She won a noteworthy naval victory on 1 June 1813, during the latter conflict, when she captured the United States Navy frigate USS Chesapeake in a bloody battle.

The class was based on the lines of the captured French 38-gun frigate Hébé, a design by Jacques-Noël Sané vaunted as an all-rounder.

The naval historian Robert Gardiner argues that the key characteristic of the design, leading to its adoption with the Royal Navy, was its "unspectacular excellence".

[8] Sailing reports from ships of the Leda class record that they were generally very fast, reaching 13 knots (24 km/h) in strong winds.

The construction techniques used by the Brindleys included not using knees, which in her later service saw Shannon's upper levels loose and "work[ing] like a basket".

By the end of 1807, France had invaded Portugal, and Shannon joined Sir Samuel Hood's expedition against Madeira.

Broke and Shannon were ordered to sail for North America as tensions between Britain and the United States escalated in the run-up to what would become the War of 1812.

He then despatched Shannon with the schooner Bream to rescue the crew and offload the money being carried by the frigate HMS Barbadoes, which had been wrecked on Sable Island.

[13] While carrying out this mission, Shannon encountered and subsequently captured an enemy privateer schooner, Wily Reynard on 11 October, that she took back to Halifax with her.

[14][a] On 31 October, while Shannon was cruising with Tenedos, Nymphe, and Curlew, Broke captured the American privateer brig Thorn.

[16] Sent to Halifax with a prize crew, Thorn was subsequently purchased and renamed as the Nova Scotia privateer brig Sir John Sherbrooke.

In December Broke took the Shannon and escorted a homebound convoy halfway across the Atlantic, returning to North America by sailing round the Azores.

On 31 January 1813 Shannon recaptured the ship Hebe, which the American privateer Dolphin had captured six days earlier in a hard-fought action.

Having observed the activity in the port, they returned to their squadron and reported the presence of the American frigates Congress, President and Constitution.

On 16 May Shannon and Tenedos chased a large armed ship under American colours, and forced her to run aground near Cape Ann Town.

Shannon anchored close to the grounded ship and fired a few shots to disperse a number of militiamen who were assembling.

[20][page needed]In addition to these gunnery drills, Broke was fond of preparing hypothetical scenarios to test his crew.

"This was a game employing roughly similar thrusts and parries as were used with cutlass, but as it was played with blunt sticks, hits, although painful, were not often dangerous.

Consequently, Broke decided to send his challenge to Chesapeake, which had been refitting in Boston harbour under the command of Captain James Lawrence, offering single-ship combat.

[22]By now Shannon had been off Boston for 56 days and was running short of provisions, while the extended period at sea was wearing the ship down.

The previous American victories over smaller Royal Navy ships left him expectant of success, especially since Chesapeake had a substantially larger crew than Shannon.

Shannon was flying a rusty blue ensign and her dilapidated outside appearance after a long period at sea suggested that she would be an easy opponent.

Meanwhile, the first lieutenant, Mr George T. L. Watt, had attempted to hoist the British colours over Chesapeake but was killed, hit in the forehead by grapeshot, as he did so.

Fighting had now broken out along the top-masts of the ships as rival sharpshooters fired upon their opponents in the masts, and on the sailors on the exposed decks.

Though wounded, Broke was able to save the life of a young American midshipman who had slid down a rope from the fore-top.

While the two-yard-arms had been locked together, Mr Cosnaham, who had commanded the main-top, had crawled out on the main yard-arm where he could fire down onto Chesapeake, killing three of her men.

Some British sailors alleged the intention was to throw handfuls into the eyes of Shannon's men as they attempted to board.

Shortly after the frigate had been secured, Broke fainted from loss of blood and was rowed back to Shannon to be attended to by the ship's surgeon.

The British buried Captain Lawrence in Halifax with full military honours; six senior Royal Navy officers served as pall bearers.

Although Shannon's surgeon had pronounced as fatal Captain Broke's head wound from a cutlass stroke, he survived; nevertheless, he never again commanded a ship due to his injuries.