Battle of Rappahannock River The Battle of Rappahannock River was fought in 1813 during the War of 1812 . A British force blockading the Rappahannock River of Virginia sent several hundred men in boats to attack four American privateer s . Ultimately the British were victorious and the American ships were captured . Background . On April 1 , 1813 , a British squadron consisting of the ships - of - the - line and , four frigate s , , and , two brig s , " Mohawk " and and one schooner , the blockaded the Rappahannock from Lynhaven Bay . They held several American prizes and were out to capture more so the British commanders prepared a cutting out expedition , where small boats attempt to capture larger vessels at anchor . On the following day , the British dispatched seventeen , pinnace s , barges , launches , and other boats with a few carronades to sail around the bay . Each boat carried up to fifty marines or sailors mainly armed with steel , Lieutenant James Polkinghorne was in command . While abreast of Windmill Point at about 4 : 00 pm , the expedition sighted five American vessels and chased them all through the night until losing sight as they passed a turn in the river . The British had difficulty in rowing up the Rappahannock so during the descent twelve of the boats fell far behind leaving only five British craft , one 12 - pounder and 105 officers and men to make the attack . Four of the pursued ships were armed schooners under Captain William S . Stafford in the twelve gun . The others were the " Lynx " of six guns , the " Racer " of six guns and the " Arab " of seven guns . In all , the American schooners mounted 30 guns with 160 men . Most or all of these vessels were built in Baltimore . Captain Stafford had little alternative but to scuttle the schooners or fight . He decided to offer resistance and anchored his ships in line of battle with portside guns facing the mouth of the Rappahannock where the British would originate . Battle . The largest of the American ships was the " Arab " of over 380 tons but with a crew of only forty - five men , she was sternmost in line and was considered to be the most " war like " of the four . " Dolphin " of 300 tons was headmost and she was Captain Stafford ' s flagship , carrying ninety - eight men into battle . When the British came within sight of the American line , they first stopped to wait for the wind and the remaining twelve boats to come up so Polkinghorne took the time to rally his men . After a few more minutes the wind was still calm so the lieutenant ordered an attack in order to deny the Americans time to prepare defenses or escape . Polkinghorne sent a boat with the 12 - pounder forward to commence an artillery duel with the intention of delaying the Americans but this failed when Stafford ' s ships all opened fire with a combined broadside . Lieutenant Polkinghorne decided to stop waiting at this point and he led his boats directly for the center two American ships , the " Racer " and the " Lynx " , each of 280 tons and with crews totaling seventy - six men . As the British closed range the Americans fired another broadside so Polkinghorne had his men alter course and head for the " Arab " . When the British boats drew near there were three left , two having been hit and sunk by American fire . The remaining Britons boarded while shouting various phrases , " Arab " tacked to try to bring her starboard guns into battle but she was boarded before achieving this and so her commander ran her aground on the riverbank . " Racer " and " Lynx " were quickly taken , their crews surrendered as the British climbed on deck , others jumped over the side and escaped capture . When Polkinghorne went for the " Dolphin " , Captain Stafford put up a stubborn fight and it reportedly took fifteen minutes to secure the vessel . Five Americans were wounded before " Dolphin " struck her colors and ended the battle , though casualties from the other privateers amounted to six killed and five more wounded . By the time the fighting was over the remaining British boats arrived and assisted in taking over 100 prisoners . Aftermath . Polkinghorne reported that only two of his men were killed and eleven wounded , including himself . American newspaper reports in " Niles Register " at first claimed that fifty Britons had been killed , later reducing the claim of British losses to 19 dead . A review by British and American historians later put the British losses at two dead and eleven wounded with American losses as sixteen killed and wounded . The battle lasted in between fifteen minutes and two hours according to various accounts . Captain Stafford later returned to Baltimore . He was treated well in captivity partly due to his good treatment towards British prisoners from his captured prizes . The " Lynx " was taken into British service as and was sold out of the Royal Navy in 1820 . A replica of " Lynx " now resides in California . " Racer " became and the " Dolphin " retained her name as . It was difficult for the British to free the " Arab " and though they eventually succeeded , the vessel was apparently badly damaged and was not commissioned for British service .