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The Naval War of 1812
or the
History of the United States Navy during
the Last War with Great Britain
to Which Is Appended an Account of
the Battle of New Orleans
By Theodore Roosevelt
With an Introduction by
Edward K. Eckert
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Naval War of 1812
Index
Captain Isaac Hull
Constitution vs. Guerrière: "The Engagement"
Constitution vs. Guerrière: "In Action"
Constitution vs. Guerrière: "Dropping Astern"
Constitution vs. Guerrière: "She Fell in the Sea"
Wasp vs. Frolic
Captain Stephen Decatur
Captain William Bainbridge
Constitution vs. Java
Captain James Lawrence
Chesapeake vs. Shannon
Argus vs. Pelican
The Battle of Lake Erie
The Essex
Captain David Porter
Master Commandant Lewis Warrington
Captain Samuel C. Reid
The Battle of Lake Borgne
Commodore Thomas Macdonough
Capture of the President
Captain Charles Stewart
Constitution vs. Cyane and Levant
Master Commandant James Biddle
Hornet vs. Penguin
For their amiable and expert assistance in the selection of theillustrations in this volume, thanks are due to Mr. James W. Cheevers,curator of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum; Ms. Sigrid Trumpy, curator ofthe museum's Beverley R. Robinson Collection of naval prints; and Mrs.Patty Maddocks, director of the Naval Institute Library and PhotographicService.
The history of the naval events of the War of 1812 has been repeatedlypresented both to the American and the English reader. Historicalwriters have treated it either in connection with a general account ofthe contest on land and sea, or as forming a part of the complete recordof the navies of the two nations. A few monographs, which confinethemselves strictly to the naval occurrences, have also appeared. Butnone of these works can be regarded as giving a satisfactorily full orimpartial account of the war—some of them being of he "popular" andloosely-constructed order, while others treat it from a purely partisanstandpoint. No single book can be quoted which would be accepted by themodern reader as doing justice to both sides, or, indeed, as tellingthe whole story. Any one specially interested in the subject must readall; and then it will seem almost a hopeless task to reconcile themany and widely contradictory statements he will meet with.
There appear to be three works which, taken in combination, give thebest satisfaction on the subject. Fi