THE AMERICAN WAR OF 1812 AND THE SHIP-ON-SHIP ACTION BETWEEN USS CHESAPEAKE AND HMS SHANNON, 1 JUNE 1813 Ref. 13, 14, 26

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1 THE AMERICAN WAR OF 1812 AND THE SHIP-ON-SHIP ACTION BETWEEN USS CHESAPEAKE AND HMS SHANNON, 1 JUNE 1813 Ref. 13, 14, 26 1 CAUSES OF THE WAR The United States declared war with England on June 18, The causes of the war were trade restrictions, the impressment of about 10,000 American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, the support of Native American tribes fighting American settlers by the British and American interest in annexing Canada. Grist to the mill for the Americans was a sense of outrage over the Chesapeake - Leopard Affair, when HMS Leopard fired on and boarded the neutral USS Chesapeake. The British blockaded the Atlantic coast of the United States, and warships and privateers of both sides attacked each others merchant ships. The struggle at sea was

2 made more even because the great majority of Britain s naval forces were tied up in Europe and elsewhere fighting Napoleon. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the trade, and hence the economy, of both governments was sufficiently damaged that both were anxious to return to normal relations, and peace negotiations began in Ghent in August The outcome of the war was, in effect, a stalemate with both sides returning to the status quo. While the war is scarcely remembered in Britain, being overshadowed by the Napoleonic Wars, in the USA it is more importantly commemorated as The Second War of Independence. States, (Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli), began to pray on American merchant shipping, that had lost protection, previously afforded by the Royal Navy, in the Atlantic and elsewhere. In response, the American Minister to France, Thomas Jefferson, proposed a fleet of new fighting ships. REBUILDING THE AMERICAN NAVY Following the American Revolutionary War, the USA had disposed of the great majority of its warships due to a lack of finance necessary to maintain them as an effective fighting force. However, in the 1790s warships of the Barbary The American Minister to France, Thomas Jefferson 2

3 the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, by the end of 1793, eleven American merchant ships had been captured, causing President Washington to press Congress to authorize the building of a navy. Algerian xebec The debate over the provision of a new fleet rattled on for years with opponents arguing that building a new navy would be unaffordable and that costs would spiral out of control. They felt that payment of tribute to the Barbary States and economic sanctions against Britain would be a better option. Meanwhile, in 1793, Portugal, who had been blockading the Mediterranean against the Barbary pirates, came to a peace agreement with Algeria, allowing Algerian ships back into On January 2, 1794, the House of Representatives, by a narrow margin, voted in the bill and formed a committee, headed by the Secretary of War, Henry Knox, to determine the number, type and cost of ships to be built. To appease the opposition a clause was inserted into the bill that would stop construction if a peace agreement could be reached with Algiers. The bill was passed on March 10 as the Naval Act of 1794, providing for four ships of forty-four guns each and two ships of thirtysix guns each, together with the costs associated with their compliment of officers and seamen, and determined the level of manning for each ship. The Act provided for a sum of $688, to finance the project. 3

4 These ships were to be heavy frigates and commissioned as United States Ships Constitution, President, United States, Constellation, Chesapeake and Congress. A further frigate, USS Essex, would be built. Though she was not commissioned by Congress but privately financed, she was to be of the same innovative design as her sister ships. sag. Hogging occurs when a ship s hull is so long that the bow and the stern flex down and the middle of the ship bows up. The opposite of hog is sag when the middle sinks low in the water. These were common problems found in ships of the time, but hog was unacceptable in warships. To prevent hogging a builder would fill out the hull, but this made the ship slow and unmanageable. THE AMERICAN SUPER FRIGATES The ships built were frigates, as they were much faster to sail and cheaper to build than ships-of-the-line. Designed by Joshua Humphreys, they had a single flush deck consisting of a forecastle, gangway and quarterdeck. They were fast ships carrying as many guns as possible, but the concept of combining speed with durability proved to be a challenge to achieve. Wooden ships were very elastic, and in building a long hull a ship could hog and Interior of Chesapeake Mill, Wickham, largely constructed from a super frigate s timbers, from which the details of the ship s construction can be deduced. 4

