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Captain
Blakeley and
the Wasp:
The Cruise
of 1814
By Stephen W. H. Duffy
288 pages, 1999
Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1557501769
Until now there has never been a full
biography of America's most accomplished
naval commander in the Age of Sail,
Johnston Blakeley, probably because
most of his papers went down with him
and his sloop-of-war Wasp in 1815, under
circumstances that have yet to be fully
explained. Consulting previously
untapped sources on both sides of the
Atlantic, Stephen Duffy has resurrected
the remarkable life and career of this
forgotten hero and in the process painted
one of the most vivid portraits available of
the early American Navy in war and peace.
Blakeley and
the Wasp:
The Cruise
of 1814
By Stephen W. H. Duffy
288 pages, 1999
Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1557501769
Until now there has never been a full
biography of America's most accomplished
naval commander in the Age of Sail,
Johnston Blakeley, probably because
most of his papers went down with him
and his sloop-of-war Wasp in 1815, under
circumstances that have yet to be fully
explained. Consulting previously
untapped sources on both sides of the
Atlantic, Stephen Duffy has resurrected
the remarkable life and career of this
forgotten hero and in the process painted
one of the most vivid portraits available of
the early American Navy in war and peace.
Filling an important gap in the literature of early U.S. naval history, this
book focuses on the Wasp's historic cruise of 1814, when Blakeley
defeated a force larger than any of his more famous
contemporaries--Decatur, Bainbridge, and Hull--and with fewer
resources, in waters closer to English soil, and with less sea time than
any other British or American commander. Blakeley was the only officer
to take two enemy vessels of similar size in a single cruise, one a
hard-fought boarding action and the other at night. But Blakeley
eventually paid the ultimate price because, unlike his fellow ship
captains, he followed orders and pressed the attack.
Relying almost exclusively on primary sources, Duffy debunks many
myths about Blakeley's battle exploits, early career, and untimely end.
His use of uncataloged pension and accountant records as well as British
court-martial records, official correspondence, logs, and unpublished
journals contribute to an unparalleled examination of the lives of junior
officers, warrant officers, and able seamen. The result is one of the best
descriptions ever written of life aboard ship under sail. In addition,
Duffy's research unearthed new details about the design and building of
the 22-gun corvette and Wasp's sister ships, as well as their operational
contributions to the fledgling American Navy's legacy of victory. With the
publication of this landmark study, the shamefully neglected Blakeley,
takes his proper place in the pantheon of American military honor and
establishes Stephen Duffy as a bold new voice in historical scholarship.
Source: Amazon.ca
book focuses on the Wasp's historic cruise of 1814, when Blakeley
defeated a force larger than any of his more famous
contemporaries--Decatur, Bainbridge, and Hull--and with fewer
resources, in waters closer to English soil, and with less sea time than
any other British or American commander. Blakeley was the only officer
to take two enemy vessels of similar size in a single cruise, one a
hard-fought boarding action and the other at night. But Blakeley
eventually paid the ultimate price because, unlike his fellow ship
captains, he followed orders and pressed the attack.
Relying almost exclusively on primary sources, Duffy debunks many
myths about Blakeley's battle exploits, early career, and untimely end.
His use of uncataloged pension and accountant records as well as British
court-martial records, official correspondence, logs, and unpublished
journals contribute to an unparalleled examination of the lives of junior
officers, warrant officers, and able seamen. The result is one of the best
descriptions ever written of life aboard ship under sail. In addition,
Duffy's research unearthed new details about the design and building of
the 22-gun corvette and Wasp's sister ships, as well as their operational
contributions to the fledgling American Navy's legacy of victory. With the
publication of this landmark study, the shamefully neglected Blakeley,
takes his proper place in the pantheon of American military honor and
establishes Stephen Duffy as a bold new voice in historical scholarship.
Source: Amazon.ca