Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- MAP 1 The American Eastern Seaboard, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
- MAP 2 Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River
- Abbreviations
- Note on US Dollar/Pound Sterling Conversion Rates
- Foreword
- Preface
- INTRODUCTION
- 1 CONVOYS AND BLOCKADES: The Evolution of Maritime Economic Warfare
- 2 WAR AT A DISTANCE: Constraints and Solutions
- 3 FROM BUSINESS PARTNERS TO ENEMIES: Britain and the United States before 1812
- 4 THE UNITED STATES BLOCKADED: Admiral Warren's ‘United Command’, August 1812–April 1814
- 5 BLOCKADES AND BLUNDERS: Vice-Admiral Cochrane's Command, April 1814–February 1815
- 6 TRADE AND WAR: The Effects of Warren's Blockades, August 1812–April 1814
- 7 CAPITAL AND CREDIT: The Impact of the Final Phase
- 8 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
- EPILOGUE
- Appendix A: Maritime Tables
- Appendix B: Economic History Tables
- Notes to the Chapters
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - THE UNITED STATES BLOCKADED: Admiral Warren's ‘United Command’, August 1812–April 1814
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- MAP 1 The American Eastern Seaboard, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea
- MAP 2 Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River
- Abbreviations
- Note on US Dollar/Pound Sterling Conversion Rates
- Foreword
- Preface
- INTRODUCTION
- 1 CONVOYS AND BLOCKADES: The Evolution of Maritime Economic Warfare
- 2 WAR AT A DISTANCE: Constraints and Solutions
- 3 FROM BUSINESS PARTNERS TO ENEMIES: Britain and the United States before 1812
- 4 THE UNITED STATES BLOCKADED: Admiral Warren's ‘United Command’, August 1812–April 1814
- 5 BLOCKADES AND BLUNDERS: Vice-Admiral Cochrane's Command, April 1814–February 1815
- 6 TRADE AND WAR: The Effects of Warren's Blockades, August 1812–April 1814
- 7 CAPITAL AND CREDIT: The Impact of the Final Phase
- 8 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
- EPILOGUE
- Appendix A: Maritime Tables
- Appendix B: Economic History Tables
- Notes to the Chapters
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Declaration of the Chesapeake and Delaware [to be] in a state of Blockade – This is to punish the Madisonians, by preventing their getting good prices for their produce – & to favour their opponents.
(American consul Rueben Beasley to American charges d' affaires Jonathan Russell, London, 26 December 1812)HESITANT BEGINNINGS
The British application of naval and commercial blockades to the eastern seaboard of the United States suffered a series of setbacks at the outset, due in part to the pre-emptive action of Commodore John Rodgers of the United States Navy. Rodgers left New York harbour, unhindered by the Royal Navy, on 21 June 1812, three days after Madison's declaration of war on Britain. He sailed in USS President, a large American frigate, nominally of 44 guns, intending to cruise in squadron strength. President was in company with the United States, also rated 44, the smaller frigate Congress, 36, the sloop Hornet and the brig Argus, altogether a powerful force. Rodgers was anxious to avoid the possibility of being blockaded in harbour by Royal Naval vessels off Sandy Hook, and hoped that
should war be declared, & our vessels get to sea, in squadron, before the British are appraised of it … we may be able to cripple and reduce their force in detail: to such an extent as to place our own upon a footing until their loss could be supplied by a reinforcement from England.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- How Britain Won the War of 1812The Royal Navy's Blockades of the United States, 1812-1815, pp. 64 - 106Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2011