figures do not by any means show all the truth.
The Americans greatly excelled in the number
and calibre of their long guns. Compared thus,
they threw at one discharge 694 pounds of long-
gun metal and 536 pounds of carronade metal;
while the British only threw from their long guns
180 pounds, and from their carronades 1194. This
unequal distribution of metal was very much in
favor of the Americans. Nor was this all. The
Pike, with her fifteen long 24's in battery, was an
overmatch for any one of the enemy's vessels, and
bore the same relation to them that the Confiance,
at a later date, did to Macdonough's squadron.

VOL. 1. — 18



2 74 Naval War of 1812

She should certainly have been a match for the
Wolfe and Melville together, and the Madison and
Oneida for the Royal George and Sydney Smith. In
fact, the three heavy American vessels ought to
have been an overmatch for the four heaviest of
the British squadron, although these possessed the
nominal superiority. And in ordinary cases the
eight remaining American gun vessels would cer-
tainly seem to be an overmatch for the two
British schooners, but it is just here that the diffi-
culty of comparing the forces comes in. When
the water was very smooth and the wind light, the
long 32's and 24's of the Americans could play
havoc with the British schooners, at a distance
which would render the carronades of the latter
useless. But the latter were built for war, pos-
sessed quarters, and were good cruisers, while
Chauncy's schooners were merchant vessels, with-
out quarters, crank, and so loaded down with
heavy metal that whenever it blew at all hard
they could with difficulty be kept from upsetting,
and ceased to be capable even of defending them-
selves. When Sir James Yeo captured two of
them he would not let them cruise with his other
vessels at all, but sent them back to act as gun-
boats, in which capacity they were serving when
recaptured ; this is a tolerable test of their value
compared to their opponents. Another disad-
vantage that Chauncy had to contend with, was



Naval War of 1812 275

the difference in the speed of the various vessels.
The Pike and Madison were fast, weatherly ships ;
but the Oneida was a perfect slug, even going free,
and could hardly be persuaded to beat to wind-
ward at all. In this respect, Yeo was much better
off; his six ships were regular men-of-war, with
quarters, all of them seaworthy, and fast enough
to be able to act with uniformity, and not needing
to pay much regard to the weather. His force
could act as a unit; but Chauncy's could not.
Enough wind to make a good working breeze for
his larger vessels put all his smaller ones Jiors de
combat; and in weather that suited the latter, the
former could not move about at all. When speed
became necessary, the two ships left the brig hope-
lessly behind, and either had to do without her, or
else perhaps let the critical moment slip by while
waiting for her to come up. Some of the schooners
sailed quite as slowly ; and, finally, it was found
out that the only way to get all the vessels into
action at once was to have one half the fleet tow the
other half. It was certainly difficult to keep the
command of the lake when, if it came on to blow,
the commodore had to put into port under penalty
of seeing a quarter of his fleet founder before his
eyes. These conflicting considerations render it
hard to pass judgment ; but, on the whole, it would
seem as if Chauncy was the superior in force, for,
even if his schooners were not counted, his three



276 Naval War of 181 2

square-rigged vessels were at least a match for the
four square-rigged British vessels, and the two
British schooners would not have counted very
much in such a conflict. In calm weather, he was
certainly the superior. This only solves one of the
points in which the official letters of the two com-
manders differ: after every meeting each one in-
sists that he was inferior in force, that the weather
suited his antagonist, and that the latter ran away,
and got the worst of it ; all of which will be con-
sidered farther on.

In order to settle toward which side the balance
of success inclined, we must remember that there
were two things the combatants were trying to
do, viz. :

( 1 ) To damage the enemy directly by capturing
or destroying his vessels. This was the only ob-
ject we had in view in sending out ocean cruisers,
but on the lakes it was subordinated to —

(2) Getting the control of the lake, by which in-
valuable assistance could be rendered to the army.
The most thorough way of accomplishing this, of
course, was by destroying the enemy's squadron ;
but it could also be done by building ships too
powerful for him to face, or by beating him in
some engagement which, although not destroying
his fleet, would force him to go into port. If one
side was stronger, then the weaker party by skilful
manoeuvring might baffle the foe, and rest sat-



Naval War of 1812 277

isfied by keeping the sovereignty of the lake dis-
puted; for, as long as one squadron was not un-
disputed master it could not be of much assistance
in transporting troops, attacking forts, or other-
wise helping the military.

