<P> The Chesapeake--Leopard Affair was a naval engagement that occurred off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on 22 June 1807, between the British warship HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake . The crew of Leopard pursued, attacked, and boarded the American frigate, looking for deserters from the Royal Navy . Chesapeake was caught unprepared and after a short battle involving broadsides received from Leopard, the commander of Chesapeake, James Barron, surrendered his vessel to the British . The Chesapeake had fired only one shot . </P> <P> Four crew members were removed from the American vessel and were tried for desertion, one of whom was subsequently hanged . Chesapeake was allowed to return home, where James Barron was court martialed and suspended from command . </P> <P> The Chesapeake--Leopard Affair created an uproar among Americans . There were strident calls for war with Great Britain, but these quickly subsided . President Thomas Jefferson initially attempted to use this widespread bellicosity to diplomatically threaten the British government into settling the matter . The United States Congress backed away from armed conflict when British envoys showed no contrition for the Chesapeake affair, delivering proclamations reaffirming impressment . Jefferson's political failure to coerce Great Britain led him toward economic warfare: the Embargo of 1807 . </P> <P> In the spring of 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, several British naval vessels were on duty on the North American Station, blockading two French third - rate warships in Chesapeake Bay . A number of Royal Navy seamen had deserted from their ships and local American authorities gave them sanctuary . One of the deserters, a Londoner named Jenkin Ratford, joined the crew of USS Chesapeake . Ratford had made himself conspicuous to British officers by shouting at them on the streets of Norfolk, Virginia . </P>

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