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{{Short description|June 1807 naval incident between UK and US}}
{{Short description|1807 naval incident between UK and US}}
{{About|an incident pertaining to the War of 1812|a later incident in the American Civil War|Chesapeake Affair}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Chesapeake''–''Leopard'' affair}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Chesapeake''–''Leopard'' affair}}
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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 martial]]ed and relieved of command.
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 martial]]ed and relieved of 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 Act of 1807|Embargo of 1807]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Perkins, Bradford |orig-year=1968 |title=Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 |work=first published by University of California Press |edition=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |editor=Livy, Leonard |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 |pages=317–318}}</ref>
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 Act of 1807|Embargo of 1807]].<ref name="mackenzie145" />


==Background==
==Background==
[[File:USSChesapeake.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Chesapeake|1799|6}}, depicted in a {{circa|lk=no|1900}} painting by F. Muller]]
[[File:USSChesapeake.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Chesapeake|1799|6}}, depicted in a {{circa|lk=no|1900}} painting by F. Muller]]
On June 22 of 1807, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], several British naval vessels were on duty on the [[North America and West Indies Station|North American Station]], blockading two French [[third-rate]] warships in [[Chesapeake Bay]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=James Fenimore |title=History of the navy of the United States of America |year=1826 |publisher=Stringer & Townsend, New York |page=226 }}</ref> 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|1799|6}}. Ratford had made himself conspicuous to British officers by shouting at them on the streets of [[Norfolk, Virginia]].<ref name=Perkins315>{{cite book |author=Perkins, Bradford |orig-year=1968 |title=Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 |work=first published by University of California Press |edition=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |editor=Levy, Leonard |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 |page=315}}</ref>
On June 22, 1807, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], several British naval vessels were on duty on the [[North America and West Indies Station|North American Station]], blockading two French [[third-rate]] warships in [[Chesapeake Bay]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=James Fenimore |title=History of the navy of the United States of America |year=1826 |publisher=Stringer & Townsend, New York |page=226 }}</ref> 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|1799|6}}. Ratford had made himself conspicuous to British officers by shouting at them on the streets of [[Norfolk, Virginia]].<ref name="Perkins315">{{cite book |author=Perkins, Bradford |title=Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 |editor=Levy, Leonard |edition=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |page=315 |orig-year=1968}}</ref>


Other deserters were reported to be at the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard|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|1785|6}}. 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 Sea|Mediterranean]].<ref name=mackenzie145/><ref>{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=James Fenimore |title=History of the navy of the United States of America |year=1826 |publisher=Stringer & Townsend, New York |page=224 |oclc=197401914}}</ref>
Other deserters were reported to be at the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard|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|1785|6}}. 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 Sea|Mediterranean]].<ref name=mackenzie145/><ref>{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=James Fenimore |title=History of the navy of the United States of America |year=1826 |publisher=Stringer & Townsend, New York |page=224 |oclc=197401914}}</ref>
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''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 (ship)|bow]]. This was followed immediately by ''Leopard'' firing [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]s into the American ship.<ref name=Perkinsp316>{{cite book |author=Perkins, Bradford |orig-year=1968 |title=Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 |work=first published by University of California Press |edition=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |editor=Levy, Leonard |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 |page=316}}</ref> 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 [[Striking the colors|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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Guttridge, Leonard F |title=Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779–1820 |year=2006 |publisher=Tom Doherty Associates, LLC |location=New York, NY |pages=96–98 }}</ref>[[File:1807 USS Chesapeake, muster listing crewmen Robert McDonald & Joseph Arnold as killed by Capt. S. Humphreys.jpg|thumb|1807 USS Chesapeake, muster listing crewmen Robert McDonald & Joseph Arnold as killed by Capt S. Humphreys]]
''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 (ship)|bow]]. This was followed immediately by ''Leopard'' firing [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]s into the American ship.<ref name=Perkinsp316>{{cite book |author=Perkins, Bradford |orig-year=1968 |title=Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 |work=first published by University of California Press |edition=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |editor=Levy, Leonard |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 |page=316}}</ref> 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 [[Striking the colors|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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Guttridge, Leonard F |title=Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779–1820 |year=2006 |publisher=Tom Doherty Associates, LLC |location=New York, NY |pages=96–98 }}</ref>[[File:1807 USS Chesapeake, muster listing crewmen Robert McDonald & Joseph Arnold as killed by Capt. S. Humphreys.jpg|thumb|1807 USS Chesapeake, muster listing crewmen Robert McDonald & Joseph Arnold as killed by Capt S. Humphreys]]


