Bombardment of Lewes

Part of the War of 1812
| Date| 6–7 April 1813

|

Location|

Lewes, Delaware

Result|  American victory
Belligerents
United States|  United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
David Haslet
Samuel Boyer Davis|  John Beresford

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Naval battles of the War of 1812

Atlantic Ocean

* USS Essex vs HMS Alert
* USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
* Capture of HMS Frolic
* USS United States vs HMS Macedonian
* USS Constitution vs HMS Java
* Sinking of HMS Peacock
* Rappahannock River
* Capture of USS Chesapeake
* Capture of the Young Teazer
* Capture of HMS Dominica
* Capture of USS Argus
* Capture of HMS Boxer
* Capture of USS Frolic
* Capture of HMS Epervier
* Sinking of HMS Reindeer
* Sinking of HMS Avon
* Fayal
* Capture of USS President
* Capture of HMS Cyane and HMS Levant
* Capture of HMS Penguin
* Capture of East India Company ship Nautilus

* * *

East Coast

* Lewes
* Long Island
* Alexandria
* Baltimore
* Hampden
* Fort Peter

* * *

Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence River

* Lake Ontario
* 1st Sacket's Harbor
* Capture of HMS Caledonia and HMS Detroit
* York
* Fort George
* 2nd Sacket's Harbor
* Lake Erie
* Fort Oswego
* Lake Huron
* Lake Champlain

* * *

West Indies / Gulf Coast

* La Guaira
* 1st Fort Bowyer
* Lake Borgne
* Fort St. Philip

* * *

Pacific Ocean

* James Island
* Charles Island
* Nuku Hiva
* Valparaíso

The Bombardment of Lewes was a military engagement during the War of 1812 during which a British naval squadron bombarded the American town of Lewes, Delaware.[1][2]

## The bombardment

[edit]

Following the outbreak of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, British naval forces established a partial blockade of the American eastern seaboard. As part of this strategy of blockade, the Royal Navy also conducted a series of sporadic attacks against American towns and coastal shipping.[3][4] In March 1813 a force of British ships arrived in the Delaware Bay, where they proceeded to enforce the British blockade.

On 4 April 1813 a small British squadron commanded by Commodore John P. Beresford aboard HMS Poictiers arrived off the coast of Delaware, bound for Cape Henlopen. The warships approached the port town of Lewes, Delaware, encountering a small, revolution-era coastal defense battery to the west of town. Lewes itself was defended by a hastily-assembled fort that had been built from pine logs in the town center. Beresford laid anchor and sent a shore party to the town, where their attempts to requisition supplies from the townspeople were rebuked by the arrival of the Delaware state militia. After several failed attempts to negotiate a surrender of supplies, Commodore Beresford addressed a final letter to "the first magistrate at Lewistown".[2] The letter read;

> Sir,

> As soon as you receive this, I request you will send 20 live bullocks with a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay to the Poictiers for the use of Britannic Majesty's squadron now at this anchorage, which will be immediately paid for at the Philadelphia prices. If you refuse to comply with this request I shall be under necessity of destroying your town.

> I have the honor to be, sir, your very obedient servant,

> J. P. Beresford

> Commodore and commander of the British Squadron in the Mouth of the Delaware.

The letter was received by the governor of Delaware, who had traveled from the state capital in Dover to Lewes in light of the situation with the British. The governor replied to Beresford that acquiescing to his demands would violate the laws of the United States, and so declined the command. In response, the British flotilla bombarded the town over the course of 22 hours from 6 to 7 April.[2][5] The British fire - which consisted of cannonballs and Congreve rockets \- was for the most part ineffective, though several chimneys in the town suffered minor damage. The Americans returned fire, and succeed in setting one British gunboat aflame. Beresford broke off his attack on 7 April, and his ships withdrew to continue blockading the Delaware Bay. Casualties for the bombardment were recorded by the Americans as one pig wounded (leg broken) and one chicken killed. The British also suffered no casualties.[1][2]

### Legacy

[edit]

