Naval War of 1812, or the History of the United States Navy During the Last War With Great Britain to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of N

David McCollough mentioned this book during an interview at the 2017 National Book Festival.
I don't recommend it as a light read as it goes into incredible detail of each ship on the various sizes and explains why one ship type, combination of fire power, or crew did better than the others.