![]() The news of the British victory set all of Halifax abuzz and when the ships finally arrived on a sunny, Sunday morning, the churches emptied and the streets filled with excited Haligonians. Wasting no time, a prize crew was put aboard Chesapeake and Shannon escorted her and her surviving crew to Halifax, arriving there on June 6, 1813. In less than fifteen minutes, Chesapeake had been defeated in what would become one of history’s deadliest single-frigate battles. As cannons raged and boarding parties attacked, Chesapeake’s wounded Captain, James Lawrence, famously shouted at his men: “Don’t give up the ship”, but those words were in vain. ![]() Those spectators were soon left shocked as a short, but very bloody confrontation ensued. Even though the two vessels were evenly-matched, Bostonians eagerly anticipated yet another American victory and began preparing celebrations before the battle had even begun. On June 1, 1813, HMS Shannon challenged USS Chesapeake to a battle off Boston Harbour. Just before setting out to sea from Halifax, Captain Philip Broke of HMS Shannonstated in a letter to his wife, “We must catch one of those great American ships and send her home for a show.” In three short months, Captain Broke would do just that. By the end of the war’s first year, five major naval battles had taken place and each one had resulted in defeat for the British.Īs the second year of the war began, the British Navy’s need for a victory was desperate. ![]() The newer, faster American ships were heavily armed and their crews were well trained. It didn’t take long for that assumption to be proven wrong. ![]() When the United States first declared war on the British Empire during the summer of 1812, the British Navy was secure in its size and strength and did not see the small and untested American Navy as any kind of threat. Throughout the first year of the War of 1812, Nova Scotia had remained relatively sheltered from the unfolding conflict, but on June 6, 1813, a significant part of the war sailed right into Halifax Harbour. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |