The President-Little Belt Affair

The President Little-Belt affair was a naval battle that took place off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina in May of 1811. The USS President, led by Commodore John Rodgers, spotted a small ship, later identified as the HMS Little-Belt, that they were unable to identify off the coast of Cape Henry. This led to a naval battle that left 9 dead, and the leaders of Great Britain and the United States pointing fingers over who started the skirmish. Although the incident did not directly start the War of 1812, it did serve as a major stressor between the relations of the two nations leading up to the war. 

America was in a very different place in May of 1811, for we were a nation on the edge of war. Britain, angered by the uprising of American colonists and formation of the United States, plagued American Sailors with a policy of impressment. This was the policy of British naval vessels confiscating merchant ships, in this case American ships, and forcing its crew into military and naval service. This was met with great anger from the American government, including American President James Madison. However, the American military didn’t have the power to stop the British Naval machine in any respects. This left American military leaders in an incredibly tough position. More ships and crew were being confiscated every month, and American leaders couldn’t stand by and let this happen. This led to the formation of a new strategy where American ships would try to take on British ships one on one. In the spring of 1811 this was put to the test.

The USS President was an eleven year old warship with 54 guns based out of New York, and was commanded by Commodore John Roberts. The President was docked in Annapolis Maryland the night of May the 10th for regular maintenance, when Roberts received a directive from the Secretary of the Navy ordering the President to return to New York. There had been reports of British warships harassing American merchant vessels. The USS President sailed out of the Chesapeake Bay four days later. The HMS Little Belt was a 22 gun British warship headed by Commander Arthur Bingham. The ship was sailing towards Charleston, South Carolina, trying to locate the much larger British cruiser the HMS Guerriere; however, it would never have the chance to join the frigate. 

At noon on the 16th of May 1811, the USS President spotted the British Warship off the coast of Virginia. After the President identified the British ship, she raised her flags identifying herself as an American Warship. The USS President went on to pursue the HMS Little Belt southwards, and the Little Belt quickly discovered the President was faster then herself. Once the two ships met off the coast of upper North Carolina, both commanders demanded the other ship identify itself. The Little Belt responded to the President's silence with a single shot that damaged the president's topmast. The President responded in kind, and soon enough a full naval battle was at hand. The USS President only sustained 1 injured sailor and light damage, while the HMS Little Belt was nearly destroyed with 9 dead and 24 injured. 

This Affair between the USS President and HMS Little Belt marked an important day in American history, with tensions on the rise across the Atlantic and the nations heading for war. However, this provided the American Navy with key insight into a successful strategy of picking off individual British cruisers. This would eventually help in the war effort, and led to an America free of British intimidation through the winning of the War of 1812. 

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