Ships of Oak, Guns of Iron: The War of 1812 and the Forging of the American Navy

PRAISE FOR Ships of Oak, Guns of Iron

“At a time when America seems to flinch at threats from the world’s petty tyrants, our forefathers’ defiance two centuries ago of the mightiest empire on earth should stiffen our spines. Ron Utt’s inspiring narrative reminds us that this nation has never failed to produce heroes when they’re needed most.”
— Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation

“Few episodes in American history are as rich in heroism and drama as the War of
1812, yet it has been crowded out of the popular imagination by the Revolution and the Civil War. Ron Utt’s riveting account of the infant republic’s epic struggle on land and sea against the greatest power of the age will make you wonder how this could have become America’s ‘forgotten war.’”
— Stephen Moore, author and economist

“In Ships of Oak, Guns of Iron , Ron Utt draws on previously overlooked material on the War of 1812 to vividly bring America’s ‘second war of Independence’ back to life on this its 200th anniversary. The book is special for its account of the forgotten but heroic free blacks who played a crucial role in defending America from the British invaders.”
— Fred Siegel, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, scholar in residence at St. Francis College