"Naval Battles of the War of 1812" Topic

Can't name any right off the top of my head, but know there were a number of Great Lakes battles, as well as some Frigate actions at sea, so thought I would start this thread to kick off the 200th anniversary of the war.

I imagine it will be useful to some, especially once we add some scenario content, and rules to it.

I will add some in a little bit, when I get the time.

Feel free to add your own, info and links, if you like.

1/300th paper Great Lakes vessels are available from War Artisan, and this is a great period to use resin vessels in the same scale, and/or larger/smaller vessels too, e.g. 15mm (1/100th scale), etc.

The guy that makes the 1/300th paper ships also has a set of rules to go with them, and they are free. You can see photos of his ships and get the free rules here:

warartisan.com/home

Prevailing Winds, from Thoroughbred, is an excellent set of rules – currently unavailable, but should be available again shortly. They also produce a very nice line of 15mm minis.

Sailpower will also work, for 15mm, and other scale battles, and they produce a nice range of 15mm scale vessels.

Of course, you can use other rules as well, e.g. Heart of Oak, and those from the various sailing boardgames too.

The standard book on the naval war of 1812 was written by Theodore Roosevelt; he did such a through job I don't know whether anyone has attempted anything more recently.

An Amazon review with which I agree:

In a time when patriotism is passe, reading this book can redden the stuff in any American's veins. Our Navy's often-victorious battles against a superb and numerically superior foe ranks with the Athenian victory at Marathon in the annals of honor. Roosevelt was a natural storyteller and a first-rate scholar. Like JFK two generations later ("Why England Slept") this work was the product of a young twentysomething Harvard grad (JFK was actually a senior) that commanded serious attention nationally, and presaged a later rise to the summit of public life. Roosevelt's research is exhaustive, but not tedious, thanks to a vigorous prose style that carries the reader through a mass of detail without losing sail. The digression on which nationalities make the best seafarers would no doubt be considered un-PC today, but, as a general characterization of national characteristics, they arguably hold true. The author's final chapter, on the Battle of New Orleans, forshadows future policy, in that his criticism of the unreliability of the militia were embodied in the reforms that fully Federalized the National Guard, as the Dick Act of 1903. (Doubtless, his Spanish-American War experiences contributed to his desire to supplant the 1793 Militia Act, as well.) This book rests on my shelf, next to Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History," and O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin novels – as is fitting for an historical work written in the spirit of high adventure and studded with minute detail. -Lloyd A. Conway

Thanks for the info. Not sure I have read his book, so will need to check into it.

Here are some links to various battles:

link

link

link

The Wiki links give more detailed info on ship rates, crews, info about the battle, etc.

Here are some other ship minis options:

Thoroughbred 15mm (1/100th vessels):

link

Old Glory has naval vessels in various scales too:

link

Sailpower in 15mm (1/100th scale):

link

Skytrex does 1/700th scale ships:

link

Ditto on the TR book. Crackerjack.

TR's book was the first I purchased when building my American Navy for the War of 1812.

Here are some paintings of the battles and ships:

link

Naval duels – brief overview of the rates in combat, and outcomes:

link

British view of the War of 1812:

link

Naval actions on the Great Lakes:

link

and the best part is The Naval War of 1812 is free for your Kindle on AMazon :-)

Prevailing Winds is available, again.

Excellent news.

Is the new copy updated?

I read that it was going to be revised, so am curious about any changes that may have been made.

If you want to fight these battles on a coffee table, Valiant makes these ships in 1/2000 scale and Figurehead makes them in 1/2400 scale.
An excellent book is "Warships of the Great Lakes" by Robert Malcolmson

For a more Canadian/British perspective there is some good content in Jon Latimers 1812: War with America. Well worth a read. In the words of one reviewer it
"convincingly debunks the popular myth that this was a second war of independence and a total victory for the United States…The financial deficiencies, administrative mishaps, and military mistakes on both sides are examined in thorough detail, making for a balanced and enlightening account."

There are also a lot of free (copyright expired) PDF versions of contemporary first person accounts if you want to get a feel for what it was like on the ground/water. I don't have a list as they're buried somewhere in my computer but just go to archive.org and do a search there.