Scores of British nationals had signed on as crewmen of ''Chesapeake'',<ref name=Perkinsp316/> 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|1806|6}}. Only Ratford was British-born. The others were American residents,<ref name=American>Free and enslaved people of African descent were not legally allowed to be American citizens in 1807.</ref> but had been serving on British warships.<ref name=Perkinsp316/> Daniel Martin, for instance, claimed he was born in [[Westport, Massachusetts]]; he was described as age 24, {{convert|5|ft|5+1/2|in|cm|0}} high with "woolly hair", black eyes and dark yellow complexion and a small scar over his right eyebrow. Prior to serving on ''Chesapeake'', Martin served on the merchant vessel ''Caledonia'' and was described as "a [[Black people|colored man]]." Newspaper accounts of the time state Martin was not born in the United States but brought to Massachusetts, (possibly [[Slavery|enslaved]]) when he was six years old by mariner William Howland, from [[Buenos Aires]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Hampshire – Federalist |title=Regarding Daniel Martin |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |date=1 October 1807 |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sharp |first=John G M |title=American Seamen's Protection Certificates & Impressment 1796-1822 |url=http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/aspc&i.html |work=USGenWeb Archives |access-date=3 February 2020 |date= 1 January 2020}}</ref>
Scores of British nationals had signed on as crewmen of ''Chesapeake'',<ref name=Perkinsp316/> 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|1806|6}}. Only Ratford was British-born. The others were American residents,<ref name=American>Free and enslaved people of African descent were not legally allowed to be American citizens in 1807.</ref> but had been serving on British warships.<ref name=Perkinsp316/> Daniel Martin, for instance, claimed he was born in [[Westport, Massachusetts]]; he was described as age 24, {{convert|5|ft|5+1/2|in|cm|0}} high with "[[woolly hair]]", black eyes and dark yellow complexion and a small scar over his right eyebrow. Prior to serving on ''Chesapeake'', Martin served on the merchant vessel ''Caledonia'' and was described as "a [[Black people|colored man]]." Newspaper accounts of the time state Martin was not born in the United States but brought to Massachusetts, (possibly [[Slavery|enslaved]]){{dubious – discuss|date=November 2024}} when he was six years old by mariner William Howland, from [[Buenos Aires]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Hampshire – Federalist |title=Regarding Daniel Martin |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |date=1 October 1807 |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sharp |first=John G M |title=American Seamen's Protection Certificates & Impressment 1796-1822 |url=http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/aspc&i.html |work=USGenWeb Archives |access-date=3 February 2020 |date= 1 January 2020}}</ref>


