USS Chesapeake (1799)
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The USS Chesapeake was a sailing frigate of the United States Navy during the American-French quasi-war , and the British-American war of 1812. It was in 1813 by the Royal Navy applied.
construction
The Chesapeake , designed by Josiah Fox, was one of the "original six", the first six frigates to be approved by the United States Congress under the "Naval Act of 1794" on March 27, 1794. She was launched at Gosport Navy Yard on December 2, 1799 , and entered service early the following year. Its first in command was James Brown.
The Chesapeake sailed from Norfolk, Virginia on June 6, 1800 to join the squadron that patrolled the southeastern coast of the United States and the Caribbean. During the voyage she took the French privateer ship La Jeune Creole on January 1, 1801 as a prize . She was one of the half dozen ships that were left at the end of the war. She spent most of 1801 mothballed in Norfolk. Then she was made ready for her journey from Hampton Roads on April 27, 1802 to the Mediterranean Sea, where she was used as the flagship of Commodore Richard V. Morris to take action against the North African corsair cities. She led the blockade of Tripoli and escorted American merchant ships. This mission lasted until April 6, 1803, when she left Gibraltar for the journey home to America. She reached the Washington Navy Yard on June 1, where she was transferred to the reserve.
Chesapeake Leopard Affair
As to the tension between the United States and Britain to violations of American neutrality and the widespread practice of the English, American sailors into the military press , came to a head, which was Chesapeake made ready to patrol and convoys escort. At the end of June 1807 she passed a British squadron in front of Hampton Roads , which was supposed to intercept French ships in the area which were in Annapolis . One of the squadron's ships, the HMS Leopard (50 cannons), followed the Chesapeake at sea. When the captain of the Chesapeake , Samuel Barron, refused to bow to the request of the British to allow a search of the ship for English deserters , the Leopard opened fire. Three men were killed and 18 men including the captain were wounded. The ship was badly damaged. After the subsequent search, four alleged deserters were abducted. The frigate returned to Norfolk for repairs and then cruised off the New England coast under the command of Captain Stephen Decatur to enforce the embargo .
British-American War
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With the outbreak of the British-American War in 1812, for which the incident with the Leopard prepared the emotional basis, the Chesapeake in Boston was equipped for a longer Atlantic voyage. Between December 13, 1812 and April 9, 1813, she captured five British merchant ships on the voyage between the Caribbean and Africa. By adroit sailing skills, she was able to escape the pursuit of a British ship of the line .
In Boston then on May 20, 1813, Captain James Lawrence took command. He set sail on June 1st and met the waiting HMS Shannon . With his inexperienced crew, Lawrence bravely but rashly attacked the Shannon . The Chesapeake had to take heavy hits early on when exchanging broadsides. Among other things, the steering wheel was hit so that she was rudderless. Lawrence was fatally wounded and taken below deck. The crew tried doggedly to obey the captain's last order, “Don't give up the ship!”, But they were overwhelmed. The Chesapeake was brought to Halifax , Nova Scotia and repaired. It was later accepted into the Royal Navy, launched in Plymouth in September 1815 and sold for demolition in 1819. The Chesapeake Mill is still located in Wickham, Hampshire. It was built in 1820 using parts of the wrecked frigate.
Web links
- USS Chesapeake in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- Pictures of the USS Chesapeake (English)
- Homepage of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, Hampshire, England
Individual evidence
- ^ Naval Act of 1794 , as of April 27, 2008