Anna,
Thanks for posting that. I'll certainly buy it at some stage, especially as it's by Andrew Lambert.
As the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 is being commemorated this year, I thought I would do some more reading about what was (and is) quite a complex subject, and as I don't know really that much about it. At the moment I am reading 'Naval Occurences of the War of 1812', by William James, which was his attempt to refute many of the claims made by the Americans for their frigates, over their British opponents, during the War. Specifically, he argued that 'no American ship of war has, after all, captured a British ship of war, of the same force, but that the reverse has occurred...'
He was a lawyer by profession, so was enabled to use his analytical mind rather than patriotism, to back up his claims, taking into account such considerations as broadside weight of metal, size of vessel, etc. He happened to be in Philadelphia at the commencement of the War, where he was detained. Despite this, he was actually allowed to board several of the American frigates and not only measure them, but talk to their crews.
That his work, written on his return to England, succeeded was shown by the fact that scorn and vitriol was personally poured on him by the Americans – and praise by many British Naval officers, for putting the record straight. The latter included Captain Thomas Hardy, Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm, and Captain William Hoste.
In later years he was to turn his attention to his perhaps better known work, 'The Naval History of Great Britain', where he again used his analytical mind – and was to receive abuse, and in one case actual bodily harm, from a few British Naval officers!
_________________ Kester.
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