The War of 1812's Final Chapter: At Sea and at the Negotiating Table
by William H. Whire
Since the start of2012, Sea History has published an ongoing series covering the War of 1812, paying special attention to events that bore on the outcome or offered insigh t into little-known battles. The series began with a broad overview covering each year of the war and was followed by articles that examined specific incidents and varying points of view. The following is the final entry and will offer an outline of the Treaty of Ghent, with which peace was restored, as well as a little information on the financing of the war, both during, and after peace was restored. But first, a note on a little-known-but important-sea battle, which represents the single time the Royal Navy bested a US heavy 44-gun frigate. y spring of 1814, Srephen Decawr had had abour enough of his squadron being blockaded off New London, Connecricur, by a pair of Brirish 74-gun line-of-barrle ships. H e had pur to sea from New York a year earlier in his flagship, USS United States, accompan ied by USS (formerly HMS) Macedonian, bur was chased back into Long Island Sound
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Macedonian and went to New Yo rk to persuade the navy to give him another ship. Afrer a full year of bei ng held caprive by the presence of those two ships, he was desperare to get back out to sea and into what was lefr of the fi.ghr. H e got his wish; Navy Secrerary William Jones assigned h im to take command of USS President, sisrer ship to his flagship and USS Constitution. The President was lying in New Yo rk, ready for sea. With a reputarion as a fast and "fi.ne swimmer," the President had been highly praised by her two previous commanders, John Rodgers and William Bainbridge. By December of 1814, Decarur had a ship, a crew, and sadly, once again, a blockade preventing him from sailing. The Brirish had successfully closed the port of New York by srationing most of a squadron in rhe warers berween Long Island and Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Of course, D ecatur could nor know rhat the war was within days of irs conclusion, but most likely, even if he had
k nown it, he wo uld have pushed the secre rary of rhe navy to ger him a ship rhar mighr make it off soundings, even if only fo r a few days. The entrance to New York Harbor, unlike the mouth of the Thames River at New London, is wide wi rh many sand bars outside it, and, Decarur reasoned, under rhe right circumsrances he mighr be able to slip past rhe blockading ships. What he hadn'r recko ned wirh was rhe facr that it was only abo ur eighr miles from the entra nce of rhe harbor to rhe tip of Sandy Hook, and it was aro und this narrow body of water (now Ambrose Channel) thar most of rhe rreacherous sandbars were locared. No nerheless, on rhe night of 15 Jan uary 1815, the veteran caprain took his ship to sea into rhe reeth of a raging snowstorm, hopin g rhe dreadful weather might have driven the blockade offshore, thus giving him the opportunity to slip out unnoriced through the dark and stormy night. Ir was pitch black and the wind-whipped snow was fa llin g so fast and heavily that he had
Stephen Decatur (1119-1820)
by a powerful Brirish squadron off Monrauk Point. Running into rhe relarively shallow Th ames River, rhey rook shelrer under rhe guns of rhe porr ofNew London. Realizing rhar rhey needn 'r chase rhe American fri gares into rhe river (nor to mention, rhey were too deep-drafr fo r rhe Thames River), rhe Brirish simply srationed rhe 74s at the mourh and waired. Over rhe course of rhe following yea r, Decarur used every ruse he could conceive to make hi s warders leave, including a pre-arranged ship-to-ship duel berween his ships and rheir Royal Navy counterparts, all to no avail. Finally, in April of 1814, he ordered the dismasring of borh United States and
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USS Presidentvs . HMS Endymion, 15 January 1815, by Thomas Buttersworth (1768-1842)
SEA HISTORY 150, SPRING 2015