1812: The Navy's War (21 page)
Matters were proceeding so well in the fall that Harrison began thinking about a quick strike on Detroit. In preparation for it, he sent men to burn and butcher the inhabitants of as many hostile Indian villages as possible, but his raiders found that most of the inhabitants had already evacuated to the protection of Fort Malden.
Harrison then began running into the same difficulties that had bedeviled Hull—atrocious weather, lack of supplies, difficult terrain, and, above all, British control of Lake Erie, which permitted them to transport men and supplies with relative ease. Moving soldiers and equipment overland through thick forests and extensive swamps was next to impossible. Harrison soon became less confident about the Canadian invasion. Detroit and Fort Malden remained his objectives, but it was now obvious that capturing them would be far more difficult than the president had hoped.
CHAPTER NINE
Canadian Disasters Accumulate
E
VEN BEFORE APPOINTING General Harrison, the president—finally realizing how important naval supremacy was to his Canadian invasion—began a crash program to dominate lakes Ontario, Erie, and Champlain. On August 31, fifteen days after Hull’s surrender, Secretary Hamilton wrote to the talented navy veteran, forty-year-old Captain Isaac Chauncey, at the New York Navy Yard, “The President . . . has determined to obtain command of the Lakes Ontario and Erie with the least possible delay, and the execution of this highly important object is committed to you.” Hamilton also wrote to naval hero Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, giving him command of the moribund program on Lake Champlain.
VEN BEFORE APPOINTING General Harrison, the president—finally realizing how important naval supremacy was to his Canadian invasion—began a crash program to dominate lakes Ontario, Erie, and Champlain. On August 31, fifteen days after Hull’s surrender, Secretary Hamilton wrote to the talented navy veteran, forty-year-old Captain Isaac Chauncey, at the New York Navy Yard, “The President . . . has determined to obtain command of the Lakes Ontario and Erie with the least possible delay, and the execution of this highly important object is committed to you.” Hamilton also wrote to naval hero Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, giving him command of the moribund program on Lake Champlain.
Captain Chauncey had been in the navy since September 1798 and had served continuously through the Quasi-War with France and the war with Tripoli. During the Quasi-War he superintended construction of the 44-gun
President
, which Captain Thomas Truxtun pronounced “the finest frigate that ever floated on the waters of this globe.” Before joining the service, Chauncey had sailed and traded around the world as skipper of merchant vessels owned by John Jacob Astor. Except for a brief period when he sailed to China for Astor, Chauncey remained in the navy after the war with Tripoli, being promoted to captain in 1806. During his naval career he had not attained the notoriety of other officers like Decatur, Rodgers, or Preble, but his peers respected him as a brave, competent skipper, a solid administrator, and a wizard at the building and refitting of warships.
President
, which Captain Thomas Truxtun pronounced “the finest frigate that ever floated on the waters of this globe.” Before joining the service, Chauncey had sailed and traded around the world as skipper of merchant vessels owned by John Jacob Astor. Except for a brief period when he sailed to China for Astor, Chauncey remained in the navy after the war with Tripoli, being promoted to captain in 1806. During his naval career he had not attained the notoriety of other officers like Decatur, Rodgers, or Preble, but his peers respected him as a brave, competent skipper, a solid administrator, and a wizard at the building and refitting of warships.
Lieutenant Macdonough was also an experienced seaman and known for his fighting ability. He began his naval career during the later stages of the Quasi-War with France. His father had been a hero during the Revolutionary War, and his brother James was a wounded hero of the Quasi-War. Macdonough was intelligent, studious, thoughtful, but also, like his mentor, Stephen Decatur, a fearless warrior. It was during the conflict with Tripoli, while Macdonough was serving under Decatur as a midshipman, that he showed his audacious fighting qualities. He was part of Decatur’s crew aboard the tiny ketch
Intrepid
on February 2, 1804, when they slipped into the well-guarded harbor of Tripoli, boarded the captured American frigate
Philadelphia
through trickery, and, after a brief, fierce fight, drove the Tripolitans off the ship and burned her. Decatur, Macdonough, and their crew then jumped back into the
Intrepid
and escaped, as the
Philadelphia
became a giant ball of flame and the Tripolitans fired at them from their extensive shore batteries and warships. As the Americans inched their way out of the harbor, balls flew over their boat, but only one came near them. Miraculously, no one aboard the
Intrepid
was hit.
Intrepid
on February 2, 1804, when they slipped into the well-guarded harbor of Tripoli, boarded the captured American frigate
Philadelphia
through trickery, and, after a brief, fierce fight, drove the Tripolitans off the ship and burned her. Decatur, Macdonough, and their crew then jumped back into the
Intrepid
and escaped, as the
Philadelphia
became a giant ball of flame and the Tripolitans fired at them from their extensive shore batteries and warships. As the Americans inched their way out of the harbor, balls flew over their boat, but only one came near them. Miraculously, no one aboard the
Intrepid
was hit.
