Navy
Three Ship Navy Legacy of the U.S.’s First Ship-of-the-Line
The French scrapped the American-built America and a new 74-gun Temaire-class ship-of-the-line was built and named America. It had twenty-eight 36-pounders on the lower gundeck, twenty 18-pounders on the upper gun deck, and sixteen 8-pounders and four 36-pounder carronades on the forecastle and upper deck.
Read MoreBarbary Pirates Déja Vu All Over Again
Once the war of 1812 was over, Madison now had a battle-tested Navy that had won battles on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as well as many frigate duels. Many of those Navy commanders who had been junior officers during the First Barbary Pirate War were now senior officers and well-versed in what was needed to deal with the Algerians.
Read MoreSeeds of Our Defense Procurement Issues
It was Sections 1 and 9 that caught my attention. When Vice President John Adams signed this bill into law, the United States was paying tribute to the Dey of Algiers, the Bey of Tripoli, and other leaders along the North African littoral. By the time the U.S. went to war with the Barbary Pirates in 1803, 20+% of the Federal budget went to tribute to these pirates in the hopes that they would stop seizing U.S merchant ships.
Read MoreShanties of the Sea
Hauling braces – the ropes that hauled the yards from which the sails hung – was hard and very strenuous work. Generally, on each mast of a square-rigged ship, from top to bottom, there was a yard (also known as a spar) for the royal, top-gallant, topsail, and main sail. These yards were heavy and made from oak. Yards for the royals were often 100 feet or more above the main deck. Then, each sail had lines that were sheeted home (tied) to fittings or racks of belaying pins mounted port and starboard.
Read MoreRodgers’ Reforms Created the Modern U.S. Navy
During those lean years (1805 – 1812), money to train was scarce, and for the most part, the warehouses needed to support a sea-going navy were empty. So, while the U.S. Navy did well when it got to sea, it struggled against a Royal Navy blockade determined to keep its frigates in port.
Read MoreThe Little Belt Affair
With the moves and countermoves occurring at night, Rodgers managed to get President within hailing distance of Little Belt. When he asked Bingham to identify himself, i.e., what was the name of his ship and its nationality, Bingham refused.
Read MoreDecisive Battle of Plattsburgh
The impact of the British defeat at Plattsburgh changed the British negotiating positions and on December 24th, just three weeks after the battle, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the War of 1812.
Read MoreStrategic Battles on Lake Huron
Fort Mackinac controlled the Mackinac Strait at the northern tip of Michigan, which linked Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. By the fall of 1814, the British had taken Detroit and the small garrison at Fort Mackinac, thus giving them control of the northern and southern entrances to Lake Huron. In August 1814, the U.S. decided to retake its territory.
Read More1813 Amphibious Assault at Fort George
Some of the supplies (captured at York during an earlier operation) were moved to Fort Niagara where Colonel Winfield Scott, who had been paroled during the winter in an exchange of officers, was now commander of the U.S. forces in the area. He was also General Henry Dearborn’s, the man we would call today the theater commander’s chief of staff. Scott reorganized the forces at the eastern end of Lake Erie and began to plan an operation to take Fort George.
Read MoreAnatomy of a Privateer
Wealthy individuals or consortiums of like-minded investors would apply to their government for a letter of marque while at the same time having a vessel or vessels in mind that they would send to sea as privateers. In most cases, the ships were converted merchant men.
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