1812: The Navy's War (50 page)
By April 2 Lake Champlain was free of ice, and Macdonough had to worry about Pring destroying his operation before the American force got too powerful. Macdonough erected strong defenses along Otter Creek and at its mouth. He received support from Brigadier General Macomb at Burlington and General Izard at Plattsburgh. Federalist governor Chittenden of Vermont also helped. Chittenden did not approve of the war, but he was willing to call out the Vermont militia to defend Vergennes. He sent 1,000 men to guard Otter Creek and another 500 to strengthen Macomb at Burlington.
On May 9 Commander Pring went after Macdonough, standing out from the Isle aux Noir with the new 16-gun
Linnet
, five sloops, thirteen galleys, and a bomb vessel. Five days later, he appeared off Otter Creek, where he planned to create an impassable obstruction by sinking two sloops in its mouth. Macdonough had been aware of Pring’s movements for days, and he was waiting for him with seven long twelve-pounders and one fieldpiece posted on the high ground overlooking the entrance to the creek. He also had ten galleys strung across its mouth.
Linnet
, five sloops, thirteen galleys, and a bomb vessel. Five days later, he appeared off Otter Creek, where he planned to create an impassable obstruction by sinking two sloops in its mouth. Macdonough had been aware of Pring’s movements for days, and he was waiting for him with seven long twelve-pounders and one fieldpiece posted on the high ground overlooking the entrance to the creek. He also had ten galleys strung across its mouth.
Pring’s bomb vessel and eight galleys tested the creek’s defenses, exchanging fire with the shore batteries for an hour and a half before it became obvious that Macdonough was too strong; Pring had no hope of putting obstructions at the mouth of the creek, so he withdrew. A short time later, observers at Burlington saw the British squadron sailing northward.
Thanks to the Browns, by May 30 Macdonough’s fleet was superior to the British squadron. He assembled his ships at the mouth of Otter Creek—the 26-gun
Saratoga
, the 16-gun schooner
Ticonderoga
, the 10-gun sloop
President
, the 9-gun sloop
Preble
, the 6-gun sloop
Montgomery
, and six galleys with two guns each. The
Ticonderoga
was a former steamboat that the Browns had converted into a schooner, launching her on May 12, two days before Pring’s attack. Two weeks later, Macdonough sailed north toward the Canadian border and the Richelieu River with his entire squadron, forcing Pring to move his vessels back to the safety of the Isle aux Noix.
Saratoga
, the 16-gun schooner
Ticonderoga
, the 10-gun sloop
President
, the 9-gun sloop
Preble
, the 6-gun sloop
Montgomery
, and six galleys with two guns each. The
Ticonderoga
was a former steamboat that the Browns had converted into a schooner, launching her on May 12, two days before Pring’s attack. Two weeks later, Macdonough sailed north toward the Canadian border and the Richelieu River with his entire squadron, forcing Pring to move his vessels back to the safety of the Isle aux Noix.
Macdonough then moved his fleet to Plattsburg, anchoring in the bay on the twenty-ninth. Oliver Hazard Perry and Isaac Hull sent letters wishing him good luck with his mission. Macdonough was confident in his squadron. He wrote to Secretary Jones, “I find the
Saratoga
to be a fine ship.” And he told Izard that his men-of-war were “remarkably fine vessels.” He also informed the general that “the squadron is ready for service.”
Saratoga
to be a fine ship.” And he told Izard that his men-of-war were “remarkably fine vessels.” He also informed the general that “the squadron is ready for service.”
Pring was not sitting idle, however. Macdonough soon discovered the enterprising British commander had started a crash program to build the giant 37-gun frigate
Confiance
. In addition, eleven galleys had arrived at the Isle aux Noix from Quebec. With the new ship and boats the British would dominate the lake again. On June 11 Macdonough warned Jones of the imminent danger and requested funds to build another warship. Knowing how strapped the navy was for money, Jones hesitated. The president intervened, however, and ordered the ship built. Macdonough directed the Browns to start the 20-gun
Eagle
immediately, hoping it would be finished in time to help deal with the
Confiance
. Work went ahead at a furious pace, but the delay was potentially fatal.
Confiance
. In addition, eleven galleys had arrived at the Isle aux Noix from Quebec. With the new ship and boats the British would dominate the lake again. On June 11 Macdonough warned Jones of the imminent danger and requested funds to build another warship. Knowing how strapped the navy was for money, Jones hesitated. The president intervened, however, and ordered the ship built. Macdonough directed the Browns to start the 20-gun
Eagle
immediately, hoping it would be finished in time to help deal with the
Confiance
. Work went ahead at a furious pace, but the delay was potentially fatal.
Macdonough now returned to Pointe aux Fer just above Chazy, where he could watch the Richelieu River, remaining there until the end of August. His blockade materially slowed progress on the
Confiance
, when he captured three parties of Vermont traitors attempting to run a mainmast, three topmasts, and other spars to the Isle aux Noix, along with twenty-seven barrels of tar.
Confiance
, when he captured three parties of Vermont traitors attempting to run a mainmast, three topmasts, and other spars to the Isle aux Noix, along with twenty-seven barrels of tar.
The Browns continued working hard on the
Eagle
. They did not begin until July 23, but they launched her in record time on August 11. And on August 27 she joined Macdonough, who by that time was back in Plattsburgh Bay.
Eagle
. They did not begin until July 23, but they launched her in record time on August 11. And on August 27 she joined Macdonough, who by that time was back in Plattsburgh Bay.
Two days before the
Eagle
joined Macdonough, on August 25, Pring launched the
Confiance
. When she was in the water, Admiral Yeo decided that in spite of Commander Pring’s excellent record, a higher ranking officer should be in charge at the Isle aux Noix, and he sent Captain Peter Fisher from Kingston. Pring remained as his second. The sudden, ill-thought-out change in command would have important consequences.
Eagle
joined Macdonough, on August 25, Pring launched the
Confiance
. When she was in the water, Admiral Yeo decided that in spite of Commander Pring’s excellent record, a higher ranking officer should be in charge at the Isle aux Noix, and he sent Captain Peter Fisher from Kingston. Pring remained as his second. The sudden, ill-thought-out change in command would have important consequences.
MEANWHILE, ON MAY 14–15 at Presque Isle on Lake Erie, Captain Arthur Sinclair—the new naval commander on the lake—and Colonel John B. Campbell, on their own initiative, led a raiding party of seven hundred across the lake to Port Dover on the Long Point peninsula to destroy the town and a large quantity of flour. Campbell landed his men on the fourteenth at the village of Dover, and in retaliation for General Riall’s destruction of Buffalo, he burned all the private and public buildings in the defenseless town and three mills near Turkey Point. Campbell wrote to Armstrong, “I determined to make them feel the effects of that conduct they had pursued toward others.” Madison, however, was chagrined. Colonel Campbell was court-martialed and censured. Unaware of the president’s strong disapproval of Campbell’s actions, five days after his raid, American troops from Amherstburg burned Port Talbot on the northern shore of Lake Erie, midway between Amherstburg and Buffalo. Pro-American Canadian volunteers participated in the raid.
When Lieutenant General Drummond informed Governor-General Prevost of Campbell’s attack and the wanton destruction, Prevost was bitter. Ignoring the depraved acts of his own troops, as he always did, he sought retribution. On June 2 he wrote to Admiral Cochrane, the new commander of the North American station, demanding attacks on American coastal towns.
PRESIDENT MADISON SPENT the month of May 1814 at Montpelier. After he returned to Washington, he gathered the cabinet on June 7 to discuss strategy for the war. For weeks it had been obvious that the country faced a serious threat from Britain. Rear Admiral Cockburn was already sounding a loud alarm bell by ratcheting up his spring campaign in Chesapeake Bay. Madison recognized the danger. He warned Monroe that they had to be prepared for “the worst measures of the enemy and in their worst forms.”
The major threat came from Canada, where troops from Wellington’s army were gathering in large numbers. A force of that size could only have Montreal as its base, with Plattsburgh and Sackets Harbor the most obvious targets. Additional British forces at Bermuda threatened Washington and Baltimore, as well as Philadelphia, New York, Newport, Boston, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire—indeed, the entire eastern seaboard. The situation required the United States to adopt a defensive posture and immediately strengthen Plattsburgh and Washington, the two weakest areas.
