In 1812, Britain's Royal Navy was the world's largest with over 600 cruisers in commission and some smaller vessels. Most of these were involved in blockading the French navy and their allies and protecting British trade against French privateers.  The Royal Navy still had 85 vessels in American waters, counting all North American and Caribbean waters. However, the Royal Navy's American squadron based in Halifax, Nova Scotia numbered one small ship of the line, seven frigates, nine smaller sloops and brigs, and five schooners. By contrast, the United States Navy was composed of eight frigates, 14 smaller sloops and brigs, and no ships of the line. The U.S. had embarked on a major shipbuilding program before the war at Sackets Harbor, New York to produce new ships. 

USS Chesapeake– HMS Leopard affair

In the spring of 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, several British naval vessels from the North American Station were blockading French ships in the Chesapeake Bay. A number of Royal Navy seamen had deserted from these ships and local American authorities gave them sanctuary.

Some deserters were at the Gosport Navy Yard, commanded by Stephen Decatur. The British consul sent a letter ordering him to turn them over. The consul claimed the men had enlisted in the U.S. Navy, which was recruiting a crew for Chesapeake, then at the Washington Navy Yard. Vice-Admiral Sir George Berkeley dispatched his flagship, HMS Leopard, with written orders authorizing boarding and searching of the United States warship to recover any of the deserters.

USS Chesapeake was off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, commanded by Commodore James Barron, when HMS Leopard, under Captain Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, encountered the ship. Barron received Lieutenant John Meade on board, who presented Barron with the search warrant. After an inconclusive discussion, Meade returned to Leopard. Captain Humphreys, ordered the American ship to submit. When Chesapeake did not, Humphreys fired a round across her bow. This was followed immediately by Leopard firing broadsides into the American ship. Her guns unloaded and her decks cluttered with stores, Chesapeake only managed to fire a single gun in return. Barron struck his colors and surrendered. Three of Chesapeake's crew were killed and 18 wounded, including Barron, by the attack. However, Humphreys refused the surrender and sent a boarding party to Chesapeake to search for deserters.

Scores of British nationals had signed on as crewmen of Chesapeake, but Humphreys seized only the four Royal Navy deserters: Daniel Martin, John Strachan and William Ware and Jenkin Ratford. Only Ratford was British-born. The others were American residents. Jenkin Ratford, the sole British citizen, was sentenced to death and was hanged from the yardarm of Halifax on August 31, 1807. The three American deserters received sentences of 500 lashes each, but the sentences were later commuted.

The encounter caused a storm of protest from the United States government, and the British government eventually offered to return the three American residents and to pay reparations for the damage to Chesapeake.

The Little Belt affair occurred four years after the Chesapeake–Leopard matter of 1807, in which HMS Leopard had attacked USS Chesapeake.  Fifteen days before the Little Belt affair, HMS Guerriere had stopped the brig USS Spitfire off Sandy Hook in New Jersey and impressed some of the sailors. In response, the Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton had ordered President, along with USS Argus, to patrol the coastal areas from the Carolinas to New York.

The commanding officer of the President was Commodore John Rodgers. The President left Annapolis only a few days before, and was aware of the incident with the Guerriere.  Rodgers was sailing up the coast toward New York, when the Little Belt was spotted off the cost of the Virginia Capes on May 16th. Believing it to be Guerriere, Rodgers pursued. The Little Belt's captain was Arthur Bingham. When Bingham signal the President asking for identification and received none, he noticed a blue pennant designating the ship's nationality. He continued south, but President continued its pursuit because Commodore Rodgers was interested in identifying the ship that he now knew by this time was not HMS Guerriere.

From the start of the pursuit, it appeared to Bingham that the President was maneuvering into a position to rake the smaller British ship. Bingham maneuvered to prevent his ship being in the line of fire. Both captains demanded that the other identify his ship, and both refused to answer before the other. Shortly after, a shot was fired, but again it was disputed who was first. Both ships were soon fully engaged in a barrage in which the much larger American ship had an overwhelming advantage. After about fifteen minutes, most of the British guns were inactive, and Rodgers gave the order to ceasefire. President then returned, and asked if Bingham had struck. Bingham replied that he had not, and the President again withdrew.

President sustained only one injury; Little Belt took nine deaths during the battle and 23 injuries, and the sloop was badly damaged in the attack. Two of the wounded Britons died the following day. The President sailed to New York City, and Little Belt went to Halifax, Nova Scotia under escort by HMS Goree. The two nations continued to argue about how the battle began for several months. Rodgers claimed that he had mistaken the British ship for a larger frigate and was adamant that Bingham had fired first. The Admiralty expressed their confidence in Bingham; it promoted him to post-captain on 7 February 1812.

For the British public, it was an insult as great as the Leopard versus Chesapeake incident had been to the American public. The tension between the two nations increased.

A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Because of the high level of piracy and impressment, merchant ships where armed. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as a letter of marque, during wartime. The commission empowered the holder to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war. This included attacking foreign vessels and taking them as prizes, and taking prize crews as prisoners for exchange. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided by percentage between the privateer's sponsors, ship owners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission (i.e. the sovereign).

Privateering allowed sovereigns to raise revenue for war by mobilizing privately owned armed ships and sailors to subsidize state power. For participants, privateering provided the potential for a greater income and profit than obtainable as a merchant seafarer or fisher.

USS Constitution, commanded by Captain Issac Hull was anchored in Alexandria, Virginia, when the ship was ordered to join Commodore John Rodger’s squadron at New York. July 16, 1812, the Constitution was off Egg Harbor, New York, when the lookout saw a squadron of warships. Hull thought these ships belonged to Rodgers’s squadron, and he made his way to join them. Unfortunately, he was mistaken. Hull and his crew found themselves in the midst of five British ships: HMS Africa, HMS Belvidera, HMS Aeolus, HMS Shannon, and HMS Guerriere.