[[File:Protection Certificate of Daniel Martin 6 October 1804 , a black man, native of West Port Mass, age 24, hair black, eyes dark. yellow complexion,5' 5 and one half dark complexion mole over eyebrow.jpg|thumb|Seaman's protection certificate issued in New Orleans, to Daniel Martin on 6 Oct. 1804]]
[[File:Protection Certificate of Daniel Martin 6 October 1804 , a black man, native of West Port Mass, age 24, hair black, eyes dark. yellow complexion,5' 5 and one half dark complexion mole over eyebrow.jpg|thumb|Seaman's protection certificate issued in New Orleans, to Daniel Martin on 6 Oct. 1804]]
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The [[brig]] {{HMS|Columbine|1806|2}} brought the first dispatches to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] in early July. ''Leopard'' followed with her prisoners for trial.<ref>{{cite book |last=James |first=William |author-link=William James (naval historian) |year=1824 |title=The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV |volume=4 |publisher=Baldwin, Chadock and Joy |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fV0PAQAAMAAJ&q=decatur |page=236}}</ref> Jenkin Ratford, the sole British citizen, was sentenced to death and was hanged from the [[Yard (sailing)|yardarm]] of ''Halifax'' on August 31, 1807.<ref>{{cite book |last=McMaster |first=John Bach |ref=McMaster |title=A History of the People of the United States: From the Revolution to the Civil War|volume=III: 1803–1812|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistorypeopleu14mcmagoog/page/258/mode/2up 259]|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|location=New York|year=1901|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorypeopleu14mcmagoog|via=Internet Archive|access-date=16 February 2023|chapter=Chapter 18}}</ref><ref name=NavalChronicle363>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/navalchroniclefounse_0#page/363/mode/1up/search/halifax |title= The Naval Chronicle, for 1812 |year=1812 |volume=28, July–December |page=363 |location=London |publisher=UK Royal Navy}}</ref> The three American deserters received sentences of 500 lashes each, but the sentences were later commuted.<ref name=NavalChronicle363 />
The [[brig]] {{HMS|Columbine|1806|2}} brought the first dispatches to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] in early July. ''Leopard'' followed with her prisoners for trial.<ref>{{cite book |last=James |first=William |author-link=William James (naval historian) |year=1824 |title=The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV |volume=4 |publisher=Baldwin, Chadock and Joy |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fV0PAQAAMAAJ&q=decatur |page=236}}</ref> Jenkin Ratford, the sole British citizen, was sentenced to death and was hanged from the [[Yard (sailing)|yardarm]] of ''Halifax'' on August 31, 1807.<ref>{{cite book |last=McMaster |first=John Bach |ref=McMaster |title=A History of the People of the United States: From the Revolution to the Civil War|volume=III: 1803–1812|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistorypeopleu14mcmagoog/page/258/mode/2up 259]|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|location=New York|year=1901|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorypeopleu14mcmagoog|via=Internet Archive|access-date=16 February 2023|chapter=Chapter 18}}</ref><ref name=NavalChronicle363>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/navalchroniclefounse_0#page/363/mode/1up/search/halifax |title= The Naval Chronicle, for 1812 |year=1812 |volume=28, July–December |page=363 |location=London |publisher=UK Royal Navy}}</ref> The three American deserters received sentences of 500 lashes each, but the sentences were later commuted.<ref name=NavalChronicle363 />


The bloody encounter caused a storm of protest from the U.S. government, and the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] eventually offered to return the three American residents<ref name=American /> and to pay reparations for the damage to ''Chesapeake''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dickon |first=Chris |ref=Thomson |title=The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake: ... |publisher=The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC |year=2008 |page=54 |isbn=978-1-59629-298-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCGjg46NS_kC&q=decatur }}</ref> After over 5 years spent in bonded service with the Royal Navy, the last two deserters were returned to [[Boston]], Massachusetts by the [[schooner]] {{HMS|Bream|1807|6}}, one month after the outbreak of the War of 1812.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqKMwgEACAAJ|year=1985 |publisher=Naval Historical Center, US Department of the Navy |pages=190–191}}</ref>
The bloody encounter caused a storm of protest from the U.S. government, and the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] eventually offered to return the three American residents<ref name=American /> and to pay reparations for the damage to ''Chesapeake''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dickon |first=Chris |ref=Thomson |title=The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake: ... |publisher=The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC |year=2008 |page=54 |isbn=978-1-59629-298-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCGjg46NS_kC&q=decatur }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After over 5 years spent in bonded service with the Royal Navy, the last two deserters were returned to [[Boston]], Massachusetts by the [[schooner]] {{HMS|Bream|1807|6}}, one month after the outbreak of the War of 1812.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqKMwgEACAAJ|year=1985 |publisher=Naval Historical Center, US Department of the Navy |pages=190–191}}</ref>


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
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==See also==
==See also==
*[[Little Belt affair]]
*[[Little Belt affair|''Little Belt'' affair]]
*[[Bibliography of early United States naval history]]
*[[Bibliography of early United States naval history]]


