Sea Power and Maritime Affairs

1. Sea Powerand Maritime Affairs Lesson 6: The United States Navy, 1815-1860: The Search for Professionalism

3. Course of the War – 1812: • Cruise of Commodore Rodgers' squadron unsuccessful. • Single-ship engagements won by Americans: • USS Constitution versus HMS Guerriere • Captain Isaac Hull • USS United States versus HMS Macedonian • Captain Stephen Decatur • USS Constitution versus HMS Java • Captain William Bainbridge • Superiority of U.S. ships, training, and commanders is evident. • Naval victories increase morale and support. • Congress authorizes expanded naval building program. • Unsuccessful American invasion of Canada. • Detroit occupied by British and Indians - threat to NW Territory.

4. Commodore Rodgers’ Cruise – 1812:

5. USS Constitution versus HMS Guerriere

6. USS Constitution versus HMS Guerriere

7. USS Constitution versus HMS Guerriere 19 August 1812

8. USS Constitution “Old Ironsides”

10. USS United States versus HMS Macedonian

11. Course of the War -- 1813 • British Strategy • Victories in Europe allow movement of ships and troops from Europe to America. • Increase blockade on American ports. • Raid American coasts. • USS Chesapeake versus HMS Shannon • Lawrence: “Don’t give up the ship” • Great Lakes Campaign

12. CaptainJamesLawrence USS Chesapeake “Don’t give up the ship!”

13. USS Chesapeake versus HMS Shannon

14. USS Chesapeake versus HMS Shannon 1 June 1813

15. Great Lakes Campaign -- 1813 • British supply forces via St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. • Control of communications routes on the lakes is necessary. • Lake Ontario • Commodore Isaac Chauncey and Commodore Sir James Yeo. • Shipbuilding race and lack of initiative lead to stalemate. • Lake Erie • Oliver Hazard Perry • Flagship: Named USS Lawrence in honor of fallen friend. • Transfers flag to Niagra mid-battle • Defeats British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie. • “We have met the enemy and they are ours .” • British forces cut off from supplies. • General William Henry Harrison receives Perry’s message, recaptures Detroit, and defeats British and Indians at the Battle of the Thames. • Indian leader Tecumseh is killed and NW Territory secured for U.S.

16. Great Lakes Campaign:

17. OliverHazardPerry Commander American Lake Erie Squadron 1813

18. CaptainRobertBarclay Commander British Lake Erie Squadron 1813

19. Perry’s Battle Flag - USS Lawrence Battle of Lake Erie

20. Oliver Hazard Perry

22. Battle of Lake Erie Perry transfers flag from Lawrence to Niagara.

24. Battle of Lake Erie: 10 September 1813 “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Oliver Hazard Perry

25. Course of the War – 1814: • British blockade of American ports - highly effective. • American Navy unable to sortie. • U.S. economy in decline due to reduced maritime commerce. • Washington Campaign • British forces raid Chesapeake. • Washington burned. • Baltimore -- Fort McHenry - Star Spangled Banner. • Militia and gunboats very ineffective for coastal defense. • Battle of Lake Champlain near Plattsburg. • Commodore Thomas MacDonough • Remembers Nelson’s tactics at the Battle of the Nile. • British invasion of New York from Canada. • British defeated and retreat to Canada. • Star Spangled Banner (Fort McHenry)

26. “…that the flag was still there…” • Major George Armistead, the commanding officer at Fort McHenry requested a flag "... so large that the British will have no difficulty in seeing it from a distance..." to be flown over the Fort. • On Sept. 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured after the burning of Washington, D.C. The release was secured, but Key was detained on ship overnight during the shelling of Fort McHenry, one of the forts defending Baltimore. In the morning, he was so delighted to see the American flag still flying over the fort that he began a poem to commemorate the occasion.

27. Battle of Lake Champlain 11 September 1814

28. USS Lake Champlain (CG 57)

29. Peace and Aftermath: • Great Britain agrees to peace. • American victories at Lakes Erie and Champlain. • American privateers capture British merchants. • Treaty of Ghent -- 24 December 1814 • “Status Quo Ante Bellum” • British end impressment of American seamen. • Battle of New Orleans -- 1815 • Occurred after peace treaty signed. • Gunboats delay British at Lake Borgne. • British defeated by General Andrew Jackson’s makeshift army. • Victories in Creek War and at New Orleans - emerges as national hero.

31. Naval Contributions: • Victory on the lakes: • Lake Erie: Restores American control of Northwest Territory. • Lake Champlain: Prevented invasion of New York. • Created stalemate. • Commerce Raiding • Ultimately ineffective. • BUT - Plays a factor in British agreement to peace. • Single ship engagements: • Superiority of American shipbuilding and command. • Boost to national morale. • BUT - Ineffective against British blockade. • British sea power’s effectiveness increased throughout the war as French were defeated on continental Europe.

32. Summary -- War of 1812: • British view as a “Limited War”. • Americans view as: • A struggle to end British-supported Indian attacks. • An attempt to acquire Canada. • An assertion of the nation’s neutral rights against British interference. • Main Theatres • Atlantic • Effective British blockade of US ports. • Gunboat policy fails to prevent British raids. • Great Lakes • U.S. wins control of sea lines of communication. • British forced to retreat.

33. Sea Powerand Maritime Affairs Lesson 6: The United States Navy, 1815-1860: The Search for Professionalism

34. Learning Objectives: • The student will comprehend the influence of European events upon American trade and naval policy during this period. • The student will understand and be able to explain the term “Battle of Annihilation.” • The student will know the background of Jefferson’s defensive naval strategy including the use of gunboats and forts. Know the causes and naval operations of the Napoleonic Wars.

35. Learning Objectives: • The student will know (recall) operations against the Barbary corsairs during this period. • The student will comprehend the main factors of the European war and their effect on causing the War of 1812. • The student will understand and be able to explain the term “Guerre de Course.” • The student will know the U.S. and British Naval Strategy during the war.

36. Learning Objectives: • The student will comprehend the Great Lakes campaign and its importance to the U.S. war effort. • The student will comprehend (compare and contrast) the naval strategies of Rodgers and Decatur. • The student will comprehend the significance of the Washington and New Orleans campaigns. • The student will know the contributions of the U.S. Navy during the war of 1812, and assess the state of the Navy after the Treaty of Ghent

37. Next time: The United States Navy, 1815-1860: The Search for Professionalism

38. Learning Objectives: Comprehend the effectiveness of the U.S. Navy as an instrument of diplomacy. Know the state of naval technology and its evolution during this period. Know U.S. naval policy as a reflection of the period of 1815-1860. Comprehend the Wilkes and M. C. Perry expeditions and assess their importance to U.S maritime interests. Know the technical advances used in the Crimean War and lessons learned.

39. Period of Expansion • Monroe Doctrine -- 1823 • No European colonization or intervention in the Americas. • Manifest Destiny • “Our manifest destiny is to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” • John L. O'Sullivan, 1845

40. Anglo-American Friendship: • Monroe Doctrine sprung from British interest to prevent Holy Alliance (Prussia, Russia, Austria) from grabbing Spanish colonies • Began to see eye-to-eye with erstwhile Mother Country • Love, peace, and harmony…kind of

41. Continuing Problems with Barbary States:

42. Barbary Wrap-Up: • Algerian Dey up to old tricks • Madison sends Decatur back to Med after Treaty of Ghent • MFN - Sets standard for US maritime pacts in 19th century • The Golden Age of “Gunboat Diplomacy” • Decatur: “The settlement has been dictated at the mouths of our cannon.”

43. Monroe’s “Gunboat Diplomacy”: • Increase in Size • Anglo-American Cooperation • Monroe Doctrine (1823) • Squadron Deployment • From periodic scourge to worldwide policeman

44. POP QUIZ: “Gunboat Diplomacy” was the Naval predecessor to what other term we have discussed at length? Answer: “What is Power Projection”? (I’ll take “America kicking ass around the globe” for 300, Al…)

45. Board of Commissioners: • Secretary of Navy William Jones overwhelmed with paperwork during War of 1812 • Asked Congress to establish three officer “advisory board” • Congress does so in 1815 • John Rodgers • Isaac Hull • David Porter

46. Naval Warfighting Doctrine: • Primary mission of the Navy = “Gunboat Diplomacy”. • Protect U. S. commercial interests overseas - “Showing the flag.” • Overall Doctrine • Focus on Commerce Raiding - “Guerre de Course”. • Command of the sea -- de-emphasized. • Coastal defense - Army forts constructed at entrances to ports.

47. Initial Squadrons (1826): • Mediterranean • West India • Brazilian • Pacific • East India (1835)

48. Permanent U.S. Navy Squadrons:

49. Permanent Squadrons: • Home Squadron • Atlantic coast. • Mediterranean Squadron • Barbary states’ tribute demands. • West Indies Squadron • David Porter battles Caribbean and Gulf Coast piracy. • Brazil Squadron • Enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine. • African Squadron • Enforcement of ban on the slave trade (Enacted in 1807). • Pacific Squadron • Chile and Peru, later Hawaii - protection of whaling fleets. • East Indies Squadron • Protect expanding U.S. trade in Asia.

50. West Indies Squadron: • Spanish degenerates to outright piracy • Monroe turns to Navy • 1821 Adams-Onis Treaty • WI Squadron cleans out Caribbean • Based in Key West • James Biddle, David Porter • 1841 Absorbed into “Home Squadron”