Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair - wikipedia Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hantsheroes ( talk contribs ) at 10 : 21, 28 July 2017. The present address ( URL ) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision. Revision as of 10 : 21, 28 July 2017 by Hantsheroes ( talk contribs ) ( diff ) ← Previous revision Latest revision ( diff ) Newer revision → ( diff ) This article is about an incident during the War of 1812. For a later incident in the American Civil War, see Chesapeake Affair. Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Part of the events leading to the War of 1812 HMS Leopard ( right ) fires upon the USS Chesapeake Date 22 June 1807 Location off Norfolk, Virginia Result British victory Belligerents United Kingdom United States Commanders and leaders Salusbury Humphreys James Barron Strength 1 4th rate 1 frigate Casualties and losses None 1 frigate damaged 4 killed 17 wounded 4 captured Events leading to the War of 1812 Chesapeake Affair Little Belt Affair The Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair was a naval engagement that occurred off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 June 1807, between the British warship HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake. The crew of Leopard pursued, attacked, and boarded the American frigate, looking for deserters from the Royal Navy. Chesapeake was caught unprepared and after a short battle involving broadsides received from Leopard, the commander of Chesapeake, James Barron, surrendered his vessel to the British. The Chesapeake had fired only one shot. Four crew members were removed from the American vessel and were tried for desertion, one of whom was subsequently hanged. Chesapeake was allowed to return home, where James Barron was court martialed and suspended from command. The Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair created an uproar among Americans. There were strident calls for war with Great Britain, but these quickly subsided. President Thomas Jefferson initially attempted to use this widespread bellicosity to diplomatically threaten the British government into settling the matter. The United States Congress backed away from armed conflict when British envoys showed no contrition for the Chesapeake affair, delivering proclamations reaffirming impressment. Jefferson 's political failure to coerce Great Britain led him toward economic warfare : the Embargo of 1807. Contents 1 Background 2 Attack and search 3 Aftermath 4 In fiction 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External links Background USS Chesapeake, depicted in a c. 1900 painting by F. Muller In the spring of 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, several British naval vessels were on duty on the North American Station, blockading two French third - rate warships in Chesapeake Bay. A number of Royal Navy seamen had deserted from their ships and local American authorities gave them sanctuary. One of the deserters, a Londoner named Jenkin Ratford, joined the crew of USS Chesapeake. Ratford had made himself conspicuous to British officers by shouting at them on the streets of Norfolk, Virginia. Other deserters were reported to be at the Gosport Navy Yard, then commanded by Stephen Decatur. Decatur received a letter from the British consul ordering him to turn over three men alleged to have deserted from HMS Melampus. The consul claimed the men had enlisted in the U.S. Navy, which was recruiting a crew for Chesapeake, then at the Washington Navy Yard outfitting for a voyage to the Mediterranean. Vice-Admiral Sir George Berkeley dispatched his flagship, the fourth - rate warship HMS Leopard, with written orders authorizing him to board and search the United States warship to recover any deserters. Berkeley ordered Leopard 's captain to search for deserters from HMS Belleisle, HMS Bellona, HMS Triumph, HMS Chichester, HMS Halifax, and the cutter HMS Zenobia. Attack and search Officers of Chesapeake offering their swords to officers of the Leopard, depicted c. 1900 Chesapeake was off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, commanded by Commodore James Barron, when Leopard, under Captain Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, encountered and hailed her. Barron was not alarmed, and received Lieutenant John Meade on board, who presented Barron with the search warrant. After an inconclusive discussion, Meade returned to Leopard. Captain Humphreys, using a hailing trumpet, ordered the American ship to submit. When Chesapeake did not, Humphreys fired a round across her bow. This was followed immediately by Leopard firing broadsides into the American ship. Her guns unloaded and her decks cluttered with stores in preparation for a long cruise, Chesapeake managed to fire only a single gun in reply. The humiliated Barron struck his colors and surrendered. Three of Chesapeake 's crew had been killed and 18 wounded, including Barron, by the attack. However, Humphreys refused the surrender and sent a boarding party to Chesapeake to search for deserters. Scores of British nationals had signed on as crewmen of Chesapeake, but Humphreys seized only the four Royal Navy deserters : Daniel Martin, John Strachan and William Ware, all from HMS Melampus, and Jenkin Ratford, formerly on HMS Halifax. Only Ratford was British - born. The others were American citizens -- two of them demonstrably non-British because they were African - Americans, but they had been serving on British warships. The brig Columbine brought the first dispatches to Halifax in early July. Leopard followed with her prisoners for trial. Jenkin Ratford, the sole British citizen, was sentenced to death and was hanged from the yardarm of Halifax on 31 August 1807. The three Americans received sentences of 500 lashes each, but the sentences were later commuted. The bloody encounter caused a storm of protest from the United States government, and the British government eventually offered to return the three American citizens and to pay reparations for the damage to Chesapeake. The schooner HMS Bream returned the last two British deserters to Boston, Massachusetts, one month after the outbreak of the War of 1812. Aftermath Origins of the War of 1812 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Orders in Council ( 1807 ) Embargo Act of 1807 Non-Intercourse Act ( 1809 ) Macon 's Bill Number 2 Tecumseh 's War Henry letters War hawks Rule of 1756 Monroe -- Pinkney Treaty Little Belt Affair The incident outraged the American sense of honor. Americans of every political stripe saw the need to uphold national honor, and to reject the treatment of the United States by Britain as a third class nonentity. Americans talked incessantly about the need for force in response. President Thomas Jefferson noted : `` Never since the Battle of Lexington have I seen this country in such a state of exasperation as at present, and even that did not produce such unanimity. '' James Monroe, then a foreign minister acting under instructions from U.S. Secretary of State James Madison, demanded British disavowal of the deed, the restoration of the four seamen, the recall of Admiral Berkeley, the exclusion of British warships from U.S. territorial waters, and the abolition of impressments from vessels under the United States flag. The event raised tensions between the two countries and, while possibly not a direct cause, was one of the events leading up to the War of 1812. In fact, many Americans demanded war because of the attack, but President Jefferson turned to diplomacy and economic pressure in the form of the ill - fated Embargo Act of 1807. The Federal government began to be concerned about the lack of war material. Their concerns led to the establishment of a tariff protecting the manufacturers of gunpowder, which helped ensure the fortunes of the DuPont company. The humiliating incident had significant repercussions for the U.S. Navy. The public was shocked that Chesapeake had not been able to put up any resistance and surrendered so quickly, questioning the ability of the Navy to defend the country from a possible British invasion, despite the expensive and controversial frigate - building program. A court - martial blamed Barron and suspended him from service for five years as punishment. In 1820, Commodore Barron challenged and mortally wounded Commodore Stephen Decatur in a duel over remarks Decatur had made about Barron 's conduct in 1807 ( Barron was also wounded ). Decatur had served on the court - martial that found Barron guilty of being unprepared and barred him from command for five years. Chesapeake herself proved unlucky during the War of 1812, when on 1 June 1813, after a long and surprising series of naval victories over the Royal Navy, the British frigate HMS Shannon captured Chesapeake in a ship - to - ship action near Boston. The Royal Navy commissioned Chesapeake, but put her up for sale at Portsmouth in July 1819. Her timbers are now part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, England. In fiction The fallout from the Chesapeake - Leopard affair features prominently in two novels of the Aubrey - Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. It