In the summer of 1812 Britain stood alone, fighting for her very
survival against a vast European Empire. Only the Royal Navy stood
between Napoleon's legions and ultimate victory. In that dark hour
America saw its chance to challenge British dominance: her troops
invaded Canada and American frigates attacked British merchant shipping,
the lifeblood of British defence. War polarised America. The south and
west wanted land, the north wanted peace and trade. But America had to
choose between the oceans and the continent. Within weeks the land
invasion had stalled, but American warships and privateers did rather
better, and astonished the world by besting the Royal Navy in a series
of battles. Then in three titanic single ship actions the challenge was
decisively met. British frigates closed with the Chesapeake, the
Essex and the President, flagship of American naval ambition. Both
sides found new heroes but none could equal Captain Philip Broke,
champion of history's greatest frigate battle, when HMS Shannon
captured the USS Chesapeake in thirteen blood-soaked minutes. Broke's
victory secured British control of the Atlantic, and within a year
Washington, D.C. had been taken and burnt by British troops.
