Hunting the Essex: A Journal of the Voyage of HMS Phoebe, 1813-1814 - Hardcover

Gardiner, Estate Of Allen; Reiske, John S

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1848321740 ISBN 13: 9781848321748

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2013

Synopsis

This previously unpublished journal provides an eyewitness account of the epic chase of the USS Essex that was the inspiration for the film Master & Commander. In 1813 the British frigate Phoebe set out on a secret mission to counter the campaign by the frigate USS Essex, which had almost annihilated the lucrative British whaling trade in the south Pacific. After an epic voyage and a nerve-wracking rounding of Cape Horn, Phoebe tracked her prey to neutral Valparaiso where the American frigate was blockaded. A cat-and-mouse game that lasted months ended with an attempted break-out and a bloody battle in which Essex was captured.

About this title

About the Author:

John S. Reiske is a retired American academic who discovered the manuscript of this journal by a Royal Navy Midshipman who served in the Phoebe.

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1848321740
• ISBN 13: 9781848321748
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128