144 James Lawrence.

tain Evans, who was compelled by his failing health to

go on sick leave.
On May 6th the Department had addressed the fol
lowing letter to Captain Evans, but in consequence of his
indisposition, and consequent detachment from the com
mand of the "Chesapeake," it was sent to Lawrence :

Navy Department, May 6, 1813.*

Captain Samuel Evans,
U. S. Frigate "Chesapeake,"
Boston Harbour.
Sir:—
I am much satisfied with the progress you have made in the
equipment of the "Chesapeake," and trust this will find you
ready for sea. In this expectation the following outline is in
tended to designate your cruise, which, if pursued with vigor
and vigilance, I am persuaded will result no less to your honor
and advantage than to the advancement of the great objects
of the war.
It is impossible to conceive a naval service of a higher order
in a national point of view than the capture and destruction of
the enemy's store ships with military and naval stores destined
for the supply of his armies in Canada and fleets on this station ;
and the capture of transports with troops, intended to reinforce
Canada, or invade our own shores. With this view no position
can be better chosen than the range of the coast of Nova Scotia,
and the entrance of the Gulph of St. Lawrence — continuing about
this ground until the latter part of June, then through the Gulph
of St. Lawrence and Streights of Belle Isle, along the Coast of
Labradore; or round by the east Coast of Newfoundland, (as
information and prospects may determine), to the Coast of Green
land, where the entire whale fishery of the enemy, being with
may be speedily and completely destroyed.
out protection,
By the time this could be accomplished the same route may
be retraced home, so as to enter some convenient eastern port
in all the month of September. In this route you will find great
resource and refreshment in the fish with which those seas

* Private Correspondence. Navy Dept. MSS. Archives.

Page 19.
 Orders to the "Chesapeake." 145
abound, as well that of the fishing vessels you may cap
as in
ture and destroy: moreover, the moderate temperature and hu
midity of the climate will admit of a very moderate consump
tion of water.
The force of the enemy now on our coast, and the expected
increase, forbid a reasonable expectation of getting prizes safe
into our ports during the summer
months. The risk of recap
tures is so great that the public
interest seems to require rather
the destruction of every price, than to weaken your crew by
attempting to send them in — particularly those with Military
or Naval Stores. A question never can arise between the honor
able patriotism of our gallant
officers and the pecuniary inter
est they may be supposed to have in attempting to send them
into port, when the doubtful chance of success, and the very
great advantage the enemy would derive from recaptures, are
duly considered.
The cruising ground herein designated also embraces a vast
and valuable mercantile trade for the supply of the British Prov
inces, and of the Indians ; and also a rich return in furs and
peltries.
The enemy will not, in all probability, anticipate our taking
this ground with our public ships of war, and as the enemy's
convoys generally separate between Cape Race and Halifax,
leaving the trade for the St. Lawrence to proceed without con
voy, the chance of captures, upon an extensive scale, is very
flattering. It is of great importance that our account of prison
ers should be kept as full as possible, and the returns regularly
made, to this department, in order that an exchange of our own
gallant seamen may be effected without delay; and that by the
magnitude of the pledge in our hands the enemy may be in
duced from policy, if not from disposition, to treat our citi
zens with less rigour than he is accustomed to do.
The fogs which prevail in the seas in which you are to cruise
may be considered as forming an objection, upon the presump
tion that a superior enemy cannot be discovered until close on
board ; but, admitting fact, it is counterbalanced by the fa
the
cility which it affords to a fast sailing vessel to escape from a
superior enemy — that it conceals your own ship until an inferior
in force & sailing in under your guns — that by running close in
with the land you are sure to have clear weather, although the
fog may be ever so thick two or three leagues off; and, that, by
146 James Lawrence.
taking a position off some known, usual landfall for the ships
entering the St. Lawrence, you may intercept them as they ap
proach the land the moment they develop from the fog-bank.
After all, vigilance and preparation are the only safeguards in
any and every situation.
With instructions you will proceed to sea as soon as the
these
weather and the force and position of the enemy will admit;
and as the "Hornet" is now ready for sea, I shall furnish Cap
tain Biddle with a duplicate of this letter, and order him to pur
sue the same route, with the same objects in view, and to en
deavor to join you off Cape Breton. Wishing you a successful
and honorable cruise, I am, very respectfully, &c,
W. Jones.