In 1 813, the Americans gained the first point by
being the first to begin operations. They were
building a new ship, afterward the Pike, at Sack-
ett's Harbor; the British were building two new
ships, each about two thirds the force of the Pike,
one at Toronto (then called York), one at Kings-
ton. Before these were built, the two fleets were
just on a par; the destruction of the Pike would
give the British the supremacy; the destruction
of either of the British ships, provided the Pike
were saved, would give the Americans the su-
premacy. Both sides had already committed
faults. The Americans had left Sackett's Harbor
so poorly defended and garrisoned that it invited
attack, while the British had fortified Kingston
very strongly, but had done little for York, and,
moreover, ought not to have divided their forces
by building ships in different places.

Commodore Chauncy's squadron was ready for
service on April 19th, and on the 25th he made
sail with the Madison, Lieutenant-Commander El-
liott, floating his own broad pennant; Oneida,
Lieutenant Woolsey; Hamilton, Lieutenant Mc-
Pherson; Scourge, Mr. Osgood; Tompkins, Lieu-



278 Naval War of 181 2

tenant Brown; Conquest, Lieutenant Pettigrew;
Growler, Mr. Mix; Julia, Mr. Trant; Asp, Lieuten-
ant Smith; Pert, Lieutenant Adams; American,
Lieutenant Chauncy ; 0«/ano, Mr. Stevens; Lady
of the Lake, Mr. Hinn ; and Raven, transport, hav-
ing on board General Dearborn and 1 700 troops, to
attack York, which was garrisoned by about 700
British regulars and Canadian militia under Major-
General Sheaf e. The new 24-gun ship was almost
completed, and the Gloucester lo-gun brig was in
port ; the guns of both vessels were used in defence
of the port. The fleet arrived before York early
on April 27th, and the debarkation began at about
8 A.M. The schooners beat up to the fort under a
heavy cannonade, and opened a spirited fire from
their long guns; while the troops went ashore
under the command of Brigadier-General Pike.
The boats were blown to leeward by the strong
east wind, and were exposed to a galling fire, but
landed the troops under cover of the grape thrown
by the vessels. The schooners now beat up to
within a quarter of a mile from the principal work,
and opened heavily upon it, while at the same
time General Pike and the main body of the troops
on shore moved forward to the assault, using their
bayonets only. The British regulars and Cana-
dian militia, outnumbered three to one (including
the American sailors), and with no very good de-
fensive works, of course had to give way, having



Naval War of 1 812 279

lost heavily, especially from the fire of the vessels.
An explosion immediately afterward killed or
wounded 250 of the victors, including General Pike.
The Americans lost, on board the fleet, 4 killed,
including midshipmen Hatfield and Thompson,
and 8 wounded ' ; and of the army,^ 14 killed and
32 wounded by the enemy's fire, and 52 killed and
180 wounded by the explosion: total loss, 288.
The British regulars lost 130 killed and wounded,
including 40 by the explosion ^ ; together with 50
Canadians and Indians, making a total of 180, be-
sides 290 prisoners. The 24-gun ship was burned,
her guns taken away, and the Gloucester sailed
back to Sackett's Harbor with the fleet. Many
military and naval stores were destroyed, and
much more shipped to the Harbor. The great
fault that the British had committed was in letting
the defences of so important a place remain so
poor, and the force in it so small. It was impos-
sible to resist very long when Pike's troops were
landed, and the fleet in position. On the other
hand, the Americans did their work in good style;
the schooners were finely handled, firing with
great precision and completely covering the troops,
who, in turn, were disembarked and brought into
action very handsomely.

' Letter of Commodore Chauncy, April 28, 18 13.
^ ]a.mes, Military Occurrences {l^ondon, i8iS),i.,p. 151.
3 Lossing's Field-Book of the War of 181 2, p. 581. The ac-
cotmts vary somewhat.



