Salt is subtitled A Story of Friendship in a Time of War . The friendship is between two 12-year-old boys named James and Anikwa. The time of war is the War of 1812. British and American armies are preparing to collide at Fort Wayne, Indiana. Today Fort Wayne is a city with over a quarter-million people. In 1812 it was a military fort in the Indiana territory, and home to about 80 American soldiers and some of their families. More American settlers lived and farmed in the area surrounding the