may have rerated Congress and Constellation to 38 guns because they were larger than Chesapeake, which was rated to 36 guns. The most recent information on her rating is from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, published in 2011, which states she was rerated "from 44 guns to 36, eventually increased to 38". Her gun rating remained a matter of confusion throughout her career; Fox used a 44-gun rating in his correspondence with Secretary Stoddert. In preparing for the War of 1812 Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton directed Captain Samuel Evans to recruit the number of crewmen required for a 44-gun ship. Hamilton was corrected by William Bainbridge in a letter stating, "There is a mistake in the crew ordered for the Chesapeake, as it equals in number the crews of our 44-gun frigates, whereas the Chesapeake is of the class of the Congress and Constellation." When sold for scrap by the Royal Navy in 1819, she was rated as a 48-gun ship. Gun ratings did not correspond to the actual number of guns a ship would carry. Chesapeake was noted as carrying 40 guns during her encounter with in 1807 and 50 guns during her engagement with in 1813. The 50 guns consisted of twenty-eight 18-pounder (8 kg) long guns on the gun deck, fourteen on each side. This main battery was complemented by two long 12-pounders (5.5 kg), one long 18-pounder, eighteen 32-pounder (14.5 kg) carronades, and one 12-pound carronade on the spar deck. Her broadside weight was . The ships of this era had no permanent battery of guns; guns were completely portable and were often exchanged between ships as situations warranted. Each commanding officer modified his vessel's armament to his liking while taking into consideration factors such as the overall tonnage of cargo, complement of personnel aboard, and planned routes to be sailed. Consequently, a vessel's armament would change often during its career; records of the changes were not generally kept. Quasi-War Chesapeake was launched on 2 December 1799 during the undeclared Quasi-War (1798–1800), which arose after the French navy seized American merchant ships. Her fitting-out continued until May 1800. In March Josiah Fox was reprimanded by Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert for continuing to work on Chesapeake while Congress, still awaiting completion, was fully manned with a crew drawing pay. Stoddert appointed Thomas Truxton to ensure that his directives concerning Congress were