Instead, Madison unaccountably decided to deploy a significant portion of his army west, away from the probable theaters of action. He ordered Captain Sinclair on Lake Erie to use four or five vessels from his small fleet to transport 800 to 1,000 men under Lieutenant Colonel Croghan and occupy the enemy’s new base at Matchedash on Severn Sound in Georgian Bay, take Fort St. Joseph, and recapture Fort Michilimackinac.
The president also decided that when Chauncey acquired command of Lake Ontario, which the commodore predicted would be in mid-July, General Brown’s army at Buffalo would cross the Niagara River and invade Canada with a view to “reducing the peninsula, and proceeding towards York.” In addition, Madison approved building fourteen or fifteen armed boats at Sackets Harbor for use on the St. Lawrence after Chauncey had dominance on the lake. The boats were to interrupt water communication between Kingston and Montreal. The only role envisioned for Ralph Izard’s force of 5,000 at Plattsburg was to create a diversion by making a demonstration against Montreal. Amazingly, the president continued in an offensive mode, placing large numbers of scarce troops in places least likely to be attacked.
THE EXPEDITION TO Lake Huron got under way from Erie, Pennsylvania, on June 19, at a time when the British were increasing their forces and activity in Chesapeake Bay. Arthur Sinclair sailed five vessels,
Lawrence
,
Niagara
,
Caledonia
,
Scorpion
, and
Tigress
, to Detroit, where for two weeks he loaded seven hundred of Colonel Croghan’s troops. Sinclair departed Detroit on July 3, but delayed by contrary winds, he did not enter Lake Huron until July 12.
Lawrence
,
Niagara
,
Caledonia
,
Scorpion
, and
Tigress
, to Detroit, where for two weeks he loaded seven hundred of Colonel Croghan’s troops. Sinclair departed Detroit on July 3, but delayed by contrary winds, he did not enter Lake Huron until July 12.
Sinclair’s first priority was to take St. Joseph’s and Michilimackinac. If possible, he was also to destroy the new enemy naval force building at Matchedash. Secretary Jones cautioned Sinclair to avoid burning private dwellings, as he and Campbell had done at Long Point in May. Jones emphasized that wanton destruction “excited much regret” on the president’s part.
Sinclair first attempted to sail to Matchedash, but he found the fog, sunken rocks, and islands too difficult to navigate and turned away. He then sailed for St. Joseph’s, which was abandoned. He destroyed the fort but not the town and then steered for Mackinac Island, arriving on July 26 to attack the fort.
Croghan debarked his men on August 4. He had scant intelligence about what awaited him, but looking at the terrain for the first time, he feared the worst. Captain Sinclair described Croghan’s predicament: “Mackinac is by nature a perfect Gibraltar, being a high inaccessible rock on every side except the west, from which to the heights, you have near two miles to pass through a [thick] wood.”
Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall directed the island’s defense. Prevost had sent him out in the spring to take command. McDouall skillfully deployed two hundred British regulars and three hundred fifty Indians to stop Croghan, using the terrain to full advantage. “Our men were shot in every direction,” Sinclair wrote, “. . . without being able to see the Indian who did it, and a height was scarcely gained, before there was another in 50 or 100 yards commanding it, where breastworks were erected, and cannon opened on them.”
Seeing no way to attain his objective against a clever, hidden foe, Croghan soon ordered a retreat back to the boats. His losses were sixteen killed and sixty wounded. They might have been much worse had he not acted promptly. One of the dead was his second in command, Major A. H. Holmes. Croghan sent a flag of truce to the fort and asked McDouall for the body. The request was politely granted. McDouall also offered the fleet provisions and fruit, which were gratefully accepted. The body of Major Holmes was returned unharmed, but McDouall’s Indian allies scalped and buried the other bodies.
When Sinclair departed, he sailed to the Nottawasaga River and destroyed the schooner
Nancy
. Her skipper, Lieutenant Miller Worsley, and his sparse crew escaped, however, and made their way to Michilimackinac in canoes. While they did, Captain Sinclair sailed for Detroit, leaving the small schooners
Tigress
(one gun, Sailing Master Stephen Champlin) and
Scorpion
(two guns, Lieutenant Daniel Turner) to maintain American naval supremacy on Lake Huron and make life difficult, if not impossible, for McDouall.