5 forecastle and quarterdeck only, allowing them more guns per unit space. In addition to extra thickness of the hull, the selection of timber used allowed the frigates to take enemy fire with less damage. They were constructed of white oak and pine, the former being less susceptible to splintering than English oak. As for sails, they had royal Gun deck of an American super frigate To gain the speed needed the frigates had a sharp bow and stern and were longer than usual to hold all the guns that Congress intended them to carry. To achieve this they were built with a thick hull with reinforced interior bracing. The placement of the guns was innovative, with guns on the forecastle, quarterdeck, and connecting gangway as opposed to the normal American practice of placing guns on the Sail plan of an American super frigate 5

6 and gaff topsails above the spanker aft, and ringtail fore and aft sails beyond the spanker which gave them extra speed which meant that they could outrun a ship-of-the-line twice their size. The frigates carried 24-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cast iron guns on the gun-deck, with the ability to fire solid ball, grapeshot, chain or bar shot with a range of one mile. On the quarterdeck and forecastle, 42-pound carronades were mounted, and on 24-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cast iron gun the forecastle, two long chase-guns. The strength of the hull and the fire power of the guns made the ships very suitable for yardarm to yardarm actions at point-blank range. Super-frigates built: USS United States - built by Joshuah Humphreys in Philadelphia - launched May 10, USS Constitution - built by George Claghorne in Boston - launched October 21, USS Constellation - built by David Studder in Baltimore - launched September 7, USS Chesapeake - built by Josiah Fox in Norfolk Virginia - launched June 20, USS Congress - built by Joshuah Humphreys in Philadelphia - launched August 15, USS Essex - a gift from the citizens of Essex County in Massachusetts - launched September 30, 1799 USS President - built by Foreman Cheeseman in New York - launched April 1,

7 the L Insurgente, France s fastest ship, of 40 guns. Following a broadside from Constellation, L Insugente attempted to board, but the Constellation crossed her bow and raked her at close range. After an hour and a half of battle, L Insurgente struck her colours. EARLY SUCCESSES The first action these ships saw was in 1798 against French privateer raiders. In separate engagements USS Constellation fought two French frigates, inflicting damage on both and capturing one. On February 1, 1800, Constellation fought the 54-gun Vengeance, a French a man-of-war. Although her broadside outweighed that of the Constellation, she did not want to engage and a chase ensued that lasted all day, followed by a four hour fight. The damaged Vengeance manage to escape in the dark of the night. On February 9, 1799 off the Caribbean island of Nevis, USS Constellation came upon On 22 June 1812, USS President engaged HMS Belvidera, a frigate of 42 guns. The ship to ship battle raged until darkness halted the action and HMS Belvidera escaped. USS President was damaged, but not enough so that she needed to run to port for repairs. USS Constellation battles with L Insurgente 7

8 On 19 August 1812, USS Constitution engaged the British frigate HMS Guerrière, 44- guns. Her broadside knocked down Guerrière s mizzenmast and, having suffered heavy casualties, she was forced to surrender. HMS Macedonian, whose masts and rigging she so damaged that the United States was able to lie off the quarter of her enemy and rake her. By noon, HMS Macedonian had been reduced to a dismasted hulk and was forced to strike her colours and surrender. USS United States emerged from the battle relatively unscathed. On 29 December 1812, USS Constitution engaged the smaller HMS Java, a ship captured by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar. In a three-hour ship to ship action, Constitution battered Java severely and took her. So badly damaged was Java that she could not be taken as prize and was burned at sea. USS Constitution engages the British frigate HMS Guerrière On 25 October 1812, USS United States engaged the British frigate, These early successes had a demoralising effect on the Royal Navy and Britain as a whole, and the Royal Navy became desperate for a successful encounter with their American enemy. That encounter was not long in coming. 8

9 USS CHESAPEAKE AND HMS SHANNON PRELUDE TO BATTLE By late May 1813, four American super frigates lay in Boston Harbour. US Ships Chesapeake, President and Congress lay at anchor while the USS Constitution was undergoing battle damage repairs in dock. Outside the harbour, the British frigates, HMS Shannon and HMS Tenedos, were maintaining a blockade in an attempt to prevent the super frigates from sailing or to bring them to battle. However, under the cover of a thick fog, common in those parts and at that time of year, US Ships President and Congress slipped their moorings and managed to creep away into deep water. On discovering that there remained only one super frigate in Boston that was capable of putting to sea, on 25 May the captain of HMS Shannon detached HMS Tenedos, after taking on water and stores from her, with orders not to re-join him before the 14th of June. By doing this, he hoped to lure USS Chesapeake out of harbour and to engage her in a ship to ship fight with the sole remaining British frigate on blockade duty. CAPTAIN PHILIP BOWES VERE BROKE, HMS SHANNON AND HER GUNNERY Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke 9

