Battle of the Chesapeake

Examples of Battle of the Chesapeake in the following topics:

• France and Spain in the Revolutionary War

  • In 1777, news of the Patriot victory at the Battle of Saratoga was received with great enthusiasm in France.
  • In 1781, the Spanish defeated the British at the Battle of Pensacola, giving the Spanish control of West Florida.
  • Under François-Joseph Paul, Marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse, the French defeated a British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, ensuring the success of allied ground forces in the Siege of Yorktown, the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War.
  • This painting depicts French (left) and British ships (right) at the battle of the Chesapeake.
  • The Battle of Ushant was the first naval engagement between Britain and France in the Revolutionary War.

• Surrender at Yorktown

  • The siege of Yorktown by combined French and American forces in the autumn of 1781 was the decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War.
  • On May 20, 1781, CCornwallis arrived at Petersburg, Virginia, with 1,500 men after suffering heavy casualties at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
  • De Grasse sailed from the West Indies and arrived in the Chesapeake Bay in late August 1781.
  • In early September, the British were defeated by de Grasse in the Battle of the Chesapeake and forced to fall back to New York.
  • On September 26, transports with artillery, siege tools, and French infantry and assault troops arrived from the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, giving Washington command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continentals.

• The War in the Chesapeake

  • The strategic location of the Chesapeake Bay near the U.S. capital made it a prime target for the British.
  • The strategic location of the Chesapeake Bay near America's capital made it a prime target for the British during the War of 1812.
  • On July 4, 1813, Joshua Barney, a Revolutionary War naval hero, convinced the Navy Department to build the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, a squadron of twenty barges to defend the Chesapeake Bay.
  • The Battle of Fort McHenry was no battle at all.
  • Describe the burning of Washington, D.C. and the subsequent battles of Baltimore and Fort McHenry

• Naval Actions

  • The naval actions of the Civil War revolved around the Union Navy's blockades of Confederate ports.
  • The first shots of the naval battles of the Civil War were fired on April 13, 1861, during the Battle of Fort Sumter, by the Revenue Service cutter USRC Harriet Lane. 
  • On October 12, 1861, the CSS Manassas entered combat against Union warships on the Mississippi during the Battle of the Head of Passes.
  • Early battles in support of the Anaconda Plan included the Blockade of the Chesapeake Bay (May–June 1861) and the Blockade of the Carolina Coast (August–December 1861).
  • It met with great success at the Battle of Hampton Roads despite being the target of most of the Union's firepower.

• Chesapeake Slavery

  • The economy of the Chesapeake region revolved around tobacco and relied heavily on slave labor.
  • The Chesapeake region was composed of Virginia—with Jamestown, its first successful settlement established in 1607—and Maryland.
  • During the later part of the 17th century, the development of the Chesapeake region revolved around tobacco cultivation, which required intensive labor.
  • The scarcity of indentured servants meant that the price of their labor contracts increased, and Chesapeake farmers began to look for alternative, cheaper sources of bonded labor.
  • The headright system was designed to promote immigrant settlement and the cultivation of key staple crops that increased the prosperity of the Chesapeake region.

• Harassment by Britain

  • The origins of the War of 1812, often referred to as the Second War of American Independence, are found in the unresolved issues between the United States and Great Britain.
  • The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair was a naval engagement that occurred off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on June 22, 1807, between the British warship HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake.
  • The USS Chesapeake was caught unprepared, and after a short battle involving broadsides from the HMS Leopard, Commander James Barron surrendered his vessel to the British after firing only one shot.
  • However, when British envoys showed no contrition for the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair and delivered proclamations reaffirming impressment, the U.S.
  • The festering crisis of impressment and the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair contributed to the eventual outbreak of the War of 1812 and triggered serious diplomatic tensions that helped turn American public opinion against Britain.

• Conclusion: Growth and Development of the Colonies

  • Thousands of English migrants arrived in the Chesapeake Bay colonies of Virginia and Maryland to work in the tobacco fields.
  • Both colonies battled difficult circumstances, including conflict with neighboring American Indian tribes as they invaded into their land.
  • Conflicts flared repeatedly in the Chesapeake Bay tobacco colonies and in New England, where a massive uprising against the English in 1675 to 1676—King Philip’s War—nearly succeeded in driving the English intruders back to the sea.
  • The 18th century witnessed the birth of Great Britain (after the union of England and Scotland in 1707) and the expansion of the British Empire.
  • By the mid-18th century, the 13 original New England, Middle, Chesapeake, and Southern colonies had all been established.

• Philadelphia and Saratoga

  • In late August, he landed 15,000 troops at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay, 50 miles southwest of Philadelphia.
  • General Washington positioned 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia, but was outflanked and driven back at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777.
  • By September 19th, Burgoyne won a small tactical victory against Continental General Horatio Gates at the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, the First Battle of Saratoga.
  • The British were quickly defeated at the Battle of Bemis Heights, or the Second Battle of Saratoga, with nearly 900 casualties versus the mere 150 suffered by the Continental Army.
  • Washington, however, managed to intercept the evacuating forces at the New Jersey Monmouth Court House, resulting in one of the largest and most infamous battles of the Revolutionary War.

• Settling the Colonial South and the Chesapeake

  • Prior to colonization, the Native American tribes of the Algonquin, Siouan, Iroquoian linguistic groups inhabited the Chesapeake Bay area .
  • Both the southern colonies and those in the Chesapeake had similar forms of government: a governor and a council appointed by the crown and an assembly or house of representatives that was elected by the people.
  • The ease with which it grew turned tobacco into the largest cash crop for the Chesapeake and Southern Colonies.
  • The largest social class in the south and Chesapeake regions was the merchants, vendors, and small farmers of the colonies.
  • Both the Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake Bay are rendered in full and even include a number of undersea notations and depth soundings.

• The Battle of Leyte Gulf

  • The Battle of Leyte Gulf is generally considered the largest naval battle of World War II and possibly the largest naval battle in history.
  • The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
  • The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate major engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño, and the Battle of Samar; there were also other lesser actions.
  • Kamikaze strikes were first used by the Japanese in the Battle of Leyte Gulf
  • Identify the notable facts and the four major engagements of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.