H.M.S. Shannon Leading U.S.S. Chesapeake into Halifax Harbour.
Armed conflict raged in the North Atlantic region almost continuously from 1793 to 1815. War brought devastation and death to millions in Europe and America but for Halifax, war meant bustle and profit. Prosperiry derived from several sources. The import and distribution of military supplies remained a key component of local business enterprise. Additional income was derived from imperial expenditures on harbour defences. Privateering and the speculation in prize goods also yielded significant profits. During the last decade of hostilities, a rapid increase in British demand for colonial timber provided a major stimulus to Halifax trade. Simultaneously, as war crippled the American merchant marine, Halifax merchants found it possible to expand their presence in the coastal fisheries and the West Indies carrying trade. Finally, those same merchants made huge profits on the illicit exchange of goods between New England and Great Britain.
Halifax's good fortune was tied to the strength of the Royal Navy. Accordingly, near panic developed in Halifax early in the War of 1812 when it appeared that Britain might not be able to meet the American challenge for control of the North Atlantic. In June 1813, however, when the Shannon defeated the Chesapeake off Boston harbour, the tide of battle turned decisively against the Americans. Haligonians turned out en masse to celebrate the victory which assured them continued wartime prosperity. This lithograph, after a painting by J.C. Shetky, shows the Chesapeake being towed into Halifax harbour with the white ensign flying above the Stars and Stripes.
Courtesy: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax
