The first complete biography of Matthew Calbraith Perry to appear in well over thirty years, this balanced assessment of the commodore's long and varied military career deals with both his strengths and weaknesses. Best remembered for leading a naval and diplomatic expedition to Japan in 1853 and 1854, Perry succeeded where others before him had failed and ended Japan's isolation from the West by signing a treaty that established formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan. Today Perry remains a respected figure in Japan as well as the United States, and the upcoming sesquicentennial of his expedition makes the publication of this book especially timely. The noted naval historian John Schroeder draws on recent scholarship as well as archival sources to examine every phase of Perry's career, from his service under Commodore John Rodgers in the War of 1812 to command of the Africa Squadron, the Gulf Squadron in the Mexican War, and the East India Squadron. He describes Perry's efforts to modernize and improve the efficiency of the Navy, distinguishing himself not only as a sailor and diplomat but as a naval reformer who advocated technological innovations and better education and training for officers and sailors alike. The author establishes how Perry's views on American expansion in the Pacific foreshadowed the era in which the U.S. Navy would be instrumental in forging an overseas colonial empire. Written for general readers with an interest in nineteenth-century American history, this interpretive biography will also appeal to those with a specialized interest in U.S. naval history.

On September 11, 1814, an American naval squadron under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough defeated a formidable British force on Lake Champlain under the command of Captain George Downie, effectively ending the British invasion of the Champlain Valley during the War of 1812. This decisive battle had far-reaching repercussions in Canada, the United States, England, and Ghent, Belgium, where peace talks were under way. Examining the naval and land campaign in strategic, political, and military terms, from planning to execution to outcome, The Battle of Lake Champlain offers the most thorough account written of this pivotal moment in American history. For decades the Champlain corridor-a direct and accessible invasion route between Lower Canada and the northern United States-had been hotly contested in wars for control of the region. In exploring the crucial issue of why it took two years for the United States and Britain to confront each other on Lake Champlain, historian John H. Schroeder recounts the war's early years, the failed U.S. invasions of Canada in 1812 and 1813, and the ensuing naval race for control of the lake in 1814. To explain how the Americans achieved their unexpected victory, Schroeder weighs the effects on both sides of preparations and planning, personal valor and cowardice, command decisions both brilliant and ill-conceived, and sheer luck both good and bad. Previous histories have claimed that the War of 1812 ended with Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Schroeder demonstrates that the United States really won the war four months before-at Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain. Through a comprehensive analysis of politics and diplomacy, Schroeder shows that the victory at Lake Champlain prompted the British to moderate their demands at Ghent, bringing the war directly and swiftly to an end before Jackson's spectacular victory in January 1815.

On September 11, 1814, an American naval squadron under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough defeated a formidable British force on Lake Champlain under the command of Captain George Downie, effectively ending the British invasion of the Champlain Valley during the War of 1812. This decisive battle had far-reaching repercussions in Canada, the United States, England, and Ghent, Belgium, where peace talks were under way. Examining the naval and land campaign in strategic, political, and military terms, from planning to execution to outcome, The Battle of Lake Champlain offers the most thorough account written of this pivotal moment in American history. For decades the Champlain corridor - a direct and accessible invasion route between Lower Canada and the northern United States - had been hotly contested in wars for control of the region. In exploring the crucial issue of why it took two years for the United States and Britain to confront each other on Lake Champlain, historian John H. Schroeder recounts the war's early years, the failed U.S. invasions of Canada in 1812 and 1813, and the ensuing naval race for control of the lake in 1814. To explain how the Americans achieved their unexpected victory, Schroeder weighs the effects on both sides of preparations and planning, personal valor and cowardice, command decisions both brilliant and ill-conceived, and sheer luck both good and bad. Previous histories have claimed that the War of 1812 ended with Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Schroeder demonstrates that the United States really won the war four months before - at Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain. Through a comprehensive analysis of politics and diplomacy, Schroeder shows that the victory at Lake Champlain prompted the British to moderate their demands at Ghent, bringing the war directly and swiftly to an end before Jackson's spectacular victory in January 1815.

John H. Schroeder chronicles the expansion of the American Navy's peacetime role in developing the nation's overseas commercial empire during the thirty years before the Civil War. He demonstrates how the rapid acceleration of American commercial activity around the world increased pressure on the Navy to meet new economic and political demands. He analyzes how the Navy's haphazard development in the antebellum years paralleled and interacted with commercial activity, and how the end result impacted dramatically on the economic development of the United States.