is first mentioned in the fifth novel, Desolation Island, when the fictional Captain Jack Aubrey is given command of the Leopard ( which he privately refers to as the `` horrible old Leopard '' ) a few years after the incident. Though the United States and Great Britain are at peace at the time and neither he nor any member of his crew had anything to do with the earlier affair, he is met with mistrust and hostility from American naval personnel due to the negative association of the ship. The subsequent Capture of the Chesapeake during the War of 1812 features prominently in the sixth Aubrey - Maturin novel, The Fortune of War, as Aubrey is aboard the HMS Shannon during the famous engagement. The Chesapeake -- Leopard affair is mentioned in the Boston Jacky novel of the Bloody Jack Adventures series by L.A. Meyer. See also Little Belt Affair Impressment of American seamen Bibliography of early American naval history References ^ Jump up to : Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell ( 1846 ). Life of Stephen Decatur : a commodore in the Navy of the United States. C.C. Little and J. Brown. p. 145. Jump up ^ Perkins, Bradford ( 1974 ) ( 1968 ). Livy, Leonard, ed. Embargo : Alternative to War, Chapter 8 : Prologue to War : England and the United States, 1805 -- 1812. first published by University of California Press ( Essays on the Early Republic 1789 -- 1815 ed. ). Dryden Press. pp. 317 -- 318. Jump up ^ Cooper, James Fenimore ( 1826 ). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 226. ^ Jump up to : Perkins, Bradford ( 1974 ) ( 1968 ). Levy, Leonard, ed. Embargo : Alternative to War, Chapter 8 : Prologue to War : England and the United States, 1805 -- 1812. first published by University of California Press ( Essays on the Early Republic 1789 -- 1815 ed. ). Dryden Press. p. 315. Jump up ^ Cooper, James Fenimore ( 1826 ). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 224. OCLC 197401914. Jump up ^ James, William ( 1824 ). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. 4. London : Baldwin, Chadock and Joy. p. 328. ^ Jump up to : Perkins, Bradford ( 1974 ) ( 1968 ). Levy, Leonard, ed. Embargo : Alternative to War, Chapter 8 : Prologue to War : England and the United States, 1805 -- 1812. first published by University of California Press ( Essays on the Early Republic 1789 -- 1815 ed. ). Dryden Press. p. 316. Jump up ^ Guttridge, Leonard F ( 2006 ). Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779 -- 1820. New York, NY : Tom Doherty Associates, LLC,. pp. 96 -- 98. Jump up ^ James, William ( 1824 ). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. 4. London : Baldwin, Chadock and Joy. p. 236. Jump up ^ McMaster, John Bach ( 1914 ). A History of the People of the United States : 1803 -- 1812. D. Appleton and company, New York & London. p. 259. ^ Jump up to : Naval Chronicle, Vol. 28, p. 363 Jump up ^ Dickon, Chris ( 2008 ). The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake :... The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC. p. 54. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59629 - 298 - 7. Jump up ^ Norman K. Risjord, `` 1812 : Conservatives, War Hawks and the Nation 's Honor. '' William and Mary Quarterly : A Magazine of Early American History ( 1961 ) : 196 -- 210. in JSTOR Jump up ^ Robert L. Ivie, `` The metaphor of force in prowar discourse : The case of 1812. '' Quarterly Journal of Speech 68 # 3 ( 1982 ) pp. 240 -- 253. Jump up ^ Foley, John P., ed. ( 1900 ). The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia : A Comprehensive Collection of the Views of Thomas Jefferson Classified and Arranged in Alphabetical Order Under Nine Thousand Titles Relating to Government, Politics, Law, Education, Political Economy, Finance, Science, Art, Literature, Religious Freedom, Morals, Etc. Funk & Wagnalls Company. p. 137. Retrieved June 19, 2012. Jump up ^ Toll, Ian W ( 2006 ). Six Frigates : The Epic of the Founding of the U.S. Navy. New York : W.W. Norton. pp. 303 -- 304. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 05847 - 5. OCLC 70291925. Jump up ^ Fagal, Andrew ( 2012 ). Foreign Capital, American Armament, and the Rise of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. Unpublished paper, SUNY - Binghamton. Jump up ^ Cooper, James Fenimore ( 1826 ). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 231. OCLC 197401914. Jump up ^ `` No. 17494 ''. The London Gazette. 13 July 1819. p. 1228. Bibliography Cooper, James Fenimore ( 1826 ). