Leopard vs. the Chesapeake
The British frigate Leopard impressed or seized four "deserters" from the American ship Chesapeake in 1807. The British ship was waiting in Lynnhaven Bay, because two French ships (with whom the British were at war) were getting repaired at the Gosport Naval Yard.
- The Federal government had leased that Virginia boat yard in 1794-95 to build the Chesapeake, after President George Washington had refused to pay tribute to the Barbary pirates. The ship was actually completed in December 1799, when war loomed with France.
The Leopard intercepted the American ship near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The incident preceded the War of 1812, but was a factor in creating American hostility that led first to an embargo and then to war. [Commodore James Barron was blamed for failing to have the ship prepared, and was court-martialed. He blamed Commodore Stephen Decatur for constraining his career, and later killed him in a duel.]
The Chesapeake Bay: Avenue for Attack
The Military in Virginia
Chesapeake Bay/Tidewater Region
Geography of Virginia