Isaac Chauncey

Isaac Chauncey (born February 20, 1772 in Black Rock , Connecticut , USA , † January 27, 1840 in Washington, DC , USA) was an American naval officer.

biography

Commodore Isaac Chauncey USN, painting by Gilbert Stuart, around 1818

Isaac Chauncey was born on February 20, 1772 in Black Rock , Connecticut, United States . He became a seaman at a young age, received his first command at the age of 19 and joined the US Navy as a lieutenant in 1799 . After he had gained his first military experience in the undeclared war with France , he took part in the First Barbarian War against the North African barbarian pirates from 1802 . He distinguished himself in such a way that the congress decided to award him a sword of honor, but it was apparently never given to him. During these operations he temporarily commanded the frigate USS John Adams . After his promotion to captain in 1806, he was given leave to lead the merchant ship Beaver on a voyage to China. In doing so, he earned respect when he resisted an attempt by a British warship to search his ship for alleged deserters and candidates for forced recruitment.

After his return to the United States Chauncey took over in 1807 the command over the Navy Yard ( Naval Shipyard ) in Brooklyn . When the war with Great Britain broke out in 1812, he was given command of the American naval forces on the Great Lakes and around 400 to 500 officers and men in October 1812 . Chauncey's main focus was on building a powerful fleet on Lake Ontario by shipbuilder Henry Eckford , with Sackets Harbor serving as the most important base. At first he only had two larger ships, but was able to increase their number considerably through armaments efforts. The support of Chauncey's ships played an important role in the capture of York (now Toronto ) on April 27 and the capture of Fort George on the Niagara River on May 27, 1813. Chauncey benefited from the simultaneous attack in early May British Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo sent from England to Canada at Sackets Harbor (May 28) failed to capture the place , mainly due to the half-heartedness of the Canadian Governor General Sir George Prevost . The damage caused in spite of this delayed the completion of the USS General Pike , which is under construction there , but did not prevent it. On July 23, Chauncey was able to leave with a fleet of ten ships, which was clearly superior to the six-ship British association in all respects. After two unsuccessful long-range skirmishes, the British withdrew to Kingston, Ontario in September .

With the loss of the two schooners USS Hamilton and USS Scourge, which sank with almost the entire crew, on August 8, 1813, Chauncey's association suffered a significant loss in the course of the year. While the Chauncey subordinated Oliver Hazard Perry in the battle on Lake Erie was able to destroy the local British naval formation, there was no decisive battle on Lake Ontario, as both Chauncey and his British counterpart Yeo lost their fleet and thus a possibly decisive defeat didn't want to risk. The different armament also played an essential role in preventing a decisive battle. While the Americans were mainly equipped with long-barreled guns, with which they were superior at long distances, the British had above all the carronades, which were extremely destructive at short distances . Since each side only wanted to engage in a fight under circumstances that were favorable to them, it did not materialize, since such a clear situation did not exist, at least from the point of view of the two commanders. Some of his officers accused Chauncey of an overly defensive approach, as he did not use periods of clear American superiority to a decisive blow against the British. According to the judgment of a historian, Chauncey suffered from a "disease common to naval officers: he feared defeat more than he hoped for victory".

In the arms race in the winter of 1813/1814, Chauncey initially drew the short straw, as Yeo was the first to set sail with two new frigates in the spring of 1814 and lock the American unit in Sackets Harbor. The British were able to maintain this blockade until June 6th. When Chauncey reinforced the heavy frigates USS Superior (62 cannons) and USS Mohawk (42 cannons) on August 9 and set sail, which was superior to the British, he was able to secure naval supremacy on Lake Ontario for a while and Yeo Block in Kingston, but again not put them in decisive action. Yeo succeeded in October to complete the ship of the line HMS St. Lawrence (112 cannons), whereupon Chauncey in turn withdrew to Sackets Harbor. This enabled Yeo to come to the aid of Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond's British army on the Niagara Peninsula, threatened by superior US troops . The arms race, which was continued on both sides, was broken off at the end of the war in 1815.

Chauncey was now in command of the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine . 1816-1818 he led the Mediterranean squadron of the US Navy and was a member of the Board of Navy Commissioners in Washington from 1821-1824 , an authority subordinate to the US Navy Department that was responsible for the construction and equipment of warships. He then became Commandant of the Navy Yard of New York and returned to Washington in 1833 to the Board of Navy Commissioners , whose direction he received in 1837. Isaac Chauncey died in Washington on January 27, 1840.

The US Navy has honored him by giving his name to three warships ( USS Chauncey (Destroyer # 3) , USS Chauncey (Destroyer # 296 ), and USS Chauncey (DD-667) ).

literature

• Theodore Roosevelt . The Naval War of 1812. Or the History of the United States Navy during the last War with Great Britain to which is appended to an Account of the Battle of New Orleans. Putnam, New York NY 1882 (Also: 1st Da Capo Press edition, new Introduction by HW Brands. Da Capo Press, New York NY 1999, ISBN 0-306-80910-9 ), eText at Project Gutenberg .

Web links

• Isaac Chauncey
• Isaac Chauncey in the nndb (English)