Greatly outnumbered, Constitution turned and ran. The ship did not get far, however, because the wind soon died leaving the ship and her pursuers becalmed. Hull ordered some guns moved aft and ports cut through the stern, so he could fire astern. The crew began jettisoning stores and provisions to lighten the ship’s weight. Meanwhile, the ship’s boats began towing the ship away from the enemy in a maneuver called kedging. This operation involved carrying a kedge anchor as far ahead of the ship as the cable would allow. Once the anchor settled in the seabed, the crew hauled in the cable and the ship was pulled forward through the water. As the first anchor came aboard, a boat dropped a second anchor ahead of the ship, keeping it in constant motion. This worked well, but the British soon discovered the trick and deployed their own anchors. HMS Shannon, the frigate closest to the Americans, quickly closed the gap.

This multi-day chase came to an end as the ominous clouds of a squall built on the horizon. Knowing that the British had copied everything he had done thus far, Hull took a gamble and ordered Constitution’s sails furled. The British, not used to the weather in American waters, followed suit. As soon as the squall struck, Hull quickly spread his sails again and seized upon the squall, leaving the British in his wake. Having escaped their pursuers, the Americans turned toward Boston and arrived there unharmed on July 27, 1812.

USS Constitution, under the command of Captain Isaac Hull, sailed from Boston on August 2, 1812 to off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the afternoon of August 19, 1812 Hull and his crew sighted the British frigate HMS Guerriere, under the command of Captain James Richard Dacres.

As Guerriere closed to within a mile of the Constitution, the British hoisted their colors the two ships engaged in a fire fight. The Constitution’s thick hull, composed of white oak planking and live oak frames, proved resilient to enemy cannonballs. During the engagement, an American sailor was heard exclaiming, “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron! See where the shot fell out!”. After intense combat, the severely damaged Guerriere  was forced to surrender.

The next morning, Hull made the difficult decision to scuttle Guerriere. Constitution sailed for Boston and arrived on August 30. News of Constitution‘s victory quickly spread through town and throngs of cheering Bostonians greeted Hull and his crew. A militia company escorted Hull to a reception at the Exchange Coffee House and more dinners, presentations and awards followed in the ensuing weeks, months, and years. USS Constitution, for her impressive strength in battle, earned the nicknamed “Old Ironsides.”

USS Wasp versus HMS Frolic was an action fought in the Atlantic on October 18th 1812, the sloop-of-war USS Wasp, was commanded by Master Commandant Jacob Jones, and the brig-sloop Frolic, was under Commander Thomas Whinyates.

There was strong wind blowing causing a heavy sea on the day of the battle. Both vessels carried a main armament of short-range carronades. There was no attempt at maneuvering to gain advantage before the fight. They closed to within hail range and opened fire. The Wasp's crew fired low, into their opponent's hull, while the Frolic's gunners fired high, to disable their enemy's rigging. As the action continued, the ships closed together.

After 22 minutes, Wasp's rigging was damaged, making the ship unmanageable. Frolic was severely damaged, and the crew had suffered heavy casualties. With both vessels incapable of being handled, Wasp drew slightly ahead and Frolic collided with the American ship. Wasp fired a final raking broadside. Then the American sailors boarded Frolic to find that every British officer and over half the crew were wounded or dead. The Americans captured the British vessel, but shortly thereafter both vessels were captured by a British ship of the line which happened upon the scene of the battle.

USS United States vs HMS Macedonian

USS United States versus HMS Macedonian was a naval battle fought near Madeira on October 25th 1812 between the heavy frigate USS United States, commanded by Stephen Decatur, and the frigate HMS Macedonian, commanded by John Surman Carden.

On 25 October, five hundred miles south of the Azores, lookouts on United States sighted a sail. Captain Decatur recognized HMS Macedonian, which was on its way to its station in the West Indies.

The battle commensed. Captain Carden choose not to risk crossing the bows of United States to rake her, but chose instead to haul closer to the wind on a parallel course with the American ship. As his ship was at a disadventadge, Decatur intended to engage Macedonian from long range.

The battle developed according to Decatur's plan. United States began by firing a broadside. This was answered immediately by the British vessel, bringing down a small spar of United States. Decatur's next broadside destroyed Macedonian's mizzen top mast, so giving the maneuvering advantage to the American frigate. United States next took up position off Macedonian's quarter and proceeded to riddle the frigate methodically with shot. Macedonian became a dismasted hulk. When United States closed for another broadside, Carden was forced to surrender. Macedonian had over 100 round shot lodged in her hull and suffered over one hundred casualties, one third of her crew, while United States only suffered 12. Because of the greater range of the guns aboard United States, the ship emerged from the battle relatively unscathed.

USS Hornet vs HMS Peacock

On October 26th 1812, the frigate USS Constitution and sloop USS Hornet left Boston, Massachusetts. Their orders were to raid British shipping along the coast of South America. On 13 December, the two American ships arrived off Salvador, Bahia Brazil, where they found the British sloop of war HMS Bonne Citoyenne. Hornet went to blockade Bonne Citoyenne and Constitution went looking for other prizes.

 Aboard Hornet, Master Commandant James Lawrence was aware from Portuguese sources that a British ship of the line was expected. On 24 January 1813, HMS Montagu appeared and Lawrence retreated into Portuguese territorial waters. After dark, he headed north along the South American coast.

On 24 February, Lawrence pursued a British merchant brig into the mouth of the Demerara River. Lawrence then noted a British brig-sloop, HMS Espiegle, at anchor in the river, and another, HMS Peacock, approaching from the sea.

