Toward the end of May, everyone on board Shannon was worried that Chesapeake would try to slip away under cover of the thick fog they were experiencing. All that changed on the first day of June, as Lieutenant Provo Wallis later recalled: “For some days previous to the 1st June…the weather in Boston Bay had been very thick and foggy, so much so that we had to guess our position. The morning of the above-named day, however, was ushered in by a brilliant sunrise, and the land near Boston sighted; but we were not without fear lest the Chesapeake had effected her escape during the thick weather….

Having, however, stood in to reconnoiter, we were gratified by a sight of her at anchor in Nantasket Roads, a sure proof that she was ready for sea.”

With the greatly improved weather, Captain Lawrence wrote to the American secretary of the navy: “I have been detained for want of men. I am now getting under weigh [sic]….An English frigate is now in sight from my deck. I have sent a pilot boat out to reconnoiter, and should she be alone I am in hopes to give a good account of her before night. My crew appear to be in fine spirits, and, I trust, will do their duty.”

Shannon maintained the blockade alone because the seventy-four-gun warship La Hogue had gone to Halifax for supplies and Captain Broke had sent Tenedos farther away, to set up a one-on-one contest between Shannon and Chesapeake. The two frigates were evenly matched, but although Lawrence claimed in his letter that his men were in fine spirits, they had rarely practiced together, and some of the officers were still incapacitated by sickness. It was a crew, but not a trained team of skilled fighters.

Captain Broke decided to send a challenge to Captain Lawrence: “Sir, As the Chesapeake appears now ready for sea, I request you will do me the favor to meet the Shannon with her, ship to ship, to try the fortune of our respective flags.” He informed Lawrence that he had sent away other ships of his squadron so that the duel between them would be fair, and then gave him details of the crew and armament of his ship: “The Shannon mounts 24 guns upon her broadside, and one light boat gun; 18-pounders on her main deck, and 32-pound carronades on her quarter-deck and forecastle; and is manned with a complement of 300 men and boys, (a large proportion of the latter), besides 30 seamen, boys, and passengers, who were taken out of recaptured vessels lately.”

He added: “You must, Sir, be aware that my proposals are highly advantageous to you, as you cannot proceed to sea singly in the Chesapeake, without imminent risk of being crushed by the superior force of the numerous British squadrons which are now abroad….Choose your terms—but let us meet.” On the envelope of the letter he wrote, “We have thirteen American prisoners on board, which I will give you for as many British sailors, if you will send them out; otherwise, being privateers-men, they must be detained.”

The letter never reached Lawrence. Inexplicably, he had already decided to risk an encounter rather than slip away under cover of poor weather or darkness, as the other two frigates had done. He left Boston at midday on Tuesday, June 1, even though Chesapeake was completely unprepared for action. On shore, there was an expectation of imminent success, and crowds of people gathered to watch. It was reported that “so confident were the Americans of victory, that a number of pleasure-boats came out with the Chesapeake from Boston, to see the Shannon compelled to strike; and a grand dinner was actually preparing on shore for the Chesapeake’s officers, against their return with the prize!”

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