A nest of vipers


Which was British Admiralty speak for the Chesapeake during the War of 1812… once the local fleet had perfected the design, build and use of what soon became known as the Highflyers of Baltimore. Former US Naval Academy historian Tom Price tells the story of the privateersmen who onboard their fine ‘sharp-build’ Baltimore schooners were racing for their lives as much as their livelihood


Potentially a lost cause from the beginning and less than a generation after the war of the American Revolution President James Madison impetuously and brashly declared war on the great naval power, Great Britain. East coast shipowners and mariners, espe- cially from the Chesapeake Bay, promptly turned to privateering as an asymmetrical means of warfare. Commerce in the burgeoning nation had


advanced phenomenally and profitably until British naval vessels began stopping


50 SEAHORSE


ships and press-ganging their crews. Noth- ing angered and stirred the mercantile fer- vour of influential American mariners more than interference with their livelihood! Pay- backs were due and the chance for legalised piracy to seize goods and treasure from their former enemy, as they had done so successfully in the Revolution, had Chesa- peake shipbuilders sharpening their tools and rethinking ship design and rigging, looking for the tactical advantage necessary to outsail their vastly superior opponent. Their solution was a rakish topsail


schooner of speed and weatherliness never seen before in maritime warfare. The earlier ‘Virginia-built’ pilot schooner model was enlarged and made more extreme, as speed rather than cargo capacity became the priority. They were unmistakable in appear- ance and performance and eventually even drew the admiration of their British oppo- nents. Their names reflect some of the sass and character of the owners and builders – Highflyer, Racer, Lynx, Chasseur, Comet, Mosquidobit. The most successful builders (who also modelled or designed the vessels)


were Thomas Kemp and William Price of Fells Point in Baltimore; and as a type these exceptional schooners duly became known as Baltimore Clippers. The Chesapeake, with its shallow waters


and rivers running largely in the direction of the prevailing northwest and southeast winds, bred a unique type of vessels with their amalgamated roots in fast, small craft from the Caribbean, Bermuda and Euro- pean ports, superior in windward sailing, speed in lighter winds and of relatively light build. Native oak and pine construction, more widely spaced frames, very light rig- ging and extremely low freeboard made for a significantly lighter ship that could still carry adequate firepower and be used with sufficient confidence offshore. Their hull design featured what was


known as ‘sharp’ build, meaning not nec- essarily fine ends but, unique for the times, a V-shaped sectional body with extreme deadrise angles from bow to stern. Dis- placement was greatly reduced as was resistance through the water, with much of the hull’s bulk pared away. Maximum


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