The History Book Club discussion

This site is interesting:

UK sources for War of 1812 Privateers:

http://www.1812privateers.org/GB/Grea...

This museum might have some good sources:

National Museum of the Royal Navy:

http://www.nmrn.org.uk/

Thanks Bryan

1812: War with America

by Jon Latimer (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the first complete history of the War of 1812 written from a British perspective, Jon Latime offers an authoritative and compelling account that places the conflict in its strategic context within the Napoleonic wars. He crafts an intimate narrative that marches the reader into the heat of battle.

Battle for the Bay: The Naval War of 1812

by Joshua M. Smith (no photo)

Synopsis:

As the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 approaches, a new chapter in the history of the war is being opened for the first time. Although naval battles raged on the Great Lakes, combat between privateers and small government vessels boiled in the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine. Three small warships the Provincial sloop "Brunswicker," His Majesty's schooner "Bream," and His Majesty's brig of war "Boxer" played a vital role in defending the eastern waters of British North America in this crucial war.

The crews of these hardy ships fought both the Americans and the elements winter winds, summer fog, and the fierce tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy enduring the all-too-real threats of shipwreck and possible capture and imprisonment. In peacetime, these patrol craft enforced maritime law. In wartime, they engaged in a guerre de course, attacking the enemy's commercial shipping while protecting their own. Now, for the first time, Joshua Smith tells the full story of the battle for the bay."

Privateers ruled the waters during the War of 1812.

Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812

by Faye M. Kert (no photo)

Synopsis:

During the War of 1812, most clashes on the high seas involved privately owned merchant ships, not official naval vessels. Licensed by their home governments and considered key weapons of maritime warfare, these ships were authorized to attack and seize enemy traders. Once the prizes were legally condemned by a prize court, the privateers could sell off ships and cargo and pocket the proceeds. Because only a handful of ship-to-ship engagements occurred between the Royal Navy and the United States Navy, it was really the privateers who fought—and won—the war at sea.

In Privateering, Faye M. Kert introduces readers to U.S. and Atlantic Canadian privateers who sailed those skirmishing ships, describing both the rare captains who made money and the more common ones who lost it. Some privateers survived numerous engagements and returned to their pre-war lives; others perished under violent circumstances. Kert demonstrates how the romantic image of pirates and privateers came to obscure the dangerous and bloody reality of private armed warfare.

Building on two decades of research, Privateering places the story of private armed warfare within the overall context of the War of 1812. Kert highlights the economic, strategic, social, and political impact of privateering on both sides and explains why its toll on normal shipping helped convince the British that the war had grown too costly. Fascinating, unfamiliar, and full of surprises, this book will appeal to historians and general readers alike.