USS Chesapeake (1799) - Royal Navy Service and Legacy

Royal Navy Service and Legacy

The Royal Navy repaired Chesapeake and took her into service as HMS Chesapeake. She served on the Halifax station under the command of Alexander Gordon through 1814, and under the command of George Burdett she sailed to Plymouth, England, for repairs in October of that year. Afterward she made a voyage to Cape Town, South Africa, until learning of the peace treaty with the United States in May 1815. Upon returning to England later in the year, Chesapeake went into reserve and apparently never returned to active duty. In 1819 she was sold to a Portsmouth timber merchant for £500 who dismantled the ship and sold its timbers to Joshua Holmes for £3,450. Eventually her timbers became part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, Hampshire, England, where they can be viewed to this day.

A report was made in 1815 concerning the Chesapeake's performance in British service. Her captain observed that she was strongly constructed, but criticised the excessive overhang of the stern. He concluded that she was not a suitable ship to serve as a model for copying. Her speed under sail was not particularly impressive: 9kts close-hauled and 11kts large.

Almost from her beginnings, Chesapeake was considered an "unlucky ship", the "runt of the litter" to the superstitious sailors of the 19th century, and the product of a disagreement between Humphreys and Fox. Her ill-fated encounters with HMS Leopard and Shannon, the court martials of two of her captains, and the accidental deaths of several crewmen led many to believe she was cursed.

Arguments defending both Humphreys and Fox regarding their long-standing disagreements over the design of the frigates carried on for years. Humphreys disowned any credit for Fox's redesign of Chesapeake. In 1827 he wrote, "She spoke his talents. Which I leave the Commanders of that ship to estimate by her qualifications."

Lawrence's last command of "Don't give up the ship!" became a rallying cry for the US Navy. Oliver Hazard Perry, in command of naval forces on Lake Erie during September 1813, named his flagship Lawrence, which flew a broad blue flag bearing the words "Dont give up the ship!" The phrase is still used in the US Navy today, as displayed on the USS Lake Erie.

Chesapeake's blood-stained and bullet-ridden American flag was sold at auction in London in 1908. Purchased by William Waldorf Astor, it now resides in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, along with her signal book. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, holds several artifacts of the battle with Shannon. In 1996 a timber fragment from the Chesapeake Mill was returned to the United States. It is on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.