There was great excitement all through the country when the news of the affair between the Leopard and Chesapeake became known. For a while local politics were forgotten, and all party lines were set aside. Meetings were held in all the leading cities, in which the feelings of the public were expressed in very vigorous language. There was an almost universal demand for an immediate declaration of war against Great Britain.
[Illustration: HE WAS JUST FAIRLY STOWED AWAY WHEN HAINES CAME. Page 225.]
Our government complained to the British government, and the latter promptly replied by half apologizing for the occurrence and declaring that the British admiral had exceeded his orders. He was removed from the command of the squadron in American waters, ostensibly as a punishment for his conduct, but not long afterwards he was given a similar command on a more important station. Captain Humphreys of the Leopard was also removed, and the British government appropriated a sum of money for the families of those who had been killed on board the Chesapeake.
Always after this the Chesapeake seems to have been an unlucky ship. When the war broke out she went on an extensive cruise; she left Boston toward the close of February, 1813, passed the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, crossed the Equator, and cruised for six weeks in the South Atlantic Ocean. She then went to the coast of South America, sailed through the West Indies, and up the coast of the United States to Boston again. During all that long cruise she met only three ships-of-war, and captured only four merchant ships. When she was going into Boston Harbor in a gale she lost a topmast, and several men, who were aloft at the time, went overboard with it and were drowned. After she came back to Boston Captain Lawrence was assigned to command her. He accepted with great reluctance, on account of her "unlucky" reputation, not because he had any superstitions on that account, but because it was impossible to infuse into the crew the spirit that promises success.
The Chesapeake was refitted for sea, and while she was refitting, the British man-of-war Shannon appeared off Boston. She carried thirty-eight guns, the same as the Chesapeake, and on the first of June, Captain Broke, who commanded her, sent a challenge to Captain Lawrence, asking him to meet the Shannon, ship to ship, and try the fortunes of their respective flags. He offered to send all other ships beyond the power of interference, and to meet the Chesapeake at any point which Captain Lawrence might name within certain limits.