The Age of Fighting Sail: The Story of the Naval War of 1812

An insightful view of the war viewed from both sides and various aspects (not just naval engagements). A welcome addition to any history student's library. Well worth the small price.

It does not surprise that so many historical observations have been submitted for the Age of Fighting Sail, C.S. Forester's excellent narrative surrounding the War of 1812. Yet, even so, one grasps immediately from 'Old Ironsides,' USS Constitution, gracing the cover through the entire telling of the tale, the secret love of the author for the sea and the tall sailing ships. Details mass themselves in tightly written chapters like unrelenting waves against the hull of an ocean-going vessel. Almost incidentally one submits with the writer to the neccessities of outlining and reporting the developments, execution and conclusions of this second major confrontation between the Master of the Seas and her estranged child, come back to haunt her once more. Impressment was the flashpoint of this conflict, though other issues led up to the explosion that began as an aside from the main occupation of England, France's delinquent, Monsieur Bonaparte. Though President Madison finally relents on his initial adamant stand against England's practice of high seas slavery, wearily succombing to pressures as the war wages on, his original objection resonates with the Americans and gives them the purpose to lash out once again at anyone opposed to freedom, perhaps especially of the seas. The author neatly knits the disparate tableaux of land and sea warfare into a tapestry that nearly brings the reader to long for an earlier more seemingly gallant era, unentangled by modern technology. But Mr. Forester, then wisely, once capturing his audience, shoves them face first into the realities of battle, and cold, and snow and ice that repel the brittle romantic conjectures that so easily shatter gainst the incessant waves of reality. Storyteller first and foremost, Mr. Forester ladles out ample historical mounds of jots and tittles to keep the reader entranced. All the while, dispassionately dissecting the fears and ambitions of all, painting his own canvas in his own time. Those interested in the drydocks of historical record will be satiated. But they shall receive their enlightenment with the unnerving sense that the decks below their feet are none the less moving. And one who could not accept the simple black and white of documentation, had instead sailed out of harbor for the broad, blue and widening sea. TL Farley, author, When Now Becomes Too Late, Distant Reaches When Now Becomes Too Late { Print Edition } When Now Becomes Too Late { Kindle Edition } { Prophecy : The Rapture in Brief ! } Distant Reaches { Print Edition } { True Life Adventures in Ireland, Boston and on the North Atlantic }

This was a very intriguing book about the U.S./British naval battles in the war of 1812. The author, C.S. Forester, takes you into very good detail on the tactics and movements each side uses for almost every specific battle between the two countries on the water. It was exciting to see the United States Navy begin to defeat the Royal Navy when they reigned over the waters for decades and decdes before, especially when the US government and citizens wouldn't buy into at first, thinking their ships were much bigger and that it was only a fluke. I found this book incredible for the quality of detail and unbaised account of the war on the waters. It really brings you into the battle and gets you excited instead of making it seem like you're reading history from a textbook. I also liked how he jumped from battle to battle, but made it easy to put in order. I would read C.S. Forester's books any day.

Forester's sober, but generally fast-moving, account of the Anglo-American naval war of 1812 has had a mixed reception from historians over the nearly fifty years since its first publication. Looking at bibliographies and suggested readings in several volumes, I noted that one ignores it, while another grants that, "as to be expected from the creator of Hornblower," it is enjoyable reading. (Actually, it is rather far from the Hornblower narratives, which are in surprisingly large part about the inner life of the shy, sensitive, Gibbon-reading hero, who happens to be, to his own constant surprise, a resourceful and highly-effective naval warrior. Forester does describe Hornblower's naval engagements at a level of detail not found in the history, which is not much longer than one of the novels.) It has also been described as "potted Mahan," which under-emphasizes every subsequent historian's debt to the Admiral to suggest that Forester was especially susceptible. Another writer -- with whom I am in agreement -- points out that "The Age of Fighting Sail" is one of the few accounts of the naval war to emphasize that it was closely related to the war on land, and not some set of uniquely nautical events. (Which is what Mahan argued about naval wars in general; why complain that Forester had learned it better than others?). At least a few have noted that Forester made some points, not by laborious argument with elaborate documentation, but, even more effectively, by quoting relevant passages from the Duke of Wellington's correspondence -- a contemporary authority of some considerable weight, but not often mentioned in this context. Whether or not his advice to get out of the war had a decisive influence in London, it is a telling example of the impression the conflict made on a hard-headed strategist. Especially when American privateers had complicated life for British diplomats, with embarrassing illustrations that Britain did not exactly rule the waves unchallenged, even after Napoleon was gone. Forester gives a good idea of the shock value of a series of American victories in single-ship encounters, which the Royal Navy had long counted on winning as a matter of course. The accounts of some of the individual engagements are actually quite clear -- if you have read other, properly illustrated versions. Which brings us to a problem which is probably not Forester's fault. A series of publishers have not, I fear, ever given the book the proper treatment. In 1956 it needed, and it still needs, a good bibliography, a very detailed index, usable maps, and diagrams of the naval engagements. In effect, it has fallen somewhere between, on one side, the academic history or text-book, either of which would have its load of "apparatus," and, on the other, the purely popular book, with lots of illustrations (good or bad). And it has received neither. So I have to agree to some extent with those who refer to Theodore Roosevelt's 1882 account of "The Naval

I believe this book is an important source of knowledge for young readers who want to know about the naval battles of America. Many times, the naval battles are forgotten, but this book goes into great detail about the War Of 1812.