Chapter Three/Part Two: Naval War of 1812 Illustrated - Blue Water Part Two

The British began to blockade American ports at the end of 1812. With so much of its naval force dedicated to the European theater and so little to spare for the American matters, a British blockade was the most effective way to bottle up the American Navy and maritime commerce and thereby cripple the American economy. The British government announced its first official blockade on November 27, 1812 to cover the mouths of the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River, cutting off Philadelphia, Baltimore and Norfolk along with many other port towns located along those bodies of water. Aware of the hostility to the War in much of New England and the fact that its ships were still providing vital food supplies to the British army in the Iberian Peninsula, the British expanded the blockade south of New England on March 26, 1813 to include areas around New York City, Savannah, Charleston and Port Royal, South Carolina, and the Mississippi River. Eight months later, on November 16, 1813, the British increased the blockade to cover the entire U.S. coast from Long Island Sound to the southern limit of Georgia and around the mouth of the Mississippi River. And finally on April 25, 1814, it was extended to include the entire New England coast.

In Europe the long war was coming to an end. The victorious British and their allies marched into Paris on March 30, 1814 and within a week Napoleon abdicated. As the Napoleonic Wars wound down the British were able to direct more military assets to the American theater. So over a period of a year and half as the blockade noose tightened, blue water activity for American commerce and the U.S. Navy greatly diminished. But fast merchantmen continued to run the blockade and there were a number of occasions when American Naval vessels either ran the blockade or came out to engage the blockaders. The first of these was a disaster for the Americans.

James Lawrence had been promoted to captain following his victory in the U.S. Sloop-of-War Hornet over the H.M. Brig Peacock and was given command of the U.S. Frigate Chesapeake. It was in Boston harbor where the blockade had not yet been formally proclaimed but was effectively bottled up by the H.M. Frigate Shannon under Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke. He had taken a page from the American book and rigorously trained his crew in gunnery and for fifty-six days captured and burned merchantmen attempting to enter Boston harbor. He hoped to provoke Lawrence into a fight. On June 1, 1813 Lawrence had determined to rid Boston harbor of the British frigate and put to sea flying a banner that read, "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights!"