10 Captain Broke was a relatively wealthy man and was therefore in a position to augment the standard Admiralty issue of powder and shot with additional stock paid for out of his own pocket. This profusion of ammunition allowed him to exercise his gunners to an extremely high degree of proficiency. Gunnery was the captain s great passion and, being something of a scientific bent, Broke devised a new and efficient gun sight for his weapons. The laying of a ship's ordnance in such a manner that it is correctly fired horizontally was of critical importance for true aim and maximum destructive power. His new gun sight, coupled with the use of plumb lines and bearing arcs marked upon the deck adjacent to each gun, achieved an accurate, horizontal discharge that was effective even when the gunners could not see their target due to the density of gun smoke - a common problem in the black powder age. Serving the gun These technical innovations Captain Broke coupled with a rigorous training regime for his gun crews, and Shannon could fire their guns with accuracy at a sustained rate of once in little more than one minute, a feat that rendered her one of the most efficient ships in gunnery in the Royal Navy of the day, if not the whole world. 10

11 carronades on the quarterdeck, and 2 9pdr long guns and 2 32pdr carronades on the forecastle. This meant that although the ship was officially rated as a 38 gun 5th rate frigate, she actually carried 54 guns and when handled properly, could probably take on a ship of the line. She was therefore at least a match in gunnery for USS Chesapeake. HMS SHANNON (LEDA CLASS FRIGATE) The Leda Class were highly successful fast and powerful frigates and 47 of them were built between 1800 and Launched 5 May 1896, HMS Shannon was 1,065 tons, 150' 2" long at the gun deck and 39' 11" across the beam. She was manned by a crew of 330 men and armed with 28 18pdr long guns on the gun deck, with 8 9pdr long guns, and 14 32pdr Additional to her formidable armament must be added Captain Broke s innovation in gunnery equipment and practice, plus the high degree of efficiency of her gunners. Leda class vessels were fast, recording 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) large and 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) close-hauled, but could be somewhat un-weatherly and many had false keels added to remedy this. The ships liked a stiff gale, but were prone to excessive pitching in very heavy seas. 11

12 CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE, USS CHESAPEAKE to care for the infant. In 1798 he joined the United States Navy as a Midshipman and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1802, seeing action in 1804 in USS Philadelphia and USS Enterprise against the Barbary Pirates of Tripoli. In 1810 he took part in trials of the spar torpedo, a new and experimental weapon. At the start of the War of 1812, Lawrence was given command of the sloop, USS Hornet, which ship captured the privateer Dolphin on 9 July the first prize of the war to be taken by a naval vessel. On 24 February 1813, USS Hornet captured HMS Peacock, a Cruizerclass brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, which was so badly damaged in the action that she subsequently sank. Captain James Lawrence James Lawrence was born 1 October His mother died when he was an infant and his Loyalist father fled to Canada during the American Revolution, leaving his half-sister In March 1813, Lawrence was promoted to Captain and was given command of USS Chesapeake, having proved himself to be a courageous and able fighting sailor. 12

13 USS CHESAPEAKE (SUPER FRIGATE) Launched 2 December 1799, Joshua Humphreys' design was long on keel and narrow of beam to allow for the mounting of heavy guns. The design incorporated a diagonal scantling scheme to limit hogging. She had unusually heavy planking of white oak which was a stronger material in tension than English oak and was therefore less prone to penetration and splintering when impacted by 13 cannon balls. The construction gave the hull greater strength than most frigates. She was specifically designed to be able to overpower other frigates of the day, but had the speed and manoeuvrability to escape from a ship of the line. Originally designated as a 44-gun ship, Chesapeake was re-rated as 38 guns, but the gun ratings did not correspond to the actual number of guns a ship would carry. Chesapeake in fact carried 40 guns during her encounter with HMS Leopard in 1807 and 50 guns during her engagement with HMS Shannon in The 50 guns consisted of twenty-eight 18- pounder long guns on the gun deck, two long 12-pounders, one long 18-pounder, eighteen 32-pounder carronades, and one 12-pound c a r r o n a d e o n t h e s p a r d e c k. Her broadside weight was 542 pounds, marginally greater than that of HMS Shannon.

