The War of 1812 revisited

A friend of mine recently pointed out that if Iran were to successfully attack an American warship in any meaningful way, their joy would be short-lived: "I think Iran would regret their victory. The 19th century Royal Navy, for all its immense power had nothing like a B-52 or, heaven forbid, the U.S.S. Tennessee." I think he's correct, and that's part of my point, since England in 1812 felt similarly confident about any naval clash they had with the U.S. So my point is this: England in late 1812 was shocked by the American successes, as shocked as America would now be if its navy repeatedly lost to the Iranians.

(original post: The War of 1812)