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The Naval War of 1812

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On June 6th Yeo raised the blockade of the Harbor, but Chauncy's
squadron was not in condition to put out till six weeks later,
during which time nothing was done by either fleet, except that two
very gallant cutting-out expeditions were successfully attempted
by Lieutenant Francis H. Gregory, U.S.N. On June 16th he left the
Harbor, accompanied by Sailing-masters Vaughan and Dixon and 22
seamen, in three gigs, to intercept some of the enemy's provision
schooners; on the 19th he was discovered by the British gun-boat
_Black Snake_, of one 18-pound carronade and 18 men, commanded by
Captain H. Landon. Lieutenant Gregory dashed at the gun-boat and
carried it without the loss of a man; he was afterward obliged to
burn it, but he brought the prisoners, chiefly royal marines, safely
into port. On the 1st of July he again started out, with Messrs.
Vaughan and Dixon, and two gigs. The plucky little party suffered
greatly from hunger, but on the 5th he made a sudden descent on
Presque Isle, and burned a 14-gun schooner just ready for launching;
he was off before the foe could assemble, and reached the Harbor
in safety next day.

On July 31st Commodore Chauncy sailed with his fleet; some days
previously the larger British vessels had retired to Kingston, where
a 100-gun two-decker was building. Chauncy sailed up to the head
of the lake, where he intercepted the small brig _Magnet_. The
_Sylph_ was sent in to destroy her, but her crew ran her ashore and
burned her. The _Jefferson_, _Sylph_, and _Oneida_ were left to watch
some other small craft in the Niagara; the _Jones_ was kept cruising
between the Harbor and Oswego, and with the four larger vessels
Chauncy blockaded Yeo's four large vessels lying in Kingston. The
four American vessels were in the aggregate of 4,398 tons, manned
by rather more than 1,350 men, and presenting in broadside 77 guns,
throwing 2,328 lbs. of shot. The four British vessels measured in
all _about_ 3,812 tons, manned by 1,220 men, and presenting in
broadside 74 guns, throwing 2,066 lbs. of shot. The former were thus
superior by about 15 per cent., and Sir James Yeo very properly
declined to fight with the odds against him--although it was a nicer
calculation than British commanders had been accustomed to enter into.

Major-General Brown had written to Commodore Chauncy on July 13th:
"I do not doubt my ability to meet the enemy in the field and to
march in any direction over his country, your fleet carrying for
me the necessary supplies. We can threaten Forts George and Niagara,
and carry Burlington Heights and York, and proceed direct to Kingston
and carry that place. For God's sake let me see you: Sir James will
not fight." To which Chauncy replied: "I shall afford every assistance
in my power to cooperate with the army whenever it can be done without
losing sight of the great object for the attainment of which this
fleet has been created,--the capture or destruction of the enemy's
fleet. But that I consider the primary object. * * * We are intended
to seek and fight the enemy's fleet, and I shall not be diverted
from my efforts to effectuate it by any sinister attempt to render
us subordinate to, or an appendage of, the army." That is, by any
"sinister attempt" to make him cooperate intelligently in a really
well-concerted scheme of invasion. In further support of these noble
and independent sentiments, he writes to the Secretary of the Navy
on August 10th [Footnote: See Niles, vii, 12, and other places (under
"Chauncy" in index).], "I told (General Brown) that I should not
visit the head of the lake unless the enemy's fleet did so. * * *
To deprive the enemy of an apology for not meeting me, I have sent
ashore four guns from the _Superior_ to reduce her armament in number
to an equality with the _Prince Regent_'s, yielding the advantage
of their 68-pounders. The _Mohawk_ mounts two guns less than the
_Princess Charlotte_, and the _Montreal_ and _Niagara_ are equal
to the _Pike_ and _Madison_." He here justifies his refusal to
co-operate with General Brown by saying that he was of only equal
force with Sir James, and that he has deprived the latter of "an
apology" for not meeting him. This last was not at all true. The
_Mohawk_ and _Madison_ were just about equal to the _Princess
Charlotte_ and _Niagara_: but the _Pike_ was half as strong again
as the _Montreal_; and Chauncy could very well afford to "yield the
advantage of their 68-pounders," when in return Sir James had to
yield the advantage of Chauncy's long 32's and 42-pound carronades.
The _Superior_ was a 32-pounder frigate, and, even without her four
extra guns, was about a fourth heavier than the _Prince Regent_ with
her 24-pounders. Sir James was not acting more warily than Chauncy
had acted during June and July, 1813. Then he had a fleet which tonned
1,701, was manned by 680 men, and threw at a broadside 1,099 lbs.
of shot; and he declined to go out of port or in any way try to check
the operation of Yeo's fleet which tonned 2,091, was manned by 770
men, and threw at a broadside 1,374 lbs. of shot. Chauncy then acted
perfectly proper, no doubt, but he could not afford to sneer at Yeo
for behaving in the same way. Whatever either commander might write,
in reality he well knew that his officers and crews were, man for
man, just about on a par with those of his antagonists, and so, after
the first brush or two, he was exceedingly careful to see that the
odds were not against him. Chauncy, in his petulant answers to Brown's
letter, ignored the fact that his superiority of force would prevent
his opponent from giving battle, and would, therefore, prevent any
thing more important than a blockade occurring.