Hornet gained the advantage of the windward position. Lawrence then tacked, and as Hornet and Peacock passed each other on opposite tacks, they exchanged broadsides. The British fire was high and some American sailors were killed and wounded in the mastheads. The Hornet’s aim was better and the Peacock suffered heavy damage to the hull.

Captain William Peake of Peacock turned downwind but Lawrence had carried out the same maneuver more rapidly. The bow of Hornet came up against the stern of Peacock from where the British could not bring any guns, and from this position, Hornet's gunners shattered Peacock in a mere four minutes. Peake was killed and his First Lieutenant surrendered and almost immediately made a distress signal.

The British lost 5 men killed and 33 wounded, the Americans lost only 1 man killed and 4 wounded most to Peacock's first broadside.

Both vessels anchored. An American prize crew went aboard Peacock and tried to plug the holes below the waterline and throw the guns overboard to lighten the brig, but Peacock sank suddenly. Three Americans and nine British sailors were trapped below deck and drowned. Peacock sank in only 33 feet of water.

Under the command of Commodore William Bainbridge on December 29 1812, USS Constitution cruised off the coast of Brazil, when the ship sighted two ships on the horizon. The larger of the two, was HMS Java.

Java commanded by Captain Henry Lambert, maneuvered close to Constitution. The Americans opened fire as the range decreased, but missed. Soon, Java ranged alongside Constitution and the battle began in earnest. As the two ships maneuvered to rake each other, Java suddenly turned under the American’s stern and fired. The British shot smashed Constitution’s wheel and wounded or killed the four quartermasters manning it. The same broadside shattered a railing surrounding the after hatchway, embedding a shard of copper in Bainbridge’s thigh. Despite his wound, Bainbridge rallied his crew. To regain control of the ship, crewmembers went to the berth deck to steer the ship using the tiller directly connected to the rudder. The heavy American shot, coupled with the defensive properties of Constitution’s thick hull, began to turn the tide of battle. Captain Lambert decided to board the American frigate, and aimed Java's shattered bow at Constitution. As the two ships neared, the American shot felled Java’s foremast and the boarding attempt failed. Soon after, Lambert received a fatal wound in the chest.

The Americans fired several more broadsides and then stood off out of range to repair damaged rigging. On Java, the devastation was complete with her three masts and bowsprit damaged, and many of her guns inoperable. An hour later, Constitution swept back and took up a raking position off Java’s bow. First Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads surrendered.

After removing the British prisoners, Bainbridge determined that he could not tow Java to an American port. A demolition party lit fires in Java’s hold, causing the magazine to explode. Although Constitution suffered damage to her rig and hull, the ship made Boston on February 15, 1813. News of the victory had arrived six days before, and the city was ready to welcome its heroes. When the news reached England, the British Admiralty took steps to insure that no more of their frigates would fall victim to the Americans. In July 1813, they issued orders forbidding their captains from engaging American frigates one on one.action with American Frigate Constitution, in which she was so much disabled in her masts, sails and rigging, by the enemy’s very superior force and weight of metal that in the attempt to board with every prospect of success her foremast fell and she was render totally inoperable."

Pitt Burnaby Greene took command of HMS Bonne Citoyenne in late 1810. He was promoted to post captain on 7 March 1811 and sailed HMS Bonne Citoyenne to the South American Station on 12 March.

When the War of 1812 broke out Greene took on a cargo of specie, worth some half a million pounds, and sailed from Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, a grounding damaged Bonne Citoyenne and he was forced to put into Salvador, Brazil for repairs. While she was in port, two American warships, USS Constitution and USS Hornet arrived. James Lawrence of Hornet sent a challenge to Greene, offering a single ship combat, with Commodore William Bainbridge of Constitution pledging not to intervene.

Bonne Citoyenne and Hornet were evenly matched in terms of the number of guns, and sizes of their crews. In his reply, Greene stated that he expected that he would emerge the victor in such a contest, but that he could not expect Bainbridge and Constitution to forsake their duty to intervene should Bonne Citoyenne emerge the victor. Consequently, he declined the challenge at this time and place, but stated that he stood ready to accept the opportunity should the circumstances be different.

Constitution left on 6 January 1813, but Bonne Citoyenne did not leave port even though Hornet was now alone. The arrival of the ship of the line HMS Montagu on 24 January 1813 finally forced Hornet to leave.  

USS Chesapeake vs HMS Shannon

Chesapeake versus Shannon happened on June 1st 1813 in Boston Harbor and is revered to as the Battle of Boston Harbor.

At Boston, Captain James Lawrence took command of Chesapeake on May 20 1813, and on June 1, put to sea to meet HMS Shannon, commanded by Captain Philip Broke. Broke had issued a written challenge to Chesapeake's commander, but Chesapeake sailed before it was delivered.

Chesapeake fared poorly in the early exchange of gunfire, having her wheel and part of her rigging shot away, rendering her unmanageable. Lawrence was killed. The American crew struggled to carry out their captain's last order, "Don't give up the ship!", but the British overwhelmed them. The battle was intense and lasted ten to fifteen minutes, in which time 252 men were killed or wounded including the Shannon's captain who was seriously injured.

Chesapeake and her crew were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the sailors were imprisoned; the ship was repaired and taken into service by the Royal Navy. She was sold at Portsmouth, England, in 1819 and broken up. Surviving timbers are included in the nearby Chesapeake Mill in Wickham.

USS Argus vs HMS Pelican

USS Argus commanded by Master Commandant William Henry Allen arrived at Lorient in Brittany, France, on July 11th 1813. Argus begin raiding British shipping in the English Channel and Irish Sea. During the next month, she captured nineteen merchant ships. Rather than weaken his crew by sending the captured ships to American, French, or neutral ports under prize crews, Allen set most of the captured ships on fire.

