“The Chesapeake and the Shannon (I)”

Description

The U.S.S. Chesapeake sails out of Boston Harbor, confident of victory, to engage H.M.S. Shannon. The well-trained British crew of Captain Broke quickly defeats the American ship and takes it as a prize

Supplemental text

Chesapeake and the Shannon (I), The [Laws J20]
  Complete text(s)

          *** A ***

Chesapeake and Shannon

As printed by W. H. Logan, The Pedlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs,
pp. 71-72. Immediate source not listed.

The Chesapeake so bold,
Out of Boston, I've been told,
Came to take a British frigate
      Neat and handy, O!
While the people all in port
Came out to see the sport,
With their music playing
      Yankee doodle dandy, O!

Now the British frigate's name,
Which for the purpose came
Of cooling Yankee's courage
      Neat and handy, O!
Was the Shannon -- Captain Broke --
Whose crew were hearts of oak,
And for fighting were allowed to be
      The dandies, O!

The engagement scarce begun,
Ere they flinched from their guns.
Which at first they thought of working
      Neat and handy, O!
Then brave Broke he drew his sword,
Crying, "Now, my lads, we'll board,
And we'll stop their playing
      Yankee doodle dandy, O!"

They no sooner heard the word,
Ere they quickly jumped on board,
And haul'd down the Yankee ensign
      Neat and handy, O!
Notwithstanding all their brag,
Now the glorious British flag
At the Yankee's mizen peak
      Was quite the dandy, O!

Here's a health, "Brave Broke," to you,
To your officers and crew,
Who on board the Shannon frigate
      Fought so handy, O!
And may it ever prove
That for fighting, as in love,
The true British tars
      Are the dandies, O!

Notes

The victory of the _Constitution_ over the _Guerriere_ (for background, see "The Constitution and the Guerriere," Laws A6) significantly improved the morale of the American navy. Other victories followed, giving the Americans still more confidence.

One of these was the fateful meeting between U.S.S. _Hornet_ and H.M.S. _Peacock_, for which see "The Hornet and the Peacock." The _Hornet_ was commanded by a bold up-and-comer by the name of James Lawrence. That earned Lawrence, who was still only 31 in 1813, command of the _Chesapeake_, one of only half a dozen frigates in hte U. S. Navy at the time (see Walter R. Borneman, _1812: The War That Forged a Nation_, p. 113).

In the late spring of 1813, a "single combat" was arranged between James Lawrence's U.S.S. _Chesapeake_ and Captain Philip-Bowes-Vere Broke's H.M.S. _Shannon_. (The challenge was supposedly written, though it's said that Lawrence did not receive the actual written challenge; Borneman, p. 115; Donald R. Hickey, _The War of 1812_, p. 154; Fletcher Pratt, _A Compact History of the United States Navy_, p. 83.)

The American decision was not wise. _Chesapeake_ was already a hard-luck ship; in 1807, H. M. S. _Leopard_ had demanded the right to search her for deserters (this was one of the key issues of the War of 1812); being refused, _Leopard_ fired into the American ship -- which was manned by an inexperienced and largely incompetent crew -- and had their way. (Borneman, pp. 22-24; Lincoln P. Paine, _Ships of the World_, pp. 108-109. Pierre Berton, _The Invasion of Canada [Volume I], 1812-1813_, Atlantic-Little Brown, 1980, pp. 35-36, describes the men's theft of property when they deserted and thinks that the whole thing started because the British ship commander, although he didn't want an incident, had said too much to back down. Hickey, p. 17, notes the irony that the British would disclaim the _Leopard's_ action and returned three impressed sailors, though Berton, p. 37, adds that one was hanged at Halifax.) This led to increased tension between Britain and the U. S., but not open war -- yet.

By 1812, _Chesapeake_ was of course seaworthy again, but her crew was hastily-assembled (many veteran sailors had refused to re-enlist due to arguments over prize money; Hickey, p. 155), and Lawrence didn't know them; only one officer had served aboard her for any length of time (Borneman, p. 115). Many of the crew weren't even English-speakers; Pratt, p. 88, reports that about three dozen were Portugese. It should have been obvious that _Chesapeake's_ sailors were no match for an experienced British crew. The ship had had some success early in the war taking small British prizes, but that was with Samuel Evans in command.

