The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair was a clash that happened near Norfolk, Virginia, on June 22, 1807. A British warship called HMS Leopard opened fire on and boarded the American frigate USS Chesapeake while looking for sailors who had deserted from the Royal Navy. This incident was one of the sparks that ignited the War of 1812.
Background
In 1807, while the U.S. was still trying to establish itself as an independent country, Europe was caught up in the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon Bonaparte had declared himself Emperor of the French just three years earlier and was facing off against various shifting alliances of European nations, all funded by Great Britain. On land, Napoleon’s forces were crushing it, with major wins like the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Friedland, allowing him to dominate Central Europe and spread his influence across the continent. Meanwhile, Britain had taken control of the seas after defeating the French navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. This situation put the neutral U.S. in a tricky spot: dealing with one empire would upset the other. President Thomas Jefferson, keeping a close eye on the European chaos, expressed the worries of many Americans when he remarked on how one man seemed to tower over Europe while another roamed freely at sea.
Despite the anxiety caused by the war, it also opened up some big opportunities for American merchants. With France and Spain unable to send their ships to the West Indies, those colonies reluctantly started letting American ships in. The U.S. merchants then took these Caribbean goods and sold them in Europe, making a killing in the process. By 1807, American imports and exports hit a whopping $243 million, making the U.S. the biggest neutral trader in the world. When Britain grumbled that this middleman trade went against their Rule of 1756— which said you couldn’t trade with ports closed during peacetime—the Americans found a workaround. They brought the Caribbean goods to the U.S. first before sending them off to Europe, technically making them neutral cargo.American shipping was in hot water as the rivalry between France and Britain hit a deadlock. Since Napoleon couldn’t directly attack Britain because of the Royal Navy’s strength, he figured he’d try to cripple their economy instead. In November 1806, he rolled out the Berlin Decree, kicking off his Continental System with a total trade ban on British goods across Europe. Any ship caught carrying British stuff could be seized, even if it was from a neutral country. In response, Britain came back with several orders-in-council that blocked all ports cooperating with Napoleon’s embargo. They required any nation wanting to trade at those ports to first stop in England and pay some fees. This put American merchants in a tough spot since they couldn’t trade in Europe without risking trouble with either the French or the British. Before long, both sides were grabbing American ships left and right; from 1803 to 1812, France took 558 American vessels, while the British captured 917.
Impressment
The seizures really ticked off people in the U.S. Not only were they messing with a profitable trade, but they also felt like a slap in the face to American independence. Folks thought that if European countries could treat the U.S. like this without facing any backlash, then it was as if the country was just another colony, making the whole American Revolution seem pointless. Britain got the most heat for this because they weren’t just taking American ships and goods; they were also grabbing American sailors. Since the fighting started, Britain had to massively expand its navy to fend off a potential French invasion. But getting more ships meant needing more crew, and a lot of British folks weren’t keen on joining up due to the terrible conditions on those warships. As writer Samuel Johnson famously said, no one would choose to be a sailor if they could find a way to avoid it, since being at sea felt like being in jail with the added risk of drowning.
So, many British sailors were forced into service and jumped at the chance to escape when they could. They often found refuge on American merchant ships, where they could blend in with the American crew—after all, they looked alike and spoke the same language. Plus, American ships paid way better and had much nicer living conditions. Eventually, U.S. Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin estimated that about 9,000 out of 24,000 sailors on American vessels were actually British. The British Admiralty caught wind of this and told their officers to board American ships and grab any sailor who couldn’t prove they were American citizens. But since American sailors looked and acted like their British counterparts, many ended up getting taken too. Leading up to the War of 1812, Britain admitted to impressing around 3,000 American sailors, while the U.S. believed the real number was at least double that. John Quincy Adams called it outright kidnapping, saying that no nation can truly be independent if it allows its citizens to be snatched away by foreign military officers.
The Incident
So, back in February 1807, things were pretty tense internationally when the British frigate HMS Melampus was chilling off Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. Among the crew were three American sailors who had been forced into British service. Two of them, William Ware, a Native American, and Daniel Martin, a Black man, had previously served on the USS Chesapeake before being impressed by the Brits about 15 months earlier in the Bay of Biscay. The third guy, John Strachan, a White dude from Maryland, had been taken off Cape Finisterre two years prior. They’d all been itching for a chance to escape their unwanted service, and one night, while the ship’s officers were partying below deck, they saw their opportunity. All the boats were lifted except for the captain’s, so they jumped into it and took off. The British sailors shot at them, but they couldn’t get a boat ready fast enough to chase after them, and the Americans made it safely to shore.
