Americana Corner: The British Blockade

With Napoleon’s abdication on April 6, 1814, not only was the British Army freed up to go to North America but so too was the Royal Navy which have been blockading much of the European coast for nearly a decade. But now that their main adversary had been vanquished, British warships were on their way to enforce a strict blockade of the American coastline and finally teach the upstart “Yankees” a lesson. The United States Navy had enjoyed some remarkable successes at the start of the war, including winning all three single ship engagements with Royal Navy frigates. But to imply that Great Britain was not holding its own on the high seas, would be inaccurate. The fact was that as the war moved into the summer of 1813, the preponderance of Royal Navy vessels led to its increasing dominance over both ocean going and coastal commerce. As famed naval historian Captain A. T. Mahan wrote, “Control of the highways of the ocean by great fleets destroys an enemy’s commerce, root and branch. The depredations of scattered cruisers may inflict immense vexation, and even embarrassment; but they neither kill nor mortally wound, they merely harass.” In February, the Admiralty issued orders to blockade Delaware and Chesapeake bays, and, in May, Admiral Sir John Warren, the commander of the North American squadron, extended the blockade to the ports of New York, Charleston, Port Royal, Savannah, and of the Mississippi River, leaving only New England ports open to neutrals. From that time…

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