Broke, by contrast, had commanded the _Shannon_ since 1806, and he had turned his ship and crew into one of the best in the British fleet -- and, unlike some officers, he insisted on target practice, so his gunners were unusually good shots(Pratt, p. 83).

The battle took place on June 1, 1813. Lawrence failed to take his one chance to cross the T on _Shannon's_ stern, and that effectively ended the battle. Within minutes Lawrence had been mortally wounded (his last words were, "Don't give up the ship! Fight her till she sinks," but they did little good, the more so since the bugler refused to relay them; Borneman, p. 117) and the British were boarding the Chesapeake.

The executive officer was also wounded, but survived, and he needed a scapegoat, so he filed charges blaming the defeat on the probationary officer William S. Cox, who had moved Lawrence out of the line of fire and then found himself commanding the ship after all the other officers were disabled -- though there really wasn't much Cox could have done by then. Cox was dishonorably discharged, dying 62 years later without his case being re-examined; he finally was exonerated by act of congress in 1953 (see John K. Mahon, _The War of 1812_, Da Capo, 1972, pp. 124-125). As far as I know, no one has had the guts to formally blame Lawrence for his folly.

It was a truly brutal defeat for the Americans: Not only did they lose the ship and Captain Lawrence, but also the first lieutenant and fourth lieutenants mortally wounded, as was the marine commander, and the second and third lieutenants wounded. Total losses were 47 killed, 14 mortally wounded, and 85 with lesser wounds. The _Shannon_ had 24 killed and 59 wounded, some mortally; Captain Broke, who had himself led the boarding parties, was too wounded to return to sea. The whole battle had taken 15 minutes. (See Hickey, p. 155; James Henderson, _The Frigates_, pp. 154-160, though this account is very pro-British and ignores the rather sorry state of the _Chesapeake_).

It is odd to note that neither _Chesaapeake_ nor _Shannon_ was badly damaged (they came together so quickly that both ships still had all their masts). The British probably could have taken _Chesapeake_ into the Royal Navy -- and, given the general quality of American ships, might have been well-advised to do so. But the Napoleonic Wars were winding down, so she was sent to England and broken up (Borneman, p. 118); according to Hickey, p. 155, her timber eventually was used to build a flour mill.

The victory meant that the British, who had been stung by the popular broadside "The Constitution and the Guerriere," finally had something to celebrate out of the naval war. The promptly produced this piece, reported by Logan to be sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" but usually printed with the tune "Landlady of France"or "Pretty Peggy of Derby, O."

To tell this song from the other "Chesapeake" ballads, consider this stanza:

The Chesapeake so bold out of Boston we've been told

Came to take the British frigate neat and handy, O.

All the people of the port they came out to see the sport,

And the bands were playing Yankee Doodle Dandy, O. - RBW

Historical references

• June 1, 1813 - Battle between the Chesapeake and the Shannon

Cross references

• cf. "The Constitution and the Guerriere" [Laws A6] (historical setting)
• cf. "The Chesapeake and the Shannon (II) and (III)" (plot)

Broadsides

• Bodleian, 2806 c.17(383), "Shanon & Chesapeak" ("The Chesapeake, quite bold")[title not entirely legible], unknown, n.d.

References

1. Laws J20, "The Chesapeake and the Shannon I"
2. Logan, pp. 69-72, "Chesapeake and Shannon" (1 text)
3. Friedman, p. 293, "The Chesapeake and the Shannon" (1 text, 1 tune)
4. Fowke/Johnston, pp. 24-25, "The Chesapeake and the Shannon" (1 text, 1 tune)
5. Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 68-70, "The 'Chesapeake' and the 'Shannon'" (1 text, 1 tune)
6. Mackenzie 79, "The Chesapeake and the Shannon" (1 text, 1 tune)
7. Harlow, pp. 187-188, "Shannon and Chesapeake" (1 text, 1 tune)
8. Shay-SeaSongs, p. 165-166, "The Shannon and the Chesapeake" (1 text, 1 tune)
9. Scott-BoA, pp. 111-112, "The Chesapeake and the Shannon" (1 text, 1 tune)
10. Darling-NAS, pp. 96-97, "The Chesapeake and the Shannon" (1 text)
11. DT 398, CHESSHAN*
12. ADDITIONAL: C. H. Firth, _Publications of the Navy Records Society_ , 1907 (available on Google Books), p. 311, "Shannon and Chesapeake" (1 text)
13. ST LJ20 (Full)
14. Roud #1583
15. BI, LJ20