The volumes below are just some on the subject, I’d be glad to hear of other recommendations – particularly on individual vessel histories
Edgar S. Maclay, History of American Privateers (New York: D.Appleton and Company, 1899) covers the American Revolution and war of 1812.
Available on http://www.archive.org
George Coggeshall, History of the American privateers, and letters of marquee, during our war with England in the years 1812, ’13 and ’14. Interspersed with several naval battles between American and British shipsofwar. (New York, 1856)
Available on http://www.archive.org
John P. Cranwell and William B. Crane, Men of Marque: A history of private armed vessels out of Baltimore during the War of 1812 ( New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1940
Jerome R. Garitee, The Republic’s Private Navy: the American privateering business as practiced by Baltimore during the War of 1812 (Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1977)
John A. McManemin, Privateers of the War of 1812 (New Jersey: Ho-Ho-Kus publishing company, 1992)
John A. McManemin, Captains of the Privateers of the War of 1812 (New Jersey: Ho-Ho-Kus publishing company, 1994)
Harold A. Mouzon Privateers of Charleston in the War of 1812 (Charleston: Historical Commission of Charleston, 1954) Avaliable here
Robert E. Peabody, The Log of the Grand Turks (Massachusetts:The Riverside Press, 1926)
On the naval side there is;
Ira Dye, The Fatal Cruise of the Argus: two captains in the War of 1812 (Maryland: Naval Institute Press 1994)
William S. Dudley, ed. The Naval War of 1812: a documentary history, 3 volumes (Washington: Naval Historical Center, 1985)
For accounts of those who participated in the War generally the sources for personal accounts can be found in;
John C. Fredricksen, compiler. War of 1812 Eyewitness Accounts: an annotated bibliography (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997
There is little material on the British side, but for an earlier period there is,
David J. Starkey British Privateering Enterprise in the Eighteenth century (UK: University of Exeter Press, 1990)
Google scholar will give note of the latest academic work.
American POW
There are two historians, sadly recently deceased, who transcribed and compiled the lists of POW.
Ira Dye’s work wasn’t published and remains at http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/ I have tried to contact them but so far received there has been no reply.
Harrison Scott Baker late president, 1996-1999, of the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Ohio compiled the volumes following
American Prisoners of War held at Halifax during the War of 1812 2 volumes ( Willow Bend Books, 2005)
American Prisoners of War held at Barbados, New Providence and Newfoundland during the War of 1812 (Heritage Books 2007)
American Prisoners of War held at Bermuda, Cape of Good Hope and Jamaica during the War of 1812 (Heritage Books 2007
Sample page from Halifax volume – also listed are seamen by vessel.
Lastly….
There are two contemporary sources: Niles Weekly Register for the United States, and in the UK Lloyd’s List.
Niles Weekly Register for the period can be found on the http://www.archive.org as well as much material not easily available elsewhere.
For convenience Niles Weekly Register can be downloaded from the links below:
March – September
1812 size 79mb
September
1812 –March 1813 size 69mb
March – September
1813 size 60mb
September
1813- March 1814 size 86mb
March – September
1814 size 60mb
September
1814 –March 1815 size 78 mb
Lloyd’s List, see sample pages below, is difficult to obtain even in the UK –at present I’m trying to index it for the years 1812-1815 but having Completed 1812, May 2010, I find that with it’s 26,000 entries I’ve developed repetitive strain injury which has currently stopped the project.
The index has been sorted in two parts vessel names A to I and vessels J to Z
This has reduced the file from 20mb to 2.5mb. If any should be interested in an index by master please let me know.
There is a key to abbreviations below.
