me the honor of being on board the Maria, I called off the Carleton and gun-boats, and brought the whole fleet to anchor in a line as near as possible to the rebels, that their retreat might be cut off; which purpose was, however, frustrated by the extreme obscurity of the night; and in the morning the rebels had got a considerable distance from us up the Lake.
Upon the 13th I again saw eleven sail of their fleet making off to Crown-Point, who, after a chace of seven hours, I came up with in the Maria, having the Carleton and Inflexible a small distance a-stern; the rest of the fleet almost out of sight. The action began at twelve o’clock, and lasted two hours; at which time Arnold, in the Congress galley, and five gondolas, ran on shore, and were directly abandoned and blown up by the enemy; a circumstance they were greatly favoured in, by the wind being off shore, and the narrowness of the Lake. The Washington galley struck during the action, and the rest made their escape to Ticonderoga.
The killed and wounded in his Majesty’s fleet, including the artillery in the gun-boats, do not amount to forty; but, from every information I have yet got, the loss of the enemy must indeed be very considerable.
Many particulars which their Lordships may wish to know, I must, at present, take the liberty of referring you to Mr. Dacres for; but as I am well convinced his modesty will not permit him to say how great a share he had in this victory, give me leave to assure you, that during both actions nothing could be more pointedly good than his conduct. I must also do the justice the officers and seamen of this fleet merit, by saying that every person under my command exerted themselves to act up to the character of British seamen.
A circumstantial and authentic Account of the Roads and Distances from New-York, to Crown-Point.
| Miles. | ||
| From | New-York to King’s Bridge | 15 |
| King’s Bridge to Conklin’s | 22 | |
| Conklin’s to Croton’s River | 12 | |
| Croton’s River to Peekskill | 10 | |
| Peekskill to Rogers in Highlands | 9 | |
| Rogers in Highlands to Fishskills | 11 | |
| Fishskills to Poughkeepsie | 14 | |
| Poughkeepsie to Staatsborough | 11 | |
| Staatsborough to Rhynbeck | 6 | |
| Rhynbeck to Ryer Shermerhorns | 10 | |
| Ryer Shermerhorns to Rininston’s Manor | 14 | |
| Rininston’s Manor to Claverack | 7 | |
| Claverack to Kenderhook | 14 | |
| Kenderhook to Halfway-house | 10 | |
| Halfway-house to Albany | 10 | |
| Albany to Saratoga | 36 | |
| Saratoga to Fort Edward | 20 | |
| Fort Edward to Lake George | 14 | |
| Lake George to Ticonderoga | 30 | |
| Ticonderoga to Crown Point | 15 | |
| In all | 290 |
Of the results of the fight a few words must be written, because their value to the Americans was well-nigh inestimable under the circumstances. The American fleet had fought to the last gasp. It was well-nigh exterminated, but it had not suffered in vain. It taught the British that the Americans were not only willing, but they were able fighters. In spite of the tremendous odds against them, at the last they had proved themselves as unyielding as the rocks that echoed back the roar of the conflict. Their stubborn wills bade the ambitious Carleton pause and consider. If, with a shattered hulk, they had kept the three best British vessels on the lake at bay until the gondolas were aground and on fire, and if they were then still able to make such a murderous fight as enabled them to fire and burn the last ship with its flag flying till burned away, what would they not do in resisting the British were an attack made on Ticonderoga?
The thought was cooling to the ardor of even Carleton. Worse yet, should he succeed in taking Ticonderoga, these unyielding Yankees would contest every rod of the long wilderness route with a skill that excelled that of Carleton’s best men. And that settled the question that had arisen in Carleton’s mind—the question of the advisability of continuing on his course. As a most excellent account of this fight, which appeared in Dodsley’s (London) “Annual Register” says, “the strength of the works, the difficulty of approach, the countenance of the enemy, and the ignorance of their number, with other cogent reason, prevented this design from taking place.”
Having looked upon “the countenance of the enemy,” Sir Guy Carleton changed his mind. He decided to return to Canada. The most glorious defeat in the annals of the American navy had saved the nation from an invasion that would have severed it in twain, and probably whelmed its forces in utter defeat.