3. An American Navy Confirmed

When America declared war against the British in 1812, most U.S. Navy ship captains hoped to conduct independent cruises against British commerce, but John Rodgers lobbied successfully for concentrating much of America’s naval power into one squadron under his command. After an unsuccessful campaign, the meagre forces were then scattered across the seas, leading to a number of individual ship-to-ship engagements between American and British frigates that greatly boosted American morale. ‘An American navy confirmed: the War of 1812’ also describes the strategic victories on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain and the enthusiasm after the war ended in 1914 for the establishment of a Board of Navy Commissioners and increase in the navy’s resources.