Mad for glory : a heart of darkness in the War of 1812

Author / Creator

Booth, Robert

Available as

Physical

Summary

In October, 1812, as the U.S. frigate Essex ventured out against the British army, only one man had any idea that this cruise would turn into the strangest naval adventure in American history. That...

In October, 1812, as the U.S. frigate Essex ventured out against the British army, only one man had any idea that this cruise would turn into the strangest naval adventure in American history. That man was Captain David Porter, who had decided to run off with the navy's ship and its three hundred men to fight a separate Pacific war, one of privateering, pillaging, and orgies. Drawing on Porter's own writings and the accounts of eyewitnesses, the author recounts the events of a dark and fatal voyage in which David Porter crosses the line from commander to cult leader, from improbable fantasy to disastrous reality. --Publisher.

Show More