Historians of American History after the War of 1812, particularly after the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine, love to categorize the US Navy of the time as "nothing more than a cockboat in the wake of a British man of war". Nothing could be further from the truth as during the war the United States started construction of a major navy including three 74-gun ships of the line. Once the war was over more were built including many smaller warships. By the 1820s the US Navy could have met any European power at sea in a fleet engagement with a good chance of success. The only exception would have been the full force of the Royal Navy.
Like the Polaris submarine, these vessels constructed for the US Navy have received little note and little remains of their passing.
This web site has been set up for the study of new material on the line of battleship in the United States Navy from its earliest studies to the eventual demise of the type---roughly 1798 to 1900. Models of these ships will be a major focus.
The painting at right is by the late Louis Dodd (1943-2006) showing Commodore John Rodgers Mediterranean Squadron Passing the Golden Horn, Constantinople, 1825
(USS BRANDYWINE, USS CONSTITUTION, USS NORTH CAROLINA, USS ERIE, USS ONTARIO.