Capture of USS Chesapeake - Aftermath

Aftermath

As the first major victory in the naval war for the British, the capture raised the shaken morale of the Royal Navy. After setting out on 5 September for a brief cruise under a Captain Teahouse, the Shannon departed for England on 4 October, carrying the recovering Captain Broke. They arrived at Portsmouth on 2 November. After the successful action Lieutenants Wallis and Falkiner were promoted to the rank of commander, and Messrs. Etough and Smith were made lieutenants. Captain Broke was made a Baronet that September. The Court of Common Council of London awarded him the freedom of the city and a sword worth 100 guineas. He also received a piece of plate worth 750 pounds and a cup worth 100 guineas. Captain Lawrence was buried in Halifax with full military honors with six British Naval Officers serving as pall bearers. The American sailors were imprisoned and the ship was repaired and taken into service by the Royal Navy. The Chesapeake was eventually sold at Portsmouth, England, in 1820 and broken up.

Captain Broke never again commanded a ship, his head wound from a cutlass stroke, which had exposed the brain, had been pronounced fatal by the ship's surgeon though he survived it. The casualties were heavy. The British lost 23 killed and 56 wounded. The Americans lost 48 killed and 99 wounded. Between the wounded of the ships' two companies, another 23 would die of their wounds in the two weeks following the action. In ratio terms this was one of the bloodiest ship-to-ship actions of the age of sail. By comparison, HMS Victory suffered fewer casualties during the whole of the Battle of Trafalgar. The entire action had lasted, at most, for 15 minutes, speaking to the ferocity of the fighting.

A sister ship of HMS Shannon has been restored and preserved, HMS Trincomalee of the Leda class; she can be seen in a dock at Hartlepool in the North East of England and she is the oldest British warship afloat.