Hampton Roads Naval Museum

8. USS Chesapeake

Norfolk, VA

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Chesapeake was a 36-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships. Chesapeake was originally designed as a 44-gun frigate but construction delays, material shortages, and budget problems caused builder Josiah Fox to alter her design to 36 guns. Launched at the Gosport Navy Yard on December 2, 1799, Chesapeake began her career during the Quasi-War with France and saw service in the First Barbary War. On June 22, 1807, she was fired upon by HMS Leopard of the Royal Navy for refusing to comply with a search for deserters. The event, now known as the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, angered the American populace and government and was a precipitating factor that led to the War of 1812. As a result of the affair, Chesapeake's commanding officer, James Barron, was court-martialed and the United States instituted the Embargo Act of 1807 against Great Britain. Early in the War of 1812, Chesapeake made one patrol and captured five British merchant ships before returning. She was captured by HMS Shannon shortly after sailing from Boston, Massachusetts, on June 1, 1813. The Royal Navy took her into their service as HMS Chesapeake, where she served until she was broken up and her timbers sold in 1820; they are now part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, England.