Download THE PRESIDENT THE WAR OF 1812 WAS REALLY A MARITIME

THE PRESIDENT
THE WAR OF 1812 WAS REALLY A MARITIME WAR.
MOSTLY FOUGHT ON THE GREAT LAKES
EXCERPT FROM A 48 page paper on the real facts of the war of 1812
by Robert B. Townsend
Although there were many hard-fought battles ashore, it was at sea that this struggle had it’s
origin, and where the issue was finally decided.
Despite the heavy toll caused by decade of Republican hostility, seventeen American vessels still
survived on the eastern seaboard in 1812. Seven of them were frigates. The Constitution,
President, and United States were rated at 44 guns; the Constellation, Chesapeake, and Congress
at 36 guns; and the Essex at 32 guns. Another frigate, the Adams, was being cut down to a 28gun corvette. There were also nine smaller vessels rated at 10 to 20 guns.
Most of the American officers had seen action in the Quasi-War (war of 1798-1801) or in the
War with Tripoli (war of 1801-1805). Many of the men had fought in those wars, too, or had
served on British warships. It was particularly difficult for the navy to find men to serve in the
gunboat flotillas attached to the major ports or in the squadrons on the Great Lakes. Flotilla duty
on the eastern seaboard was dull and lake service rigorous, and neither offered much prospect of
prize money. Although men could be transferred from the navy's oceangoing vessels to the lakes
or flotillas, this encouraged desertion and discouraged re-enlistment.
Canada was numerically inferior than the Americans but were better skilled thanks to the British
having already formed a naval force on the Great Lakes, known as The Provincial Marine, and a
trained army.
The date of the declaration of war by the United states was not a coincidence.
Commodore Rogers was aware that the "Jamaica plate fleet" a convoy of 100 sail had left Nigrel
Bay, Jamaica on May 20, 1812 defended only by the rather small British ship Belvidera and
two lesser vessels, the Thalia and the Reindeer. One hour after the declaration of war
Commodore Rodgers set sail on his vessel the frigate President in company with the frigates
United states and Congress, and the ship-sloop Hornet and the Brig-sloop Argus in the hopes
that he would capture the merchantmen and thus inflict a mortal blow on British commerce and
prestige. He assumed that the convoy would not be aware that the United States had joined the
belligerents against Britain. Rodgers thus had hopes of snapping up this large collection of deep
laden merchantmen, sailing at the slow pace of the slowest, apprehensive only of pirates and
French privateers; for in those pre-radio days they would have no way of knowing that the
Americans had joined France and Spain as belligerents, except for some chance encounter with
some vessel which had the news.
Rodgers was aboard the U.S.S. President. This was the vessel which, a year before when the two
nations were at peace, had accidentally discharged her cannon toward the British vessel, Little
Beele, and nine British seamen were killed and twenty three were wounded. A form of friendly
fire, American style.
On June 23rd The U.S.S. President, a vessel of 1596 tons, with 450 men onboard, and fitted
with 54 guns made contact with the Belvidera, of 946 tons with a crew of only 230 men and 42
guns, mostly 18-pounders. After an all day long running battle, Belvidera was able head north,
she was able to outsail the Americans. leading the entire American fleet away from the convoy,
When out of view of the Americans, the Belvidera was able to rejoin the convoy on July 1st
1812 at a point east of the Grand Banks. The Belvidera, her escorts and the entire Jamacai plate
fleet arrived safely in England.
The naval war on the east coast of North America during the entire war was not too intensive.
The British blockade, working mostly out of Halifax and Bermuda, was very successful.
One sea battle of the year 1812, which has received much misleading publicity, is worth noting.
USS Constitution, a frigate of 1576 tons burthen, was at the start of the war of 1812, unmatched
in size and strength and armament by any vessel the British had available on this side of the
Atlantic Ocean. Constitution mounted 54 guns, including thirty-two long 24 pounders on the
maindeck, twenty 32 pound carronades on the quarter deck and two 24-pound bowchasers. The
maindeck guns were ten feet long and weighed fifty-four hundredweight each. They were made
in England. They were fired from ports with sills of solid wood twenty inchs thick; heavier
construction than was used in s British line-of-battle ship. She had a compliment of 456 men,
including 55 marines and 30 boys.
On August 19, 1812, fresh from a refit after an encounter with the British, from which she
escaped, Constitution encountered the smaller British ship Guerriere, of 1038 tons burthen with
38 Guns, none larger than 18 pounders, with a compliment of 272, including 19 boys and 7
Americans (of which 6 were allowed to sit below during any engagement with the Americans).
The difference between the two vessels was like the difference between a dreadnought and a
cruiser. In fact at the time the Guerriere, captured from the French twenty years earlier, was fit
for the boneyard, while the Constitution was double her force, when the Guerriere was in the
pink of condition.
Guerriere fired two broadsides at Constitution, first firing her starboard or weather batteries, and
then filled her main topsail, wore ship, that is turned around before the wind, hove to again on
the opposite tack, firing her port guns as t hat side in turn was presented to the foe. Both of the
Guerriere's first broadsides went wide. Two shots struck the Constitution, some went over her,
some fell short. Either the standard of gunnery or her powder was bad; and the change of
position , with the necessary alteration of the level of her guns, further contributed to her poor
shooting. The battle continued; firing five to six hundredweight of iron at each other at distances
narrowing down to fifty feet. The Constitutions broadside of 684 to 736 pounds against the
Guerriere's of 544 to 590 pounds. The lack of precision of the weapons is emphasized by the
fact that after twenty minutes of intense firing, neither vessel was seriously damaged.
Constitution was the more heavily built vessel, with her wooden sides some twenty inches thick.
Eventually a 24-pounder from Constitution struck the mizzen-mast of the Guerriere, and that
was the beginning of the end. Sheer numbers and size, particularly the size of the guns, gave
Constitution the victory. Even then Guerriere was not captured. She caught on fire, and after
her crew was transferee, blew up. So much did the Americans think of the victory, they build a
new frigate which they called Guerriere in commemoration of the one they caught but could not
keep.
There were other naval skirmishes along the eastern seaboard of the United States, but the British
Blockade, with command in Halifax, was most effective.