Changes

==Battle with HMS ''Shannon''==

==Battle with HMS ''Shannon''==

[[Image:USSChesapeake.jpg|thumb|200px|right|USS ''Chesapeake'' led into Halifax Harbor by HMS ''Shannon'', September, 1813.]]

[[Image:USSChesapeake.jpg|thumb|200px|right|USS ''Chesapeake'' led into Halifax Harbor by HMS ''Shannon'', June, 1813.]]

However, the time was not available. Blockading off Boston was HMS ''Shannon'', commanded for the past seven years by Captain Philip Broke, whose attention to gunnery practice and other elements of combat readiness was extraordinary. ''Shannon'' and ''Chesapeake'' were of virtually identical strength, though the American ship's crew was rather larger, and a duel between the two was attractive to both captains. Broke even issued a formal challenge, though it did not reach ''Lawrence'', whose previous experience with British warships had convinced him that they were not likely to be formidable opponents.

However, the time was not available. Blockading off Boston was HMS ''Shannon'', commanded for the past seven years by Captain Philip Broke, whose attention to gunnery practice and other elements of combat readiness was extraordinary. ''Shannon'' and ''Chesapeake'' were of virtually identical strength, though the American ship's crew was rather larger, and a duel between the two was attractive to both captains. Broke even issued a formal challenge, though it did not reach ''Lawrence'', whose previous experience with British warships had convinced him that they were not likely to be formidable opponents.