On July 20, 1814, the fleet reached the trading post of St. Joseph’s, in what may be called the northwest corner of Lake Huron. Everything of value there was destroyed, including a small fort. Then a number of men went on to Sault Sainte Marie, at the head of the rapids, at the outlet of Lake Superior. This was the chief post of the British fur company, and it was burned. The Perseverance, a small vessel belonging to the company, was fired by the company’s agent as he fled. The Americans extinguished the flames, but lost the vessel on the rocks as they were bringing her through the rapids.
SCENE OF Naval Operations on
LAKE HURON,
1814.
Then the fleet sailed to Mackinaw, only to find that the guns of the ships could not reach up to the hill-top fort, and that the number of American troops was inferior to the garrison of the island. An assault was made, but the Americans were repulsed with considerable loss.
Sailing thence, Captain Sinclair went to the Nautawassaga River, where he destroyed a blockhouse, and found the fur company’s schooner Nancy had been burned by the British lieutenant in charge.
Then Sinclair returned to Detroit, leaving the schooner Tigress, Captain Champlin, and the Scorpion, Captain Turner, to blockade the Nautawassaga, for that was the route by which supplies were carried to the British force at Mackinaw. For a time this duty was done efficiently, and food really became scarce at Mackinaw, but blockading is dull work, vigilance was relaxed, and on September 3, 1814, the British began their work of revenging the assaults of the squadron. The watchful British scouts found that the two Yankee schooners were posted fifteen miles or more apart. So a force of twenty sailors and seventy-two soldiers got into four boats and at 9 P.M.—and a very dark night at that—they made a dash at the Tigress. They were within fifty yards of her when first seen. The captain fired his long twenty-four at them, with no effect, and then mustered his crew at the rail to repel boarders. But he had only twenty-eight men to the enemy’s ninety-two. The Americans fought bravely, killed three seamen, and wounded a Lieutenant Bulger, who commanded the enemy, and seven of his soldiers, besides wounding several seamen who were not enumerated by Bulger. Then the Tigress surrendered. The captured Americans were set on shore, and on September 5th, the captured Tigress, with her American colors flying, got within ten yards of the Scorpion when the concealed British soldiers jumped up, poured a volley into the unsuspecting Yankees on the Scorpion, and then carried her by assault. The British authorities strove to magnify this victory to the utmost. They not only conceded that Champlin bravely defended his vessel—the British Adjutant-General published a general order announcing to the world that the vessels “had a crew of three hundred men each.” The vessels “were valued by the proper officers at £16,000 sterling.” So says Allen. It was a lucky affair for the ninety-two.
Meantime a gallant party of British seamen had done still better down at the foot of Lake Erie—rather in the head of Niagara River. Three little American schooners, the Ohio, the Somers, and the Porcupine, were lying off Fort Erie on the Canada side, which was then in the possession of the Americans. That these vessels were lying in perfect security their crews could very well believe, because the British did not have even a row-boat anywhere in that vicinity. Nevertheless, when feeling most secure, two of them were captured and the third escaped only because the current of the river swept the enemy down stream so rapidly that they passed her before ready to attack.
On the night of August 12, 1814, Captain Alexander Dobbs of the British brig Charwell and Lieutenant Coplestone Radcliffe of the British brig Netly, two vessels which were lying at the head of Lake Ontario, started with seventy-five seamen and marines to carry the Charwell’s gig overland to Lake Erie. By relieving one another the men carried the gig twenty miles (from Queenstown to Frenchman’s Creek). There they were joined by a body of Canadian militia, with the aid of whom they carried five big flat-bottomed scows, together with the gig, for eight miles more to the beach of Lake Erie, where all six boats were launched and filled with armed men. So expeditiously was this work done that soon after 11 P.M. this little fleet was within hail of the Yankee schooner Somers. When the anchor watch on her deck asked who they were, they replied:
“Provision boats.”
Provision boats were frequently allowed to pass at night, and the watch on the Somers were entirely deceived. A moment later the British were upon her, a volley of musketry was fired that wounded two of the watch, her cable was cut, and away she went fairly in possession of the enemy.