14 THE ACTION BETWEEN USS CHESAPEAKE AND HMS SHANNON, 1 JUNE 1813 economic pressure. Warren had ten 74 gun ships of the line and 30 frigates, allowing for a third of his ships being under repair and refit at any one time. The US 38 gun rated super frigates were generally more powerful than any of Warren s frigates but would have stood no chance against a British 74 ship of the line. This meant that most of the time United States Navy ships could be confined to harbour by British blockade. However, in April 1813 USS President and USS Congress managed to exit Boston in fog, common at sea off Boston at that time of year. Admiral Sir John Warren took command of Royal Navy forces in North America in September By the end of March 1813 he had blockaded the Chesapeake and the Delaware rivers. The British objectives were to defend their trade and to end the war using Captain James Lawrence was initially promised command of the USS Constitution, then under refit, but was changed to the 38 gun frigate USS Chesapeake, both ships being at Boston at the time. 14

15 Lawrence was somewhat annoyed at being switched to a slightly smaller ship, but the Chesapeake was ready for sea and Constitution was not. Nor was Lawrence blessed with an experienced crew. Boston harbour c1813 Lawrence took command on 20 May and spent the next 11 days exercising his gun crews. He also replaced some of the weaker officers. He was aware that, with the departure of USS President and USS Congress from Boston harbour, the British frigate blockade off Boston had been reduced to a single frigate. HMS Shannon was earlier in the company of HMS Tenedos engaged in the blockade of Boston. Captain Broke of HMS Shannon, realising that USS Chesapeake would not engage two frigates at the same time, detached HMS Tenedos to Cape Sable in case Chesapeake tried to slip out under cover of fog and instructed her captain not to return until 14 June, by which time Broke hoped to have settled matters with USS Chesapeake. Meanwhile, HMS Shannon continued to catch and burn American merchant ships, and to drill his great guns and practice his crew in the use of the musket, grenade and swivel gun. By his observation, Captain Lawrence perceived HMS Shannon to be a weaker ship than his own, appearing to be a standard 15

16 British frigate of the time. He therefore resolved to sail and do battle in a ship to ship action, even though it was entirely possible for him to slip past HMS Shannon and away into deep water, given the prevailing wind direction. Broke, a master of both naval tactics and naval gunnery. In fact, Broke sent a gentlemanly challenge to Lawrence, inviting him to engage in a single ship to ship contest out at sea, but Lawrence did not receive Broke s letter because he had already sailed before it arrived. In the forthcoming battle the two ships would be fairly evenly matched, with the USS Chesapeake perhaps having a small advantage in fire power, a more robust structure and a slightly greater compliment of seamen. The battle would therefore depend largely on the skill of the respective commanders and a degree of old fashioned luck. USS Chesapeake That single blockading British ship, however, was the 38 gun frigate HMS Shannon, commanded by Captain Philip USS Chesapeake sailed from Boston at 1 pm on 1 June, in excellent visibility and with a good breeze, so both ships could see the other quite clearly. Captain Lawrence planned a 16

17 close action, a strategy that had worked well for him when he previously defeated HMS Peacock while serving in USS Hornet. While Captain Broke of HMS Shannon was not adverse to a close action, he did not want to fight it near Boston for fear of American gun boats coming out of harbour and joining the fray, so he move seaward, stopping his ship some 15 miles from the coast, 12 miles southwest of Cape Ann. At this point, USS Chesapeake was 4 miles distant and closing, well adorned with flags and bunting. When asked if Shannon should hoist additional flags, Captain Broke said that he would not, but that his ensign should be secured to the mizzen mast lest if fall inadvertently and the enemy assumed that they had surrendered when they had not. Clearly, Broke was intending to fight to the death. Meanwhile, back in Boston, preparations were being made for a gala to celebrate the expected victory of USS Chesapeake, and a wharf was being kept clear for her return, together with her expected prize. At 5:10 pm, Broke addressed his crew, encouraging them and ordering his gunners to fire into the enemy hull to kill the American gunners and destroy the guns, rather than trying to dismast her. Broadside to broadside At 5:30 USS Chesapeake attempted to cross HMS Shannon s stern in order to rake 17

