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Further Reading

HMS Shannon

HMS Shannon was a frigate that won immortal fame for her capture of the USS Chesapeake off Boston in June 1813. HMS Shannon, a 1066-ton fifth rate (38-gun frigate), was built in England in 1806. Since the 1750s, the term frigate had described the smaller, faster types of warship used for commerce protection or raiding, or scouting for the main fleet. They had two decks with the main armament carried on the upper deck. Completed in 1806, Shannon was a Fifth Rate 'Leda' class frigate mounting twenty-eight 18-pounder guns, the Royal Navy's largest type of frigate during the Napoleonic era.

To meet all its commitments the Admiralty gave priority to the construction of the greatest number of frigates, rather than those with the heaviest armament. Nevertheless, British admirals frequently complained that they did not have enough; while searching for the French fleet before the Battle of the Nile in 1798, Horatio Nelson wrote to Sir William Hamilton: 'All my ill-fortune, hitherto, has proceeded from want of frigates.'

In the 1790s the Americans built some very large 44-gun frigates and when war broke out between Great Britain and the United States in 1812 these ships won a series of single-ship actions; USS Constitution captured HMS Guerriere and HMS Java while USS United States overwhelmed HMS Macedonian. The British public, accustomed to naval victories regardless of the odds, was incensed. However, since many of the best British ships and crews were in European waters, the defeats were not so surprising. In response the British instituted a closer blockade of American ports.

On 9 April 1813 the U.S. Frigate Chesapeake returned to Boston after a cruise against British commercial shipping. Over the next several weeks she was refitted and received a new Commanding Officer, the recently promoted Captain James Lawrence. Many of her officers were replaced and a large percentage of her crew was newly enlisted. Though the ship was a good one, with a well-seasoned Captain, time would be necessary to work her men into a capable and disciplined combat team.

However, the time was not available. Blockading off Boston was HMS Shannon, commanded for the past seven years by Captain Philip Broke, whose attention to gunnery practice and other elements of combat readiness was extraordinary. Broke had worked up his ship to a peak of fighting efficiency with the best gunnery drill of any vessel in the Royal Navy. His gun crews were trained to fire into the hull of the enemy ship to kill the crew instead of shooting down the masts. Throughout his career Broke had prepared for a single-ship action. He even refused to capture American merchant ships, as this would require him to put crews on board and reduce the Shannon's efficiency. Shannon and Chesapeake were of virtually identical strength, though the American ship's crew was rather larger, and a duel between the two was attractive to both captains. Broke even issued a formal challenge, though it did not reach Lawrence, whose previous experience with British warships had convinced him that they were not likely to be formidable opponents. After a long patrol off Boston, Broke was rewarded when the 38-gun frigate USS Chesapeake came left Boston Harbor to challenge him in the early afternoon of 1 June 1813. The ensuing battle was the finest single-ship action in the age of sail. Captain James Lawrence, the new commander of the Chesapeake, was confident in the ability of his veteran crew, but had reckoned without Broke and the Shannon.

The two ships sailed several miles offshore, where Shannon slowed to await her opponent, who approached flying a special flag proclaiming "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights" in recognition of America's prewar grievances against British policies. Though Lawrence had a brief opportunity to rake, he did not do so, but closed to place his port broadside against Shannon's starboard battery. Somewhat before 6 PM the ships opened fire. As the Chesapeake approached, the Shannon fired her first devastating broadside at a range of about 35 meters. Lawrence was wounded, but ordered the Chesapeake to slow down to enable her to return fire. However, the American gunners did not have time to adjust their aim as the carronades of the British ship swept the Chesapeake's quarterdeck and on her upper deck. The British guns did more damage and produced crippling casualties on Chesapeake's quarterdeck two-thirds of the gun crews were already casualties.

Captain Lawrence was mortally wounded by small arms fire and had to be taken below, giving his final order "Don't give up the ship!" At a crucial moment the Chesapeake's wheel was destroyed by a 9-pounder gun that Broke had installed on Shannon's quarterdeck for that purpose. Out of control, the vulnerable stern of the American ship was exposed to raking British fire and in desperation Lawrence ordered his men to board as the Chesapeake drifted stern first towards the Shannon.

Instead it was Broke who seized the moment and led the boarding party in person onto the Chesapeake. The battle was effectively over. In a final act three American sailors, probably from the rigging, attacked Broke; he killed the first, but the second hit him with a musket and the third sliced open his skull before being overwhelmed.

The entire action lasted only 11 minutes, but its unequalled ferocity left 148 American and 83 English sailors killed or wounded. All the Chesapeake's officers were casualties and Lawrence died of his wounds three days later. Broke made a miraculous recovery and returned to England where he received a hero's welcome for restoring the pride of the Royal Navy. The action, which greatly boosted British morale, provided another of the War of 1812's many convincing examples of the vital importance of superior training and discipline in combat on sea and land.

Later in his career Broke made a decisive contribution to the establishment of professional standards of gunnery at HMS Excellent and laid the foundations for victories such as the attack on Acre in 1840. HMS Shannon was placed in the reserve in 1831. She was renamed the St Lawrence in 1844 and became a receiving ship at Sheerness, before finally being broken up in November 1859. But her name and that of Philip Broke will forever be associated for her swift and devastating victory over the Chesapeake.

Compare the statistics of HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake in1813: