Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships. Chesapeake was originally designed as a 44-gun frigate, but construction delays, material shortages and budget problems caused builder Josiah Fox to alter his design to 38 guns. Launched at the Gosport Navy Yard on 2 December 1799, Chesapeake began her career during the Quasi-War with France and later saw service in the First Barbary War. On 22 June 1807 she was fired upon by of the Royal Navy for refusing to allow a search for deserters. The event, now known as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, angered the American public and government and was a precipitating factor that led to the War of 1812. As a result of the affair, Chesapeakes commanding officer, James Barron, was court-martialed and the United States instituted the Embargo Act of 1807 against the United Kingdom. Early in the War of 1812 she made one patrol and captured five British merchant ships. She was captured by shortly after sailing from Boston, Massachusetts, on 1 June 1813. The Royal Navy took her into their service as HMS Chesapeake, where she served until she was broken up and her timbers sold in 1819. They gave form and structure to the Chesapeake Mill in Wickham, England. Design and construction American merchant vessels began to fall prey to Barbary Pirates, mainly from Algiers, in the Mediterranean during the 1790s. Congress responded with the Naval Act of 1794. The act provided funds for the construction of six frigates, and directed that the construction would continue unless and until the United States agreed peace terms with Algiers. Joshua Humphreys' design was long on keel and narrow of beam (width) to allow for the mounting of very heavy guns. The design incorporated a diagonal scantling (rib) scheme to limit hogging (warping) and included extremely heavy planking. This gave the hull greater strength than those of more lightly built frigates. Since the fledgling United States could not match the number of ships of the European states, Humphreys designed his frigates to be able to overpower other frigates, but with the speed to escape from a ship of the line. Originally designated as "Frigate D", the ship remained unnamed for several years. Her