Lot Essay
The British naval strategy for invading the United States during the War of 1812 was a tripartite attack of three critical areas including Lake Champlain, Chesapeake Bay and the Mississippi River.
The engagement between the Shannon and the Chesapeake was long anticipated. On 31 May 1813, Captian P.B.V. Broke of the Shannon wrote to Captain James Lawrence of the Chesapeake, "As the Chesapeake {sic} appears now ready for Sea, I request you will do me the favor to meet the Shannon with her, Ship to Ship, to try the fortune of our respective Flags..."(Dudley, The Naval War of 1812,Vol.II(Washington D.C.:1992),p. 126).
On Tuesday, 1 June 1813, en route south from Boston, the U.S. naval frigate Chesapeake encountered H.M.S. Shannon. While the two ships spotted each other at 8 a.m. and promptly sailed in chase, they were not close enough for battle to begin until 5:45 p.m.. The battle was over within fifteen minutes, at the end of which Captain Lawrence and seventy of his officers and crew were dead. The Chesapeake was captured and taken to Halifax.
The engagement between the Shannon and the Chesapeake was long anticipated. On 31 May 1813, Captian P.B.V. Broke of the Shannon wrote to Captain James Lawrence of the Chesapeake, "As the Chesapeake {sic} appears now ready for Sea, I request you will do me the favor to meet the Shannon with her, Ship to Ship, to try the fortune of our respective Flags..."(Dudley, The Naval War of 1812,Vol.II(Washington D.C.:1992),p. 126).
On Tuesday, 1 June 1813, en route south from Boston, the U.S. naval frigate Chesapeake encountered H.M.S. Shannon. While the two ships spotted each other at 8 a.m. and promptly sailed in chase, they were not close enough for battle to begin until 5:45 p.m.. The battle was over within fifteen minutes, at the end of which Captain Lawrence and seventy of his officers and crew were dead. The Chesapeake was captured and taken to Halifax.