USS Chesapeake (1799) - First Barbary War

First Barbary War

During the Quasi-War, the United States had paid tribute to the Barbary States to ensure that they would not seize or harass American merchant ships. In 1801 Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli, dissatisfied with the amount of tribute in comparison to that paid to Algiers, demanded an immediate payment of $250,000. Thomas Jefferson responded by sending a squadron of warships to protect American merchant ships in the Mediterranean and to pursue peace negotiations with the Barbary States. The first squadron was under the command of Richard Dale in President and the second was assigned to the command of Richard Valentine Morris in Chesapeake. Morris's squadron eventually consisted of the vessels Constellation, New York, John Adams, Adams, and Enterprise. It took several months to prepare the vessels for sea; they departed individually as they became ready.

Chesapeake departed from Hampton Roads on 27 April 1802 and arrived at Gibraltar on 25 May; she immediately put in for repairs, as her main mast had split during the voyage. Morris remained at Gibraltar while awaiting word on the location of his squadron, as several ships had not reported in. On 22 July Adams arrived with belated orders for Morris, dated 20 April. Those orders were to "lay the whole squadron before Tripoli" and negotiate peace. Chesapeake and Enterprise departed Gibraltar on 17 August bound for Leghorn, while providing protection for a convoy of merchant ships that were bound for intermediate ports. Morris made several stops in various ports before finally arriving at Leghorn on 12 October, after which he sailed to Malta. Chesapeake undertook repairs of a rotted bowsprit. Chesapeake was still in port when John Adams arrived on 5 January 1803 with orders dated 23 October 1802 from Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith. These directed Chesapeake and Constellation to return to the United States; Morris was to transfer his command to New York. Constellation sailed directly as ordered, but Morris retained Chesapeake at Malta, claiming that she was not in any condition to make an Atlantic voyage during the winter months.

Morris now had the ships New York, John Adams, and Enterprise gathered under him, while Adams was at Gibraltar. On 30 January Chesapeake and the squadron got underway for Tripoli, where Morris planned to burn Tripolitan ships in the harbor. Heavy gales made the approach to Tripoli difficult. Fearing Chesapeake would lose her masts from the strong winds, Morris returned to Malta on 10 February. With provisions for the ships running low and none available near Malta, Morris decided to abandon plans to blockade Tripoli and sailed the squadron back to Gibraltar for provisioning. They made stops at Tunis on 22 February and Algiers on 19 March. Chesapeake arrived at Gibraltar on 23 March, where Morris transferred his command to New York. Under James Barron, Chesapeake sailed for the United States on 7 April and she was placed in reserve at the Washington Navy Yard on 1 June.

Morris remained in the Mediterranean until September, when orders from Secretary Smith arrived suspending his command and instructing him to return to the United States. There he faced a Naval Board of Inquiry which found that he was censurable for "inactive and dilatory conduct of the squadron under his command". He was dismissed from the navy in 1804. Morris's overall performance in the Mediterranean was particularly criticized for the state of affairs aboard Chesapeake and his inactions as a commander. His wife, young son, and housekeeper accompanied him on the voyage, during which Mrs. Morris gave birth to another son. Midshipman Henry Wadsworth wrote that he and the other midshipman referred to Mrs. Morris as the "Commodoress" and believed she was the main reason behind Chesapeake remaining in port for months at a time. Consul William Eaton reported to Secretary Smith that Morris and his squadron spent more time in port sightseeing and doing little but "dance and wench" than blockading Tripoli.