Book #2: Settlement, Revolution & War (1760-1815).TOC
Part 5, The War Of 1812: Eastern Theatre.
Synopses, Chapters 1 to 16.

(Now Available As A Book)

Ch. 01. - Introduction. (15k)

"In The War of 1812, the Americans were not all of the same mind. The New England states were not so much anti-British as they were anti-French, indeed, New Englanders rather favoured the British. On the other hand, those in the south and west were keen on war with Britain. These war-hawks saw the war as an opportunity to add to their growing empire, Florida to the south and Canada to the north."

Ch. 02. - Privateers, No. 1. (22k)

"Privateers were of the smaller variety of sailing vessels. A privateer was chosen, not for its size, but for its sailing ability. It was able to tack into the wind and generally able to manoeuver better than larger and more cumbersome vessels. Also it was of benefit to be able to hug the coast in shallow waters, to get up into the river creeks so to hide themselves."
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763), The American Revolution (1776-1783) and the privateer Lucy.

Ch. 03. - Privateers, No. 2. (52k)

"The Liverpool Packet was bought for £420 and during her short career it is thought that she made upwards of a million dollars for her owners. She was most successful off the New England coast, especially in the spring of 1813. In one week she captured 11 vessels off Cape Cod."
The Napoleonic Wars (1793-1805) and the privateers Charles Mary Wentworth and Rover; the War of 1812 and the privateers Liverpool Packet, Sir John Sherbrooke, the Retaliation, and Young Teazer.

Ch. 04. - The Seafaring Life. (32k)

"British ships were not known to hang back and lob cannon balls hoping for a lucky hit. A British naval captain sailed through all the enemy fire right up to the sides of the enemy ship, to give her a full broadside at close range, to latch hold of her, and to immediately launch a spirited boarding party with knives, swords, pikes and pistols at the ready."
A Sailor's Life, Naval Officers, and The British Navy.

Ch. 05. - Treaties, Orders And Decrees. (22k)

"The effect of The Jay Treaty was that the British would allow -- thank you very much -- the Americans to trade goods produced by them for goods produced in the West Indies and in the process they may use smaller American vessels. The rest of the world, it seems, was out of bounds. The result was not popular with the Americans. But Jay did the best he could in the circumstances springing from the fact that, at the time, the infant United States had no clout. The British had clout; she had her glorious navy."

Ch. 06. - The Years Leading Up To The War Of 1812. (35k)

"Just after Prevost settled into his new post he determined, as a good military man, to obtain the lie of the ground. At Halifax, he immediately got his engineers and sappers busy to rebuild the fortifications. Prevost was also very keen in getting the lie of the ground along the coast of the United States. He determined to send a spy."
The United States Navy, 1804, 1805, 1807, 1808, 1809, 1810, Financial Frenzy: 1806-1810 & 1811.

Ch. 07. - The Halifax Station. (31k)

"As for naval uniforms: it was during the times of Anson, the father of the British navy, that a standard was laid down, but it was many years before the bulk of them readily conformed to it. Frocked coats and breeches were the rule with differences in rank shown by the shape and cut of the lapels and cuffs. It was after the time under review, in 1825, that Jackets and trousers came."
The Naval Dockyard, Halifax, Military Uniforms, Fortifications At Halifax & Impressment.

Ch. 08. - The Naval Engagements -- The Chesapeake Incident. (23k)

"In the month of June of 1807, the 50-gun, Leopard was at anchor in the Chesapeake ... Over the rails of the Leopard's quarterdeck could be seen the occasional flash of a telescope. The object of attention was the 38-gun frigate, U.S.S. Chesapeake, which, as it happened, was not far off from the Leopard. ... When the Chesapeake weighed her anchor, the Leopard lifted her anchor and preceded the Chesapeake to sea by several miles."

Ch. 09. - The Little Belt v. President & The Belvidera v. the American Fleet. (22k)

"It is always a chase down wind when one square rigger is after another. In such circumstances, even a smaller ship has a good chance of getting away from her pursuer. The President, as fast and as well handled as she apparently was, could not catch up. What the Americans wanted was to put the President close enough, so to turn and level a broad side into the smaller Belvidera. However, in such a manoeuver, the President would lose her speed and the Belvidera would go out of range. The best the President could do was to use two chaser-guns, one just either side of her bow."

Ch. 10. - The Guerrière and the Constitution. (23k)
"The course was set and the breeze steady, thus the sails to a degree, could take care of themselves. Captain Hull might have retired to his cabin as there was the ship's journal to be written up. He continued to lean on the quarter deck rail and observed his seamen taking their ease. Some of them were in groups, some off by themselves. It was quiet. Then a cry went out from the topman, a cry together with a thrusted arm to the northwest."

Ch. 11. - The Shannon and the Chesapeake, Part 1. (31k)
"The Chesapeake let slip her lines and proceeded out of Boston harbour with the intention of putting an end to the effects of the Shannon's blockade of Boston. It was at about thirty minutes past noon, while the men were below at dinner, that Captain Broke was called on deck, and then he went himself to the masthead to see, to his joy, the Chesapeake, in a fair wind, making sail while proceeding out of Boston harbour ..."

Ch. 12. - The Shannon and the Chesapeake, Part 2. (30k)
"One can only imagine the horrors of a close-quarter naval action. Much of the action was fought in dense smoke and darkness. If the weapons of the enemy did not directly get them, then the fall of rigging such as yardarms and masts might do the job by crushing them. During the battle, the air was thick with an infinity of savage wood splinters sent flying by the impact of the cannon balls shot through the wooden bulwarks. Projectiles of every kind imbedded themselves into human flesh; the slaughter was appalling."

Ch. 13. - Blockade Of The Chesapeake. (19k)
"The British were disappointed with their operations in the Chesapeake during the year, 1813, especially when it came to comparing it with the results of the following year. The British navy did however achieve a result which was not immediately observable, at least to the British. They had effectively frozen the commerce of the young United States up and down the eastern seaboard."

Ch. 14. - The Burning of Washington. (22k)
"On June 2nd, 1814, a detachment of Wellington's army of 2,500 soldiers under Major-General Ross boarded transports at Bordeaux. These troops disembarked at Bermuda on July 25th. On August 15th the British troops, which had been augmented at Bermuda to bring the total up to 3,400, were transported into the Chesapeake in the company of several ships of war. The combined fleet rendezvoused off of Tangier Island, much in the middle of the Chesapeake, leaving the Americans to wonder at what point the first strike would occur?"

Ch. 15. - The Penobscot Expedition. (11k)
"On the 31st, the British fleet sailed up Penobscot Bay reaching Castine the following morning. Thus it was, that on September 1st, 1814, the people of Castine looked out into the bay and saw a large British force."

Ch. 16. - Negotiations and A Lasting Peace. (16k)
"The United States suffered much on account of the War of 1812. It had a devastating effect on the Americans in respect to their trading activities. ... The effect in the United States was to tip the balance to the Hamiltonians, those who wanted a strong central government, versus the Jeffersonians who wanted less government. Before the war the question was up in the air; but not after the war."

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