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==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=James Fenimore |author-link=James Fenimore Cooper |title=History of the navy of the United States of America |ref=Cooper |year=1826 |publisher=Stringer & Townsend, New York |page=508 |oclc=197401914}}
*{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=James Fenimore |author-link=James Fenimore Cooper |title=History of the navy of the United States of America |ref=Cooper |year=1826 |publisher=Stringer & Townsend, New York |page=508 |oclc=197401914}}
*{{cite book |last=Dickon |first=Chris |title=The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake: ... |ref=Dickon |publisher=The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC |year=2008 |page=157 |isbn=978-1-59629-298-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCGjg46NS_kC&q=decatur}}
*{{cite book |last=Dickon |first=Chris |title=The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake: ... |ref=Dickon |publisher=The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC |year=2008 |page=157 |isbn=978-1-59629-298-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCGjg46NS_kC&q=decatur }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{cite book |last=Guttridge |first= Leonard F |title=Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779–1820 |ref=Guttridge |page=304 |year=2005 |publisher=Tom Doherty Associates, LLC |location=New York|isbn=978-0-7653-0702-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Guttridge |first= Leonard F |title=Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779–1820 |ref=Guttridge |page=304 |year=2005 |publisher=Tom Doherty Associates, LLC |location=New York|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.&nbsp;240–253.
*Ivie, Robert L. "The metaphor of force in prowar discourse: The case of 1812." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 68#3 (1982) pp.&nbsp;240–253.
*{{cite book |last=James |first=William | author-link = William James (naval historian)|year=1824 |title=The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV |volume=4 |publisher=Baldwin, Chadock and Joy |location=London |ref=James.v4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fV0PAQAAMAAJ&q=decatur }}
*{{cite book |last=James |first=William | author-link = William James (naval historian)|year=1824 |title=The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV |volume=4 |publisher=Baldwin, Chadock and Joy |location=London |ref=James.v4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fV0PAQAAMAAJ&q=decatur }}
*{{cite book |last=Mackenzie |first=Alexander Slidell |title=Life of Stephen Decatur: a commodore in the Navy of the United States |ref=Mackenzie |year=2005 |author-link=Alexander Slidell Mackenzie |publisher=C. C. Little and J. Brown |orig-year=1846}}
*{{cite book |last=Mackenzie |first=Alexander Slidell |title=Life of Stephen Decatur: a commodore in the Navy of the United States |ref=Mackenzie |year=2005 |author-link=Alexander Slidell Mackenzie |publisher=C. C. Little and J. Brown |orig-year=1846}}
*{{cite book |last=McMaster |first=John Bach |ref=McMaster |title=A History of the People of the United States: 1803–1812 |publisher=D. Appleton and Company |location=New York |year=1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/mcmasterbachus02johnrich }}
*{{cite book |last=McMaster |first=John Bach |ref=McMaster |title=A History of the People of the United States: From the Revolution to the Civil War|volume=III: 1803–1812 |publisher=D. Appleton and Company |location=New York |year=1901 |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorypeopleu14mcmagoog|access-date=16 February 2023|via=Internet Archive}}
*{{citation |author=Perkins, Bradford |orig-year=1968 |title=Embargo: Alternative to War (Chapter 8 from Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812, University of California Press) |work=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |editor=Levy, Leonard |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 }}
*{{citation |author=Perkins, Bradford |orig-year=1968 |title=Embargo: Alternative to War (Chapter 8 from Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812, University of California Press) |work=Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 |editor=Levy, Leonard |publisher=Dryden Press |year=1974 }}
*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. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1918543 in JSTOR]
*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. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1918543 in JSTOR]
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* {{citation |author=Gaines, Edwin M. |title=The Chesapeake Affair: Virginians Mobilize to Defend National Honor |journal=Virginia Magazine of History and Biography |year=1956 |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=131–142 |jstor=4246209 }}
* {{citation |author=Gaines, Edwin M. |title=The Chesapeake Affair: Virginians Mobilize to Defend National Honor |journal=Virginia Magazine of History and Biography |year=1956 |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=131–142 |jstor=4246209 }}
* Gilje, Paul A. ''Free Trade and Sailors' Rights in the War of 1812'' (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
* Gilje, Paul A. ''Free Trade and Sailors' Rights in the War of 1812'' (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
* {{cite book |author=Lossing, Benson John |author-link=Benson John Lossing |year=1869 |title=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 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_24384 }}
* {{cite book |author=Lossing, Benson John |author-link=Benson John Lossing |year=1869 |title=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 |publisher=Harper & Brothers |location=New York |isbn=9780665243844 |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_24384 }}
*{{cite book |last=Roosevelt |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Roosevelt |title=The naval war of 1812 |ref=Roosevelt |year=1883 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's sons, New York |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Fb1CAAAAYAAJ}}
*{{cite book |last=Roosevelt |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Roosevelt |title=The naval war of 1812 |ref=Roosevelt |year=1883 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's sons, New York |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Fb1CAAAAYAAJ}}
* {{citation |author=Wolf, Joshua |title=To be Enslaved or Thus Deprived: British Impressment, American Discontent, and the Making of the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, 1803–1807 |journal=War & Society |year=2010 |volume=29 |number=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1179/204243410x12674422128795|s2cid=159917004 }}
* {{citation |author=Wolf, Joshua |title=To be Enslaved or Thus Deprived: British Impressment, American Discontent, and the Making of the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, 1803–1807 |journal=War & Society |year=2010 |volume=29 |number=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1179/204243410x12674422128795|s2cid=159917004 }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesapeake-Leopard affair}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesapeake-Leopard affair}}

