The Great War Syndicate

In the spring of a restless year near the turn of the nineteenth century, American and British relations grow dangerously thin. A modest Maine fishing schooner, the Eliza Drum, sets out for Newfoundland under a new protection scheme that stations U.S. cruisers nearby to guard the fleet and protest any British seizure. While the crew races to make up lost time, the thin line of the three‑mile limit off the Canadian coast becomes the focal point of a looming confrontation.

The British cruiser Dog Star intercepts the schooner, disputes the distance, and boards the vessel, prompting the American patrol ship Lennehaha to intervene. Flags are raised and lowered in a frantic minute before the two warships open fire on each other, a brief but intense clash that ends with the Dog Star steaming away with both the Eliza Drum and the Lennehaha as prizes. News of the skirmish spreads instantly across the United States, igniting a wave of public outrage that unites cities, towns, and frontiers in a single, electric call for justice.