Once civilities were exchanged, a young lieutenant flatly demanded of Barron that his whole crew be immediately assembled on deck for an inspection: the Chesapeake was suspected of having deserters from the Royal Navy in her ranks and the captain of the Leopard wanted to have them removed on the spot to be accordingly pressed back into His Majesty the King's service.īarron, just as flatly, refused to comply. Signals were exchanged and a small party of British officers came on board the American warship. Extending naval courtesy, Barron ordered his men to drop sail to allow Leopard to catch up.
However, just as he crossed the three-mile limit, he saw that HMS Leopard, a 50-gun frigate, was actually hailing his ship. Surely, the British were waiting for them to come out, in some cat-and-mouse game. The Commodore was well aware that the Royal Navy was patrolling just off the three-mile limit which marked the boundary of international waters: before leaving port, he had heard of two French ships which had taken refuge in the Chesapeake Bay during a recent storm and which were now hiding from the Royal Navy. As his frigate rounded Cape Henry and made for open sea, a watchman signalled a British warship nearby.
However, since the country was at peace and she was going to sail in known and friendly waters, no one was too concerned by her state.Ĭhesapeake's senior officer was newly-appointed Commodore James Barron, an experienced seaman and captain of good repute who was heading for his post as Head of the American fleet in the Mediterranean. As a result, baggage and extra gear were scattered all over the lower decks and took priority over the battle readiness of the frigate moreover, the extra weight also slowed her down considerably. On board were important civilian passengers – government officials- on their way to postings in Europe, travelling along with their relatives and their belongings. She was now headed for a two-year assignment as flagship of the American squadron in the Mediterranean.
Built less than seven years before, she had just been refitted after a four-year hiatus in the shipyard. On early morning of June 22 1807, the American warship USS Chesapeake weighed anchor from its naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, and soon cleared the bay whose name she carried to put to sea.
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