U.S. Naval Power Grew to Match Mercantile Ambition-- Part 1: The Story of the U.S. Ships-of-the-Line

From the August 31, 2012, Bloomberg View by Alasdair Roberts.

Sackets Harbor in upstate New York was one of the U.S. Navy's most important ports and it guarded access to the St. Lawrence River. During the War of 1812, two major British attacks on it were repulsed .

As the war ended, there became an odd memorial in the form of the USS New Orleans which remained incomplete on the stocks for seventy years. Had it been launched, it would have been one of the most powerful ships ever built in the American Navy, larger even that the famed British HMS Victory which fought the French at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Its construction was stopped with the coming of peace.

From 1813-1816, Congress authorized the construction of 16 large warships. By 1830, only one remained in service after six of them had been launched, all of which were quickly removed from service.

More to Come. --Brock-Perry