William S. Dudley, editor, Michael J. Crawford, associate editor ; with a foreword by John D.H. Kane, Jr.
Place of Publication
Washington
Publisher
Naval Historical Center, Dept. of Navy,
Date of Publication
1985.
Physical Description
714 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Contents
Chapters: The Maritime Causes of The War - 1805-1812/ Naval Operations in the Atlantic Theater,January to August 1812/ The Northern Lakes Theater,June to December 1812/ The Gulf Coast Theater, February to December 1812/ The Atlantic Theater, September to December 1812.
Summary
This volume is presented as the first of a three-volume documentary history of the United States Navy in the War of 1812. As such, it contains selected documents which display the flavor and substance of maritime warfare between the United States and Great Britain during the period 1812 1815. We have drawn heavily on naval records held by the National Archives and Records Service. To these we have added others reflecting a variety of viewpoints: the plans and reports of British naval officers who engaged our forces, newspaper columns of the day, statements of civilian officials who were charged with direction of the war, and the papers of private citizens who chose to go to war for personal profit though at great risk. The substance of this book is the life of the navy. It includes documents on such diverse subjects as the causes of the war from a maritime perspective, the navy's preparedness for operations. the recruitment of seamen and marines, the construction and filling out of ships. the treatment of sick and wounded men , questions of insubordination, incompetence , and jealousy among officers and men. matters relating to the supply of food, drink, clothing, armaments, and spars for navy crews and ships, the operations of privateers, as well as navy warships, and the plight of men held as prisoners of war. In short , these pages will show the American navy as a human institution, with all the nobility and frailty that phrase implies. [from the Preface]