His ideas of the purpose for which his command had been created were
erroneous and very hurtful to the American cause. That purpose was
not, except incidentally, "the destruction of the enemy's fleet";
and, if it was, he entirely failed to accomplish it. The real purpose
was to enable Canada to be successfully invaded, or to assist in
repelling an invasion of the United States. These services could
only be efficiently performed by acting in union with the land-forces,
for his independent action could evidently have little effect. The
only important services he had performed had been in attacking Forts
George and York, where he _had_ been rendered "subordinate to, and
an appendage of, the army." His only chance of accomplishing any
thing lay in similar acts of cooperation, and he refused to do these.
Had he acted as he ought to have done, and assisted Brown to the
utmost, he would certainly have accomplished much more than he did,
and might have enabled Brown to assault Kingston, when Yeo's fleet
would of course have been captured. The insubordination, petty
stickling for his own dignity, and lack of appreciation of the
necessity of acting in concert that he showed, were the very faults
which proved most fatal to the success of our various land commanders
in the early part of the war. Even had Chauncy's assistance availed
nothing, he could not have accomplished less than he did. He remained
off Kingston blockading Yeo, being once or twice blown off by gales.
He sent Lieutenant Gregory, accompanied by Midshipman Hart and six
men, in to reconnoitre on August 25th; the lieutenant ran across
two barges containing 30 men, and was captured after the midshipman
had been killed and the lieutenant and four men wounded. On September
21st he transported General Izard and 3,000 men from Sackett's Harbor
to the Genesee; and then again blockaded Kingston until the two-decker
was nearly completed, when he promptly retired to the Harbor.

The equally cautious Yeo did not come out on the lake till Oct. 15th;
he did not indulge in the empty and useless formality of blockading
his antagonist, but assisted the British army on the Niagara frontier
till navigation closed, about Nov. 21st. A couple of days before,
Midshipman McGowan headed an expedition to blow up the two-decker
(named the _St. Lawrence_) with a torpedo, but was discovered by
two of the enemy's boats, which he captured and brought in; the
attempt was abandoned, because the _St. Lawrence_ was found not to
be lying in Kingston.

