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'''''HMS Shannon''''' was a 38 gun [[frigate]] of the Leda class, launched in 1806. She features in the closing chapters of ''[[The Fortune of War]]'' and the first chapter of ''[[The Surgeon's Mate (novel)|The Surgeon's Mate]]''

Shannon was under the command of [[Post Captain (rank)|Captain]] [[Philip Broke]] from her first commission to 1813. Broke drilled his crew to an extremely high standard of gunnery. Following the shocking series of three consecutive defeats of [[Great Britain|British]] frigates in actions against the heavy [[United States|American]] 44 gun "super-frigates", most notably against the ''[[USN Constitution]]'', Broke was determined to engage an American warship in single combat. So he chose to burn captured American merchant vessels rather than send them to [[Halifax]] as a valuable [[prize]]s, since that would cost him essential crew. Broke found his opportunity with the 38 gun ''[[USN Chesapeake]]'', which was refitting in [[Boston]] harbor under the command of Captain [[James Lawrence]].

''Shannon'' blockaded the harbor, and sent Captain Lawrence a formal challenge. In fact, the ''Chesapeake'' set sail before Lawrence received the letter. On June 1st 1813, ''Chesapeake'' emerged from the harbor to engage the ''Shannon''. Broke's gunnery training paid off, their fire was effective and devastating from the outset. Within fifteen minutes the ''Shannon'''s crew had boarded and captured the ''Chesapeake''. Captain Broke was seriously wounded while boarding, and Captain Lawrence suffered a mortal wound early in the battle. This victory against an American frigate , albeit one with a relatively untrained crew, raised the morale of the [[Royal Navy]], and the Americans honored the heroism of Captain Lawrence, whose last order was "Don't give up the ship!"


{{Spoiler|The Fortune of War}}


== In the Canon ==

[[Jack Aubrey]], [[Stephen Maturin]] with [[Diana Villiers]] escape in a small boat from Boston and are picked up by the ''Shannon'' in Chapter 8 just before her action with the ''Chesapeake''. The action is described in Chapter 9. Despite his still unhealed wound, Jack assists in boarding the ''Chesapeake'' while Stephen is busy treating the injured with the ship's surgeon. 

[[Category:Historical ships]]