Some months later, on August 3, 1804, Macdonough was again with Decatur in gunboat number four when Commodore Preble sent six gunboats as part of a small squadron to attack Tripoli’s nineteen gunboats and galleys and assorted other craft in Tripoli harbor. Both Decatur and Macdonough distinguished themselves in the fierce hand-to-hand fights that followed. Preble organized more attacks in the month that followed, but he was ultimately unsuccessful. His countrymen, however, appreciated his gallantry and the heroic efforts of his men. Macdonough was recognized by Preble, Decatur, and the entire officer corps as one of their finest officers, and that opinion had not changed by the time he was put in charge at Lake Champlain.
IT WAS OBVIOUS from the correspondence that passed during the next few days in August that although the administration was on fire to get its new project moving, Madison and his advisors knew next to nothing about the lakes. Fortunately, Daniel Dobbins appeared in Washington at the time to enlighten them. He was a master lake mariner and shipwright, intimately acquainted with lakes Ontario and Erie. He knew where vessels suitable for conversion to warships might be obtained, and the best harbors to use. He also had a good idea of British naval strength on the lakes.
The president would need all the help he could get. When Chauncey received his orders, it was already September, and Madison wanted to achieve naval dominance before winter set in. It was a daunting assignment, but Chauncey was happy to have it. He did not want to be stuck in the New York Navy Yard and miss his chance for the glory other officers were acquiring. Isaac Hull’s great victory had set the ambitions of the whole officer corps on fire.
The only suitable place for a naval facility on Lake Ontario was Sackets Harbor at its eastern extremity. Other possible sites farther west, such as Mexico Bay, the mouth of the Oswego River, Sodus Bay, Irondequoit Bay at the mouth of the Genesee River, or the mouth of the Niagara River, were not suitable for one reason or another. Fortunately for Chauncey, thirty-year-old Lieutenant Melancthon T. Woolsey had already established a small naval base at Sackets Harbor, and he had a potent brig, the
Oneida
, with eighteen twenty-four-pound carronades ready to go. More importantly, he had a trained crew that could fight. No comparable base existed on Lake Erie, however. Secretary Hamilton directed Chauncey to organize one at Buffalo, but after Daniel Dobbins had a chance to enlighten the secretary, he ordered Chauncey to set up a base at Presque Isle (Erie), Pennsylvania, where the harbor was spacious and deep.
Oneida
, with eighteen twenty-four-pound carronades ready to go. More importantly, he had a trained crew that could fight. No comparable base existed on Lake Erie, however. Secretary Hamilton directed Chauncey to organize one at Buffalo, but after Daniel Dobbins had a chance to enlighten the secretary, he ordered Chauncey to set up a base at Presque Isle (Erie), Pennsylvania, where the harbor was spacious and deep.
While Madison was rushing to catch up on the lakes, the British were building more warships at Kingston to strengthen their hold on Lake Ontario. Kingston was only thirty-five miles from Sackets Harbor. The British were also building warships at York.
Chauncey was in an arms race, and he didn’t lose any time getting to work. With remarkable speed, he stripped the New York Navy Yard of equipment, tools, skilled workmen, and every article of war, including cannon, carriages, shot, power, and small arms, shipping them to Sackets Harbor. He also took officers, sailors, and marines off the frigate
John Adams
and the gunboats in his command and sent them to Sackets as well.
John Adams
and the gunboats in his command and sent them to Sackets as well.
Incredibly bad roads forced Chauncey to transport everything via a tortuous, time-consuming water route, made more difficult because Robert Fulton’s steamboats were unavailable. Chauncey had to rely on sail alone. His supply vessels worked their way laboriously from New York up the Hudson and then the Mohawk, where varying depths of water made the going treacherous. From there, they navigated over Wood Creek and then a portage to Oneida Lake, across the lake and down the Oneida River, which brought them to Oswego on Lake Ontario. Finally, they had to sail almost fifty treacherous miles north, hugging the coast until they reached Sackets Harbor. Along this final leg of their journey, they were subject to British attacks out of Kingston.
On September 7 Chauncey dispatched his able subordinate Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott to construct the base on Lake Erie, purchase three merchantmen for conversion to warships, and begin building two three-hundred-ton warships. Seven days later, Elliott arrived at Buffalo and decided, in spite of Dobbins’s advice, that Black Rock—just north of Buffalo on the Niagara River—was a better place for a base, even a temporary one, than Presque Isle.
Elliott set to work immediately, buying three merchant vessels and converting them to armed schooners. While he was doing so, two British warships appeared nearby and anchored across the Niagara River at Fort Erie. They were the
Detroit
—formerly the
Adams
that General Brock had just seized at Detroit—and the brig
Caledonia
, taken from Jacob Astor for the attack on Fort Michilimackinac.
Detroit
—formerly the
Adams
that General Brock had just seized at Detroit—and the brig
Caledonia
, taken from Jacob Astor for the attack on Fort Michilimackinac.
On September 22, while Elliott was contemplating how he might capture the two British ships, ninety men arrived in camp. Chauncey had sent them from New York. Elliot decided to put them to work right away. As luck would have it, a brigade of American regulars was in Buffalo at the time, under Brigadier General Alexander Smyth—part of the army that was supposed to have invaded Canada weeks before. With help from General Smyth and a new arrival, Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott, Elliott set out at one o’clock in the morning on October 8 in two large boats from Buffalo Creek with a mixed force of a hundred men—fifty to a boat—to “cut out [the] two British vessels under the guns of Fort Erie.”
