The Little Belt affair was a naval battle on the night of 16 May 1811. It involved the United States frigate and the British sixth-rate , a sloop-of-war, which had originally been the Danish ship Lillebælt, before being captured by the British in the 1807 Battle of Copenhagen. The encounter took place off the North Carolina coast. The Little Belt Affair was one of many incidents and events that led to the War of 1812. Background The Little Belt affair occurred four years after the Chesapeake–Leopard affair of 1807, in which had attacked , killing three, wounding eighteen, and putting four of her sailors on trial for desertion. It was fifteen days after an incident involving , a frigate. On 1 May 1811 HMS Guerriere had stopped the brig off Sandy Hook in New Jersey and had impressed Maine citizen John Diggio, the apprentice sailing master of Spitfire. Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton had ordered President, along with , to patrol the coastal areas from the Carolinas to New York. Affair Chase Commodore John Rodgers, commanding the frigate President, had left Annapolis several days earlier and was aware of the Guerriere incident. He was off the Virginia Capes and sailing up the coast towards New York. Little Belt was sighted to the east at about noon on 16 May. Believing her to be Guerriere, Rodgers pursued. Little Belts captain, Arthur Bingham, had spotted President one hour earlier. Bingham signaled President asking for identification but received none, but he noticed a blue pennant showing the ship's nationality was American. Bingham continued south, but Rodgers continued his pursuit because he wanted to know the stranger's identity. By 15:30, President was close enough for Rodgers to make out part of the British ship's stern. The angle at which he saw her made her appear larger than she was. Little Belt was much smaller than President, displacing only 460 tons in contrast to Presidents 1,576. The sloop mounted 20 guns, while President carried 56. Battle The British and American accounts disagree on what followed. As President closed with Little Belt, Bingham thought the frigate was maneuvering to rake his ship with gunfire. Bingham wore ship three times to avoid the threat. The ships were not within hailing range until long after sunset. At about 10:15, each captain demanded the other identify his ship. Each refused to answer before the other. Each captain later