HMS Shannon was a 38-gun Leda-class frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1806. Shannon was under the command of Captain Philip Broke from her first commission to 1813. Broke drilled his crew to an extremely high standard of gunnery. Following the shocking series of three consecutive defeats of British frigates in actions against the heavy American 44-gun "super-frigates", most notably against the USS Constitution, Broke was determined to engage an American warship in single combat. So he chose to burn captured American merchant vessels rather than send them to Halifax as a valuable prizes, since that would cost him essential crew. Broke found his opportunity with the 38-gun USS Chesapeake, which was refitting in Boston harbor under the command of Captain James Lawrence.
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