Elliott’s boats pulled silently across the Niagara River, and within minutes they were alongside the enemy unobserved. Taken by surprise, the watches aboard the ships surrendered after a short, sharp fight in which two Americans were killed outright and four mortally wounded.
Once in control of the ships, Elliott sheeted home the topsails and made for the opposite shore. The wind was light and the current running at a brisk four miles an hour. The
Caledonia
, under Sailing Master George Watts, struggled across the river to Black Rock, where Watts beached her near a protective battery. Elliott was aboard the larger brig
Detroit
, but the breeze wasn’t strong enough to take her into safe water. Instead, the current carried her down past the batteries at Fort Erie. Alerted by all the commotion, British gunners sprayed the
Detroit
with round, grape, and canister shot as she sailed by. Elliott continued drifting downriver, firing back at Fort Erie until he was beyond the reach of her guns. He landed on the American side at Squaw Island and went ashore with his officers and prisoners. As soon as he arrived, he asked Lieutenant Colonel Scott to protect the
Detroit
with his artillery. Scott began firing on a party of forty British soldiers sent in three boats to retrieve the abandoned brig. In a short time, nearly every British soldier was dead, and the brig badly shot up. The few British soldiers who were still alive retreated, but the
Detroit
could not be salvaged.
Caledonia
, under Sailing Master George Watts, struggled across the river to Black Rock, where Watts beached her near a protective battery. Elliott was aboard the larger brig
Detroit
, but the breeze wasn’t strong enough to take her into safe water. Instead, the current carried her down past the batteries at Fort Erie. Alerted by all the commotion, British gunners sprayed the
Detroit
with round, grape, and canister shot as she sailed by. Elliott continued drifting downriver, firing back at Fort Erie until he was beyond the reach of her guns. He landed on the American side at Squaw Island and went ashore with his officers and prisoners. As soon as he arrived, he asked Lieutenant Colonel Scott to protect the
Detroit
with his artillery. Scott began firing on a party of forty British soldiers sent in three boats to retrieve the abandoned brig. In a short time, nearly every British soldier was dead, and the brig badly shot up. The few British soldiers who were still alive retreated, but the
Detroit
could not be salvaged.
Despite the loss of the
Detroit
, Elliott did manage to capture the
Caledonia
, and he took sixty prisoners. He also salvaged four twelve-pounders, a large quantity of shot, and two hundred muskets, depriving General Brock of two scarce vessels and an important supply of munitions at a critical moment in the subsequent battle of Queenston.
Detroit
, Elliott did manage to capture the
Caledonia
, and he took sixty prisoners. He also salvaged four twelve-pounders, a large quantity of shot, and two hundred muskets, depriving General Brock of two scarce vessels and an important supply of munitions at a critical moment in the subsequent battle of Queenston.
WHILE CHAUNCEY WAS straining every nerve to gain naval supremacy on Lake Ontario, preparations for crossing the Niagara River and invading Canada were moving at a glacial pace. Dearborn’s dithering had allowed General Brock to rush from Detroit to the Niagara area and take personal command of all the troops in the area. On August 17, only one day after Hull’s surrender, Brock set sail from Amherstburg. Fighting contrary winds the entire way, he arrived at Fort Erie on August 23. His haste was unnecessary. The disorganized American army was not in the least ready to cross the Niagara. Its leader, New York militia general Stephen Van Rensselaer, had only just arrived in Lewiston to take command.
The Niagara region is a thirty-six-mile-wide neck of land separating Lake Ontario from Lake Erie. The Niagara River, the boundary between the United States and Canada, flows through it northward for thirty-one miles from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Fort Erie was located at the southern end of the river on the Canadian side, directly across the river from Buffalo, a small town of around five hundred. Fort George was at the northern end of the river on the Canadian side. Opposed to it on the American side was old Fort Niagara, built originally by the French in 1729. General Dearborn was headquartered outside Albany, a distant three hundred miles away.
When Major General Van Rensselaer rode into Lewiston on the twenty-third of August, he found that only four hundred regulars and a few hundred unreliable militiamen were scattered along the river. Before doing anything else, he consolidated them at Lewiston, six miles north of Niagara Falls. He was appalled at their condition. The army’s inadequate supply system left the men improperly clothed, many without shoes, no tents, less than ten rounds of ammunition per man, and all with pay in arrears. Van Rensselaer’s position was so weak he feared Brock would attack him, rather than the other way around. Dearborn feared the same thing.
Their fears were justified. Even though Brock had no more than 2,000 men guarding the Niagara area and only 300 at Queenston (directly across the river from Van Rensselaer’s headquarters at Lewiston), he seriously considered crossing the river and disrupting Van Rensselaer’s invasion plans, as he had done so effectively against Hull. Brock thought that waiting for the American army to get stronger was a strategic mistake. In his view, remaining on the defensive would bring disaster to Upper Canada. But at the moment he had no choice. The armistice prevented him from taking immediate action, and he had orders from Governor-General Prevost not to invade New York.
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