Book review Book Review: "THE NAVAL WAR OF 1812" (Caxton/Chatham Pictorial Histories) by Robert Gardiner, Roger Morriss and Robert Malcomson

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Book Review:
THE NAVAL WAR OF 1812
(Caxton Pictorial Histories)

by Robert Gardiner, Roger Morriss and Robert Malcomson

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  • Series: Chatham Pictorial Histories
  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Naval Institute Press (March 1, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 155750654X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1557506542
  • Product Dimensions: 10 x 1 x 12 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
or
  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Caxton Editions; New edition edition (Nov. 7 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1840673605
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840673609
  • Parcel Dimensions: 29 x 25.2 x 2.8 cm
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 Kg

available as used copy already sometimes under 10 Euro/$/GBP

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Synopsis:

Regarded by many at the time as an unnecessary conflict, the War of 1812 was provoked by mutual misunderstandings and prosecuted without conviction on either side. It was also a war of surprises: the hitherto omnipotent Royal Navy suffered a series of humiliating losses at sea, while the American invasion of Canada, regarded ar merely “a matter of marching”, was defeated by a makeshift force of colonial militia, native Indians and a handful of regulars. But in almost every aspect, it was a naval war, even the Canadian campaign or the burning of Washington depending entirely on seapower.

The United States went to war under the slogan “Free Trade and Sailors´Rights´, but at the peace had gained concessions on neither issue. Embroiled in the titanic struggle with Napoleon, at first the British had no war aims beyond preserving Canada and forcing the Americans to make peace. However, by 1814 the defeat of France allowed Britain to embark on a far more aggressive strategy, but this in turn foundered on Lake Champlain and before New Orleans, and the fighting ended without either side obtaining any strategic goal. But the war was not without significance – in fact, it has been described as “a defining moment in the destiny of North America”, from which emerged the modern states of Canada and the USA. It also marked the coming of age of the US Navy, which not only won morale-boosting victories at sea, but intervened to crucial effect on the Great Lakes.

The volume is illustrated with the finest images from the archives of North America and Britain, provising a properly balanced view of all facets of this war. As with the rest of the series, there is a strong emphasis on eyewitness and contemporary material, including diaries, journals and sketchbooks of the participants, with many rare and previously unpublished pictures.

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Content

Preface / Sources
INTRODUCTION
The slide into war
PART I: WAR ON THE HIGH SEAS
The US Navy in 1812
Lucky escapes
First blood
Constitution versus Guerriere
Frolic versus Wasp
United States versus Macedonian
Constitution versus Java
Hornet
Shannon versus Chesapeake
Brigs at war, 1813
American privateers
War as business: privateers in action
Irwin Bevan´s War of 1812
Privateers v small cruisers
The destruction of American trade
Ships of the Royal Navy: schooners
Cruise of the Essex
Sloops of war – the new generation
Ships of the Royal Navy: brig sloops
Warrington and the Peacock
Constitution´s last victory
PART II: WAR ON THE GREAT LAKES
Lake Ontario, 1813
British shipbuilding on the Lakes
Perry on Lake Erie
The shipbuilder´s war and the attack on Oswego
Ships-on-frame: the fir frigates
The Battle of Plattsburgh, 11 September 1814
American shipbuilding on the Lakes
Mackinac and the struggle for the Upper Lakes
PART III: THE WAR ON THE COASTS
Ships of the Royal Navy: the 80-gun ship
The blockade
Raiding in the Chesapeake in 1813
Burning Washington
Gordon´s diversion on the Potomac
Steam, torpedoes and rockets
Baltimore reprieved
Ships of the Royal Navy: brig frigates
Capture of the President
The occupation of Maine
The southern theatre
The New Orleans campaign
Prisoners of war
POSTSCRIPT: 1815 THE HUNDRED DAYS
Notes on Artists / Index

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Review / Comment:

Like the other books of the series highly recommended for this price. Unfortunately everything in black and white, but a very comprehensive overview of this era


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