The shipping losses soon caused insurance rates for merchant shipping to increase greatly. The British Admiralty sent orders to all available ships to hunt down Argus. The British brig-sloop HMS Pelican had just arrived in Cork Harbor in Ireland, having escorted a convoy from the West Indies, and immediately put to sea again on 10 August 1813. Pelican's captain was Commander John Fordyce Maple.

On 13 August, Argus took two prizes. As with Argus's previous captures, the Americans set fire to the prize unfortunately for them, Pelican was near enough to sight the smoke from the burning vessel and make for it.

On the morning of 14 August 1813, Argus and Pelican sighted each other west of St David's Head in Southwest Wales. Argus was the faster but more lightly armed vessel. Allen could have used Argus's greater speed to escape. Instead, he accepted battle.

The wind was from the south, giving Pelican the weather advantage. Four minutes after the ships exchanged their first broadsides, Allen lost his leg. His first lieutenant was also badly wounded, and Argus's rigging was badly damaged. Pelican tried to cross Argus's stern to deliver raking fire but Argus's second lieutenant, William Howard Allen, threw his sails aback to slow the American brig and instead raked Pelican. This did not cripple the British vessel, and the two brigs continued to exchange broadsides. After four more minutes, Argus's rigging was to badly damaged for the Americans to prevent Pelican from crossing Argus's stern and delivering several raking broadsides.

Finally, the two vessels came into contact, Argus's bow against Pelican's quarter. As British boarding parties mustered but before they could board Argus, the Americans surrendered.

USS Enterprise versus HMS Boxer was a ship battle on September 5th 1813 off the coast of Maine. The United States Navy brig USS Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant William Burrows, defeated the Royal Navy gun-brig HMS Boxer, led by Commander Samuel Blyth.

On September 5th 1813, USS Enterprise sighted HMS Boxer off Pemaquid Point, Maine. After six hours of maneuvering, the ship battle commenced. Blyth prepared for a fight to the finish. He ordered a Union Jack nailed to the foremast and two on the mainmast. In Enterprise, Burrows moved one of his two long 9-pounders from the bow to a stern port. When the firing commenced, the ships were eight miles southeast of Seguin. 

When the two brigs opened fire. Blyth exclaimed "Great God, what shots!" an instant before he was killed in the first shots of the battle. Moments later, while helping his crew run out a carronade, a musket ball tore into Burrow's thigh, a fatal wounded, but stayed on deck. The fierce contest ended in 30 minutes. Command of Enterprise devolved to Lieutenant Edward McCall, while Lieutenant David McGrery had assumed command of the battered Boxer. Towards the end, McGrery described his ship as a complete wreck with three feet of water in the hold. The flags on the mainmast were shot away, but the Englishman's colors remained nailed to the foremast. McCall returned to Portland, Maine to the southwest with the two ships and the casualties.

Newspapers in the United States rejoiced in "another brilliant naval victory." After two days of planning, authorities conducted an impressive state funeral for the two commanders, and they rest side by side in Portland Main’s Eastern Cemetery.

The engagements on Lake Ontario encompass the prolonged naval contest for control of the lake during the War of 1812. Few actions were fought, none of which had decisive results. The contest essentially became a naval building race, sometimes referred to as the "Battle of the Carpenters."

The naval actions were small and frequent. They were not only on the water but also against the numerous fortifications that dotted the coast on either side of the border, with land and naval forces working in tandem. One of these coastal raids in the lead up to the Invasion of Canada led to the burning of York, modern-day Toronto, which in turned inspired the British to later burn Washington, D.C. in revenge.

American commander Commodore Isaac Chauncey and Sir James Lucas Yeo the Commander of the British forces failed to defeat each other in decisive combat, and so resorted to a kind of arms race, using the vast amounts of timber in the area to build larger and grander fleets. The fight over Lake Ontario remained mostly indecisive until September 10th, 1814 when the British launched HMS St. Lawrence, a 112-gun ship of the line - the only ship of its kind in the British Navy to be built for freshwater. After its launch, the United States did not even attempt to take back control.

The Battle of Lake Erie was a major U.S. naval victory in the War of 1812, ensuring U.S. control over the lake and precluding any territorial cession to Great Britain in the peace settlement. On September 10 1813, Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry’s fleet of nine ships engaged six British warships under Capt. Robert Heriot Barclay. After Perry’s flagship, Lawrence suffered heavy casualties and had been reduced to a defenseless wreck, he transferred to a sister ship, Niagara. He led his forces directly into the British line, firing broadsides and forcing their surrender. The British lost 40 men, with 94 wounded; the Americans lost 27 killed and 96 wounded. The destruction of the British squadron on Lake Erie reversed the course of the northwest campaign and forced the British to abandon Detroit.

USS Peacock vs HMS Epervier

USS Peacock was heavy sloop-of-war, commanded by Master Commandant Lewis Warrington. The ship was named after the victory the previous year over the British brig HMS Peacock. The ship left New York Harbor on March 12 1814 and ran several mission along the coast of the United States after which the Peacock was to rendezvous with the frigate USS President, but President had been unable to break out of New York Harbor. While waiting for President to appear, Warrington cruised around the Bahamas, hoping to intercept British merchant ships sailing from Jamaica.

Early on the morning of April 28, Peacock sighted ships. They belonged to a merchant convoy that had sailed from Havana. Their escort was HMS Epervier under Commander Richard Wales.  The merchant ships maneuvered to escape, while Epervier prepared to engage. As the two vessels made toward each other, the wind shifted giving neither Peacock nor Epervier the advantage of the windward position. Both ships fired their starboard broadsides, aiming high to disable their opponent's rigging. Both vessels received damage aloft, after which Epervier turned downwind and engaged Peacock on a parallel course.

