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The Naval War of 1812

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CHAUNCY'S SQUADRON.

Broadside
Name. Rig. Tonnage. Crew. Metal; lbs Armament

_Pike_, Ship 875 300 360 28 long 24's
_Madison_, " 593 200 364 24 short 32's
_Oneida_, brig 243 100 172 16 " 24's
-+- 1 long 32
_Hamilton_, schooner 112 50 80 | 1 " 24
- 8 " 6's
-+- 1 " 32
_Scourge_, " 110 50 80 - 8 short 12's
-+- 1 long 32
_Conquest_, " 82 40 56 | 1 " 12
- 4 " 6's
-+- 1 " 32
_Tompkins_, " 96 40 62 | 1 " 12
- 6 " 6's
-+- 1 " 32
_Julia_, " 82 35 44 - 1 " 12
-+- 1 " 32
_Growler_, " 81 35 44 - 1 " 12
-+- 1 long 32
_Ontario_, schooner 53 35 44 - 1 " 12

_Fair -+- 1 " 24
American_, " 53 30 36 - 1 " 12
_Pert_, " 50 25 24 1 " 24
_Asp_, " 57 25 24 1 " 24
_Lady of
the Lake_, " 89 15 9 1 " 9
_________________________________________________________________

14 2,576 980 1,399 112

This is not materially different from James' account (p. 356), which
gives Chauncy 114 guns, 1,193 men, and 2,121 tons. The _Lady of the
Lake_, however, was never intended for anything but a despatch boat,
and the _Scourge_ and _Hamilton_ were both lost before Chauncy
actually came into collision with Yeo. Deducting these, in order
to compare the two foes, Chauncy had left 11 vessels of 2,265 tons,
with 865 men and 92 guns throwing a broadside of 1,230 pounds.

YEO'S SQUADRON.

Broadside
Name. Rig. Tonnage. Crew. Metal; lbs. Armament.

_Wolfe_, ship 637 220 392 -+- 1 long 24
| 8 " 18's
| 4 short 68's
'- 10 " 32's
_Royal " 510 200 360 -+- 3 long 18's
George_, | 2 short 68's
'- 16 " 32's
_Melville_, brig 279 100 210 -+- 2 long 18's
'- 12 short 32 s
_Moira_, " 262 100 153 -+- 2 long 9's
'- 12 short 24's
_Sydney schooner 216 80 172 -+- 2 long 12's
Smith_, '- 10 short 32's
_Beresford_, " 187 70 87 -+- 1 long 24
| 1 " 9
'- 6 short 18's
___________ _____ _____ _____ _________________
6 2,091 770 1,374 92

This differs but slightly from James, who gives Yeo 92 guns throwing
a broadside of 1,374 pounds, but only 717 men. As the evidence in
the court-martial held on Captain Barclay, and the official accounts
(on both sides) of Macdonough's victory, convict him of very much
underrating the force in men of the British on Erie and Champlain,
it can be safely assumed that he has underestimated the force in
men on Lake Ontario. By comparing the tonnage he gives to Barclay's
and Downie's squadrons with what it really was, we can correct his
account of Yeo's tonnage.

The above figures would apparently make the two squadrons about
equal, Chauncy having 95 men more, and throwing at a broadside 144
pounds shot less than his antagonist. But the 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 1,194. This unequal distribution of metal
was very much in favor of the Americans. Nor was this all. The
_Pike_, with her 15 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. 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 certainly seem
to be an overmatch for the two British schooners, but it is just
here that the difficulty 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, possessed quarters and were good
cruisers, while Chauncy's schooners were merchant vessels, without
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 themselves. 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 disadvantage
that Chauncy had to contend with, was 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 windward 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 _hors 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 hopelessly 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 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 commanders differ: after every
meeting each one insists 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 considered further 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 object 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 invaluable 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 skillful manoeuvring might baffle the foe,
and rest satisfied by keeping the sovereignty of the lake disputed;
for, as long as one squadron was not undisputed master it could not
be of much assistance in transporting troops attacking forts, or
otherwise helping the military.

