Previously to this the English had made an attempt to sink a vessel in the mouth of the Otter Creek, to prevent the Americans from getting their vessels out, but they were beaten off. Otter Creek is some distance down the lake, on the Vermont side.
About this time Sir George Prevost, the English Commander-in-chief, advanced against Plattsburg, then held by Brigadier General Macomb. The latter had only fifteen hundred men fit for duty, while Sir Geo. Prevost’s army was estimated at twelve thousand.
Prevost’s army was divided into four brigades, which were commanded by Lieutenant General De Rottenberg, Major Generals Brisbane, Power and Robinson, and Major General Baynes was Adjutant General.
With this formidably officered force Sir George Prevost advanced slowly down the right shore of the lake, waiting for the flotilla to get ready and to appear on his left flank.
From the 7th to the 11th of August the American skirmishers and scouts kept the English advance well upon the alert, while the latter were engaged in bringing up their battering trains, stores and reinforcements. Some fighting took place amongst detached bodies, on shore, but no move was made upon the water.
Cooper will be chiefly followed in the account of the battle which took place upon the lake, although Roosevelt does even more justice to McDonough than Cooper does. Like Cooper, too, Roosevelt ranks McDonough as much higher in the scale of ability, as a naval commander, than Perry, the commander on Lake Erie, while in regard to courage and conduct under fire, their claims are undoubtedly equal.
The English naval Captain, Downie, late in command of the Montreal, on Lake Ontario, had been sent by Sir James Yeo, the British naval Commander-in-chief, to take the command on Lake Champlain. He came, with the express understanding that he was not to come out until he considered his vessels ready.
In one sense, neither the English nor the American vessels were in a very forward state of preparation. The largest English vessel had been in the water but sixteen days when she was brought into action. The second vessel in size of the Americans had been launched but thirty days when she was fought in the battle. In point of fact, the American Eagle was ready for service but eight days before the English Confiance. As all these vessels had little need of the stores supplied to a sea-going ship, and as the action between them was fought at anchor, they were, really, not much more than floating batteries.
But to illustrate the difficulties under which naval operations in those parts were carried on, we may say that when Captain McDonough first arrived, to build and fit out a squadron, he was so short of skilled seamen that he was obliged to turn to and strop blocks, and do other seaman’s work, with his own hands.
Ready-witted Yankee landsmen soon learned to do a great deal, and after a time, seamen, in small numbers, were procured, such as had seen powder burnt.