1rlh1 <e JP> lliig ]hut odf by William S. Dudley n Wickham, near Portsmouth, England, stands an old mill with a Georgian brick ] [ fa'<ade that can be considered an artifact of the War of 1812. The US Navy frigate Chesapeake was one of the first six frigates constructed under the 1794 "Act to Create a Naval Armament." The mill is a handsome three-stoty structure built in the 1820s from the timbers of the frigate Chesapeake. Until only about thirty years ago, the mill was still in use. 1he owner allowed occasional visits by those interested in the building's origins. When I visited in 1988, I thought I could detect the some marks and shapes of earlier usage, such as camber in the horizontal beams. Bags filled with grain it milled featured the silhouette of a full-rigged ship, and local legends speak of sailors' ghosts and the eerie sounds of battle emanating from the mill. The story of how USS Chesapeake arrived in England can be briefly told. Her designer was Josial1 Fox who was under orders to construct a 44-gun frigate based on Joshua Humphreys's original design. Fox, a former naval constructor from England, chose to change the design to that of the relatively smaller 38-gun English frigates with which he was familiar. Completed in 1799, the ship saw service in the latter part of the Quasi-War with France and as the Aagship of Commodore Richard Morris in the Barbaiy Wars. In 1803 she was laid up in ordinaty. In 1807, Chesapeake becan1e the flagship of Captain James Barron, who was destined to command the Mediterranean squadron. Under Barron's overall command, and with Captain Charles Gordon as flag captain, Chesapeake was halted at1d humiliated in June 1807 by HMS Leopard off Norfolk. When Bairnn declined to permit a seai·ch of his ship fo r British deserters, Leopard subjected the unprepared Chesapeake to three broadsides and more before Barron hauled down his colors. Chesapeake went on, after considerable repair, and later came under the command of Captain Srephen Decatur during the period of embargo enforcemem and the run-up to the War of 1812. It was not until May 181 3 that Captain James Lawrence took command in Boston. One momh later, Lawrence boldly but recklessly challenged HMS Shannon in a battle that rook his life in one of the bloodiest single ship engagements of the war. His dying words, "Don't Give Up the Ship," have lived on as a famous battle cry
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Right: USS Chesapeake. The condemned frigate was auctioned offfor the value of her timbers and copper. A miller bought the vessel and used the materials to build a mill (above) in Wickham, England. in US Naval history. Royal Navy Caprain Philip Vere Broke, himself severely wounded, brought Chesapeake to Halifax as a prize. The Royal Navy accepted Chesapeake for service at1d had her lines taken off at Portsmouth, England. After only a few yeai·s of service, she was condemned and sold for the value of her copper and timber to a miller from Wickham who built the structure now called the Chesapeake Mill. The mill's future is today uncertain. The Hampshire County Council purchased it from the estate of the last owner and has recently rented the mill for use as a warehouse. In July 2003, when rumors spread atnong preservationists of the mill's imminent sale, word spread from Britain to the U nited States at1d trans-Atlantic phone lines hummed with concern about what to do. The Council was awai·e of the building's origins but was then unwilling to consider upgrading its status for preservation purposes. In September 2003, a coalition of British, Canadian, and Americat1 naval historians, nautical archaeologists, and maritime museum directors formed the "Chesapeake Action Group" to urge the Council to consider an alternate use for the mill. They suggested, for example, that the mill could be converted without much alteration to use as a maritime museum for the purpose of interpreting the War of 1812, which heretofore has not had a museum dedicated to this purpose in Great Britain. The bicentennial of this "Cousins Wai-'' is not fai· off. Preparations for commemorating tl1is conflict are now in the works in both the United States and Canada. Institutions and individuals on both sides of the Atlat1tic participated in a letter-writing cainpaign facilitated by tl1e US Embassy in London. Their letters asked the Council to postpone its imminent sale of the prop-
PA I N TI NG BY F. MULLER, CO U RT ES Y NAVAL l-ll STO RI CAL CENTER
erty for a limited time, until the Chesapeake Action Group could organize plans and resources to purchase and preserve the property for heritage and museum use. Unfortunately, the Hampshire County Council was under no constraint to delay its decided action. Although the Council has rented the Mill, it still has freehold of tlle building. As a result of the Chesapeake Action Group's initiatives and accompanying publicity, many more people, including British government officials, had taken notice of the Mill and its predicainent. The Hampshire Council is now aware of the preservationists' interest . The 'Listing' of the building has been upgraded making alteration of ai1y features mentioned in the listing significantly more difficult. The council will retain the freehold title to the property and will incorporate existing protection, repairs, and also facilities for reseai·ch and interpretation to visitors imo the intended lease. These developments caine as a resLJt of mobilizing public and official interest in the fate of the Chesapeake M ill. It is tl1e hope of many who value this unique and historic building that it is now in a safer condition than before, even though it is in commercial use. Appai·encly, those who wish to visit the mill may do so, although this access has yet to be tested under the new arrangement. Whenever the building's status threatens to change, one can be fairly sure that the Chesapeake Action Group will be mobilized, more prepared to act, and move closer to an appropriate use wicl1 a better protected status. ,!, Dr. William S. Dudley is a professional naval historian and the Past President, North American Society for Oceanic History.
SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004