International diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War
This article is about an incident during the American Civil War. For an earlier incident prior to War of 1812, see Chesapeake–Leopard affair.
Chesapeake Affair
Part of the American Civil War
The steamer Chesapeake, illustration from Harper's Weekly, December 26, 1863.
Date
December 7, 1863
Location
Off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Result
Sympathizer tactical success Union diplomatic victory
Belligerents
Nova Scotia New Brunswick In support of: Confederate States
United States
Commanders and leaders
James William Johnston
Samuel Leonard Tilley
William Johnston Almon
Vernon Guyon Locke
Abraham Lincoln
Edwin M. Stanton
William H. Seward
Gideon Welles
Units involved
Maritime pirates
Union Navy
Casualties and losses
None
1 killed 3 wounded
v
t
e
Theaters of the American Civil War
Union blockade
Eastern
Western
Lower seaboard
Trans-Mississippi
Pacific coast
v
t
e
Conflicts between Canada and the United States
American Revolutionary War
Quebec
Nova Scotia
Western theater
War of 1812
Patriot War
Aroostook War
Pig War
Trent Affair
Chesapeake Affair
Fenian raids
Current Border Disputes
The Chesapeake Affair was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On December 7, 1863, Confederate sympathizers from the Maritime Provinces captured the American steamer Chesapeake off the coast of Cape Cod. The expedition was planned and led by Vernon Guyon Locke (1827–1890) of Nova Scotia and John Clibbon Brain (1840–1906).[1] When George Wade of New Brunswick killed one of the American crew, the Confederacy claimed its first fatality in New England waters.[2]
The Confederate sympathizers had planned to re-coal at Saint John, New Brunswick, and head south to Wilmington, North Carolina.[3] Instead, the captors had difficulties at Saint John; so they sailed further east and re-coaled in Halifax, Nova Scotia. U.S. forces responded to the attack, violating British sovereignty by trying to arrest the captors in Nova Scotian waters. International tensions rose. Wade and others were able to escape through the assistance of William Johnston Almon, a prominent Nova Scotian and Confederate sympathizer.
The Chesapeake Affair was one of the most sensational international incidents that occurred during the American Civil War.[4] The incident briefly threatened to bring the British Empire into the war against the North.[5]
^Locke was born in Sandy Point, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, in 1827. At the advent of the rebellion, Locke offered his services to the South. He secured his ship Retribution's letter of marque. His alias was John Parker to cover his privateering activities (See Marquis, p.136).
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Global Information
Nova Scotia
Confederate States
United States