| act of war. It was the subject of negotiations, but proper atonement for
it was not made in Jefferson's administration. HMS Leopard came upon the USS Chesapeake enroute to the Mediterranean. The British vessel duped the American ship into heaving to by requesting that it carry dispatches to Gibraltar. This was a common practice and courtesy extended to vessels from all navies to each other when encountering a vessel of another non-belligerent navy. Once stopped the British informed Captain Bainbridge that they intended to search his ship for "deserters." This blatant act of impressment was a nothing more than an affront to US sovereignty. Captain Bainbridge refused and the British fired on the Chesapeake causing severe damage and injury. Captain Bainbridge was not prepared for hostilities and was unable to offer proper resistance. The Chesapeake was surrendered with the English refusing Bainbridge’s sword. Four sailors were removed with some eventually being hanged by the Royal Navy. American commerce was caught in the crossfire between British Orders in Council and Napoleonic decrees. Recognizing the impossibility of coping with both blockades, but determined not to take sides in this conflict and convinced that peace was in the best interest of his young country, Jefferson and his government sought to safeguard American life and shipping and |
