Sending a Lieutenant John Meade as messenger to the American ship, Captain Salusbury Humphreys demanded that the frigate be searched for deserters. On June 21, 1807, HMS Leopard (50) hailed Chesapeake shortly after it cleared the Virginia Capes. Berkeley, commanding the North American station, instructed any British warship that encountered Chesapeake to stop it and search for deserters from HMS Belleisle (74), HMS Bellona (74), HMS Triumph (74), HMS Chichester (70), HMS Halifax (24), and HMS Zenobia (10). The tensions were heightened when rumors circulated that other British deserters were part of Chesapeake's crew. Subsequent affidavits later confirmed this, and the men claimed they had been impressed. This was refused as was a request to Madison who believed the three men to be Americans. Upon learning of this, the British consul at Norfolk demanded that Captain Stephen Decatur, commanding the navy yard at Gosport, return the men. Three of the deserters then enlisted aboard the frigate USS Chesapeake (38) which was then fitting out for a patrol in the Mediterranean. In the spring of 1807, several sailors deserted from HMS Melampus (36 guns) while the ship was at Norfolk, VA. Three years later, the impressment issue resulted in a serious incident between the two nations. Madison that the American flag should protect every individual on board of a merchant ship is too extravagant to require any serious refutation." Though the American government repeatedly protested the practice, British Foreign Secretary Lord Harrowby contemptuously wrote in 1804, "The pretention advanced by Mr. These searches frequently took place in American territorial waters. Heightening the tensions was the practice of the Royal Navy stationing vessels off American ports with orders to search ships for contraband and men who could be impressed. Despite possession of citizenship certificates, this naturalized status was often not recognized by the British and many American sailors were seized under the simple criterion of "Once an Englishman, always an Englishman." Between 18, approximately 5,000-9,000 American sailors were forced into the Royal Navy with as many as three-quarters being legitimate American citizens. Many American sailors had been born in Britain and became naturalized American citizens. ![]() Though the law required impressed recruits to be British citizens, this status was loosely interpreted. British warships made a frequent habit of stopping neutral shipping to inspect crew lists and remove British sailors for military service. The long arm of impressment also reached onto the decks of neutral commercial vessels, including those of the United States. Often captains would send "press gangs" to round up recruits from pubs and brothels in British ports or from British merchant ships. To provide enough sailors, the Royal Navy was permitted a follow a policy of impressment which allowed it to draft into immediate service any able-bodied, male British subject. While volunteer enlistments generally met the service's manpower needs during peacetime, the expansion of the fleet during times of conflict required the employment of other methods to sufficiently crew its vessels. This saw the size of the fleet grow to over 170 ships of the line and required in excess of 140,000 men. The largest navy in the world, the Royal Navy was actively campaigning in Europe by blockading French ports as well as maintaining a military presence across the vast British Empire. Though angered by the actions of Britain and France, the United States lacked the military power to halt these transgressions. This saw British warships stop American merchant vessels at sea and remove American sailors from their ships for service in the fleet. In addition, as it depended upon the Royal Navy for military success, the British followed a policy of impressment to meet its growing manpower needs. Engaged in a life-or-death struggle in Europe the two nations actively sought to prevent the Americans from trading with their enemy. ![]() Despite success in these minor conflicts, American merchant ships continued to be harassed by both the British and the French. These threats were met during the undeclared Quasi-War with France (1798-1800) and First Barbary War (1801-1805). With the security of the Royal Navy removed, American shipping soon began falling prey to privateers from Revolutionary France and the Barbary pirates. Having won its independence in 1783, the United States soon found itself a minor power without the protection of the British flag.
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