Peacock directed her fire against Epervier's hull. The British fire fell away rapidly, and Epervier scored no hits after the first broadside from the port battery. After 40 minutes, Epervier was badly damaged, Commander Wales summoned boarding parties to muster, intending to board and capture Peacock, but his crew refused. Epervier surrender. Epervier had eight men killed and 15 wounded (about 20 percent of the crew.)

The Americans repaired the damage to Peacock's rigging within an hour. Peacock's first lieutenant took charge of the prize Epervier and succeeded in preventing her from sinking; the prize crew had the brig ready to sail by nightfall.

The next day, the Americans sighted two British frigates. Peacock successfully decoyed them away from Epervier and both ships escaped. Both ships reached Savannah, Georgia, a few days later. The Americans repaired Epervier and took her into the United States Navy as USS Epervier. Warrington set out again in Peacock and made a successful raiding cruise in British waters, capturing 14 merchant vessels.

USS Essex vs HMS Phoebe and HMS Cherub

From the beginning of the war, Commander David Potter of USS Essex attacked British shipping along the waters of South America. In January 1814, Essex sailed into neutral waters at Valparaíso Chile, and became trapped there for six weeks by the British frigate, HMS Phoebe, under Captain James Hillyar, and HMS Cherub under command of Thomas Tudor Tucker. On March 28th 1814, Porter determined to break free, fearing the arrival of British reinforcements. Upon rounding the point, Essex lost her main top-mast to weather and was attacked just north of Valparaíso.

Essex was armed with powerful but short-range 32-pounder carronades that gave Phoebe, armed with long 18-pounders, a decisive advantage at long range. For ​2.5 hours, Phoebe and Cherub bombarded Essex from long range, where Essex could only resist with her few long 12-pounders. Fires twice erupted aboard Essex, at which point about fifty men abandoned the ship and swam for shore, only half of them land; the British saved sixteen.  Eventually, the hopeless situation forced Porter to surrender. Essex had suffered 58 dead and 31 missing of her crew of 214. The British lost four men dead and seven wounded on Phoebe, and one dead and three wounded on Cherub.

The action of USS Wasp, commanded by Master Commandant Johnston Blakely and HMS Reindeer commanded by Commander William Manners took place on June 28 1814.

Wasp had orders to attack British shipping in the English Channel and had already captured seven ships. HMS Reindeer was ordered to stop Wasp.  The action began in late afternoon as both vessels sighted sail, Reindeer sailed within 60 yards of Wasp's quarter, where neither vessel could bring its broadside to bear. Over ten minutes, Manners fired five deliberate shots from his shifting boat carronade.  Eventually, Blakely turned downwind to bring his broadside to bear, and the two vessels exchanged broadsides while almost dead in the water.

After twenty minutes' of firing, the two vessels came into contact, and some of the Reindeer crew tried to board Wasp but were beaten back. A wounded Commander Manners continued to urge on his crew until killed by a musket shot from Wasp's rigging. The American boarding parties followed up the repulse of the British crew, and swarmed aboard Reindeer. Once they had driven the surviving British crew below, the British captain's clerk, almost the only surviving officer of any rank, surrendered.

Reindeer had suffered 25 killed, including her commander, and 42 men wounded, out of 118 men. Wasp suffered 11 killed and 15 men wounded. Reindeer was too badly damaged to be salvaged, so the Americans set her on fire.

The Burning of Washington

The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington, D.C. On August 24 1814, after defeating the American at the Battle of Bladensburg. A British force led by Major General Robert Ross burned down multiple buildings, including the White House, the Capitol building, as well as other facilities of the US Government. The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada. The Burning of Washington marks the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the United States Capital.

USS Wasp was in Lorient France, making repairs and acquiring a new crew from the American Privateers after an earlier engagement with HMS Reindeer left her personal depleted. Wasp left Lorient on August 27 1814, and almost immediately was involved in a battle. On the morning of September 1, Wasp encountered a convoy of ten merchant ships escorted by HMS Armada. The Wasp made repeated attacks and succeeded in capturing one ship loaded with iron, brass and arms.

Later that day, Master Commandant Johnston Blakely, commanding Wasp, spotted four other unknown sail, and made for them. The ship was  HMS Avon commanded by James Arbuthnot, Blakely eventually drew up alongside Avon, deliberately selecting a position to prevent Avon escaping. Wasp engaged in battle.

It was dark and the sea was rough, the American gunners were still accurate. Avon had been partly dismasted, one third of her crew were wounded or killed and her guns damaged. Wasp had three sailors wounded.

Three quarters of an hour after the start of the battle, Avon surrendered. While the crew of Wasp were lowering a boat to take possession, another unknown vessel was seen approaching, followed by two more. Wasp made away downwind while the repairs were made. The nearest pursuer was the British brig-sloop HMS Castilian. The brig got close enough to fire an inaccurate broadside over Wasp's quarter, but Avon had been making repeated distress signals, and Castilian broke off to help. Avon's crew was taken off, and the shattered brig sank soon afterwards.

Wasp continued to cruise west of the mouth of the English Channel. On 21 September, it met with a neutral Swedish merchant vessel, on board of which were two officers from the frigate USS Essex, which had been captured the previous year off the coast of Chile. Some of the officers from the prizes taken earlier by Wasp were put aboard the Swedish ship. After the two vessels parted, Wasp vanished, and was presumed lost to bad weather south of the Azores.

The released prisoners brought news of the one-sided nature of the action between Wasp and Avon to Britain. This caused calls for larger, better-armed sloops and brigs.

