The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair Research Paper

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June 22nd, 1807 - The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair The Chesapeake-Leopard affair is one of the main reasons behind the war of 1812. Off the coast of Norfolk Virginia, the British war ship, HMS Leopard was patrolling the waters when it encountered the American frigate, USS Chesapeake. British Captain, Salusbury Humphreys sent a message to the Chesapeake that the British had orders to search the ship for British seamen. When American captain James Barron refused to let the British on board, the Leopard open fired on the Chesapeake. This left 4 people dead and 17 wounded. The British captured 4 men, from which only 1 was a British traitor. This event had the Americans outraged. Yet instead of declaring war with the British, president Thomas Jefferson banned all British ships from American waters. September 30th, 1811 - General Sir Isaac Brock Appointed Sir Isaac Brock was born in St. Peter Port, Guernsey a British dependant island. Brock joined the army …show more content…

The battle took place on October 13th, 1812. The Americans launched their attack on the night of October 12th, 1812 yet this attempt was very poorly organized, so General Brock thought it was a feint. Therefore, he did not send any extra men to defend Queenston. This let American General Stephen Van Rensselaer repeat the attack. On October 13th 1812, Brock was awakened to the sound of gun shots. He rushed to Queenston and regrouped his forces. During the battle, Brock was shot right above the heart and died instantly. Taken by surprise, the Americans waved a white handkerchief signaling that they had surrendered. Over the course of this battle, almost 1000 Americans were taken prisoner, 300 were killed or wounded. While on the other hand, the British lost only 27 troops of 8-14 soldiers and had 77 wounded troops. This battle was both a victory and a tragedy for the British as they had won the battle but lost Sir Isaac Brock in the

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