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

by Estate Of Allen Gardiner (Author), John S. Reiske (Author)

This previously unpublished journal provides an eyewitness account of the epic chase of the USS Essex that was the inspiration for the film Master & Commander.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.

Author Biography

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.