For this year the material loss again fell heaviest on the British,
amounting to one 14-gun brig burned by her crew, one 10-gun schooner
burned on the stocks, three gun-boats, three cutters, and one gig
captured; while in return the Americans lost one schooner loaded
with seven guns, one boat loaded with two, and a gig captured and
four guns destroyed at Oswego. In men the British loss was heavier
still relatively to that of the Americans, being in killed, wounded,
and prisoners about 300 to 80. But in spite of this loss and damage,
which was too trivial to be of any account to either side, the
success of the season was with the British, inasmuch as they held
command over the lake for more than four months, during which time
they could coöperate with their army; while the Americans held it
for barely two months and a half. In fact the conduct of the two
fleets on Lake Ontario during the latter part of the war was almost
farcical. As soon as one, by building, acquired the superiority,
the foe at once retired to port, where he waited until _he_ had built
another vessel or two, when he came out, and the other went into
port in turn. Under such circumstances it was hopeless ever to finish
the contest by a stand-up sea-fight, each commander calculating the
chances with mathematical exactness. The only hope of destroying
the enemy's fleet was by cooperating with the land-forces in a
successful attack on his main post, when he would be forced to be
either destroyed or to fight--and this cooperation Chauncy refused
to give. He seems to have been an excellent organizer, but he did
not use (certainly not in the summer of 1813) his materials by any
means to the best advantage. He was hardly equal to his opponent,
and the latter seems to have been little more than an average officer.
Yeo blundered several times, as in the attack on Sackett's Harbor,
in not following up his advantage at Oswego, in showing so little
resource in the action off the Genesee, etc., and he was not troubled
by any excess of daring; but during the period when he was actually
cruising against Chauncy on the lake he certainly showed to better
advantage than the American did. With an inferior force he won a
partial victory over his opponent off Niagara, and then kept him
in check for six weeks; while Chauncy, with his superior force, was
not only partially defeated once, but, when he did gain a partial
victory, failed to take advantage of it.

In commenting upon the timid and dilatory tactics of the two commanders
on Ontario, however, it must be remembered that the indecisive nature
of the results attained had been often paralleled by the numerous
similar encounters that took place on the ocean during the wars of
the preceding century. In the War of the American Revolution, the
English fought some 19 fleet actions with the French, Dutch, and
Spaniards; one victory was gained over the French, and one over the
Spaniards, while the 17 others were all indecisive, both sides claiming
the victory, and neither winning it. Of course, some of them, though
indecisive as regards loss and damage, were strategetical victories:
thus, Admiral Arbuthnot beat back Admiral Barras off the Chesapeake,
in March of 1781; and near the same place in September of the same
year the French had their revenge in the victory (one at least in
its results) of the Comte de Grasse over Sir Thomas Graves. In the
five desperate and bloody combats which De Suffrein waged with Sir
Edward Hughes in the East Indies, the laurels were very evenly divided.
These five conflicts were not rendered indecisive by any overwariness
in manoeuvring, for De Suffrein's attacks were carried out with as
much boldness as skill, and his stubborn antagonist was never inclined
to baulk him of a fair battle; but the two hardy fighters were so
evenly matched that they would pound one another till each was helpless
to inflict injury. Very different were the three consecutive battles
that took place in the same waters, on the 25th of April, 1758, the
3d of August, 1758, and on the 10th of September, 1759, between Pocock
and d'Aché [Footnote: "La Marine Française sous le Regne de Louis XV,"
par Henri Riviere, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, Chevalier de la Legion d'
Honneur. (Paris et Toulon, 1859), pp. 385 and 439.], where, by skilful
manoeuvring, the French admiral saved his somewhat inferior force
from capture, and the English admiral gained indecisive victories.
M. Riviere, after giving a most just and impartial account of the
battles, sums up with the following excellent criticism. [Footnote:
_Ibid_., p. 425. I pay more attention to the sense than to the letter
in my translation.]

"It is this battle, won by Hawke, the 20th of November, 1757, and
the combats of Pocock and d'Aché, from which date two distinct schools
in the naval affairs of the 18th century: one of these was all for
promptness and audacity, which were regarded as the indispensable
conditions for victory; the other, on the contrary, praised skilful
delays and able evolutions, and created success by science united
to prudence. * * * But these two schools were true only according
to circumstances, not absolutely. When two fleets of equal worth
are facing one another, as in the War of the American Revolution,
then tactics should come into play, and audacity would often be mere
foolhardiness. If it happens, on the other hand, as in the Republic,
or during the last years of Louis XV, that an irresolute fleet, without
organization, has to contend with a fleet prepared in every way,
then, on the part of this last, audacity is wisdom and prudence would
be cowardice, for it would give an enemy who distrusts himself time
to become more hardy. The only school always true is that one which,
freed from all routine, produces men whose genius will unite in one,
in knowing how to apply them appropriately, the audacity which will
carry off victory, and the prudence which knows how to obtain it in
preparing for it."

