The USS Chesapeake and James Lawrence were hopelessly overmatched in this battle with the HMS Shannon. Lawrence had just taken command of his ship two weeks earlier and had not had the time to train his crew and officers. Even worse, he was unhappy with his new command as he had really wanted to command the USS Constitution, but that ship was in drydock for repairs and was unavailable..
Half of his crew were new to the Navy and untrained in working together. These men were also not happy because they hadn't been paid for weeks. There are some reports that some of the crew were drunk when they met the Shannon on June 1.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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