Nancy
. Her skipper, Lieutenant Miller Worsley, and his sparse crew escaped, however, and made their way to Michilimackinac in canoes. While they did, Captain Sinclair sailed for Detroit, leaving the small schooners
Tigress
(one gun, Sailing Master Stephen Champlin) and
Scorpion
(two guns, Lieutenant Daniel Turner) to maintain American naval supremacy on Lake Huron and make life difficult, if not impossible, for McDouall.
Lieutenant Worsley decided to turn the tables on the Americans, however, and McDouall supported him. On September 3, Worsley led a surprise night attack on the
Tigress
, using four small boats filled with armed men, including some Indians. They had rowed silently for six miles from a hiding place to within one hundred yards of the
Tigress
when her night watch spotted them and opened fire with muskets and a single twenty-four-pounder. Worsley was not deterred; he soon pulled up to the schooner’s side and boarded. After a fierce hand-to-hand fight, his superior numbers told, and Sailing Master Champlin surrendered with thirty sailors.
Tigress
, using four small boats filled with armed men, including some Indians. They had rowed silently for six miles from a hiding place to within one hundred yards of the
Tigress
when her night watch spotted them and opened fire with muskets and a single twenty-four-pounder. Worsley was not deterred; he soon pulled up to the schooner’s side and boarded. After a fierce hand-to-hand fight, his superior numbers told, and Sailing Master Champlin surrendered with thirty sailors.
The
Scorpion
had been fifteen miles away when the
Tigress
was captured, and Lieutenant Turner had no idea what had happened. Two days later, the
Scorpion
returned and anchored for the night two miles from the
Tigress
, where Worsley and his men were hiding. Worsley had the American flag flying conspicuously on the
Tigress
. Turner did not suspect a thing. At dawn, the
Tigress
crept toward the
Scorpion.
Worsley got to within ten yards before being discovered. As the
Scorpion
’s night watch fired at him, he ran up alongside, jumped aboard with his crew, and overpowered Turner and his thirty-two men.
Scorpion
had been fifteen miles away when the
Tigress
was captured, and Lieutenant Turner had no idea what had happened. Two days later, the
Scorpion
returned and anchored for the night two miles from the
Tigress
, where Worsley and his men were hiding. Worsley had the American flag flying conspicuously on the
Tigress
. Turner did not suspect a thing. At dawn, the
Tigress
crept toward the
Scorpion.
Worsley got to within ten yards before being discovered. As the
Scorpion
’s night watch fired at him, he ran up alongside, jumped aboard with his crew, and overpowered Turner and his thirty-two men.
Not long afterward, McDouall went on the offensive, sending a substantial force of over six hundred men to seize Prairie du Chien on the Upper Mississippi, in what is today southwestern Wisconsin but was then Illinois Territory. An American force of two hundred men had captured the area in May 1814 and built a fort. Prairie du Chien was strategically located at the terminus of the Fox-Wisconsin waterway that connected the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. It was an important fur trading center, where Jacob Astor had a large warehouse. McDouall’s men easily captured the American fort, which surrendered on July 19. Major Zachary Taylor tried to regain control of the area later, marching three hundred thirty men in August to the mouth of the Rock River in Illinois, but he was checked on September 5 by Indians, supported by British regulars from Prairie du Chien, and he retreated to St. Louis. The British and their Indian allies held the area until the war was over.
The administration, meanwhile, went ahead with General Brown’s invasion of Canada in the Niagara region, despite the threat to the eastern states from British forces gathering at Montreal, in Bermuda, and in Chesapeake Bay. It was decided that Brown would cross the Niagara and take Fort Erie, then proceed north and attack Fort George. After that, he would move on to Burlington. If all went well, he would combine with Chauncey and occupy York again and then Kingston. If that were accomplished, he was to push into the St. Lawrence with the armed galleys being made at Sackets Harbor and move on Montreal. It was a strategic vision divorced from reality, particularly with the thousands of reinforcements Prevost was receiving at the port of Quebec from Wellington.
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