One of the homes damaged in the bombardment, now known as the "Cannonball House" on account a British cannonball being lodged in its foundation, serves as Lewes' maritime history museum.[6] A copy of Commodore Beresford's letter of demands to the town is stored in the house.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Discovering the Hidden History of Lewes". Retrieved 2018-04-06.
2. ^ a b c d e Brave Little Lewes: The Bombardment on the Delaware Bay. Lewes Historical Society. URL:https://www.historiclewes.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Brave Little Lewes_3.pdf
3. ^ George, Christopher T. Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 on the Bay. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Books, 2000. ISBN 1-57249-058-6. pp. 99-102
4. ^ Hassig, Ross (2013). "Extorting Philadelphia: Commodore Beresford and the Vixen Parolees". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 80 (4): 519–536\. doi:10.5325/pennhistory.80.4.0519. JSTOR 10.5325/pennhistory.80.4.0519. S2CID 143047320.
5. ^ "The Bombardment of Lewes". www.nextexithistory.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
6. ^ "Cannonball House Maritime Museum | The Lewes Historical Society". The Lewes Historical Society. Retrieved 2018-04-06.

* v
* t
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Conflicts of the War of 1812

Battles of the War of 1812
Timeline of the War of 1812

United States|

| Delaware|

* Lewes

|

District of Columbia|

* Washington

Georgia|

* Fort Peter

Louisiana|

* New Orleans
* Fort St. Philip

Maryland|

* Havre de Grace
* St. Michaels
* Bladensburg
* Caulk's Field
* North Point
* Baltimore

Maine|

* Hampden

New York|

* Big Sandy Creek
* Buffalo
* Ogdensburg
* Plattsburgh
* Niagara
* Black Rock
* Sacket's Harbor

North Carolina|

* Ocracoke

Ohio|

* Stephenson
* Copus
* Meigs

Virginia|

* Rappahannock
* Craney Island
* Chesconessex Creek
* Alexandria
* Farnham Church

U.S. territories|

| Illinois|

* Dearborn
* Rock Island Rapids
* Prairie du Chien

|

Indiana|

* Mississinewa
* Tippecanoe
* Wild Cat Creek
* Harrison
* Wayne

Michigan|

* Brownstown
* Frenchtown
* Mackinac Island
* Maguaga
* Detroit
* Mackinac

Mississippi|

* Bashi
* Autossee
* Burnt Corn
* Callabee Creek
* Canoe Fight
* Holy Ground
* Horseshoe Bend
* Talladega
* Tallushatchee
* Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek
* Fort Bowyer
* Mims
* Sinquefield

Missouri|

* Credit Island
* Sink Hole

British Empire|

| Lower Canada|

* Chateauguay
* 1st Lacolle Mills
* 2nd Lacolle Mills

|

Upper Canada|

* Beaver Dams
* Chippawa
* Cook's Mills
* Crysler's Farm
* George
* Frenchman's Creek
* Longwoods
* Lundy's Lane
* Malcolm's Mills
* Queenston Heights
* Stoney Creek
* Thames
* York
* 1st Erie
* Elizabethtown
* Port Dover
* Gananoque
* 2nd Erie

Spanish Empire|

| Florida|

* Pensacola

|

Naval battles|

| Atlantic Ocean|

* HMS Boxer
* HMS Cyane
* HMS Epervier
* HMS Frolic
* HMS Penguin
* HMS Dominica
* USS Argus
* USS Chesapeake
* USS President
* Chesapeake Bay Flotilla
* USS Constitution vs HMS Java
* HMS Avon
* Fayal
* HMS Peacock
* HMS Reindeer
* USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere
* USS United States vs HMS Macedonian

|

Caribbean Sea|

* La Guaira

Great Lakes|

* Lake Erie
* Oswego
* Lake Huron
* Lake Ontario
* Sacket's Harbor

Gulf Coast|

* Lake Borgne

Pacific Ocean|

* James Island
* Charles Island
* Nuku Hiva
* Valparaiso

See also: American Indian Wars, Creek War, Napoleonic Wars, and Tecumseh's War

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