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The Little Belt Affair: War of 1812 is about to begin...
The Little Belt Affair: War of 1812 is about to begin...
Item # 705238
September 21, 1811
THE WEEKLY REGISTER, Baltimore, Sept. 21, 1811
* The Little Belt Affair
* Captain Arthur Bingham
The first 6 pages are taken up with a great & very detailed account of the Little Belt Affair, a naval battle between the U.S. ship President & the British ship Little Belt, an event which was a catalyst for the War of 1812.
Headed: "President and Little Belt" it includes a letter from Commodore Rodgers to the Secretary of the Navy.
Sixteen pages, 6 by 9 3/4 inches, very nice condition.
background: The Little Belt Affair, which occurred in 1811, was a tense naval confrontation between the American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore John Rodgers, and the smaller British sloop-of-war HMS Little Belt, under Captain Arthur Bingham, off the coast of North Carolina. Mistaking the Little Belt for a larger British ship involved in impressment, Rodgers attempted to intercept and identify the vessel. Amid poor visibility and mutual suspicion, both ships demanded identification, and in the confusion, a brief but intense exchange of cannon fire ensued. The skirmish left the Little Belt heavily damaged, with 9 British sailors killed and 23 wounded, while the President sustained minimal damage and no casualties. Both commanders accused the other of firing first, and the truth remains disputed. The incident sharply escalated tensions between the United States and Great Britain, feeding into growing American outrage over British maritime policies, particularly the impressment of American sailors, and serving as a key precursor to the outbreak of the War of 1812.
As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."
Category: War of 1812
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