5fish
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We were never told our navy got its butt kick in the war of 1812 for we are told of our ships winning engagements with other British ships. In truth our war ships were bottle up in our harbors do to a successful blockade of our harbors by the British. Yes, the British successfully blockaded our ports after 1813...
Here is a link to those successful naval engagements we won... and lost...
snip...
As the War of 1812 progressed, and the British realized the danger of the American heavy frigates, they dedicated more and more naval assets to blockading the American coast. In addition, the British strictly prohibited their ships from challenging the American frigates one-on-one.
Here is another look: Our bottled up war ships and ports blockaded...
snip... The gloss...
Many popular American histories of the War of 1812 portray the conflict as a series of stunning successes for the young nation and the United States Navy in particular. This is a war that included storied events like the U.S. frigate Constitution earning the nickname ‘Old Ironsides,’ the U.S. frigate Essex’s cruise of the Pacific, and numerous victorious frigate duels against the preeminent naval power of the era.
snip...
The war at sea to capture enemy warships and merchantmen was the most desirable objective for naval officers and the most popular in historical accounts. The numerous ship duel victories in this theater are some of the most famous victories of the early U.S. Navy. They include Captain Isaac Hull and the frigate Constitution’s capture of the frigate HMS Guerriere, Captain Stephen Decatur and the frigate United States’ capture of the frigate HMS Macedonian, and Captain William Bainbridge and Constitution’s victory over the frigate HMS Java. These and most other victories at sea, however, occurred in the opening months of the war. By early 1813, the British had eleven ships of the line, thirty-four frigates, and fifty-two other vessels operating off North America, while the U.S. had only two frigates at sea. By November 1813, the British established a commercial blockade that stopped all traffic regardless of nationality across the entire east coast south of New England.
snip...
The resources of the British Navy quickly overwhelmed the U.S. Navy’s famous heavy frigates. After evading the blockade out of New York in May 1813, Decatur’s squadron of the frigates United States and Macedonian and sloop Wasp had to escape to New London, CT. They remained there for the rest of the war. After sinking HMS Java, Constitution saw little action. Even though the British did not yet have Boston under a full blockade, they kept “Old Ironsides” in Boston Harbor for most of the war. The frigate Congress managed to slip out of Boston, only to return by the end of the year too damaged to repair. Her guns were stripped and she spent the rest of the war in ordinary. The frigate Constellation never escaped Norfolk throughout the war. Again with a voice of reason, Mahan evaluated the U.S. Navy’s conduct of the war at sea accurately
snip...
Earlier in April 1814, the British extended their blockade to include New England. American imports shrank more than 25 percent from 1811 and exports dropped from $108 million in 1807 to less than $7 million. In August, the British marched on Washington, D.C. and burned down the capital city. To deny the British any resources, the U.S. Navy burned down the Washington Navy Yard themselves, including the U.S. Navy’s first 74-gun ship of the line, Columbia. Of the seventeen sea-going U.S. Navy vessels at the start of the war, only seven remained by its end. By the end of 1814, the British held almost as many U.S. Navy sailors as prisoners as the U.S. Navy had sailors out to sea. Signed on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent restored pre-war territorial borders but did not address the U.S.’s greatest concern, impressment. The British had already ceased the practice. They had far less need for sailors after Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig earlier in October 1814
Here is a look:
snip...
The United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. In response, England ordered a naval blockade on November 27, 1812 that was implemented in stages. Local proclamations by the Royal Navy announced the closing by blockade of four successive portions of the coastline: • February 6, 1813 – Chesapeake and Delaware Bays (“Mid-Atlantic”) • May 26, 1813 – New York harbor and Long Island Sound to New London (“New York”) • September 1, 1813 – North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia (“Southern Coast”) • April 25, 1814 – Northern coastline from Rhode Island to Maine (“New England”) The blockade of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast was ordered, but was never implemented by local proclamations. The blockade was lifted on March 6, 1815 after news was received in North America that the December 24, 1814 Treaty of Ghent had ended the war.
Here is a link to those successful naval engagements we won... and lost...