In 1813 the Americans gained the first point by being the first to
begin operations. They were building a new ship, afterward the _Pike_,
at Sackett'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 Kingston. 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 supremacy. 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
Elliott, floating his own broad pennant, _Oneida_, Lieutenant Woolsey,
_Hamilton_, Lieutenant McPherson, _Scourge_, Mr. Osgood, _Tompkins_,
Lieutenant Brown, _Conquest_, Lieutenant Pettigrew, _Growler_, Mr. Mix,
_Julia_, Mr. Trant, _Asp_, Lieutenant Smith, _Pert_, Lieutenant Adams,
_American_, Lieutenant Chauncy, _Ontario_, Mr. Stevens, _Lady of the
Lake_, Mr. Hinn, and _Raven_, transport, having on board General
Dearborn and 1700 troops, to attack York, which was garrisoned by
about 700 British regulars and Canadian militia under Major-General
Sheafe. The new 24-gun ship was almost completed, and the _Gloucester_
10-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 Canadian militia,
outnumbered three to one (including the American sailors) and with
no very good defensive works, of course had to give way, having 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 Haifield and Thompson, and 8 wounded; [Footnote:
Letter of Commodore Chauncy, April 28, 1813.] and of the army,
[Footnote: James, "Military Occurrences" (London, 1818), vol. i, p.
151.] 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;
[Footnote: Lossing's "Field-Book of the War of 1812," p. 581. The
accounts vary somewhat.] together with 50 Canadians and Indians,
making a total of 180, besides 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 impossible
to resist very long when Pike's troops were landed, and the fleet
in position. On the other hand, the Americans did the 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.

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 determined to make an
attack on Fort George, where the British General Vincent was stationed
with from 1,000 [Footnote: James, "Military Occurrences," i, p. 151.]
to 1,800 [Footnote: Lossing, 596.] regulars, 600 militia, and about
100 Indians. The American troops numbered about 4,500, 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 _Julia_, _Growler_, and _Ontario_ moved in and attacked a battery
near the light-house, opening 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 10 minutes
killed or drove off the artillerymen, who left the gun spiked, and
then opened on the British. "The American ships with their heavy
discharges of round and grape too well succeeded in thinning the
British ranks." [Footnote: James, "Military Occurrences," i, p. 151.]
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." [Footnote: _Loc. cit_] 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 retreat, blowing up
and abandoning the fort. One sailor was killed and two wounded
[Footnote: Letter of Commodore Chauncy, May 29, 1813.]; seventeen
soldiers were killed and forty-five wounded [Footnote: Letter of
General Dearborn, May 27, 1813.]; making the total American loss
sixty-five. Of the British regulars 52 were killed, 44 wounded, and
262 "wounded and missing," [Footnote: Letter of Brig.-Gen. Vincent,
May 28, 1813.] 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 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 destructive nature
of their fire. The British batteries 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 object so quickly, with such slight loss to themselves, and
at such a heavy cost to the foe. The effect of the victory was most
important, the British 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 British 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 important addition
to the American force upon it.

While Chauncy's squadron was thus absent at the west end of the lake
the _Wolfe_, 24, was 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. Accordingly they embarked on May 27th, in the _Wolfe_,
_Royal George_, _Moira_, _Prince Regent_, _Simco_, and _Seneca_,
with a large number of gun-boats, barges, and batteaux; and on the
next day saw and attacked a brigade of 19 boats transporting troops
to Sackett's Harbor, under command 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 regulars landed, being covered
by the gun-boats under 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
gun-boats proved insufficient to attain that end; light and adverse
winds continued, and our larger vessels were still far off."
[Footnote: Letter of Adj.-Gen. Baynes, May 30. 1813.] The British
reëmbarked precipitately. The American loss amounted to 23 killed
and 114 wounded; that of the British to 52 killed and 211 wounded,
[Footnote: James, "Military Occurrences," p. 173.] most of the
latter being taken prisoners. During the fight some of the frightened
Americans set fire to the store-houses, the _Pike_ and the _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 Col.
Scott or Gen. Pike; and Sir James did not handle the gun-boats by
any means as well as the Americans did their schooners in similar
attacks. The admirers of Sir James lay the blame on Sir George, 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 coöperate 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 gun-boats, 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 Wilkinson's expedition into Canada. On the 13th
two schooners and some boats bringing supplies to the Americans were
captured, and on the 16th a depot 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. [Footnote: Letter of
Sir James Lucas Yeo to Mr. Croker, June 29, 1813.] As a small
compensation, on the 18th of the same month the _Lady of the Lake_,
Lieut. Wolcott Chauncy, captured off Presqu' Isle the British schooner
_Lady Murray_, containing 1 ensign, 15 soldiers, and 6 sailors,
together with stores and ammunition. [Footnote: Letter of Lieut.
Wolcott Chauncy to Com. Chauncy, June 18, 1813.]

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 Americans 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 Col. Scott and some of his regulars were embarked, and on
the 30th a descent was made upon York, where 11 transports were
destroyed, 5 cannon, a quantity of flour, and some ammunition carried
off, and the barracks burned. On the 3d of August the troops were
disembarked at the Niagara, and 111 officers and men were sent up
to join Perry on Lake Erie. As this left the squadron much deranged
150 militia 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 Aug. 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 1,390 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 1,374 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 remarked, 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 _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 7th 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 contradicts 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.

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