The Flying Squadron (Mariner's Library Fiction Classics)

In this tense atmosphere of international acrimony, Capt. Nathaniel Drinkwater is ordered to the Chesapeake Bay in a last-ditch effort to heal the rift between London and Washington. Quite by chance, on the banks of the Potomac, he discovers the first clue to a bold plan by which the United States could defeat the Royal Navy, collapse the British government and utterly destroy the British cause.

When Drinkwater, amid personal crises, takes command of a squadron sent against the Americans, he risks his reputation and commission with the audacity of his actions. Finally, during a climactic confrontation in the South Atlantic, he comes face to face with the unmitigated horror of an interminable war.