Naval Engagements in the War of 1812
Naval combat in the Age of Sail, which lasted from the 16th to mid-19th century, may seem strange to the modern eye. Sailing ships were virtually floating...
www.battlefields.org
snip...
As the War of 1812 progressed, and the British realized the danger of the American heavy frigates, they dedicated more and more naval assets to blockading the American coast. In addition, the British strictly prohibited their ships from challenging the American frigates one-on-one.
Here is another look: Our bottled up war ships and ports blockaded...
The U.S. Navy in the War of 1812: Winning the Battle, Losing the War
Many popular American histories of the War of 1812 portray the conflict as a...
www.maritime-executive.com
snip... The gloss...
Many popular American histories of the War of 1812 portray the conflict as a series of stunning successes for the young nation and the United States Navy in particular. This is a war that included storied events like the U.S. frigate Constitution earning the nickname ‘Old Ironsides,’ the U.S. frigate Essex’s cruise of the Pacific, and numerous victorious frigate duels against the preeminent naval power of the era.
snip...
The war at sea to capture enemy warships and merchantmen was the most desirable objective for naval officers and the most popular in historical accounts. The numerous ship duel victories in this theater are some of the most famous victories of the early U.S. Navy. They include Captain Isaac Hull and the frigate Constitution’s capture of the frigate HMS Guerriere, Captain Stephen Decatur and the frigate United States’ capture of the frigate HMS Macedonian, and Captain William Bainbridge and Constitution’s victory over the frigate HMS Java. These and most other victories at sea, however, occurred in the opening months of the war. By early 1813, the British had eleven ships of the line, thirty-four frigates, and fifty-two other vessels operating off North America, while the U.S. had only two frigates at sea. By November 1813, the British established a commercial blockade that stopped all traffic regardless of nationality across the entire east coast south of New England.
snip...
The resources of the British Navy quickly overwhelmed the U.S. Navy’s famous heavy frigates. After evading the blockade out of New York in May 1813, Decatur’s squadron of the frigates United States and Macedonian and sloop Wasp had to escape to New London, CT. They remained there for the rest of the war. After sinking HMS Java, Constitution saw little action. Even though the British did not yet have Boston under a full blockade, they kept “Old Ironsides” in Boston Harbor for most of the war. The frigate Congress managed to slip out of Boston, only to return by the end of the year too damaged to repair. Her guns were stripped and she spent the rest of the war in ordinary. The frigate Constellation never escaped Norfolk throughout the war. Again with a voice of reason, Mahan evaluated the U.S. Navy’s conduct of the war at sea accurately
snip...
Earlier in April 1814, the British extended their blockade to include New England. American imports shrank more than 25 percent from 1811 and exports dropped from $108 million in 1807 to less than $7 million. In August, the British marched on Washington, D.C. and burned down the capital city. To deny the British any resources, the U.S. Navy burned down the Washington Navy Yard themselves, including the U.S. Navy’s first 74-gun ship of the line, Columbia. Of the seventeen sea-going U.S. Navy vessels at the start of the war, only seven remained by its end. By the end of 1814, the British held almost as many U.S. Navy sailors as prisoners as the U.S. Navy had sailors out to sea. Signed on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent restored pre-war territorial borders but did not address the U.S.’s greatest concern, impressment. The British had already ceased the practice. They had far less need for sailors after Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig earlier in October 1814
Here is a look:
snip...
The United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. In response, England ordered a naval blockade on November 27, 1812 that was implemented in stages. Local proclamations by the Royal Navy announced the closing by blockade of four successive portions of the coastline: • February 6, 1813 – Chesapeake and Delaware Bays (“Mid-Atlantic”) • May 26, 1813 – New York harbor and Long Island Sound to New London (“New York”) • September 1, 1813 – North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia (“Southern Coast”) • April 25, 1814 – Northern coastline from Rhode Island to Maine (“New England”) The blockade of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast was ordered, but was never implemented by local proclamations. The blockade was lifted on March 6, 1815 after news was received in North America that the December 24, 1814 Treaty of Ghent had ended the war.