28o Naval War of 1812

After being detained in York a week by bad
weather, the squadron got out, and for the next
fortnight was employed in conveying troops and
stores to General Dearborn. Then it was deter-
mined to make an attack on Fort George, where
the British General Vincent was stationed with
from 1000 ' to 1800 ^ regulars, 600 miHtia, and
about 100 Indians. The American troops num-
bered about 4500, practically under the command
of Colonel Scott. On May 26th, Commodore
Chauncy carefully reconnoitred the place to be
attacked, and in the night made soundings along
the coast, and laid buoys so as to direct the small
vessels, who were to do the fighting. At 3 a.m. on
the 27th, the signal was made to weigh, the heavy
land artillery being on the Madison, and the other
troops on the Oneida, the Lady of the Lake, and in
batteaux, many of which had been captured at
York. The Jidia, Growler, and Ontario moved in
and attacked a battery near the light-house, open-
ing a cross-fire which silenced it. The troops were
to be disembarked farther along the lake, near a
battery of one long 24, managed by Canadian
militia. The Conquest and Tompkins swept in
under fire to this battery, and in ten minutes killed
or drove off the artillerymen, who left the gun
spiked, and then opened on the British. "The

^ James, Military Occurrences, i., p. 151.
2 Lossing, 596.



Naval War of 1 812 281

American ships with their heavy discharges of
round and grape too well succeeded in thinning
the British ranks." ' Meanwhile, the troop-boats,
under Captain Perry and Colonel Scott, dashed in,
completely covered by a heavy fire of grape directed
point-blank at the foe by the Hamilton, Scourge,
and Asp. "The fire from the American shipping
committed dreadful havoc among the British, and
rendered their efforts to oppose the landing of the
enemy ineffectual." ' Colonel Scott's troops, thus
protected, made good their landing and met the
British regulars ; but the latter were so terribly cut
up by the tremendous discharges of grape and
canister from the schooners that, in spite of their
gallantry and discipline, they were obliged to re-
treat, blowing up and abandoning the fort. One
sailor wa s killed and two wounded ^ ; seventeen
soldiers were killed and forty-five wounded 4 ; mak-
ing the total American loss sixty-five. Of the
British regulars 52 were killed, 44 wounded, and
262 "wounded and missing," s in addition to
about forty Canadians and Indians hors de combat
and nearly 500 militia captured; so that in this
very brilliant affair the assailants suffered hardly
more than a fifth of the loss in killed and wounded

' James, Military Occurrences, i., p. 151.

^ Loc. cit.

3 Letter of Commodore Chauncy, May 29, 1813.

* Letter of General Dearborn, May 27, 18 13.

s Letter of Brigadier-General Vincent, May 28, 1813.



282 Naval War of 1812

that the assailed did; which must be attributed
to the care with which Chauncy had reconnoitred
the ground and prepared the attack, the excellent
handling of the schooners, and the exceedingly de-
structive nature of their fire. The British bat-
teries were very weak, and, moreover, badly
served. Their regular troops fought excellently;
it was impossible for them to stand against the fire
of the schooners, which should have been engaged
by the batteries on shore ; and they were too weak
in numbers to permit the American army to land
and then attack it when away from the boats. The
Americans were greatly superior in force, and yet
deserve very much credit for achieving their ob-
ject so quickly, with such slight loss to them-
selves, and at such a heavy cost to the foe. The
effect of the victory was most important, the Brit-
ish evacuating the whole Niagara frontier, and
leaving the river in complete possession of the
Americans for the time being. This offered the
opportunity for despatching Captain Perry up
above the falls to take out one captured brig (the
Caledonia) and four purchased schooners, which had
been lying in the river, unable to get past the Brit-
ish batteries into Lake Erie. These five vessels
were now carried into that lake, being tracked up
against the current by oxen, to become a most im-
portant addition to the American force upon it.
While Chauncy's squadron was thus absent at



Naval War of 1 812 283

the west end of the lake, the Wolfe, 24, wa,s
launched and equipped at Kingston, making the
British force on the lake superior to that of the
Americans. Immediately, Sir George Prevost and
Sir James Lucas Yeo, the commanders-in-chief of
the land and water forces in the Canadas, decided
to strike a blow at Sackett's Harbor and destroy
the General Pike, 28, thus securing to themselves
the superiority for the rest of the season. Ac-
cordingly, they embarked on May 27th, in the
Wolfe, Royal George, Moira, Prince Regent, Simco,
and Seneca, with a large number of gunboats,
barges, and batteaux; and on the next day saw
and attacked a brigade of nineteen boats trans-
porting troops to Sackett's Harbor, under com-
mand of Lieutenant Aspinwall. Twelve boats
were driven ashore, and 70 of the men in them
captured; but Lieutenant Aspinwall and 100 men
succeeded in reaching the Harbor, bringing up the
total number of regulars there to 500 men. General
Brown having been summoned to take the chief
command. About 400 militia also came in, but
were of no earthly service. There were, however,
200 Albany volunteers, under Colonel Mills, who
could be relied on. The defences were miserably
inadequate, consisting of a battery of one long
gun, and a block-house.

On the 29th, Sir George Prevost and 800 regu-
lars landed, being covered by the gunboats under



284 Naval War of 181 2

Sir James Lucas Yeo. The American militia fled
at once, but the regulars and volunteers held their
ground in and around the block-house. "At this
point the further energies of the [British] troops
became unavailing. The [American] block-house
and stockade could not be carried by assault nor
reduced by field-pieces, had we been provided
with them; the fire of the gunboats proved in-
sufficient to attain that end; light and adverse
winds continued, and our larger vessels were still
far off." ' The British re-embarked precipitately.
The American loss amounted to 23 killed and 114
wounded ; that of the British to 5 2 killed and 211
wounded, => most of the latter being taken prisoners.
During the fight some of the frightened Americans
set fire to the store-houses, the Pike and Gloucester;
the former were consumed, but the flames were
extinguished before they did any damage to either
of the vessels. This attack differed especially
from those on Fort George and York, in that the
attacking force was relatively much weaker ; still,
it ought to have been successful. But Sir George
could not compare as a leader with Colonel Scott
or General Pike ; and Sir James did not handle the
gunboats by any means as well as the Americans
did their schooners in similar attacks. The ad-
mirers of Sir James lay the blame on Sir George,

* Letter of Adjutant-General Baynes, May 30, 1813.
2 James, Military Occurretices , p. 173.



Naval War of 1 812 285

and vice versa; but, in reality, neither seems to have
done particularly well. At any rate, the affair
was the reverse of creditable to the British.

The British squadron returned to Kingston, and
Chauncy, having heard that they were out, came
down the lake and went into port about June 2d.
So far the Americans had had all the success, and
had controlled the lake ; but now Yeo's force was
too formidable to be encountered until the Pike
was built, and the supremacy passed undisputed
into his hands, while Chauncy lay in Sackett's
Harbor. Of course, with the Pike soon to be
built, Yeo's uncontested superiority could be of
but short duration; but he used his time most
actively. He sailed from Kingston on the 3d of
June, to co-operate with the British army at the
head of the lake, and intercept all supplies going
to the Americans. On the 8th, he discovered a
small camp of the latter near Forty Mile Creek,
and attacked it with the Beresford, Sydney Smith,
and gunboats, obliging the Americans to leave
their camp, while their equipages, provisions,
stores, and batteaux fell into the hands of the
British, whose troops occupied the post, thus
assisting in the series of engagements which ended
in the humiliating repulse of General Wilkin-
son's expedition into Canada. On the 13th, two
schooners and some boats bringing supplies to the
Americans were captured, and, on the i6th, a depot



286 Naval War of 1812

of provisions at the Genesee River shared the
same fate. On the 19th, a party of British soldiers
were landed by the fleet at Great Sodas, and took
off 600 barrels of flour. Yeo then returned to
Kingston, where he anchored on the 27th, having
done good service in assisting the land forces.^ As
a small compensation, on the i8th of the same
month, the Lady of the Lake, Lieutenant Wolcott
Chauncy, captured off Presque Isle the British
schooner Lady Murray, containing i ensign, 15
soldiers, and 6 sailors, together with stores and
ammunition.

During the early part of July, neither squadron
put out in force; although on the first of the
month Commodore Yeo made an abortive attempt
to surprise Sackett's Harbor, but abandoned it
when it was discovered. Meanwhile, the Ameri-
cans were building a new schooner, the Sylph, and
the formidable corvette Pike was made ready to
sail by July 21st. On the same day, the entire
American squadron, or fleet, sailed up to the head
of the lake and reached Niagara on the 27th.
Here Colonel Scott and some of his regulars were
embarked, and on the 30th a descent was made
upon York, where 11 transports were destroyed,

' Letter of Sir James Lucas Yeo to Mr. Croker, June 29,
1813.

' Letter of Lieutenant Wolcott Chauncy to Commodore
Chauncy, June 18, 1813.



Naval War of 1812 287

5 cannon, a quantity of flour, and some ammuni-
tion carried off, and the barracks burned On the
3d of August, the troops were disembarked at the
Niagara, and 1 1 1 officers and men were sent up to
join Perry on Lake Erie. As this left the squad-
ron much deranged, 150 miUtia were subsequently
lent it by General Boyd, but they proved of no
assistance (beyond swelling the number of men
Yeo captured in the Growler and Julia from 70
individuals to 80), and were again landed.