Battle of Plattsburgh, also called the Battle of Lake Champlain happened September 6 to 11, 1814. It resulted in an important American victory that saved New York from a British invasion via the Hudson River valley. A British army of some 14,000 troops under Sir George Prevost reached Plattsburgh in a joint land and sea operation. The Americans included 1,500 regulars and about 2,500 militia commanded by Gen. Alexander Macomb, supported by a 14 ship American naval squadron under Commodore Thomas Macdonough.

With fresh reinforcements from Britain, Lieutenant General George Prevost, governor general of Canada, initiated his plan to seize the American base at Plattsburg, New York, and destroy the American fleet on Lake Champlain. Prevost’s objective was uncontested control of the lake.

To accomplish this, Prevost planned a joint land and lake attack. He advanced a British force of 10,350 along Lake Champlain’s south shore and on September 6 occupied Plattsburg, west of the Saranac River. Across the river, American defensive positions guarded the bridges. The American flotilla commanded by Captain Thomas Macdonough anchored off shore on the lake. The ships of the flotilla were USS Saratoga, Eagle, Ticonderoga, and Preble, plus ten gunboats. Prevost’s assault was to be coordinated with an attack on Macdonough by Captain George Downie’s naval squadron. It consisted of HMS Confidence, Linnet, Chubb, and Finch, plus twelve gunboats.

Downie arrived on September 11. He ordered his four ships abreast and sailed directly at the American line, firing his long-range guns. Macdonough’s guns were shorter range but heavier. The wind died, disrupting Downie’s formation. When the starboard batteries of USS Saratoga and USS Eagle were damaged, Macdonough used anchors to swing the ships so that their port guns could fire broadsides. Downie was crushed and killed by cannon and HMS Confidence, badly damaged, soon surrendered. USS Ticonderoga and USS Preble forced HMS Finch to beach, but USS Preble was heavily damaged. USS Chubb and USS Linnet did little and both struck their colors after being hit by several broadsides. Prevost watched the naval disaster and revoked his already on-going attack. The next day he withdrew his army back to Canada.

The result for the US was approximatley 100 dead, 120 wounded; for the British it was some 380 killed or wounded, more than 300 captured or deserted. The US victory at Plattsburgh influenced the terms of the December peace, drawn at the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812.

The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought on September 13 1814. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the port city of Baltimore, Maryland. The combatants first met at the Battle of North Point. Though the Americans retreated, the battle was a successful delaying action that inflicted heavy casualties on the British, halted their advance and, consequently, allowed the defenders at Baltimore to prepare for an attack.

The next attack came at Hampstead Hill. Commodore John Rodgers assembled and commanded the defenses.  It was the centerpiece of 3-mile-wide earthworks from the outer harbor in Canton, north to Belair Road, in order to defend the eastern approach to Baltimore. At dawn on September 13 1814, the day after the Battle of North Point, some 4,300 British troops advanced north on North Point Road, then west along the Philadelphia Road toward Baltimore, forcing the U.S. troops to retreat to the main defensive line around the city. British commander Col. Arthur Brooke established his new headquarters at the Sterret House on Surrey Farm, about two miles east-northeast of Hampstead Hill.

The British began probing actions on Baltimore's inner defenses.  100 cannons and more than 10,000 regular troops defended the American line. The defenses were far stronger than the British anticipated. The U.S. defenders at Fort McHenry successfully stopped British naval forces but a few ships were still able to provide artillery support. Once the British had taken the outer defenses, the inner defenses became the priority. The British infantry had not anticipated how well defended the city would be, so the first attack was a failure. After a discussion with lower ranking officers, Brooke decided that the British should bombard the fort instead of risk a frontal assault and ordered the British troops to return to the ships.

Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland had some 1,000 soldiers under the command of Major George Armistead. They waited for the British under command of Alexander Inglis Cochrane to begin the naval bombardment. The Americans in the fort were helped in the defense by the sinking of a line of American merchant ships at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor to hamper passage of the British ships.

The attack began when the British fleet of some nineteen ships began bombarding the fort with rockets and mortar shells. This continued for the next 27 hours. At the end of barrage, damage to the fort was light.

On the morning of September 14, the American flag was raised over Fort McHenry.  It replaced the tattered storm flag, which had flown during battle. The oversized flag was used every morning for reveille, as was the case on the morning of September 14.

Brooke was instructed not to attack the American positions around Baltimore unless he was certain that there were less than 2,000 men in the fort. Because of his orders, Brooke withdrew from his positions and returned to the fleet to set sail for New Orleans.

The Battle of Fayal happened on September 26 1814, at the neutral Portuguese colony of Fayal in the Azores. The British ship HMS Plantagenet commanded by Captain Robert Loyd, was sailing to the West Indies with the frigate HMS Rota and the brig-sloop HMS Carnation for the Louisiana Campaign. The three were cruising in Fayal Roads when they spotted the brig General Armstrong an American privateer. Captain Samuel Chester Reid commanded her. Captain Loyd sent a pinnace under Lieutenant Robert Faussett to ascertain the nationality of the ship in port. When the British came within gun range of the American vessel and requested that its identify itself, Captain Reid declared that he would fire if the British came any closer.

Lieutenant Faussett was unable to stop his boat in the rough tidewater and it drifted too close to the General Armstrong. The Americans opened fire and scored hits on the pinnace. Two men died and seven others wounded before the British ship was able to maneuver out of range. Carnation moved in and anchored in front of the American ship to negotiation for a solution to the problem. The discussions failed. HMS Carnation lowered four boats filled with heavily armed men and headed towards Captain Reid as he maneuvered his ship closer to shore. The first attack came in the morning. The Americans observed the incoming boats they maneuvered again to receive them. In the following skirmish, Carnation was kept out of range by enemy fire and the boats were repulsed with a loss estimated by Reid to be twenty dead and twenty wounded. One American was killed and another wounded.

