When the United States declared war against Britain on June 18, 1812, many of the American ships were lacking crews and in need of repairs while others were still away at sea.
The only ships available for service at this time were berthed at New York, under the command of Commodore John Rodgers.
These were Rodgers' own flagship, President, along with United States, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, Congress, commanded by Captain Smith, Hornet, commanded by Captain Lawrence, and Argus, commanded by Lieutenant Sinclair.
However, the British vessels in American waters at this time were relatively few in number and not themselves very representative of the overall might of the Royal Navy.

Fearing that Congress might consider confining all American ships to port, as soon as Rodgers received news of the declaration of war in June, he departed New York Harbor with his squadron within the hour.
In anticipation of the war, Rodgers had already had his squadron fitted and ready to embark on the high seas.
Their first objective was a British fleet reported to have recently departed from the West Indies, and Rodgers set a course south-east in search of these ships.
President passed Sandy Hook on June 21.
In the early morning of the 23rd a ship was spotted on the horizon to the north-east which turned out to be the frigate HMS Belvidera, commanded by Captain Richard Byron.
Rodgers immediately gave chase, with Congress following close behind.
Belvidera had already been informed of the inevitability of war by a passing New York pilot boat and immediately turned about, crowded on all sails and began flight to the north-east with a fresh wind behind all ships coming from the west.

USS President was an unusually fast frigate and by noon had gained on Belvidera, now only some two and a half miles distant, approximately 75 miles south-west of Nantucket island.
While President was closing with Belvidera Captain Byron began clearing the decks and preparing for action and made ready his stern guns.
By 4:30 the wind had relaxed some but Belvidera was now close enough to be engaged.
Seizing this first and tenuous possibility, President's forecastle bow chasers fired the first shot of the war, by Rodgers himself, with two more almost immediately following.
All three shots struck Belvidera at her stern, striking the rudder assembly and captain's quarters, killing or wounding nine men.
 With only a few more shots needed to disable the British vessel President fired again, but the tide of battle turned when one of its guns burst, killing 16 men, wounding others, including Rodgers, who was violently thrown back with his leg broken from the impact.
 There was a pause of panic about the entire ship, as now every gun was suspected.
Byron seized the opportunity and fired his stern chasers, killing yet another six men.
Belvidera continued a brisk fire, causing damage to the rigging and foresails.
President continued chase, but without adequate foresails to stabilize her bearing she began yawing and losing ground, allowing Belvidera to escape and return to Halifax, taking with her the news of the declaration of war.

Rodgers' squadron patrolled the waters off the American upper east coast until the end of August, 1812.
He commanded President for most of the war, capturing 23 prizes, one of the most successful records in the conflict.
On land, Rodgers rendered valuable service by transferring his command briefly to Baltimore in September 1814, during the Battle of Baltimore defending the city's east side extensive dug-in fortifications devised by the  Maryland Militia's state commander, Major General Samuel Smith at Baltimore on Loudenschlager's Hill (today's Hampstead Hill in western Patterson Park), known as "Rodgers' Bastion", one of several holding some of the near 100 pieces of artillery with 20,000 troops  Smith had amassed for facing the British after sending down the southeastern "Patapsco Neck" peninsula, Brigadier General John Stricker's regiments of the City Brigade at the Battle of North Point and the additional simultaneous naval attack on
When the United States declared war against Britain on June 18, 1812, many of the American ships were lacking crews and in need of repairs while others were still away at sea. The only ships available for service at this time were berthed at New York, under the command of Commodore John Rodgers. These were Rodgers' own flagship, President, along with United States, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, Congress, commanded by Captain Smith, Hornet, commanded by Captain Lawrence, and Argus, commanded by Lieutenant Sinclair. However, the British vessels in American waters at this time were relatively few in number and not themselves very representative of the overall might of the Royal Navy.
Fearing that Congress might consider confining all American ships to port, as soon as Rodgers received news of the declaration of war in June, he departed New York Harbor with his squadron within the hour. In anticipation of the war, Rodgers had already had his squadron fitted and ready to embark on the high seas. Their first objective was a British fleet reported to have recently departed from the West Indies, and Rodgers set a course south-east in search of these ships. President passed Sandy Hook on June 21. In the early morning of the 23rd a ship was spotted on the horizon to the north-east which turned out to be the frigate HMS Belvidera, commanded by Captain Richard Byron. Rodgers immediately gave chase, with Congress following close behind. Belvidera had already been informed of the inevitability of war by a passing New York pilot boat and immediately turned about, crowded on all sails and began flight to the north-east with a fresh wind behind all ships coming from the west. 
USS President was an unusually fast frigate and by noon had gained on Belvidera, now only some two and a half miles distant, approximately 75 miles south-west of Nantucket island. While President was closing with Belvidera Captain Byron began clearing the decks and preparing for action and made ready his stern guns. By 4:30 the wind had relaxed some but Belvidera was now close enough to be engaged. Seizing this first and tenuous possibility, President's forecastle bow chasers fired the first shot of the war, by Rodgers himself, with two more almost immediately following. All three shots struck Belvidera at her stern, striking the rudder assembly and captain's quarters, killing or wounding nine men.  With only a few more shots needed to disable the British vessel President fired again, but the tide of battle turned when one of its guns burst, killing 16 men, wounding others, including Rodgers, who was violently thrown back with his leg broken from the impact.  There was a pause of panic about the entire ship, as now every gun was suspected. Byron seized the opportunity and fired his stern chasers, killing yet another six men. Belvidera continued a brisk fire, causing damage to the rigging and foresails. President continued chase, but without adequate foresails to stabilize her bearing she began yawing and losing ground, allowing Belvidera to escape and return to Halifax, taking with her the news of the declaration of war.
Rodgers' squadron patrolled the waters off the American upper east coast until the end of August, 1812. He commanded President for most of the war, capturing 23 prizes, one of the most successful records in the conflict. On land, Rodgers rendered valuable service by transferring his command briefly to Baltimore in September 1814, during the Battle of Baltimore defending the city's east side extensive dug-in fortifications devised by the  Maryland Militia's state commander, Major General Samuel Smith at Baltimore on Loudenschlager's Hill (today's Hampstead Hill in western Patterson Park), known as "Rodgers' Bastion", one of several holding some of the near 100 pieces of artillery with 20,000 troops  Smith had amassed for facing the British after sending down the southeastern "Patapsco Neck" peninsula, Brigadier General John Stricker's regiments of the City Brigade at the Battle of North Point and the additional simultaneous naval attack on
John Rodgers (1772–1838)