History - Battlefield Detectives The War Of 1812 The Chesapeake

In 1812, the US and Great Britain are once again at war. American "super frigates" win a series of crushing naval victories over the British Royal Navy warships. Americans are jubilant. Frigate captains are the celebrities of their day. On June 1, 1813, Captain James Lawrence sails out of Boston Harbor on the USS Chesapeake to take up a challenge from the British frigate HMS Shannon. Lawrence has already proven to be a brave and talented naval officer. But aboard the Shannon, British Captain Philip Brokehas other ideas. At almost six in the afternoon, the fighting starts and lasts just 11 minutes. At the end, the Chesapeake is taken, 103 men are dead, and the US captain lies mortally wounded. Why was the battle so ferocious and bloody? How did the British win such a crushing victory against the odds? Scientists and historians combine efforts to solve the mystery.

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