Capture of USS Chesapeake - Issuing A Challenge

Issuing A Challenge

During his long period in command of Shannon, Philip Broke had drilled his crew to an extremely high standard of naval gunnery.

The weekly routine at sea was for the watch on deck to be exercised at the great guns on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and in the afternoons the first division of the watch was exercised at small arms. Wednesday and Thursday forenoons saw the watch on deck at the carronades, and in the afternoons the second division of the watch at small arms. Friday was reserved for the Midshipmen – great guns in the morning, small arms in the afternoon. Thus each man had one morning at the 18-pounders, one morning at the carronades and two afternoons with musquets in every week. Saturdays were reserved for washing clothes and scrubbing the berth deck in the afternoon. Sunday, apart from Church service and any necessary evolutions with the sails, was free —Padfield, Broke and the Shannon

In addition to these gunnery drills, Broke was fond of preparing hypothetical scenarios to test his crew. For example, after all hands had been drummed to quarters, he would inform them of a theoretical attack and see how they would act to defend the ship. He would also arrange on occasion for a wooden cask to be sent over the side so competitions could be held to see which crew could hit it and how fast they could do so. A game called 'singlestick' was also devised and practised. "This was a game employing roughly similar thrusts and parries as were used with cutlass, but as it was played with blunt sticks, hits, although painful, were not often dangerous. It soon developed quickness of eye and wrist."

Eager to engage and defeat one of the American frigates that had already scored a number of victories over the Royal Navy in single ship confrontations, Broke prepared a challenge. The USS President had already slipped out of the harbour under the cover of fog and had evaded the British. The Constitution was undergoing extensive repairs and alterations and would not be ready for sea in the foreseeable future. However, the Chesapeake appeared to be ready to put to sea. Consequently Broke decided to send his challenge to the USS Chesapeake, which had been refitting in Boston harbour under the command of Captain James Lawrence, offering single ship combat. Whilst patrolling offshore, the Shannon had intercepted and captured a number of American ships attempting to reach the harbour. After sending two of them off to Halifax, he found that his crew was being dangerously reduced. Broke therefore resorted to burning the rest of the prizes in order to conserve his highly trained crew in anticipation of the battle with the Chesapeake. The boats from the burnt prizes were sent into Boston, carrying Broke's oral invitation to Lawrence to come out and engage him. He had already sent the Tenedos away in the hope that the more favourable odds would entice the American out, but eventually began to despair that the Chesapeake would ever come out of the harbour. He finally decided to send a written challenge.

As the Chesapeake appears now ready for sea, I request you will do me the favour to meet the Shannon with her, ship to ship, to try the fortune of our respective flags. The Shannon mounts twenty-four guns upon her broadside and one light boat-gun; 18 pounders upon her main deck, and 32-pounder carronades upon her quarter-deck and forecastle; and is manned with a complement of 300 men and boys, beside thirty seamen, boys, and passengers, who were taken out of recaptured vessels lately. I entreat you, sir, not to imagine that I am urged by mere personal vanity to the wish of meeting the Chesapeake, or that I depend only upon your personal ambition for your acceding to this invitation. We have both noble motives. You will feel it as a compliment if I say that the result of our meeting may be the most grateful service I can render to my country; and I doubt not that you, equally confident of success, will feel convinced that it is only by repeated triumphs in even combats that your little navy can now hope to console your country for the loss of that trade it can no longer protect. Favour me with a speedy reply. We are short of provisions and water, and cannot stay long here —Poolman, Battles of the British Navy

Captain Lawrence did not in fact receive Broke's letter and, according to author Ian W. Toll, it would not have made the slightest difference; he intended sail USS Chesapeake at the first day of favorable weather. The fact that it was not in his nation's interests at this point in the war to be challenging British frigates seems to have not entered into his reasoning. When USS President had slipped out of harbor it was to commerce raid, which was deemed in the U.S. national interest. Half of the officers and up to one quarter of the crew were new to the ship. No practice at small arms nor of the main battery been exercised. Despite this Lawrence believed that he would win the battle and wrote two quick notes, one to the Secretary of the Navy pronouncing his intentions, and another to his brother in-law asking him to look after his wife and children in event of his death.

By now the Shannon had been off Boston for 56 days and was running short of provisions, whilst the extended period at sea was wearing the ship down. She would be at a disadvantage facing the Chesapeake, fresh from harbour and a refit. A boat was despatched carrying the invitation, manned by a Mr Slocum, a discharged American prisoner. The boat had not reached the shore when the Chesapeake was seen underway, sailing out of the harbour. She was flying three American ensigns and a large white flag at the foremast inscribed 'Free Trade and Sailor's Rights'. Shannon carried 276 officers, seamen and marines of her proper complement, eight recaptured seamen, 22 Irish labourers who had been 48 hours in the ship, of whom only four could speak English, and 24 boys, of whom about 13 were under 12 years of age. Broke had trained his gun crews to fire accurate broadsides into the hulls of enemy vessels, with the aim of killing their gun crews, rather than shooting down the masts. Lawrence meanwhile was confident in his ship, especially since she carried a substantially larger crew. Previous American victories over Royal Navy ships left him expectant of success. Just before the engagement, the American crew gave three cheers.

The two ships had in one another about as close a match as could exist in a state of war. The USS Chesapeake’s (rated at 38 guns) armament of 28 18 lb'r long guns was an exact match for HMS Shannon. Measurements proved the ships to be about the same deck length, the only major difference being the ships complements: Chesapeake’s 379 against the Shannon’s 330.