The next attack came with twelve boats armed with carronades and filled with 180 marines and sailors from Plantagenet and Rota. The Carnation stopped out of gun range of the Americans. There the boats divided into three divisions for the attack. Lieutenant William Matterface commanded the boats and Carnation directed the covering fire. Loyd anchored Rota and Plantagenet a few miles away and they did not participate. The British headed forward, the boats advanced but accurate American fire and the current kept Carnation from closing the range and she was damaged. It took Lieutenant Matterface until the afternoon for his boats to reach General Armstrong. When the British arrived, a boarding was attempted but the American gunners sank two of the British boats before they could get close, captured two more and killed many of the boarders at point blank range. Lieutenant Matterface and several other officers were killed and no one of sufficient rank survived to lead the remaining British.

Altogether thirty-six sailors of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines were killed, another ninety-three were wounded. Two Americans were killed and seven wounded in total, including Reid who was hit with a musket ball. Reid's men fired nails, knife blades, brass buttons and other makeshift projectiles from their cannon, which reportedly caused severe pain to the surviving British. After being repulsed, the British slowly rowed back to their ships and it was early morning on September 27 when they made it back to British force. Captain Lloyd’s response to the defeat was to send Carnation back to destroy General Armstrong but when she arrived, American fire caused further damage so Carnation broke off the attack. A little later Carnation appeared again but Captain Reid had already chosen to scuttle his brig by firing one of his swivel guns straight through the hull. The vessel was boarded while it was sinking and the British set the sails on fire.

Reid and his crew escaped to the shore. The British wanted to land a detachment to search for the Americans but the Portuguese governor prevented them from doing this. Captain Reid and the crew of General Armstrong were credited with helping delay the British attack on New Orleans and when they returned to America, they were greeted as heroes.

The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under General Andrew Jackson. It took place 5 miles east-southeast of the city of New Orleans, close to the town of Chalmette, Louisiana, and it was a U.S. victory.

The battle took place directly after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814, before news of the treaty could reach the United States. American troops defeated a poorly executed British assault on New Orleans in slightly more than 30 minutes, despite the British having a large advantage in training, experience, and fielded troops. The Americans suffered roughly 250 casualties, while the British suffered roughly 2,000.

The campaign against New Orleans stretched over several weeks. The first engagement took place on Lake Borgne, when the British troops left their ships to be ferried across. They encountered United States gunboats on 13 December 1814, and after pursuing them for most of the day, engaged and captured them the following morning. The British then spent a week accumulating men and supplies while Jackson strengthened his defenses.

Fighting continued on December 23rd and January 9, and a naval bombardment of the city's defenses continued until January 17 when the British withdrew. The joy of the victory was compounded when word came that the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war, had been signed on December 24.

 USS President vs HMS Endymion

USS President was in New York Harbor with USS Peacock and USS Hornet, and the tender USS Tom Bowline. They were preparing to break out past the British blockade to embark on cruises against British merchant shipping. A storm blew up from the northwest on January 13 1815. The British ships were blown off their station to the southeast. Decatur determined to take advantage of the situation by breaking out with President alone. The plan was that the smaller warships would break out later and rendezvous with President off Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic.

Decatur immediately met with disaster and President grounded on the bar and remained stuck there for almost two hours, enduring a pounding from the wind and heavy sea. The frigate sustained damaged by the time that it worked free, some copper was stripped away from the hull, the masts were twisted and some of them had developed long cracks. He decided that it was impossible for President to return to port, the wind was not favorable.

While President and the crew were struggling to float off the sand bar, the British blockading squadron was fighting to return to their station. As the winds slowed, the British regrouped. They realized that American ships might have taken the opportunity to leave port unobserved, so Tenedos was sent to watch the Sandy Hook passage and the rest headed north to watch the Long Island passage, rather than heading back to the harbor entrance.

British squadron sighted President at dawn on January 14. The winds had waned but they were still strong. In heavy seas and high winds, the largest ship will have the advantage in speed and HMS Majestic, commanded by Commodore John Hayes gained on President. After Majestic had fired some ranging shots that fell short, Pomone overtook Majestic and led the pursuit, but Tenedos appeared unexpectedly to the south and Pomone was sent to investigate in case the ship was another American ship. HMS Endymion overtook the rest of the British squadron. Endymion was the fastest ship in the Royal Navy.

In the afternoon, Endymion and President began exchanging fire. Endymion was position on President's starboard quarter. From this position, Endymion engaged President. Decatur attempted to close on Endymion, but he discovered that President's damage limited her maneuverability.

Decatur ordered bar- and chain-shot to be fired to disable Endymion's sails and rigging. But President was trapped; Decatur could not escape to the north, as he would have reached the Long Island shore and been forced to the east once more; nor could he escape to the south, as Endymion would most likely slow President enough that the rest of the British squadron would catch up.

Endymion raked President's hull, then quickly returned to position on President's quarter where President's guns could not fire. The broadside sent splinters flying in the President's deck where Decatur was standing.  A large splinter hit him in the chest and knocked him over. Endymion repeated the maneuver three more times and did considerable damage. Decatur had hoped to put Endymion out of the chase and escape, but Endymion aimed into President's hull, specifically targeting the gun ports. Many members of President's gun crews were killed or wounded, significantly reducing President's ability to fire back at Endymion. By contrast, President primarily directed her fire at Endymion's rigging in order to slow her down.

