The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair

On June 22, 1807, the Chesapeake-Leopard affair occurred. This event was an encounter between a British warship called the “HMS Leopard” and American frigate called the “USS Chesapeake”. The USS Chesapeake was leaving Norfolk, Virginia for the Mediterranean, but shortly after the departure, the HMS Leonard found the ship. One of the crew members of the HMS Leonard, Jenkin Ratford, escaped from the Royal Navy when a Royal Navy vessel was stopped near the coast of Virginia. His pride in escaping made British authorities aspire to get revenge on Ratford. British ships at this time were trying to find former Royal Navy members who fled, and this is why they tried searching the HMS Leonard.

After the Leopard found the Chesapeake, the British ordered the Americans to let them search for any Royal Navy deserters. A naval officer in the Chesapeake, James Barron, refused, which led the Leopard to fire a barrage at the Chesapeake. Due to the nature of this spontaneous attack, the crew on the Chesapeake were caught off guard. This, along with the fact that eighteen men were injured and three dead, led to Barron surrendering. The Chesapeake had barely done any damage to the Leonard. The Captain of the Leonard, Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, captured four crew members of the Chesapeake who were former Royal Navy members. Ratford was hanged, and the others were put on trial. Luckily, the rest of the crew members were spared, though James Barron later was fired for five years after being blamed for the poor defense and his lack of preparedness.

After Americans learned of this event, many were furious and wanted war against Britain. However, they were not only mad at the British attack. They were also mad that the Chesapeake was unable to put up a fight, and some Americans became uneasy about the power of the United States’s navy. The president at the time, Thomas Jefferson, did not want war and instead put in place the Embargo Act of 1807. Later in 1812, the British returned the three crew members it captured due to the anger of the Americans. The Chesapeake-Leopard affair was one of the factors that caused friction between Britain and America and may have been one of the factors leading to the War of 1812. As discussed in class, this event was one example of impressment. Another outcome was the United States began manufacturing more weapons. The Chesapeake-Leopard affair caused unrest for Americans because they lost to the British in this event, which is why the manufacturing of weapons increased. It is interesting to see how this one seemingly small event caused many significant outcomes.


Sources:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-was-the-chesapeake-leopard-affair.html

https://www.nps.gov/articles/chesapeake-leopard-affair.htm

http://www.bandyheritagecenter.org/Content/Uploads/Bandy%20Heritage%20Center/files/1812/The%20Chesapeake-Leopard%20Affair%20(1807).pdf