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 508. OCLC 197401914. Dickon, Chris ( 2008 ). The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake :... The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC. p. 157. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59629 - 298 - 7. Guttridge, Leonard F ( 2005 ). Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779 -- 1820. New York, NY : Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. p. 304. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7653 - 0702 - 6. Ivie, Robert L. `` The metaphor of force in prowar discourse : The case of 1812. '' Quarterly Journal of Speech 68 # 3 ( 1982 ) pp. 240 -- 253. James, William ( 1824 ). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. 4. London : Baldwin, Chadock and Joy. Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell ( 2005 ) ( 1846 ). Life of Stephen Decatur : a commodore in the Navy of the United States. C.C. Little and J. Brown. McMaster, John Bach ( 1914 ). A History of the People of the United States : 1803 -- 1812. New York : D. Appleton and Company. Perkins, Bradford ( 1974 ) ( 1968 ), Levy, Leonard, ed., `` Embargo : Alternative to War ( Chapter 8 from Prologue to War : England and the United States, 1805 -- 1812, University of California Press ) '', Essays on the Early Republic 1789 -- 1815, Dryden Press Risjord, Norman K. `` 1812 : Conservatives, War Hawks and the Nation 's Honor. '' William and Mary Quarterly : A Magazine of Early American History ( 1961 ) : 196 -- 210. in JSTOR < Toll, Ian W ( 2006 ). Six Frigates : The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy. New York : W.W. Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 05847 - 5. OCLC 70291925. Tucker, Spencer ; Reuter, Frank Theodore ( 1996 ). Injured honor : the Chesapeake - Leopard Affair, June 22, 1807. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1 - 55750 - 824 - 0. OCLC 70291925. Further reading Adams, Henry ( 1921 ) ( 1890 ). `` I, The Chesapeake and Leopard ''. History of the United States of America During the Second Administration of Thomas Jefferson. 4. New York : Charles Scribner 's Sons. Byron, Gilbert ( 1964 ). The War of 1812 on the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland Historical Society. Cray, Robert E. ( 2005 ). `` Remembering the USS Chesapeake : The politics of maritime death and impressment ''. Journal of the Early Republic. 23 ( 3 ) : 445 -- 474. doi : 10.1353 / jer. 2005.0050. Emmerson, Jr. ; John Cloyd, eds. ( 1954 ). The Chesapeake Affair of 1807 : An Objective Account of the Attack of HMS Leopard, upon the U.S. Frigate Chesapeake, off Cape Henry, Va., June 22, 1807, and Its Repercussions ; Compiled from Contemporary Newspaper Accounts, Official Documents, and Other Authoritative Sources. Portsmouth ?, Virginia. Gaines, Edwin M. ( 1956 ), The Chesapeake Affair : Virginians Mobilize to Defend National Honor, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, pp. 131 -- 142, JSTOR 4246209 Gilje, Paul A. Free Trade and Sailors ' Rights in the War of 1812 ( Cambridge University Press, 2013 ) Lossing, Benson John ( 1869 ). The Pictorial Field - book of the War of 1812 : Or, Illustrations, by Pen and Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the Last War for American Independence. New York : Harper & Brothers. Roosevelt, Theodore ( 1883 ). The naval war of 1812 :. G.P. Putnam 's sons, New York. Wolf, Joshua ( 2010 ), `` To be Enslaved or Thus Deprived : British Impressment, American Discontent, and the Making of the Chesapeake - Leopard Affair, 1803 -- 1807 '', War & Society, 29 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 19, doi : 10.1179 / 204243410x12674422128795 External links Journal of the Early Republic : Remembering the USS Chesapeake : The Politics of Maritime Death and Impressment by Robert E. Cray, Jr. ( read via library card ) Abstract of Journal of the Early Republic : Remembering the USS Chesapeake : The Politics of Maritime Death and Impressment by Robert E. Cray, Jr. ( full text via subscribing institution ) Norfolk Historical Society Account Attacks on United States Navy ships during peacetime 1807 -- 1811 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Little Belt Affair 1855 USS Water Witch incident 1937 USS Panay incident 1941 USS Greer incident USS Kearny incident USS Reuben James incident 1967 -- 1968 USS Liberty incident USS Pueblo incident 1987 -- 1988 USS Stark incident USS Samuel B. Roberts incident 2000 USS Cole bombing Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. 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Question: when the british fired on chesapeake in june 1807 congress
Answer: backed away from armed conflict