History of the United States Navy the ship!". Despite their earlier successes, by 1814 many of the Navy's best ships were blockaded in port and unable to prevent British incursions on land via the sea. During the summer of 1814, the British fought the Chesapeake Campaign, which was climaxed by amphibious assaults against Washington and Baltimore. The capital fell to the British almost without a fight, and several ships were burned at the Washington Navy Yard, including the 44-gun frigate USS "Columbia". At Baltimore, the bombardment by Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner", and the hulks blocking the channel prevented the
Hercules (1814 ship) belli" for Great Britain to declare war on Qing China in what is now known as the First Opium War, a conflict that initiated China's opening for trade with foreign nations under a series of treaties with the western powers. In 1839, with the Chinese blocking of opium imports, the opium receiving ships sailed, were sold, or broken up. Reportedly, Jardine Matheson sold "Hercules" to Americans. Notes Citations References Hercules (1814 ship) Hercules was built at Calcutta in 1814. She acquired British registry and traded between Britain and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC), before