It did not take long for the naval war in America to become the subject of parliamentary dispute. During the early months of 1813 both Whigs and Radicals urged for public inquiry into the management of the war. On 4 May, the Earl of Darnley contrasted ‘the success of our arms’ on land with the nation’s recent ‘naval disasters’. Referring to reports of an action between the Peacock and the American Hornet, Darnley bemoaned the ‘fresh disaster’.
— James Davey, "Representing Nations: Caricature and the Naval War of 1812" in Broke of the Shannon and the War of 1812, edited by Tim Voelcker.
On 24 February 1813, Master Commandant James Lawrence of the sloop of war USS Hornet captured HMS Peacock off the coast of South America, although Peacock was badly damaged in the fight and sank soon after her surrender. And there’s a song about it!
Flush with his success, James Lawrence was promoted to captain of USS Chesapeake—only to lose his life and his ship in a battle with HMS Shannon.
Another ship narrowly missed an encounter with Lawrence: HMS Espiegle was at anchor in the Demerara River within sight of USS Hornet when HMS Peacock approached from the sea. The captain of the Espiegle, John Taylor, faced a court martial over his actions, which also included the cruel treatment of his crew:
"That Captain Taylor had failed to do his Duty when in pursuit of the Hornet American sloop after the Capture of His Majesty's sloop Peacock, and had made but two or three short tacks against the current, and had never got to Windward of Demerara. ... That he had on several occasions exercised most unexampled tyranny and oppression towards the officers of the Sloop..."
— Christopher Lloyd, Captain Marryat and the Old Navy
A young officer of HMS Espiegle, Frederick Marryat on his first cruise as a lieutenant, was one of the witnesses against Taylor. He described how his captain harrassed the ship's company "by constantly keeping all hands on deck and holystoning more than once a day; we washed the deck sometimes twice a day."
In his future career as a novelist, Captain Frederick Marryat would include Taylor as the sadistic "Captain Jacky" in his autobiographical novel Frank Mildmay (The Naval Officer).
Naval Battle between HMS 'Peacock' and USS 'Hornet', by C. Montague Jones (Southampton City Museums)