Arthur Bingham Arthur Batt Bingham ( 1784 – 1830 ) was an officer in the Royal Navy , rising to the rank of post captain . He is remembered chiefly for his command of HMS " Little Belt " , when the Little Belt Affair occurred , just prior to the War of 1812 . Family and early life . Bingham was born in 1784 , the second son of the Ven . William Bingham , D . D . ( 1743 – 1819 ) , vicar of Great Gaddesden ( 1777 ) and rector of Hemel Hempstead ( 1778 ) – later archdeacon of London ( 1789 – 1813 ) and chaplain to George III ( 1792 ) ; and his wife Agnata ( aka Agnes ) , daughter of Liebert Dörrien , a merchant of Fenchurch Street , London and of West Ham , Essex . < ref name = " NationalArchives / DocumentsOnline " > National Archives : Will of Libert Dorrien , Merchant of Fenchurch Street , City of London 3 November 1753 PROB 11 / 804 < / ref > Arthur entered the Navy , and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 1 May 1804 . By early 1809 he was first lieutenant aboard HMS " Nereide " , then on the Cape of Good Hope Station under Captain Robert Corbet t . Lieutenant of the " Nereide " . " Nereide " sailed from Simon ' s Bay on 1 May and cruised off the French possessions of Mauritius and Réunion . In August Corbett began an attack on Sainte - Rose on the eastern side of Réunion , using grapeshot to fire on two batteries overlooking the harbour . The sloop HMS " Sapphire " , under the command of Acting - Captain Bertie Cornelius Cator , came alongside and fired a broadside , silencing the enemy guns . Bingham then led a party of men from " Nereide " onto the shore , narrowly avoiding being killed by a piece of shot that killed the marine next to him . He and his men captured the French governor , spiked the six French cannon , burnt their carriages and blew up a store of rockets . He then laid a train of powder to blow up over 100 barrels of gunpowder contained in a bomb - proof magazine , but it exploded sooner than expected . Bingham was blown ' a considerable distance ' , and suffered some wounds and burns . Corbett made a list of demands from the French for re - provisioning , and then took off the enemy ' s guns and sank them in deep water . After the successful conclusion of the operation Corbett wrote reports praising Cator and Bingham . Bingham was again in action off Réunion , when " Nereide " was part of Josias Rowley ' s fleet to retake the French islands . Bingham led the action to capture the French frigate " Caroline " , and later presented her commander ' s sword to Corbett . His talent noticed , Bingham was given command of HMS " Caledon " at the end of 1809 and sailed her to England . Commander of " Little Belt " . By November 1810 Bingham was given the command of the 20 - gun sixth - rate sloop " Little Belt " , and sailed to Halifax , and later to the Caribbean . On 19 April 1811 he was ordered by Rear - Admiral Herbert Sawyer to deliver instructions to Captain Samuel Pechell of HMS " Guerriere " , then somewhere off the North American coast . If unable to locate Pechell , Bingham was ordered to cruise off the coast , protecting British trade until his supplies were exhausted , at which point he was to put into Halifax and await further orders . He was warned You are to be particularly careful , not to give any just cause of offence to the government or the subjects of the United States of America . . . Bingham duly sailed from Bermuda , but being unable to locate the " Guerriere " , commenced cruising off the coast . The Little Belt affair . On the morning of 10 May , as " Little Belt " was some 48 miles east of Cape Charles at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay , a strange sail was sighted in the distance . Bingham made signal 275 ( calling on a strange ship , if a British warship , to show her number ) . The other ship did not reply , and Bingham concluded that the mystery ship was a frigate of the United States Navy . He hoisted his colours and began to round Cape Hatteras . The frigate followed , closing " Little Belt " , and appeared to be trying to manoeuvre into a position to rake the smaller British ship . Bingham wore ship three times to foil the American ' s attempts , while calling for the frigate to identify herself . Each time though the American demanded the same of Bingham . The frigate , actually the 44 - gun USS " President " under Commodore John Rodgers , then , according to Bingham , opened fire on the " Little Belt " . Bingham returned fire and an engagement began , lasting three - quarters of an hour . The " President " was observed to have a fire onboard and drew away . The " President " then returned , and asked if Bingham had struck . Bingham replied that he had not , and the " President " again withdrew . A messenger was sent out to the damaged " Little Belt " by Rodgers the following morning , lamenting the ' unfortunate affair ' , and insisting that he would not have attacked , had " Little Belt " not fired first . Bingham denied this , and turned down Rodgers ' offer of putting into an American port for repairs , instead making for Halifax , hampered by a gale on the second day of the voyage which caused leaks in the already - damaged ship . " Little Belt " had nine killed outright , and had 23 wounded , some mortally . Two died the day after the battle . Rodgers claimed that the British ship had been mistaken for a larger frigate , and continued to claim that Bingham had fired first . Bingham wrote in his report " a boat accordingly came , with an officer , and a message from Commodore Rodgers , of the President , United States frigate , to say , that he lamented much the unfortunate affair ( as he termed it ) that had happened , and that had he known our force was so inferior , he should not have fired at me . I asked his motive for having fired at all ; his reply was , that we fired the first gun at him , which was positively not the case . . . [ it is not ] probable that a sloop of war , within pistol - shot of a large 44 - gun frigate , should commence hostilities . The " Little Belt " was later paid off and sold . The Admiralty refused to try Bingham by court - martial , and the matter was never successfully concluded , both governments supporting their respective captains ' version of events . Bingham was promoted to post captain on 7 February 1812 . Later life . In 1812 the Duke of Clarence ( the future King William IV ) arranged for Bingham to be esquire to the proxy at the installation of Richard Goodwin Keats to the Order of the Bath . Bingham continued in the Navy , being appointed to command HMS " Myrtle " on 18 November 1813 , followed by being made flag captain to Rear - Admiral Robert Otway aboard HMS " Dover " on 25 September 1819 . He was appointed to HMS " Thetis " on 9 November 1826 . He drowned in 1830 . Family . Bingham had married Emily Kingsman on 11 March 1813 , and the couple had four sons and daughter . Two , Arthur Maunsel Bingham and Thomas Henry Bingham also had naval careers , whilst the third son , William Poulet Bingham became a lieutenant - colonel of the 64th Regiment . The fourth son was Francis Robert Bertie Bingham , and the daughter was Emily Agnata Harriet Bingham .