Explore historic documents, letters, ephemera, and artifacts, including fascinating finds from the Navy's most recent underwater excavation of the war's lost ships.

Engagingly written and comprehensively researched, the future president's analysis of naval combat between the United States and Great Britain from 1812–15 exercised considerable influence on the formation of the modern American Navy.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The War of 1812 is typically noted for a handful of events: the burning of the White House, the rise of the Star Spangled Banner, and the battle of New Orleans. But in fact the greatest consequence of that distant conflict was the birth of the U.S. Navy. During the War of 1812, America’s tiny fleet took on the mightiest naval power on earth, besting the British in a string of victories that stunned both nations. In his new book, Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron: The War of 1812 and the Birth of the American Navy, author Dr. Ronald Utt not only sheds new light on the naval battles of the War of 1812 and how they gave birth to our nation’s great navy, but tells the story of the War of 1812 through the portraits of famous American war heroes. From the cunning Stephen Decatur to the fierce David Porter, Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron relates how thousands of American men and boys gave better than they got against the British Navy. The great age of fighting sail is as rich in heroic drama as any epoch. Dr. Utt’s Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron retrieves the American chapter of that epoch from unjustified obscurity, and offers readers an intriguing chronicle of the War of 1812 as well as a unique perspective on the birth of the U.S. Navy.

This edition of Theodore Roosevelt's thorough and detailed work on the naval engagements in the War of 1812 includes all of his original tables, lists, diagrams, appendices and notes. As the future President's first book, The Naval War of 1812 shines as a fine example of military history. Commonly overlooked by historians to this day, the 1812 war's naval engagements form a seldom discussed history. Owing to Theodore Roosevelt's accessible style of writing, what might otherwise be a dry or ponderous subject is made exciting, enlightening and accessible. Published in 1882, two years after Theodore Roosevelt had graduated from Harvard University, this book is the result of its author seeking a challenge for his intellect and research capacities. Combing archives for British and American documents, Roosevelt strove for neutrality, presenting the facts and outcomes of each battle with the impartiality of a professional historian.

Roosevelt's detailed account of the War of 1812 and the role of the American navy in it is a classic of American military history. Mixing stirring battlefield accounts with insightful analysis of strategy and politics, it is a must-read for buffs of naval history and American history alike. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.