To the Right Honorable Lord Viscount Melville first Lord of the Admiralty: This print of his Majesty's Frigate the Shannon Captn. Broke Commander carrying the American Frigate Chesapeake (Commanded by Capt. Lawrance)...
A view of the USS 'Chesapeake' (1799) and the HMS 'Shannon' (1806) engaged in battle during the War of 1812. The American frigate, identified by the stars and stripes flag, is in the forefront. The British frigate is parallel behind the 'Chesapeake.' Men are gripped in violent combat; they wield swords and rifles from the decks, mast platforms, rigging, and yards. The American ship flies a flag with the political slogan 'Free Trade and Sailors Rights' that became the rallying cry for the war.
On 1 June 1813, the HMS 'Shannon' captured the USS 'Chesapeake.' The British frigate pulled up to the broadside of the American ship, and masked in the smoke of a grenade explosion in an open chest of musket charges, the British boarded the 'Chesapeake.' The fight was over within a few minutes. The 'Chesapeake-Shannon' incident was the bloodiest naval battle of the war with 280 men dead and wounded, including mortally wounding the American Captain James Lawrence.
