Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 31:30-32:03

The St Lawrence as a War of 1812 naval corridor

HMS St Lawrence was a formidable locally built warship, but the absence of a ship-scale St Lawrence route kept ocean-going ships of the line out of the Great Lakes.

Amphibious WarfareGreat LakesNaval LogisticsSt. Lawrence SeawayWar of 1812
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Question

What does HMS St Lawrence reveal about Great Lakes naval power in the War of 1812?

Short answer

She was a formidable locally built ship, but without a large St Lawrence seaway the Royal Navy could not simply send ocean-going ships of the line into the lakes.

Notes

HMS St Lawrence was an impressive warship built rapidly for Great Lakes service. Her existence also exposes the theatre's infrastructure constraint: no sufficiently large seaway linked the lakes to the ocean. Had such a route existed, regular Royal Navy ships of the line could have entered the theatre and altered the War of 1812. Transport geography, rather than ship design alone, limited reinforcement.