Part 3 of 7 - Ibiblio

Chapter Two
Naval Operations in the Atlantic
Theater: January- August 1812
From 4 April, when President Madison approved the 90-day embargo,
until J 8 june, when Congress declared war against Great Britain,
A merican naval oJJicers prepared their ships and statl'ons Jor war
as best they could. It was no secret that the embargo was a measure
preparatory to a possible outbreak oj war. Likewise, Royal Navy ships
on the North Atlantic station were put on alert. AJter Congress passed
legislation in February intending to strengthen the armedJorces, Wasp
carried that news to England. On 9 May, the British Foreign Office
passed a war warning to the A dmiralty which in turn advised Vice A d­
miral Herbert Sawyer at Halifax that war with the United States was a
distinct possibility. He was instructed to await notification Jrom the
British minister in Washington beJore commencing hostilities. I
A t the outset oj the war, the United States Navy had J 6 ships in commission,
excluding gunboats. These ostensibly Jaced a huge British
Navy that included 600 warshIps oj all types, actively employed, not
counting 250 ships under construction and refitting. Yet the Admiralty
had only stationed a handJul oj warshIps along the North A men'can
coast because oj worldwide demands on her naval resources. The ongoing
war against Napoleonic France and her allies required deployment
oj British shIps to protect communications in the English Channel and
the North Sea, at Gibraltar and oJJ French ports in the Mediterranean,
and on convoy to the Can'bbean and the Indian Ocean. The North
Amen'can station was deJended by one ship oj the line, H.M.S. Africa,
64 guns, and two dozen smaller ships, mainly Jngates and ships oj less
Jorce. These were scattered between Halifax and Bermuda.
Navy Secretary Paul Hamilton and the Jour clerks who were his administrative
staJJ in Washington, suddenly Jaced a crushing burden oj
work, issuing orders, authon%ing expenditures, and providing
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