These generalizations are drawn from the results of mighty battles,
but they apply just as well to the campaigns carried on on a small
scale, or even to single-ship actions. Chauncy, as already said,
does not deserve the praise which most American historians, and
especially Cooper, have lavished on him as well as on all our other
officers of that period. Such indiscriminate eulogy entirely detracts
from the worth of a writer's favorable criticisms. Our _average_
commander was, I firmly believe, at that time superior to the average
commander of any other nation; but to get at this average we must
include Chauncy, Rodgers, and Angus, as well as Hull, Macdonough,
Perry, Porter, Bainbridge, Biddle, Lawrence, and Warrington.

Sir James Yeo did to the full as well as his opponent, and like him
was a good organizer; but he did little enough. His campaigns must
be considered as being conducted well or ill according as he is believed
to have commanded better men than his opponent, or not. If, as many
British writers contend, his crews were an overmatch for the Americans,
man for man, even to a slight degree, then Yeo's conduct was very
cowardly; if, on the contrary, the officers and men of the two fleets
were on a par, then he acted properly and outgeneralled his opponent.
It is to be regretted that most of the histories written on the subject,
on either side of the Atlantic, should be of the "hurrah" order of
literature, with no attempt whatever to get at the truth, but merely
to explain away the defeats or immensely exaggerate the victories
suffered or gained by their own side.


Erie and the Upper Lakes.

Hitherto the vessels on these lakes (as well as on Ontario) had been
under the command of Commodore Chauncy; but they were now formed into
a separate department, under Captain Arthur Sinclair. The Americans
had, of course, complete supremacy, and no attempt was seriously made
to contest it with them; but they received a couple of stinging, if
not very important, defeats. It is rather singular that here the
British, who began with a large force, while there was none whatever
to oppose it, should have had it by degrees completely annihilated;
and should have then, and not till then, when apparently rendered
harmless, have turned round and partially revenged themselves by
two cutting-out expeditions which were as boldly executed as they
were skilfully planned.

Captain Sinclair sailed into Lake Huron with the _Niagara_, _Caledonia_,
_Ariel_, _Scorpion_, and _Tigress_, and on July 20th burnt the fort
and barracks of St. Joseph, which were abandoned by their garrison.
On Aug. 4th he arrived off the fort of Machilimacinac (Mackinaw),
which was situated on such an eminence that the guns of the vessels
could not reach it. Accordingly, the troops under Col. Croghan were
landed, covered by the fire of the schooners, very successfully; but
when they tried to carry the fort they were driven back with the loss
of 70 men. Thence Sinclair sailed to the Nattagawassa Creek, attacked
and destroyed a block-house three miles up it, which mounted three
light guns, and also a schooner called the _Nancy_; but the commander
of the schooner, Lieutenant Worsely, with his crew, escaped up the
river. Captain Sinclair then departed for Lake Erie, leaving the
_Scorpion_, Lieutenant Turner, and _Tigress_, Sailing-master Champlin,
to blockade the Nattagawassa. News was received by the British from
a party of Indians that the two American vessels were five leagues
apart, and it was at once resolved to attempt their capture. On the
first of September, in the evening, four boats started out, one manned
by 20 seamen, under Lieutenant Worsely, the three others by 72 soldiers
under Lieutenants Bulger, Armstrong, and Raderhurst of the army--in
all 92 men and two guns, a 6- and a 3-pounder. A number of Indians
accompanied the expedition but took no part in the fighting. At sunset
on the 2d the boats arrived at St. Mary's Strait, and spent 24 hours
in finding out where the American schooners were. At 6 P.M. on the 3d,
the nearest vessel, the _Tigress_, was made out, six miles off, and
they pulled for her. It was very dark, and they were not discovered
till they had come within fifty yards, when Champlin at once fired
his long 24 at them; before it could be reloaded the four boats had
dashed up, those of Lieutenants Worsely and Armstrong placing themselves
on the starboard, and those of Lieutenants Bulger and Raderhurst on
the port side. There was a short, sharp struggle, and the schooner
was carried. Of her crew of 28 men, 3 were killed and five, including
Mr. Champlin, dangerously wounded. The assailants lost three seamen
killed, Lieutenant Bulger, seven soldiers and several seamen wounded.
[Footnote: Letter of Lieutenant A. H. Bulger, Sept. 7, 1814. James
says only 3 killed and 8 wounded; but Lieutenant Bulger distinctly
says in addition, "and several seamen wounded."] "The defence of
this vessel," writes Lieut. Bulger, "did credit to her officers,
who were all severely wounded." Next day the prisoners were sent
on shore; and on the 5th the _Scorpion_ was discovered working up
to join her consort, entirely ignorant of what had happened. She
anchored about 2 miles from the _Tigress_; and next morning at 6
o'clock the latter slipped her cable and ran down under the jib and
fore-sail, the American ensign and pendant still flying. When within
10 yards of the _Scorpion_, the concealed soldiers jumped up, poured
a volley into her which killed 2 and wounded 2 men, and the next
moment carried her, her surprised crew of 30 men making no resistance.
The whole affair reflected great credit on the enterprise and pluck
of the British without being discreditable to the Americans. It was
like Lieut. Elliot's capture of the _Detroit_ and _Caledonia_.

