HMS Shannon was a Royal Navy 38 gun frigate of the Leda class, launched in 1806 in Frindsbury, Kent. She won a noteworthy naval victory on June 1, 1813, during the War of 1812, against the American Navy's USS Chesapeake.
Shannon spent her first seven years under the command of Captain Philip Broke. During this long tenure, Broke drilled his crew to an extremely high standard of naval gunnery. At the outset of the War of 1812, the Royal Navy suffered a shocking series of five consecutive defeats in single ship actions against the heavy American 44 gun "super-frigates", most notably against the USS Constitution. In recent years the Royal Navy had rarely known defeat at single ship actions, and Captain Broke was determined to engage an American warship in single combat. To this end he opted to burn captured American merchant vessels rather than take them as valuable prizes, since that would cost him essential crewmembers. Broke found his opportunity with the 38 gun USS Chesapeake, which was refitting in Boston harbor under the command of Captain James Lawrence. Shannon blockaded the harbour, and the captains of the closely matched ships both desired a contest. Broke went so far as to send Captain Lawrence a formal challenge, although the Chesapeake set sail before receiving the letter. On June 1st 1813, Chesapeake emerged from the harbour to engage the Shannon. Broke's superb attention to his gun crew's training paid off, their fire was effective and devastating from the outset. Fifteen minutes later the Shannon's crew had boarded and captured the Chesapeake. Captain Broke was seriously wounded while boarding, and Captain Lawrence suffered a mortal wound earlier in the battle. The stunning victory in closely-matched combat raised the shaken morale of the Royal Navy, and the Americans honoured the heroism of Captain Lawrence, whose last order upon being wounded was "Don't give up the ship!"
The Shannon was placed in reserve in 1831, renamed in 1844, and broken up in 1859.
Fictionalized accounts of the battle appear in The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian and The Key to Honor by Ron Wattanja.