War Of 1812 - Lake Erie Battle

            The War of 1812 was a cause from the Naval blockades from Great Britain, and American expansionism into Canada. This war was decided on the battlefield, as well as the oceans and the Great Lakes. The Royal Navy had blockaded many of the harbors of the United States, and thus the United States declared war on Great Britain. Even though the United States was outnumbered in ships in their navy, they still outfought the Royal Navy of Great Britain. The United States Navy outfought, and outsmarted the Royal Navy, which led to a victory in the War of 1812. The United States Navy thus won the decisive battles on the Great Lakes, as well as the high seas.
             The war between the United States Navy and the Royal Navy of Great Britain began shortly after the declaration of war. The Royal Navy was considerably larger than the United States Navy, but the number of ships they had on the western coast was limited. To their arsenal, the United States Navy consisted of three large frigates which each boasted 66 guns. Of these guns were 30, 24-pounders below deck, 20 carronades on deck, and smaller guns scattered throughout (Casebook). There were also four normal frigates of 48 guns, nine corvettes and brigs each consisting of twelve to 28 guns, and somewhere around 100 smaller gunboats (Pivka 132). The United States Navy also enjoyed better gunnery than that of the Royal Navy due to heavier, faster, and stronger built ships. Scattered along the eastern seaboard of the American coast were seven ships for the Royal Navy. At their disposal they had one ship of the line and six frigates (Pivka 133). However, the American Navy was outnumbered in the total number of cannons, 27, 800 to 442, and in the number of men available from 151, 572 Britain's to 5, 025 Americans (Gruppe 77). .
             The first clash between the two navies came off the Chesapeake Bay on June 23, 1812 when the British frigate Belvidera came across an American squadron of two frigates and two gunboats.