TELEVISION
About
The United States Navy has played a vital role both in resolving conflicts and in peacekeeping for 250 years. In this course, you'll learn its history and its rise as a global naval power.
Related Subjects
Episodes
1. The British Origins of the US Navy
30m
Begin with an overview of the British Royal Navy at the time of US independence. Learn about the British ships-of-the-line, including their military technology and procedures during engagements. Visualize the lives of naval personnel, both officers and sailors, and the severe hardships of life at sea. Note how the early American naval system was modeled on the British system.
2. American Revolution on River, Lake, and Sea
31m
Take account of the three arms of sea power on the American side during the American Revolution. Follow the first American naval shipbuilding at Lake Champlain, the birth of the Continental Navy, and the exploits of John Paul Jones. Then, observe the role in the conflict of privateering against British merchant ships, and the French Navy's assistance in undermining the British war effort.
3. Alexander Hamilton and the Early Navalists
32m
Trace the disputes for and against establishing a standing US naval force. Then, learn about the threats against American merchant ships by both Barbary Coast corsairs and the French, leading to the "Quasi War" with France in the Caribbean and the creation of the Department of the Navy. Witness the ensuing American naval action in Tripoli, and the events of the first Barbary War.
4. British Blockade and the War of 1812
32m
Investigate the economic and political conflicts that led the United States to declare war on Britain in 1812. In the wake of the British blockade of the US coast, track the frigate duels that gave the United States its victories over the British. Then, study the most strategically significant naval battles of the war, on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, and their impact on the war's outcome.
5. Pirates of the Barbary Coast and Caribbean
31m
One of the US Navy's first tasks was combatting piracy on the high seas. Following the War of 1812, witness the Navy's actions in North Africa to subdue pirate attacks on US merchant ships. Then, follow US naval campaigns against privateering and piracy in the Caribbean and South Asia. Finally, learn about the Navy's involvement in ending the African slave trade.
6. Navy Expeditions from Antarctica to Japan
32m
The US Navy became a global force through its actions in the first half of the 19th century. Track the Navy's four-year scientific expedition to find and chart new islands, circumnavigating the Earth. Take account of significant naval episodes in the Mexican-American War. In the new era of steam warships, trace the US mission to open trade with Japan, and the founding of the US Naval Academy.
7. Civil War Ironclads, Torpedoes, and Submarines
33m
The Civil War brought new technology to naval warfare. Picture the battle of the USS Merrimack and the USS Monitor, the conflict's first ironclad warships. Investigate propeller-driven steam warships, and new naval firepower, larger guns with far greater range and accuracy. Witness the Union's naval blockade of the South, and Confederate innovations of underwater mines and the submarine.
8. Union Gunboats on Confederate Rivers
32m
Learn how control of the western rivers played a critical role in the Civil War. Begin with the Union's building of ironclad gunboats, and their assaults on Confederate river forts and role in the battle at Shiloh. Note how the Navy and Army worked together. Then, follow the Union naval conquest of Confederate defenses below New Orleans, and the capture of Vicksburg.
9. Union Victories from Charleston to Cape Fear
31m
As the Civil War drew on, Confederate vessels slipping through the North's naval blockade were a sore point for the Union war effort. Trace the Navy's dramatic campaign to capture the forts used by blockade-runners. Study the lengthy effort to take Charleston, South Carolina, the longest military siege in American history, followed by intense engagements at forts in Mobile and Wilmington.
10. Mahan's Navy and the Spanish-American War
34m
Witness the renaissance of the US Navy in the 1890s, as a substantial, modernized fleet and a standing force capable of responding to crises. See how the Cuban rebellion against Spain in 1895 triggered events leading to the Spanish declaration of war on the United States. Relive two major US naval victories in the war, at Manila and Santiago, Cuba, leaving the US Navy a global naval power.
Extended Details
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