The President surrendered. Her rigging crippled Endymion ceased fire. Endymion could not immediately take possession, as she had no usable boats. Decatur took advantage of the situation, and made off to escape. Endymion completed repairs and resumed the chase. Pomone and Tenedos came up to the heavily damaged President and fired two ineffective broadsides. At this point, Decatur hailed to say that he had surrendered. Pomone took possession of President. President sustained 24 killed and 55 wounded. Endymion had 11 killed and 14 wounded.

The British warships HMS Cyane commanded by Captain Gordon Thomas and HMS Levant commanded by Captain the Honorable George Douglass fought USS Constitution with Captain Charles Stewart on February 20 1815 about 100 miles east of Madeira. The war had actually finished before this action with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent by both sides, but the combatants were not aware of this.

After sighting Constitution, the two British captains resolved to fight rather than split up and try to escape. At first they tried to delay battle until after nightfall, but Constitution was approaching too rapidly and they formed in line, with Levant ahead of Cyane. The combined broadsides of the two British ships were slightly heavier than Constitution's, but almost exclusively from short-range carronades, and at the range at which the action commenced, Constitution's main deck battery of 24-pounder long guns has the advantage against the British vessels.

The battle began, in the evening with Constitution to windward, Levant and Cyane on her port quarter. After broadsides where exchanged for 15 minutes, Cyane attempted to cross Constitution's stern and rake her. Stewart ordered the sails thrown aback, and Constitution instead raked Cyane. As Levant tried to cross Constitution's bows, Stewart ordered the sails filled again, and raked Levant from astern. As Levant drifted downwind with battered rigging, Constitution turned again to engage Cyane, at this point the ship surrendered.

Lieutenant Hoffman, the second lieutenant of Constitution, took command of Cyane. Stewart set off to pursue Levant, and discovered the British vessel beating back upwind to re-enter the fight, unaware that Cyane had surrendered. The two vessels exchanged broadsides on opposite tacks. Captain Douglass then attempted to escape upwind, Levant was overtaken and surrender.

Constitution and the two prizes anchored in Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands. Levant failed to escape when a British squadron appeared, and was recaptured. The Americans lost 6 men killed and 9 wounded. Aboard Cyane, 12 men were killed and 26 wounded, some of whom later died of their injuries. Aboard Levant, 7 men were killed and 16 wounded.

Late in 1814, the United States Navy prepared a small squadron at New York City, to attack British shipping in the Indian Ocean. The squadron consisted of the frigate USS President commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur, the sloops of war USS Peacock  commanded by Master Commandant Lewis Warrington, USS Hornet commanded by Master Commandant James Biddle and the brig-rigged tender USS Tom Bowline.

On January 15, Decatur tried to break out alone in President. However, the President was captured after being pursued by the waiting British squadron.

On January 22, the other ships sailed out under a storm and evaded the blockade. They made for a pre-arranged rendezvous off Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. During the voyage, Hornet lost touch with the other two vessels. Peacock and Tom Bowline reached the rendezvous first, on 18 March, but they had to leave because off weather. Hornet reached the island on 22 March.

Biddle, was about to drop anchor when a sail was sighted to the southeast. He went to investigate. This was the brig-sloop HMS Penguin, commanded by Captain James Dickenson. Sometime earlier, Penguin was sent from Cape Town to hunt an American privateer, which had been attacking British merchant ships.

As soon as Hornet was sighted, Dickenson prepared to engage. Penguin had the weather advantage and for a time, Hornet ran before Penguin. The two vessels exchanged broadsides for 15 minutes.

Dickenson turned downwind, to close with Hornet in an attempt to board and capture Hornet.  He was killed in the process. Penguin's bowsprit ran across Hornet's deck between the main and mizzenmasts, badly damaging the American rigging. Penguin's crew did not attempt to board Hornet and Hornet's crew prepared to board but Biddle stopped them, to continue the gunnery duel. Biddle believed that the British had surrendered at this point and prepared to step aboard Penguin but was shot by the British crew and wounded.

As the two vessels separated, Penguin's foremast fell, breaking off the bowsprit. The brig was severely battered by American shot, and unable to maneuver, Lieutenant McDonald, now in command of Penguin, surrendered. The British had lost 14 men killed and 28 wounded. The brig was severely damaged. By comparison, the Americans had lost only 2 killed, and 7 wounded.

In August 1802, Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith revised the Navy’s uniform Officer Regulations.  The new uniforms included a profusion of gold “lace,” or gilt metallic wire braid, gilt buttons, and the coveted blue and white color scheme.  While the cut and details shifted slightly with changes in civilian fashion over the next decade, this was the uniform worn at the beginning of the War of 1812.

There were changes in the uniform of the Navy approved by the Secretary of the Navy William Jones on 23 November 1813. The description of the full dress coat for the senior officers in the 1813 order, “The coat of blue cloth; with broad lapels and lining of the same; a standing collar...” is very similar to the description of the 1802 order, except in 1802 the lapels were to be long. Instead of the breeches of 1802, all officers were directed to wear pantaloons. In a period of transition, one finds men dressed in both the old uniform, the new one, or in combinations of both.

There were no written regulations for the American seamen during this time but they were depicted in paintings and draws of the time wearing blue jackets, scarlet waistcoats, blue trousers, neckerchiefs and glazed hats. Leaving the impression that high degree of uniformity did exist.

A portrait miniature is a small portrait painting that could be placed in a locket or other portable setting and carried.  The media typical for a miniature was gouache, watercolor, or enamel. The support materials are vellum or ivory, sometimes even other materials like paper or cardboard.  Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques found in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular in the 16th-century spreading across Europe and eventually to the colonies like the United States of America.  The form remained popular until the development of daguerreotypes and photography in the mid-19th century. Miniatures were usually intimate gifts given within the family. They were especially likely to be painted when a family member was going to be absent for significant periods, whether a husband or son going to war or emigrating, or a daughter getting married.