[[Category:1807 in the British Empire]]
[[Category:1807 in the United States]]
[[Category:United Kingdom–United States relations]]
[[Category:United Kingdom–United States relations]]
[[Category:International maritime incidents]]
[[Category:International maritime incidents]]
[[Category:War of 1812]]
[[Category:War of 1812]]
[[Category:Naval battles involving the United States]]
[[Category:Naval battles involving the United States]]
[[Category:Naval battles involving Great Britain]]
[[Category:Naval battles involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Presidency of Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:Presidency of Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:1807 in Virginia]]
[[Category:1807 in Virginia]]

Latest revision as of 21:28, 17 December 2024

Chesapeake–Leopard affair
Part of the events leading to the War of 1812

HMS Leopard (right) fires upon USS Chesapeake
DateJune 22, 1807
Location
off Norfolk, Virginia
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  United States
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Salusbury Humphreys United States James Barron
Strength
1 4th rate 1 frigate
Casualties and losses
None
  • 1 frigate damaged
  • 4 killed
  • 17 wounded

The Chesapeake–Leopard affair was a naval engagement off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on June 22, 1807, between the British fourth-rate 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.[1] 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. 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 relieved of 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.[1]

Background

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USS Chesapeake, depicted in a c. 1900 painting by F. Muller

On June 22, 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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[1][4]

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.[3] 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.[5]

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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.[6] 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.[7]

1807 USS Chesapeake, muster listing crewmen Robert McDonald & Joseph Arnold as killed by Capt S. Humphreys

Scores of British nationals had signed on as crewmen of Chesapeake,[6] 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 residents,[8] but had been serving on British warships.[6] Daniel Martin, for instance, claimed he was born in Westport, Massachusetts; he was described as age 24, 5 feet 5+1⁄2 inches (166 cm) high with "woolly hair", black eyes and dark yellow complexion and a small scar over his right eyebrow. Prior to serving on Chesapeake, Martin served on the merchant vessel Caledonia and was described as "a colored man." Newspaper accounts of the time state Martin was not born in the United States but brought to Massachusetts, (possibly enslaved)[dubious – discuss] when he was six years old by mariner William Howland, from Buenos Aires.[9][10]

Seaman's protection certificate issued in New Orleans, to Daniel Martin on 6 Oct. 1804

The brig Columbine brought the first dispatches to Halifax in early July. Leopard followed with her prisoners for trial.[11] Jenkin Ratford, the sole British citizen, was sentenced to death and was hanged from the yardarm of Halifax on August 31, 1807.[12][13] The three American deserters received sentences of 500 lashes each, but the sentences were later commuted.[13]

The bloody encounter caused a storm of protest from the U.S. government, and the British government eventually offered to return the three American residents[8] and to pay reparations for the damage to Chesapeake.[14] After over 5 years spent in bonded service with the Royal Navy, the last two deserters were returned to Boston, Massachusetts by the schooner HMS Bream, one month after the outbreak of the War of 1812.[15]

Aftermath

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Origins of the War of 1812

The incident outraged American public opinion, and many felt the country's "sense of honor" had been violated.[16] Americans of every political stripe spoke of the need to uphold national honor, and to reject the dismissal of the United States by Britain as a third-class nonentity. Americans talked incessantly about the need for force in response.[17] 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."[18][19] 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.[20]

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. 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.[citation needed]

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.[21][better source needed]

The 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 in the case of a war with Great Britain, despite the expensive and controversial frigate-building program. A court-martial blamed Barron and suspended him from service for five years as punishment.[22]

