one thing i should point out the great war path--a commercial group. if you are a canadian looking to the west looking along the st. lawrence to france, we're very much connected, the americans are very connected to the system, people with mixed -- the interesting story is vermont which is a tepid space that new yorkers think belong to them but the settlers of vermont the

bridge the getting grants from a mill operator from the governor of new hampshire, a lot an interesting story. does have time to do that now. >> two concluding remarks. i forgot to bring it up here. i just want to say thank you. a person trying to go out the door but don't. the students here all know her as program coordinator at the strategic studies program. not only did she orchestrate this whole event and take everything. she is really taken care of me for years and years and that worked on the book and the could not have done it without you.

[applause] and want to thank all the students -- [inaudible] -- kept on asking me sometimes pointedly about this book, when it is actually going to be done? you don't know it but you were indispensable in a number of ways including the experience -- one of my current research assistants said to me that it felt like going on a staff ride. that is part of the idea. we got my friends at the firm -- marching through quebec following benedict arnold. those experiences of walking

around with friends to piece out what went on was indispensable. you played a large role in this as well. i want to thank my colleagues. could not ask for better bunch of colleagues. never have a nice thing to say about administrators. i want to thank been harrington. at critical junctures, a number of breaks from teaching to push this along. it was hugely important. your support and encouragement means that the world may -- what i want to do is conclude the last paragraph of the book that i should point out that i have in the second row, my wife, judy

and my daughter becky, son in law and daughter vicki and granddaughter mariah, and son nathan watching this from singapore on the live web cast. here is the last paragraph of the book. special word of thanks goes to my wife judy and her four children, and our son in law, with them amount independence, walked a wall of grand point, supported saint john and st. albans. william johnson's mansion in the woods as benedict arnold takes orders in montreal. and william henry, snow shoes where robert rogers's men, 250 years before. during the times i worked on this book judy and i have seen our wonderful teenagers grow