Meanwhile a still more daring cutting-out expedition had taken place
at the foot of Lake Erie. The three American schooners, _Ohio_,
_Somers_, and _Porcupine_, each with 30 men, under Lieut. Conkling,
were anchored just at the outlet of the lake, to cover the flank of
the works at Fort Erie. On the night of August 12th, Capt. Dobbs,
of the _Charwell_, and Lieut. Radcliffe, of the _Netly_, with 75
seamen and marines from their two vessels, which were lying off Fort
Erie, resolved to attempt the capture of the schooners. The seamen
carried the captain's gig upon their shoulders from Queenstown to
Frenchman's Creek, a distance of 20 miles; thence, by the aid of
some militia, 5 batteaux as well as the gig were carried 8 miles
across the woods to Lake Erie, and the party (whether with or without
the militia I do not know) embarked in them. Between 11 and 12 the
boats were discovered a short distance ahead of the _Somers_ and
hailed. They answered "provision boats," which deceived the officer
on deck, as such boats had been in the habit of passing and repassing
continually during the night. Before he discovered his mistake the
boats drifted across his hawse, cut his cables, and ran him aboard
with a volley of musketry, which wounded two of his men, and before
the others could get on deck the schooner was captured. In another
moment the British boats were alongside the _Ohio_, Lieut. Conkling's
vessel. Here the people had hurried on deck, and there was a moment's
sharp struggle, in which the assailants lost Lieut. Radcliffe and
one seaman killed and six seamen and marines wounded; but on board
the _Ohio_ Lieut. Conkling and Sailing-master M. Cally were shot
down, one seaman killed, and four wounded, and Captain Dobbs carried
her, sword in hand. The _Porcupine_ was not molested, and made no
effort to interfere with the British in their retreat; so they drifted
down the rapids with their two prizes and secured them below. The
boldness of this enterprise will be appreciated when it is remembered
that but 75 British seamen (unless there were some militia along),
with no artillery, attacked and captured two out of three fine
schooners, armed each with a long 32 or 24, and an aggregate of 90
men; and that this had been done in waters where the gig and five
batteaux of the victors were the only British vessels afloat.


CHAMPLAIN.

This lake, which had hitherto played but an inconspicuous part, was
now to become the scene of the greatest naval battle of the war. A
British army of 11,000 men under Sir George Prevost undertook the
invasion of New York by advancing up the western bank of Lake Champlain.
This advance was impracticable unless there was a sufficiently strong
British naval force to drive back the American squadron at the same
time. Accordingly, the British began to construct a frigate, the
_Confiance_, to be added to their already existing force, which consisted
of a brig, two sloops, and 12 or 14 gun-boats. The Americans already
possessed a heavy corvette, a schooner, a small sloop, and 10 gun-boats
or row-galleys; they now began to build a large brig, the _Eagle_,
which was launched about the 16th of August. Nine days later, on the
25th, the _Confiance_ was launched. The two squadrons were equally
deficient in stores, etc.; the _Confiance_ having locks to her guns,
some of which could not be used, while the American schooner
_Ticonderoga_ had to fire her guns by means of pistols flashed at
the touchholes (like Barclay on Lake Erie). Macdonough and Downie
were hurried into action before they had time to prepare themselves
thoroughly; but it was a disadvantage common to both, and arose from
the nature of the case, which called for immediate action. The British
army advanced slowly toward Plattsburg, which was held by General
Macomb with less than 2,000 effective American troops. Captain Thomas
Macdonough, the American commodore, took the lake a day or two before
his antagonist, and came to anchor in Plattsburg harbor. The British
fleet, under Captain George Downie, moved from Isle-aux-Noix on Sept.
8th, and on the morning of the 11th sailed into Plattsburg harbor.