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.[23]

Chesapeake herself was captured during the War of 1812, when on June 1, 1813, after a series of naval engagements with the Royal Navy, the British frigate HMS Shannon captured Chesapeake in a single-ship action near Boston. The Royal Navy commissioned Chesapeake, but put her up for sale at Portsmouth in July 1819.[24] Her timbers are now part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, England.[25]

In fiction

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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 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 any direct involvement with the affair, he is met with mistrust and hostility from American whalers due to their negative association with the ship.[26] The subsequent capture of Chesapeake during the War of 1812 features prominently in the sixth Aubrey–Maturin novel, The Fortune of War, as Aubrey is aboard HMS Shannon during the engagement.[27]

The Chesapeake–Leopard affair is mentioned in the Boston Jacky novel of the Bloody Jack adventures series by L.A. Meyer.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c 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.
  2. ^ Cooper, James Fenimore (1826). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 226.
  3. ^ a b Perkins, Bradford (1974) [1968]. Levy, Leonard (ed.). Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 (Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 ed.). Dryden Press. p. 315.
  4. ^ Cooper, James Fenimore (1826). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 224. OCLC 197401914.
  5. ^ James, William (1824). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. Vol. 4. London: Baldwin, Chadock and Joy. p. 328.
  6. ^ a b c Perkins, Bradford (1974) [1968]. Levy, Leonard (ed.). Embargo: Alternative to War, Chapter 8: Prologue to War: England and the United States, 1805–1812 (Essays on the Early Republic 1789–1815 ed.). Dryden Press. p. 316. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Guttridge, Leonard F (2006). Stephen Decatur American Naval Hero, 1779–1820. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. pp. 96–98.
  8. ^ a b Free and enslaved people of African descent were not legally allowed to be American citizens in 1807.
  9. ^ "Regarding Daniel Martin". Hampshire – Federalist. Springfield, Massachusetts. October 1, 1807. p. 2.
  10. ^ Sharp, John G M (January 1, 2020). American Seamen's Protection Certificates & Impressment 1796-1822. Retrieved February 3, 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ^ James, William (1824). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. Vol. 4. London: Baldwin, Chadock and Joy. p. 236.
  12. ^ McMaster, John Bach (1901). "Chapter 18". A History of the People of the United States: From the Revolution to the Civil War. Vol. III: 1803–1812. New York: D. Appleton and Company. p. 259. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ a b The Naval Chronicle, for 1812. Vol. 28, July–December. London: UK Royal Navy. 1812. p. 363.
  14. ^ Dickon, Chris (2008). The enduring journey of the USS Chesapeake: ... The Hickory Press, Charleston, SC. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-59629-298-7.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History. Naval Historical Center, US Department of the Navy. 1985. pp. 190–191.
  16. ^ 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
  17. ^ Robert L. Ivie, "The metaphor of force in prowar discourse: The case of 1812". Quarterly Journal of Speech 68#3 (1982) pp. 240–253.
  18. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (July 14, 1807). "From Thomas Jefferson to Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours, 14 July 1807". founders.archives.gov. US National Archives. Retrieved September 1, 2020. [N]ever, 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Fagal, Andrew (2012). Foreign Capital, American Armament, and the Rise of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Cooper, James Fenimore (1826). History of the navy of the United States of America. Stringer & Townsend, New York. p. 231. OCLC 197401914.
  23. ^ Guttridge, Leonard F (September 4, 2007). Our Country, Right Or Wrong: The Life of Stephen Decatur, the U.S. Navy's Most Illustrious Commander. Tom Doherty Associates. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-7653-0702-6. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  24. ^ "No. 17494". The London Gazette. July 13, 1819. p. 1228.
  25. ^ "The Chesapeake Mill – history" (PDF). The Chesapeake Mill. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  26. ^ Brown, A. G. (2006). The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book: Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels (2nd ed.). Jefferson NC and London: McFarland. p. 209. ISBN 0-7864-2482-6.
  27. ^ Walton, Jo (November 8, 2010). "The American navy was the staple diet of conversation: Patrick O'Brian's The Fortune of War". Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  28. ^ Meyer, L. A. (September 10, 2013). Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 84. ISBN 9780544156593. Retrieved June 20, 2018.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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