Commodore Yeo sailed with his squadron from
Kingston on August 2d, and, on the 7th, the two
fleets, for the first time, came in sight of one
another, the Americans at anchor off Fort Niagara,
the British six miles to windward, in the W.N.W.
Chauncy's squadron contained one corvette, one
ship-sloop, one brig-sloop, and ten schooners,
manned by about 965 men, and throwing at a
broadside 1390 lbs. of shot, nearly 800 of which
were from long guns. Yeo's included two ship-
sloops, two brig-sloops, and two schooners, manned
by 770 men, and throwing at a broadside 1374 lbs.,
but 180 being from long guns. But Yeo's vessels
were all built with bulwarks, while ten of Chauncy's
had none; and, moreover, his vessels could all
sail and manoeuvre together, while, as already re-
marked, one half of the American fleet spent a
large part of its time towing the other half. The
Pike would, at ordinary range, be a match for the



288 Naval War of 1812

Wolfe and Melville together ; yet, in actual weight
of metal she threw less than the former ship alone.
In calm weather, the long guns of the American
schooners gave them a great advantage ; in rough
weather, they could not be used at all. Still, on
the whole, it could fairly be said that Yeo was
advancing to attack a superior fleet.

All through the day of the 7 th, the wind blew
light and variable, and the two squadrons went
through a series of manoeuvres, nominally to
bring on an action. As each side flatly contra-
dicts the other, it is hard to tell precisely what the
manoeuvres were; each captain says the other
avoided him, and that he made all sail in chase.
At any rate, it was just the weather for Chauncy
to engage in.

That night the wind came out squally; and
about I A.M. on the morning of the 8th, a heavy
gust struck the Hamilton and Scourge, forcing
them to careen over till the heavy guns broke
loose, and they foundered, but sixteen men escap-
ing; which accident did not open a particularly
cheerful prospect to the remainder of the schoon-
ers. Chauncy' s force was, by this accident, re-
duced to a numerical equality with Yeo's, having,
perhaps, a hundred more men,' and throwing 144

' This estimate as to men is a mere balancing of proba-
bilities. If James underestimates the British force on On-
tario as much as he has on Erie and Champlain, Yeo had as



Naval War of 1812 289

lbs. less shot at a broadside. All through the two
succeeding days the same manoeuvring went on;
the question as to which avoided the fight is sim-
ply one of veracity between the two commanders,
and, of course, each side, to the end of time, will
believe its own leader. But it is not of the least
consequence, as neither accomplished anything.

On the loth, the same tedious evolutions were
continued, but at 7 p.m. the two squadrons were
tolerably near one another, Yeo to windward, the
breeze being fresh from the S.W. Commodore
Chauncy formed his force in two lines on the port
tack, while Commodore Yeo approached from be-
hind and to windward, in single column, on the
same tack. Commodore Chauncy's weather line
was formed of the Julia, Growler, Pert, Asp, On-
tario, and American, in that order; and the lee
line of the Pike, Oneida, Madison, Tompkins, and
Conquest. Chauncy formed his weather line of
the smaller vessels, directing them, when the
British should engage, to edge away and form to
leeward of the second line, expecting that Sir
James would fellow them down. At 11 the

many men as his opponent. Chauncy, in one of his letters
(preserved with the other manuscript letters in the Naval
Archives) , says : "I enclose the muster-rolls of all my ships,"
but I have not been able to find them, and in any event the
complements were continually changing completely. The
point is not important, as each side certainly had plenty of
men on this occasion.

VOL. I.— 19




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Naval War of 1 812 291

weather line opened fire at very long range; at
1 1 . 1 5 it was returned, and the action became gen-
eral and harmless; at 11.30, the weather line bore
up and passed to leeward, except the Julia and
Growler, which tacked. The British ships kept
their luff and cut off the two that had tacked;
while Commodore Chauncy's lee line " edged away
two points, to lead the enemy down, not only to
engage him to more advantage, but to lead him
from the Julia and Growler y ' Of course, the
enemy did not come down, and the Julia and
Growler were not saved. Yeo kept on till he had
cut off the two schooners, fired an ineffectual
broadside at the other ships, and tacked after the
Growler and JuUa. Then, when too late, Chauncy
tacked also, and stood after him. The schooners,
meanwhile, kept clawing to windward till they