By Paul Gilje, University of Oklahoma
Thomas Jefferson was never more wrong. In late June 1812 he wrote to his friend Thaddeus Kosciuszko that no war had been “entered into under more favorable auspices” and that “[o]ur present enemy will have the seas to herself, while we shall be equally predominant at land, and shall strip her of all her possessions on this continent.”
Astounded by defeats, the British admiralty ordered its captains to avoid single ship actions and proclaimed that battles against the super frigates were not even contests.
Last updated: March 6, 2015