Chesapeake–Leopard Affair

Date: June 22, 1807 • Location: Paris, France

The British warship HMS Leopard pursued and attacked the American frigate USS Chesapeake (pictured) in the belief that the crew of the latter included deserters from the Royal Navy.

HMS Leopard was a 50-gun Portland class fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and was notable for the actions of her captain in 1807, which were emblematic of the tensions that later erupted in the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States. She was wrecked in 1814.