Cheers, Andy

Langton makes Constitution, Congress and Essex, as well as Great Lakes ships for both sides.

TR's book is great, but CS Forester also wrote one, "The Age of Fighting Sail".

Considering that Constitution, President, and United States were all built to the same plans, there's the 44s covered. Congress and Constellation were the same, which covers the 38s.

The challenge is Chesapeake. Then again, would *you* want to have the embarrassment to the American fleet on your tabletop?

I have a page on Rod Langton's 1/1200 Great Lakes 1812 ships, with OOB for the three lakes.

link

link

The Thoroughbred 15mm ships are beautifully done.

link

The Thoroughbred 15mm ships are beautifully done.

What are we supposed to be seeing here? I've clicked around and do not see any TB ships.

Teddy Roosevelt's book on the Naval war makes for good reading but contains much bombast and some inaccuracies.
For a more up to date and unbiased account of the naval war on the lakes see Robert Malcomson's books; "Warships of the Great Lakes" and "Lords of the Lake" are but two. See also "Fours Years On The Lakes, 1813-1816", for a personal record of and RN officer.
Good reading.

VSB, Condotta's link leads, indirectly, to the scenarios for Captain Games' naval rules, which include two scenarios fron the War of 1812.
Cheers
David

Regarding Prevailing Winds 1812 naval rule:
1. The rules are available on my Thoroughbred Figures web site at – Thoroughbredmodels.com
2. Right now they are the same rules at the same price.
3. We are updating them but have absolutely no new release or printing date. Any new sections subsequently added and released in any new printing will be made available to any holder of the original rules.
4. Why the changes? Jim Moulton, original writer of the Prevailing Winds rules, owner of some of the figures and modeler of the original Sea Eagles ship hulls, has changed professions and is now back in the US Army scheduled to be with his unit in Kuwait next month. That's apt to change due to the US withdrawal from Iraq and unit assignment changes going to or from Afghanistan. Before departing, and during his unit's training 'in the box' in California, Jim and I finished transfering the copyrights to me. For a very short time I was out of the rules and reflected a temporary outage on the web site – but we now have copies available and they are back up on the web site.
Originally I made and/or held the copyright of all the guns, most of the Sea Eagle figures and made some of the ship fitting parts. With the last signature and dotted line completed last week I now own all the copyrights to the entire Sea Eagle product line and the Prevailing Winds rules. Please join me in wishing Jim God speed and a safe return following his upcoming tour.
5. What are my plans for the product line?
Since the beginning of the transfer of all copyrights I have thought of ways to increase the product line, update the rules with what I think will be key additions, and to offer some better services connected with both the kits and the rules. Any ideas in those areas will be greatly appreciated from customers who currently play the rules and use the many ship kits and figures we produce. You can best do this by contacting me off this thread by email which can be found on the web site. (And just to clarify- yes someone did post a link on this thread which goes to another manufacturer and doesn't show any of our Thoroughbred/Sea Eagle kits. I'm sure that's an error however.)
Toby Barrett, Owner Thoroughbred Figures in Portsmouth, Virginia

Best of luck on the tour Jim! Stay safe.

Thanks for the update Toby, and the offer of free updates to the current rules holders. That is very nice of you.

Actually United States, while technically a sister of Constitution was quite different, having acquired a round house and poop deck in building, This affected her sailing qualities and led to her nickname "Old War Wagon".

Also bear in mind that United States and President carried 42 pound carronades, Constitution had 32 pounders until after the war.

While I do agree that TR's book has some issues – bear in mind that this was the first book that he ever wrote – at the age of 21. The amount of research that he uncovered while writing that book is truly amazing – which is why it still remains one of the better starting points when working on this period.

There are a number of great books out within the last ten years on warfare on the Great Lakes. Using them, I have Langton's ships for Lake Erie – which I view as a case of "Eggshells Armed with Sledgehammers". I use a modified version of Wooden Ships and Iron Men – based on the old miniatures game which preceded the AH version