1812

August 1, 2011
Daughan follows his award -wining If by Sea, about the American navy in the Revolutionary War, with a solidly researched, well-crafted account of U.S. sea power in the War of 1812. There is little new information on the U.S. Navy proper, because despite some notable ship-to-ship victories, the fleet was so small and so quickly driven from the seas. Daughan's achievement is contextualizing the effect of those victories on three levels. The navy's performance convinced critics that a strong navy was indispensable to its protection and did not threaten the Constitution. Second, the performances of individual warships generated increasing British respect, both in the Royal Navy and in the administration, for American abilities at sea. Over the previous century, British warships had come to assume superiority in single-ship actions. Such fights as Constitution versus Guerriere impelled rethinking the subject. Finally, the successes of American privateers against British shipping drove costs higher than the business community was willing to accept without protest. The treaty ending the war provided numerous unresolved grounds for renewed conflict. What kept the peace, Daughan argues provocatively, was America's postwar commitment to "a strong navy, an adequate professional army, and the financial reforms necessary to support them"âin other words, an effective deterrent. 20 b&w illus.

October 15, 2011

In a compelling sequel to his award-winning If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812, Daughan narrates the story of the War of 1812, focusing on the tiny, 20-ship U.S. Navy. In doing so, from the poorly conducted chase of HMS Belvidera by Commodore John Rogers in June 1812 to the capture of HMS Penguin by USS Hornet in March 1815, Daughan also traces the development of the U.S. Navy. He concludes with a brief discussion of Commodore Stephen Decatur's successful ventures against the Barbary pirates in late 1815. Daughan also analyzes the land war, from the fiasco of the invasion of Canada and the embarrassment of the burning of Washington, DC, to the final victory at New Orleans a couple of weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. VERDICT Albeit with nothing new to present, Daughan offers a rousing retelling of the war, strongly recommended for general readers, high school students, and lower classmen.--David Lee Poremba, Windermere, FL

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011

A naval expert's readable take on the U.S. Navy's surprising performance in the war that finally reconciled the British to America's independence.

Maritime disputes over impressments and free trade forced a reluctant Madison to ask Congress to declare war in 1812 against Great Britain. Presumptions on both sides--that the U.S. could easily invade and conquer Canada and that the Royal Navy would vanquish America's woefully inadequate navy--proved erroneous. The antagonists signed a treaty three years later, quietly dropping the disagreements over sailors' rights and sea-going commerce. Daughan (If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--From the Revolution to the War of 1812, 2008) follows up his award-winning debut about the U.S. Navy's birth with this story of its maturation. If the U.S. Navy, along with considerable assistance from privateers, didn't win the War of 1812, it probably kept the nation from losing. The Great Lakes, coastal and blue-water exploits of outstanding officers like Isaac Hull, David Porter, Stephen Decatur and Oliver Hazard Perry earned new respect for America's fleet; victories by the Essex, the Hornet and the Constitution (dubbed "Old Ironsides" after its triumph over the Guerriere) set off national celebrations. Daughan supplies just enough of the big picture--the dismal struggles of both armies, Napoleon's off-stage machinations that determined so much of the war's progress, the outcome of domestic political squabbles upon which the navy's survival depended--to place the navy's role in context, but he focuses on the personalities, ships and battles that prevented the British from suffocating the infant nation's maritime ambitions. With each success, the navy demonstrated its value, shaming the politicians reluctant to fund it. After the war, writes the author, the navy became an integral part of the nation's new defense strategy.

A smart salute to a defining moment in the history of the U.S. Navy.

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