Road to war --

Free trade and sailors' rights --

Jefferson's embargo and the slide toward war --

Madison's strategy --

The United States declares war --

Blue-water victories --

The Constitution and the Guerriere --

Ripe apples and bitter fruit: the Canadian invasion --

Canadian disasters accumulate --

More blue-water victories --

The Constitution and the Java --

A sea change --

Napoleon and Alexander --

The Canadian invasion resumes --

The Chesapeake and the Shannon --

Raids in Chesapeake Bay --

Oliver Hazard Perry --

Attack on Montreal --

The war at sea in 1813 --

The allies and Napoleon --

British and American war plans --

The British blockade --

The Essex --

Burning Washington --

The war at sea continues in 1814 --

Negotiations begin at Ghent --

Baltimore --

Plattsburgh --

A peace treaty --

The Hartford Convention --

New Orleans --

An amazing change --

A new era --

From temporary armistice to lasting peace: the importance of the war.