A few months after the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain David Porter
set out in the USS Essex on an epic, seventeen-month cruise to the
South Seas. Porter was pursuing fame and riches, and by most accounts
his odyssey was a stunning success: it brought glory to the fledgling
American navy, cemented Porter's reputation as a daring and talented
commander, and has long been celebrated as one of the greatest maritime
adventures in U.S. history. Less well known, however, is the terrible
price that the crew of the Essex paid for their captain's outsized
ambitions.
In The Shining Sea, award-winning historian George C. Daughan tells
the full story of Porter's thrilling, action-packed voyage, revealing
the heights of Porter's hubris and the true depths of his failure on
this fateful cruise. Intent on achieving personal glory, Porter made the
treacherous journey around Cape Horn and into the Pacific Ocean, where
he planned to capture a British man-of-war. From Valparaiso to the
Galapagos to the Marquesas, the Essex roamed the South Seas, seizing
British whaling and merchant ships, wreaking havoc on British commerce,
and earning Porter and his men wealth and acclaim. Flush with his
victories, Porter welcomed the news that a British frigate-the HMS
Phoebe-was on his tail, and he resolved to capture her. But Porter
could not overcome the Phoebe's superior firepower. Over the course of a
desperate, bloody battle, he lost the Essex and over two-thirds of her
crew-a shocking end to a daring journey.
A swashbuckling tale of risk and ruin on the high seas, The Shining
Sea brings to life the monomaniacal quest of one of the most
misunderstood commanders of the War of 1812. Porter's singular voyage,
Daughan shows, stands as a cautionary tale for any leader who would put
personal glory and ambition ahead of cause and countrymen.
