Published in 1882, when he was just twenty-four years old, this lively and at times pugnacious history established Roosevelt as somewhat of an iconoclast among historians, as he set out to disprove the prevailing idea that America's naval victories in the War of 1812 were due more to luck than to skill. Volume One begins by discussing the causes of the war and the conflicting views of America and Britain. It describes battles on the ocean and on lakes in the years 1812 and 1813.