As indicated by the narrative here itself, anyone before the Civil War in America is pretty ignored.
Great 2-volume on the RevWar is by Christopher Ward, simply “War of the Revolution” or originally “Rag, Tag and Bobtail”. It’s not long, could’ve been 1 large book. Very good.
My parents said “Washington’s Crossing” by Fischer was excellent, bearing much actual data about the whole war and not really just the Trenton battles. Husband also liked it alot. Still haven’t read it. Internet has messed me for real reading.
As for so-called 1812, “Dawn’s Early Light” was really good, by same author of the famous “Night to Remember”, Walter Lord. He was writing in this case about his own hometown. Being raised on history particularly battlefields, and raised by native history teacher, I was astounded to learn about the gigantic breast works put in by natives through the city. Much, much more to the Battle of Baltimore than the Star-Spangled Banner. In fact, you probably didn’t know there was a Battle for Baltimore, much less the more specific Battle of North Point. It really wasn’t just Navy and fortress, people. I read another very good book, called I think “Battle for Baltimore” IIRC. Very good, recent. Met the author at the time and have signed copy.
John Mahon’s ‘War of 1812’ is not only a masterful one volume treatment it is the chef d’oeuvre of a very fine academic scholar who was professionally trained before the advent of political correctness and cultural marxism.
For New Orleans Robin Reilly's ‘Enemy at the Gates’ is an excellent history of the British campaign on the Gulf Coast and the Battle of New Orleans (Of which the 199th Anniversary will be celebrated this weekend in NOLA. Reilly was an Englishman who ran an antique store in the French Quarter for 20 some years before returning to the UK. back in the UK he produced a very good one volume biography of Pitt the Younger. A man who considered himself as much American as British his account of the NOLA campaign is hard to beat.
Finally and old (1943) but still very good book on the Baltimore-Washington campaign id Neil Swanson's ‘The Perilous Fight’. It might be hard to find but it is worth looking for. The author sifted contemporary sources to produce a book that really is ‘hard to put down’.
Finally, for the commander of the ‘defenders of Baltimore’ there is a solidly researched and well written biography, “Merchant Congressman in the Young republic, Samuel Smith of Maryland 1752-1839”, by Frank Cassell. This is also a fascinating illumination of the Revolutionary Generation through the life of one of the third tier actors who had a nearly endless career in politics and commerce afterwards. Interestingly, the dust jacket is decorated with a copy of the Rembrandt Peale portrait of Smith in the uniform of Major General as the Defender of Baltimore.
Books such as this summon, however faintly, the shades of those who defended our nation long ago in a now almost forgotten conflict. By reading about these men we once again acquaint ourselves with a vanished generation of patriots and by coming to know them do them honor again (and recognize some genuine villains of almost 20th century scale such as MG James Wilkinson).