The Shining Sea

GEORGE C. DAUGHAN

BASIC

BOOKS

A M
EMBER OF THE
P
ERSEUS
B
OOKS
G
ROUP

N
EW
Y
ORK

Copyright © 2013 by George C. Daughan

Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 250 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10107.

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Book design by Linda Mark

Text set in 11pt JansonText Pro

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Daughan, George C.

The shining sea : David Porter and the epic voyage of the U.S.S. Essex during the War of 1812 / George C. Daughan.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-465-06994-1 (e-book) 1. Porter, David, 1780-1843. 2. Essex (Frigate) 3. United States—History—War of 1812—Naval operations, American. 4. United States. Navy—History—War of 1812. 5. United States. Navy—Officers—Biography. I. Title.

E353.1.P7D38 2013

973.5'2573—dc23

2013018564

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Kay, Mary, Mark, Alex, and Tyler

The love of fame for the founders was the ruling passion of the noblest of minds.

A
LEXANDER
H
AMILTON

C
ONTENTS

I
NTRODUCTION
: T
HE
W
AR OF
1812

M
APS

P
ROLOGUE

1
     
P
RESIDENT
M
ADISON
'
S
W
AR
P
LAN

2
     
T
HE
M
AKING OF A
S
EA
W
ARRIOR

3
     
D
ISASTER IN
T
RIPOLI

4
     
P
RIMED FOR
B
ATTLE

5
     
T
HE
E
SSEX
: P
AST AND
P
RESENT

6
     
F
IRST
R
ENDEZVOUS
: P
ORTO
P
RAIA

7
     
I
N THE
S
OUTH
A
TLANTIC
, D
REAMING OF THE
P
ACIFIC

8
     
D
OUBLING
C
APE
H
ORN

9
     
N
AVIGATING
C
HILE'S
P
OLITICAL
W
ATERS

10
   
A P
ACKED
W
EEK AT
V
ALPARAISO

11
   
P
ERU AND THE
E
LUSIVE
N
IMROD

12
   
F
ORTUNE
S
MILES IN THE
G
ALAPAGOS
I
SLANDS

13
   
U
NPARALLELED
S
UCCESS

14
   
T
HE
H
UNT FOR THE
E
SSEX

15
   
T
HE
M
ARQUESAS
I
SLANDS
: “I
N
V
ALES OF
E
DEN
”

16
   
N
UKU
H
IVA

17
   
A
NNEXATION AND
W
AR

18
   
M
UTINY

19
   
S
HOWDOWN IN
V
ALPARAISO

20
   
T
HE
B
UTCHER
'
S
B
ILL

21
   
T
HE
H
EROES
C
OME
H
OME

22
   
L
IEUTENANT
G
AMBLE AT
N
UKU
H
IVA

E
PILOGUE
: F
OUR
L
IVES
A
FTER THE
W
AR

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

G
LOSSARY

N
OTES

S
ELECT
B
IBLIOGRAPHY

I
NDEX

I
NTRODUCTION

THE WAR OF 1812

A
LTHOUGH ONE OF
A
MERICA'S LESSER-KNOWN CONFLICTS, THE
War of 1812 was one of her most important. Beginning on June 18, 1812, the fighting continued unabated for a grueling thirty-two months before ending on February 17, 1815. The struggle spread over a wide area, including all of the United States east of the Mississippi, many parts of Canada, the Great Lakes, and Lake Champlain, as well as most of the world's oceans. Despite being underappreciated, the war had a profound effect on the nation's future. It brought about a rapprochement between Britain and America that changed world history. The enmity that had characterized their relationship since the War of Independence ended. In the final year of the war, the United States demonstrated a military capacity that secured Britain's respect and caused her to fundamentally alter her North American policy. By winning battles at Fort Erie in the Niagara area, at Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain, at Baltimore, and at New Orleans, the United States forced London to confront a new international reality—a strong republic on the other side of the Atlantic.

Led by their prescient foreign minister, Lord Castlereagh, Britain dealt with this new phenomenon by changing her policy toward America from confrontation to accommodation. Castlereagh recognized, before any
other British statesman, the critical importance of maintaining friendship with the United States. Instead of treating her as a rival and a potential enemy, where every dispute might become lethal, he sought ways to build amicable relations. He feared that if Britain and America remained enemies, they could be fighting over one issue or another for the next hundred years. Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson (Lord Liverpool) and the rest of the cabinet followed his lead. The two great English-speaking countries never fought again. The serious disagreements they had during the nineteenth century—over boundaries with Canada, the westward expansion of the United States, Texas, the Mexican War, the American Civil War, and a fiercely competitive maritime rivalry—were all resolved peacefully.

The new diplomatic reality spawned by the War of 1812 eventually made possible the remarkable collaboration, indeed partnership, of the two countries during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a partnership that was to be of incalculable benefit to themselves and to the world.

P
erhaps as important as beginning a new era in relations with Britain, the war strengthened the country's democratic impulses while solidifying respect for the Constitution. The franchise was extended. Property qualifications were lowered so that all those who fought the war could vote. And just as important, President James Madison led the fight without becoming a dictator, which many in Europe thought he would be forced to do. Throughout the struggle, he scrupulously observed the constitutional limits placed on the presidency and gave the country confidence that it could manage its most challenging problems without altering or discarding its form of government.