After making it to port and looking for work, the trio signed on with the USS Chesapeake, where both Ware and Martin had previously served. Also on board was Jenkin Ratford, a British deserter from London, who had the guts to mock British officers as he wandered around Norfolk, Virginia, which got him marked for recapture. As the Chesapeake set sail, British Vice Admiral George Berkeley was hell-bent on catching the four deserters on board. He figured that since the Chesapeake had recently added a bunch of new recruits, there were probably more British deserters hiding out under fake names. At that time, Berkeley was commanding several British warships blockading two French ships in Chesapeake Bay. Instead of going after the Chesapeake himself, he decided to stay with his fleet and sent his flagship, the fourth-rate HMS Leopard, to chase it down.
On June 22, 1807, the British ship Leopard caught up with the American ship Chesapeake near Norfolk. The British captain, Salusbury Pryce Humphreys, called out to the Chesapeake and sent his lieutenant over with a search warrant. Commodore James Barron, the American naval officer in charge, was determined to protect his crew and pretended not to know about any deserters on board. After some back-and-forth, the British lieutenant went back to the Leopard, and Captain Humphreys repeated his demand for the four deserters using a loudspeaker. Barron refused again, which led the Leopard to fire a warning shot across the Chesapeake‘s bow, but the Americans still didn’t respond.
Then, the Leopard opened fire with its cannons, blasting 21 cannonballs into the Chesapeake‘s side, damaging its mainmast and sails. Since the Chesapeake had its guns packed away, it could only return fire once before everything escalated. After about ten minutes of bombardment, the Chesapeake surrendered; three American sailors were killed, and 18, including Barron, were injured. Humphreys ignored the surrender and sent his men aboard to gather the crew and look for the deserters. It turned out many of the Chesapeake‘s crew were actually British, but Humphreys only took Ratford and the three who had deserted from HMS Melampus. After leaving the Chesapeake in ruins off Virginia’s coast, the Leopard headed to Halifax to put the deserters on trial. Jenkin Ratford was hanged on August 31, 1807, while the other three got 500 lashes each, though those punishments were later reduced.
More Affairs
American Response: The Embargo Act
The Chesapeake-Leopard incident was more than just the usual outrage over British seizures and impressments; this time, a Royal Navy ship actually fired on an American vessel, resulting in American sailors getting killed or injured. It was a serious slap in the face to American sovereignty and pride. Before long, people from all political backgrounds were rallying for war, with President Jefferson capturing the mood by saying that the country hadn’t been this stirred up since the Battle of Lexington. He quickly banned all British ships from entering American ports unless they were there for diplomatic reasons or in trouble. He labeled all British vessels as enemies and started making secret plans for war, talking to his admirals about beefing up harbor defenses and telling state governors to get 100,000 militiamen ready in case of a potential invasion of Canada.
As for the British government, they realized they had stirred up quite a mess and decided to back down first. They apologized for what happened and pulled both Berkeley and Humphreys out of American waters. They also offered to cover the repairs for the USS Chesapeake and return the three captured sailors (though one, Ratford, had already been executed) as a gesture of goodwill. Jefferson, who was also looking to avoid war, felt the apology wasn’t enough. He wanted Britain to promise to stop taking sailors from American ships. When it became clear that wouldn’t happen, Jefferson announced a new plan on December 18, 1807, calling for a total trade embargo against all foreign nations. Congress went along with it and passed the Embargo Act of 1807.
The Embargo Act was meant to flex some muscle without actually going to war. But it totally backfired, hurting the American economy way more than it pressured Britain or France. British merchants just shifted their focus to South America for what they needed, and for Napoleon, the act fit right into his Continental System that he wanted the U.S. to follow anyway. Meanwhile, places like New England, which relied on trade, really suffered, and people were still trading illegally along the New York-Canadian border despite the ban. It didn’t take long for everyone to see that the Embargo Act was a flop, so it got repealed on the day James Madison was inaugurated as president, March 4, 1809.
Conclusion
Even though it didn’t spark a war right away, the Chesapeake-Leopard incident really hurt the relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain. Britain kept forcing American sailors into their navy, and the U.S. didn’t really show any muscle with the Embargo Act. So, it was just a matter of time before they ended up going head-to-head in the War of 1812.
