Captain Blakeley and the Wasp: The Cruise of 1814

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on a largely forgotten War of 1812 commander
Review: Stephen Duffy's "Captain Blakeley and the Wasp: The Cruise of 1814" tells, and tells well, the story of Master Commandant Johnston Blakeley and the highly successful and ultimately doomed cruise of the US Navy sloop of war Wasp in 1814. Through exhaustive research, Duffy chronicles in detail the building of the Wasp at Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Blakeley's struggles to outfit and crew his new ship, an effort made more difficult by national politics and by rivalries within the Navy command structure. The tale of the Wasp's cruise across the Atlantic and into the English Channel is of necessity less comprehensive because many crucial records were lost when Blakeley and his command vanished at sea after twin victories over Royal Navy brigs in British home waters. Although Blakeley was able to forward his official reports of the two battles before his ship disappeared, it is the missing unofficial information which prevents Duffy from fully reconstructing what happened when the Wasp captured HMS Reindeer and then sank HMS Avon. Despite this limitation, Duffy does provide clear analyses of the two actions, reaching rather different conclusions about the sequence of events during the Wasp-Reindeer fight than heretofore have been published.

It has been said that a biographer must have a personal liking for his subject for the labor in writing the book to be anything other than a burden, and certainly Duffy has a great admiration for Johnston Blakeley. His assessment of his hero as America's most accomplished naval commander during the age of sail perhaps errs on the side of hyperbole, but the book leaves no doubt that Blakeley deserves greater fame than he is usually accorded. Duffy was handicapped by the paucity of primary source accounts from Blakeley and his close associates, so he frequently was forced to resort to speculation about the thoughts of the young officer regarding various situations. At the very least, Duffy presents a valuable and interesting study of a junior officer in the small American navy at the beginning of the 19th Century.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on a largely forgotten War of 1812 commander
Review: Stephen Duffy's "Captain Blakeley and the Wasp: The Cruise of 1814" tells, and tells well, the story of Master Commandant Johnston Blakeley and the highly successful and ultimately doomed cruise of the US Navy sloop of war Wasp in 1814. Through exhaustive research, Duffy chronicles in detail the building of the Wasp at Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Blakeley's struggles to outfit and crew his new ship, an effort made more difficult by national politics and by rivalries within the Navy command structure. The tale of the Wasp's cruise across the Atlantic and into the English Channel is of necessity less comprehensive because many crucial records were lost when Blakeley and his command vanished at sea after twin victories over Royal Navy brigs in British home waters. Although Blakeley was able to forward his official reports of the two battles before his ship disappeared, it is the missing unofficial information which prevents Duffy from fully reconstructing what happened when the Wasp captured HMS Reindeer and then sank HMS Avon. Despite this limitation, Duffy does provide clear analyses of the two actions, reaching rather different conclusions about the sequence of events during the Wasp-Reindeer fight than heretofore have been published.

It has been said that a biographer must have a personal liking for his subject for the labor in writing the book to be anything other than a burden, and certainly Duffy has a great admiration for Johnston Blakeley. His assessment of his hero as America's most accomplished naval commander during the age of sail perhaps errs on the side of hyperbole, but the book leaves no doubt that Blakeley deserves greater fame than he is usually accorded. Duffy was handicapped by the paucity of primary source accounts from Blakeley and his close associates, so he frequently was forced to resort to speculation about the thoughts of the young officer regarding various situations. At the very least, Duffy presents a valuable and interesting study of a junior officer in the small American navy at the beginning of the 19th Century.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book !
Review: This is the second review of this book I have written for Amazon. This time around, I would rate it 10 if I could. This is the finest research I have ever come across about a most fascinating time and man. It is a must read for anyone interested in history, maritime affairs and the war of 1812. I just wish I could have been the author. Bravo.

Rating:
Summary: Clear For Action!
Review: This little gem of a book is exactly what every enthusiast of the age of fighting sail is looking for: engaging characters, beautifully designed tall ships, and plenty of action. It reads like a novel, is full of larger than life characters, and the ship to ship actions are better than anything you'll read in the novels of Alexander Kent, Richard O'Brien, and CS Forrester.

Captain Blakeley (his naval rank as commander of the USS Wasp, a sloop of war, was actually Master Commandant) is proclaimed by the author as the most accomplished US Navy captain in the War of 1812. In his single cruise with the Wasp, he sank two British ships of war of near-equal strength in hull to hull fights and captured and destroyed a slew of merchantmen as he prowled the sea lanes. He had been on successful cruises with the Enterprise and the Argus, and continued his professional successes on the newly built and commissioned USS Wasp, the last ship so named in the War of 1812. Sadly, after her last victory, she sailed off into legend and was lost at sea from unknown causes, the families of the crew never knowing what happened to their loved ones.

This is a most valuable addition to the literature of the period and a definite must for the historian and enthusiast. The author has done a masterful job here. It is carefully researched, is a very quick read, as you can't put it down, and is accurate. This book is highly recommended and I couldn't help thinking that it would make an outstanding motion picture.

Rating:
Summary: Clear For Action!
Review: This little gem of a book is exactly what every enthusiast of the age of fighting sail is looking for: engaging characters, beautifully designed tall ships, and plenty of action. It reads like a novel, is full of larger than life characters, and the ship to ship actions are better than anything you'll read in the novels of Alexander Kent, Richard O'Brien, and CS Forrester.

Captain Blakeley (his naval rank as commander of the USS Wasp, a sloop of war, was actually Master Commandant) is proclaimed by the author as the most accomplished US Navy captain in the War of 1812. In his single cruise with the Wasp, he sank two British ships of war of near-equal strength in hull to hull fights and captured and destroyed a slew of merchantmen as he prowled the sea lanes. He had been on successful cruises with the Enterprise and the Argus, and continued his professional successes on the newly built and commissioned USS Wasp, the last ship so named in the War of 1812. Sadly, after her last victory, she sailed off into legend and was lost at sea from unknown causes, the families of the crew never knowing what happened to their loved ones.

This is a most valuable addition to the literature of the period and a definite must for the historian and enthusiast. The author has done a masterful job here. It is carefully researched, is a very quick read, as you can't put it down, and is accurate. This book is highly recommended and I couldn't help thinking that it would make an outstanding motion picture.