Ships of Oak, Guns of Iron

The War of 1812 and the Forging of the American Navy

Ronald Utt

• Publisher: Regnery History
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9781621570028
• eBook ISBN:
  9781621570080
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

The War of 1812 is typically noted for a handful of events: the burning of the White House, the rise of the Star Spangled Banner, and the battle of New Orleans. But in fact the greatest consequence of that distant conflict was the birth of the U.S. Navy. During the War of 1812, America's tiny fleet took on the mightiest naval power on earth, besting the British in a string of victories that stunned both nations.In his new book, Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron: The War of 1812 and the Birth of the American Navy, author Dr. Ronald Utt not only sheds new light on the naval battles of the War of 1812 and how they gave birth to our nation's great navy, but tells the story of the War of 1812 through the portraits of famous American war heroes. From the cunning Stephen Decatur to the fierce David Porter, Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron relates how thousands of American men and boys gave better than they got against the British Navy. The great age of fighting sail is as rich in heroic drama as any epoch.Dr. Utt's Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron retrieves the American chapter of that epoch from unjustified obscurity, and offers readers an intriguing chronicle of the War of 1812 as well as a unique perspective on the birth of the U.S. Navy.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Dedication
• PARTICIPANTS IN THE WAR OF 1812
• TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS IN THE WAR OF 1812
• Introduction
• CHAPTER ONE - AMERICA AND BRITAIN DRIFT TOWARD WAR
• CHAPTER TWO - BACK ON LAND: THE FALL OF FORTS DETROIT AND DEARBORN
• CHAPTER THREE - OLD IRONSIDES
• CHAPTER FOUR - BACK ON LAND: FAILURE ON THE NIAGARA
• CHAPTER FIVE - STEPHEN DECATUR FINDS THE MACEDONIAN
• CHAPTER SIX - BACK ON LAND: HARRISON ON THE MAUMEE
• CHAPTER SEVEN - BAINBRIDGE FINDS REDEMPTION
• CHAPTER EIGHT - BACK ON LAND: HOLDING THE LINE
• CHAPTER NINE - INTO THE PACIFIC
• CHAPTER TEN - BACK ON LAND: HARRISON ON THE MAUMEE LINE
• CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE TIDE TURNS IN THE ATLANTIC
• CHAPTER TWELVE - BACK ON LAND: BRITISH ON THE CHESAPEAKE, 1813
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN - HENRY ALLEN RAVAGES THE ENGLISH
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN - BACK ON LAND: ALABAMA BURNING
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN - “WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE OURS”
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN - HARRISON TAKES DETROIT, JACKSON ALABAMA
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - LETTERS OF MARQUE AND REPRISAL
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - MONTREAL, AND BACK TO THE NIAGARA
• CHAPTER NINETEEN - MACDONOUGH SINKS BRITAIN
• CHAPTER TWENTY - BACK ON LAND: WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - CHALLENGING THE BRITISH BLOCKADE
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - NEW ORLEANS—PEACE AT LAST
• EPILOGUE
• Acknowledgments
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX
• Copyright Page