NE MAY 16 1882 1274 COPYRIGHT BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 1882 MEM AOBK Press of G. P. Putnam's Sons New York PREFACE. THE history of the naval events of the War of 1812 has been repeatedly presented both to the American and the English reader. Historical writers have treated it either in connection with a general account of the contest on land and sea, or as forming a part of the complete record of the navies of the two nations. A few monographs, which confine themselves strictly to the naval occurrences, have also appeared. But none of these works can be regarded as giving a satisfactorily full or impartial account of the war-some of them being of the "popular" and loosely-constructed order, while others treat it from a purely partisan standpoint. No single book can be quoted which would be accepted by the modern reader as doing justice to both sides,,, indeed, as telling the whole story. Any one specially interested in be subject must read all; and then it will seem almost a hopeless task to reconcile the many and widely contradictory statements he will meet with. There appear to be three works which, taken in combination, give the best satisfaction on the subject. First, in James' "Naval History of Great Britain" |