18 her with gunfire, an act most feared by fighting ships in the days of sail. Captain Broke preempted the manoeuvre to prevent this happening, so Captain Lawrence opted to fight broadside to broadside (1), loading his guns with ammunition suitable for the destruction of Shannon s rigging rather than her hull. At 5:40 the less disciplined American crew gave three cheers, but the British remained silent, Captain Broke believing in approaching a fight in silence so that orders could be heard clearly. In order to protect his rigging from damage, Captain Broke brought HMS Shannon broadside to broadside with the American as quickly as he could, finally bringing the two ships to a position some yards apart (2). At 5:50 the British opened fire with devastating effect. Though the Americans quickly replied, many of their gunners had been killed or injured with the first broadsides from HMS Shannon. The Americans scored hits on Shannon s lower rigging which had the effect of fortuitously slowing the ship s progress. Now Chesapeake was sailing faster, (3) with the result that she exposed her stern (4) to the British guns and received a vicious raking across her quarters. Chesapeake s wheel was shot away, and she suffered heavy casualties amongst her officers, causing a weakening in her command structure. At this point both ships lost way (5). 18

19 At 5:58 a cartridge box exploded on the deck of USS Chesapeake, adding to the confusion. Captain Lawrence realised that a boarding action was probably his last option, but heavy casualties meant that few men answered the call. At this point he was mortally wounded, his famous words as he fell being Don t give up the ship. Stevens, Shannon s boatswain, lashed the ships together, losing an arm in the process. Don t give up the ship! At 6:00 the two ships collided (6) and one of the British anchors attached itself to the American ship s shattered port quarter. William 19 Captain Broke led a boarding party onto the USS Chesapeake At 6:02 pm Captain Broke led a boarding party onto the USS Chesapeake. They were initially met by US Marines but 14 out of the 44 embarked had been killed and 20 wounded. Meanwhile, Lieutenant George Budd tried to rally the American crew, but received a wound in the process. Captain Broke later reported that the Americans fought desperately, but in disorder.

20 As the fighting diminished, a group of three American sailors, (possibly British deserters), set upon Captain Broke, inflicting a severe head wound that laid bare a portion of his skull, a wound from which he was fortunate to recover, though the recovery took many days. That he recovered at all was probably due to the fact that he fell into a puddle of quicklime from a broken barrel, used by the Americans as a disinfectant. His assailants were swiftly killed. From the first gun to this final act, the whole battle had taken less than 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the mortally wounded Captain Lawrence, realising that his ship had been taken, exclaimed Then blow her up! Blow the ship up! As the two ships drifted apart there was some confusion with the raising of the British ensign, a small ensign being raised and immediately replaced by a larger one. Charged with adrenaline, one of the gun crews in HMS Shannon believed that this signified that battle had reopened and, in their state of battle fever, opened fire, killing George Watt, Shannon s first lieutenant, and five other British sailors. Shannon s fourth lieutenant, Charles Falkiner, took charge of the prize. Only 70 British now held the Chesapeake, far fewer than the number of the American prisoners sent below decks, and the ships were less than 20 miles off the coast of America, so a boatload of marines was transferred from Shannon. American sailors set upon Captain Broke 20

21 With great urgency, emergency repairs were carried out on both ships and, under the overall command of HMS Shannon s third lieutenant, Provo Wallis, headed for Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 4 June, Sadly, Captain Lawrence of USS Chesapeake died just before the ships came into harbour. The 320 American survivors of the battle were interned on Melville Island (Nova Scotia) in 1813, and many were later buried on the nearby Deadman's Island. HMS Shannon leads USS Chesapeake into Halifax The gallant Captain Lawrence and one of his lieutenants, Augustus Ludlow, were buried in Halifax with full military honours. Shortly afterwards, their remains were transferred, first to Salem and then to Trinity Church Cemetery, New York. 21

22 After being sailed to Portsmouth, England, by a prize crew, USS Chesapeake was taken into Royal Navy service as HMS Chesapeake, where her sailing characteristics and construction details were analysed. She did a little convoy work and acted as a stores ship before her decommissioning in In 1820 she was broken up and her timbers sold, many of them subsequently being used in the construction of a new mill in Wickham, Hampshire. Captain Broke of HMS Shannon was created a Baronet on his eventual recovery from the injuries which caused him pain for the rest of his life. Consequently, he never served at sea again. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1830, and died in CAPTAIN Philip Bowes Vere Broke 22