The American force consisted of the ship _Saratoga_, Captain T.
Macdonough, of about 734 tons, [Footnote: In the Naval Archives
("Masters'-Commandant Letters," 1814, 1, No. 134) is a letter from
Macdonough in which he states that the _Saratoga_ is intermediate
in size between the _Pike_, of 875, and the _Madison_, of 593 tons;
this would make her 734. The _Eagle_ was very nearly the size of
the _Lawrence_ or _Niagara_, on Lake Erie. The _Ticonderoga_ was
originally a small steamer, but Commodore Macdonough had her
schooner-rigged, because he found that her machinery got out of
order on almost every trip that she took. Her tonnage is only
approximately known, but she was of the same size as the _Linnet_.]
carrying eight long 24-pounders, six 42-pound and twelve 32-pound
carronades; the brig _Eagle_, Captain Robert Henly, of about 500
tons, carrying eight long 18's and twelve 32-pound carronades; schooner
_Ticonderoga_, Lieut.-Com. Stephen Cassin, of about 350 tons carrying
eight long 12-pounders, four long 18-pounders, and five 32-pound
carronades; sloop _Preble_, Lieutenant Charles Budd, of about 80
tons, mounting seven long 9's; the row-galleys _Boxer_, _Centipede_,
_Nettle_, _Allen_, _Viper_, and _Burrows_, each of about 70 tons,
and mounting one long 24- and one short 18-pounder; and the row-galleys
_Wilmer_, _Ludlow_, _Aylwin_, and _Ballard_, each of about 40 tons,
and mounting one long 12. James puts down the number of men on board
the squadron as 950,--merely a guess, as he gives no authority. Cooper
says "about 850 men, including officers, and a small detachment of
soldiers to act as marines." Lossing (p. 866, note 1) says 882 in all.
Vol. xiv of the "American State Papers" contains on p. 572 the
prize-money list presented by the purser, George Beale, Jr. This
numbers the men (the dead being represented by their heirs or executors)
up to 915, including soldiers and seamen, but many of the numbers
are omitted, probably owing to the fact that their owners, though
belonging on board; happened to be absent on shore, or in the hospital;
so that the actual number of names tallies very closely with that
given by Lossing; and accordingly I shall take that. [Footnote: In
the Naval Archives are numerous letters from Macdonough, in which he
states continually that, as fast as they arrive, he substitutes sailors
for the soldiers with which the vessels were originally manned. Men
were continually being sent ashore on account of sickness. In the
Bureau of Navigation is the log-book of "sloop-of-war _Surprise_,
Captain Robert Henly" (_Surprise_ was the name the _Eagle_ originally
went by). It mentions from time to time that men were buried and sent
ashore to the hospital (five being sent ashore on September 2d); and
finally mentions that the places of the absent were partially filled
by a draft of 21 soldiers, to act as marines. The notes on the day
of battle are very brief.] The total number of men in the galleys
(including a number of soldiers, as there were not enough sailors)
was 350. The exact proportions in which this force was distributed
among the gunboats can not be told, but it may be roughly said to
be 41 in each large galley and 26 in each small one. The complement
of the _Saratoga_ was 210, of the _Eagle_, 130, of the _Ticonderoga_,
100, and of the _Preble_, 30; but the first three had also a few
soldiers distributed between them. The following list is probably
pretty accurate as to the aggregate; but there may have been a score
or two fewer men on the gun-boats, or more on the larger vessels.

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