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''Chesapeake'' was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships. ''Chesapeake'' was originally designed as a 44-gun frigate but construction delays, material shortages, and budget problems caused builder Josiah Fox to alter her design to 38 guns. Launched at the Gosport Navy Yard on 2 December 1799, ''Chesapeake'' began her career during the Quasi-War with France and saw service in the First Barbary War. On 22 June 1807 she was fired upon by of the Royal Navy for refusing to comply with a search for deserters. The event, now known as the ''Chesapeake–Leopard'' Affair, angered the American populace and government and was a precipitating factor that led to the War of 1812. As a result of the affair, ''Chesapeake''s commanding officer, James Barron, was court-martialed and the United States instituted the Embargo Act of 1807 against Great Britain. Early in the War of 1812 she made one patrol and captured five British merchant ships before returning. She was captured by shortly after sailing from Boston, Massachusetts, on 1 June 1813. The Royal Navy took her into their service as HMS ''Chesapeake'', where she served until she was broken up and her timbers sold in 1820; they are now part of the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, England. ==Design and construction== (詳細はmerchant vessels began to fall prey to Barbary Pirates, most notably from Algiers, in the Mediterranean during the 1790s. Congress responded with the Naval Act of 1794.〔Allen (1909), pp. 41–42.〕 The Act provided funds for the construction of six frigates, and directed that the construction would continue unless and until the United States agreed to peace terms with Algiers.〔Beach (1986), p. 29.〕〔''An Act to provide a Naval Armament''. (1794). Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 February 2011.〕 Joshua Humphreys' design was long on keel and narrow of beam (width) to allow for the mounting of very heavy guns. The design incorporated a diagonal scantling (rib) scheme to limit hogging (warping) and included extremely heavy planking. This gave the hull greater strength than those of more lightly built frigates. Since the fledgling United States could not match the numbers of ships of the European states, Humphreys designed his frigates to be able to overpower other frigates, but with the speed to escape from a ship of the line.〔Toll (2006), pp. 49–53.〕〔Beach (1986), pp. 29–30, 33.〕〔Allen (1909), pp. 42–45.〕 Originally designated as "Frigate D", the ship remained unnamed for several years. Her keel was laid down in December 1795 at the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia, where Josiah Fox had been appointed her naval constructor and Richard Dale as superintendent of construction. In March 1796 a peace accord was announced between the United States and Algiers and construction was suspended in accordance with the Naval Act of 1794. The keel remained on blocks in the navy yard for two years.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Naval History & Heritage Command )〕〔Beach (1986), p. 30.〕 The onset of the Quasi-War with France in 1798 prompted Congress to authorize completion of "Frigate D", and they approved resumption of the work on 16 July. When Fox returned to Norfolk he discovered a shortage of timber caused by its diversion from Norfolk to Baltimore in order to finish . He corresponded with Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert, who indicated a desire to expedite construction of the ship and reduce the overall cost. Fox, always an opponent of Humphreys's large design, submitted new plans to Stoddert which called for utilizing the existing keel but reducing the overall dimensions substantially in length and partially of beam. Fox's plans essentially proposed an entirely different design than originally planned by Humphreys. Secretary Stoddert approved the new design plans.〔〔Allen (1909), p. 56.〕〔Beach (1986), pp. 30–31.〕 When construction finished, she had the smallest dimensions of the six frigates. A length of between perpendiculars and of beam contrasted with her closest sisters, and ''Constellation'', which were built to in length and of beam.〔Toll (2006), p. 289.〕 The final cost of her construction was $220,677—the second-least expensive frigate of the six. The least expensive was ''Congress'' at $197,246.〔 During construction, a sloop named ''Chesapeake'' was launched on 20 June 1799 but was renamed between 10 October and 14 November, apparently to free up the name ''Chesapeake'' for "Frigate D". In communications between Fox and Stoddert, Fox repeatedly referred to her as ''Congress'', further confusing matters, until he was informed by Stoddert the ship was to be named ''Chesapeake'', after Chesapeake Bay.〔 She was the only one of the six frigates not named by President George Washington, nor after a principle of the United States Constitution.〔〔Beach (1986), p. 31.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Chesapeake (1799)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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