These instructions were finally forwarded to Captain

Lawrence, accompanied by another set of orders written
four days later, and addressed to Lawrence himself :

Navy Department, May 6, 1813.*

Captain James Lawrence, U. S. Navy,
New York.
Sir : —
My last, of the 4tht instant, will have informed you of my in
tention to have ordered you to the command of the "Constitu
tion," without reservation, and the enclosed copy of a letter, this
moment received, after I had sealed the cover of the enclosed
lettert to Captain Evans, will explain to you the cause of the in
dispensable change of that determination.
Knowing your ardent desire for active service, I feel a pleas
ure in gratifying your laudable zeal, and, therefore, desire that
you will proceed immediately to Boston, take command of the
U. S. Frigate "Chesapeake." and proceed in conformity with the
foregoing instructions, which you will consider as if originally
addressed to yourself. If in the course of your cruise you should
derive such information of the force of the enemy, or other suf
ficient cause, as to render a strict adherence to my instructions

* Private Correspondence. Navy Dept. MSS. Archives.

Page 22.
t The Department's letter of May 4th, missing.
t Letter preceding this.
 Orders to the "Chesapeake." 147
prejudicial to the public service, you are at liberty to exercise
your own judgment, and pursue such other course as may, in
your opinion, be best calculated to accomplish the important ob
jects of your cruise.
Captain Biddle will receive his instructions by this mail, and
may, probably, be in New York in twenty-four hours after.
Perhaps you had better see him and confer upon the best means
of ensuring his junction with you at whatever point you may
determine upon.
Captain Evans will be ordered to the Navy Yard at New York,
but you need not wait to be relieved by him.
I am, very respectfully, &c,
W. Jones.

Upon receipt of these orders Lawrence wrote to the

Secretary of the Navy as follows:

New York, May 10, 1813.

Sir:—
I was yesterday honored by the receipt of your letter of
the 6th inst., revoking your order of the 4th and appointing me
to the command of the Frigate "Chesapeake"; by this testimony
of your confidence and the very handsome manner in which it
was communicated, I feel highly honor'd. By Thursday I shall
be able to collect all the accounts for the outfit of the "Hornet,"
for signing, as well as those for the Navy Yard, and shall then
proceed direct for Boston.
Permit me, however, Sir, to hope that if the following arrange
ment can without injury to the service be made, you will have no
objection, and I only wish it to take place in case I should un
avoidably be delayed by blockade or any other cause. I am fear
ful that you will conceive my conduct rather inconsistent, but
trust the excuse Iam about to offer will be a sufficient apology.
When I requested permission to go out again in the "Hornet"
I
I conceived that could with propriety leave my family, but have
since found that Mrs. Lawrence's health is so delicate and her
situation at this time so very critical that I am induced to re
quest your permission to remain until the "Constitution" is
ready, provided I can make the arrangement with Captain Stew
art, who I understand is ordered to her, but who, I understand,
is extremely anxious to get to sea.
148 James Lawrence.

I
shall consult with Captain Biddle (who is now here) and make
necessary arrangements with him.

Washington Irving states that Lawrence wrote four

"letters successively to the Secretary of the Navy," ask
ing to have his orders to the "Chesapeake" changed, but
this must be a mistake. The letter above is the only
one on the subject on file in the Navy Department, and
the tone of his letters indicates clearly an intention to
obey if his request for a revocation of his orders was
declined.
Besides, it is known that Lawrence arrived in Bos
ton on the 18th of May, which is proof that he left New
Ycrk very soon after the above letter to the Secretary
was written. He had not given up hope, however, when
he joined "Chesapeake" that his request for the
the
"Constitution" would be approved, as will be seen later
on in his letter to Captain Biddle dated on the 27th of
May.
It is now proper to say something about the "Chesa
peake." She was considered the most unlucky ship in
the navy, and from the time she was launched until
Barron's bullet at Bladensburg, twenty years later, slew
the most brilliant sailor officer the navy of the United
States has ever produced, she seemed always to exercise
a baneful influence upon every one connected with her.
Like CEdipus in the Fable, she was pursued by a malig
nant fate, from which it seemed impossible to escape.
The "Chesapeake" was built at Norfolk, Virginia, and
launched November 2, 1799. It is stated that in at
tempting to launch her she stuck twice on the ways,
which is always considered an ill omen. She was 1,135
tons byEnglish and 1,244 tons by American measurement,
and was completed in 265 working days, not more than
twenty carpenters at a time being employed in her con