The war between Bangkok and the Lao in the years 1827–29 constitutes a watershed in the relations between the Thai and the Lao. Up to now, this conflict has been accounted for largely by only one source: The Royal Chronicles of the Third Reign of the Bangkok Dynasty by Chao Phraya Thiphakarawong. It is time to go beyond this, and to explore the available Lao annals, Vietnamese primary documents, the archives of the Thai National Library and the accounts of western travellers at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This paper also introduces Lao historiography and historians who have written about the war.