Saratoga, 734 240 414 lbs. -+- long, 96 '- short, 318 Eagle, 500 150 264 " -+- long, 72 '- short, 192 Ticonderoga, 350 112 180 " -+- long, 84 '- short, 96 Preble, 80 30 36 " long, 36
Six gun-boats, 420 246 252 " -+- long, 144 '- short, 108 Four gun-boats, 160 104 48 " long, 48
In all, 14 vessels of 2,244 tons and 882 men, with 86 guns throwing at a broadside 1,194 lbs. of shot, 480 from long, and 714 from short guns.
[Illustration: Commodore Thomas Macdonough: a contemporary portrait by Gilbert Stuart. (Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Mellon Collection)]
The force of the British squadron in guns and ships is known accurately, as most of it was captured. The Confiance rated for years in our lists as a frigate of the class of the Constellation, Congress, and Macedonian; she was thus of over 1,200 tons. (Cooper says more, "nearly double the tonnage of the Saratoga.") She carried on her main-deck thirty long 24's, fifteen in each broadside. She did not have a complete spar-deck; on her poop, which came forward to the mizzen-mast, were two 32-pound (or possibly 42-pound) carronades and on her spacious top-gallant forecastle were four 32—(or 42-) pound carronades, and a long 24 on a pivot. [Footnote: This is her armament as given by Cooper, on the authority of Lieutenant E. A. F. Lavallette. who was in charge of her for three months, and went aboard her ten minutes after the Linnet struck.] She had aboard her a furnace for heating shot; eight or ten of which heated shot were found with the furnace. [Footnote: James stigmatizes the statement of Commodore Macdonough about the furnace as "as gross a falsehood as ever was uttered"; but he gives no authority for the denial, and it appears to have been merely an ebullition of spleen on his part. Every American officer who went aboard the Confiance saw the furnace and the hot shot.] This was, of course, a perfectly legitimate advantage. The Linnet, Captain Daniel Pring, was a brig of the same size as the Ticonderoga, mounting 16 long 12's. The Chubb and Finch, Lieutenants James McGhie and William Hicks, were formerly the American sloops Growler and Eagle, of 112 and 110 tons respectively. The former mounted ten 18-pound carronades and one long 6; the latter, six 18-pound carronades, four long 6's, and one short 18. There were twelve gun-boats. [Footnote: Letter of General George Prevost, Sept. 11, 1814. All the American accounts say 13; the British official account had best be taken. James says only ten, but gives no authority; he appears to have been entirely ignorant of all things connected with this action.] Five of these were large, of about 70 tons each; three mounted a long 24 and a 32-pound carronade each; one mounted a long 18 and a 32-pound carronade; one a long 18 and a short 18. Seven were smaller, of about 40 tons each; three of these carried each a long 18, and four carried each a 32-pound carronade. There is greater difficulty in finding out the number of men in the British fleet. American historians are unanimous in stating it at from 1,000 to 1,100; British historians never do any thing but copy James blindly. Midshipman Lea of the Confiance, in a letter (already quoted) published in the "London Naval Chronicle," vol. xxxii, p. 292, gives her crew as 300; but more than this amount of dead and prisoners were taken out of her. The number given her by Commander Ward in his "Naval Tactics," is probably nearest right—325. [Footnote: James gives her but 270 men,—without stating his authority.] The Linnet had about 125 men, and the Chubb and Finch about 50 men each. According to Admiral Paulding (given by Lossing, in his "Field Book of the War of 1812," p. 868) their gun-boats averaged 50 men each. This is probably true, as they were manned largely by soldiers, any number of whom could be spared from Sir George Prevost's great army; but it may be best to consider the large ones as having 41, and the small 26 men, which were the complements of the American gun-boats of the same sizes. The following, then, is the force of
DOWNIE'S SQUADRON.
From what guns,
Name. Tonnage. Crew. Broadside. long or short.
Confiance, 1200 325 480 lbs. -+- long, 384 '- short, 96 Linnet, 350 125 96 " long, 96
Chubb, 112 50 96 " -+- long, 6
'- short, 90
Finch, 110 50 84 " -+- long, 12
'- short, 72
Five gun-boats, 350 205 254 " -+- long, 12
'- short, 72
Seven gun-boats, 280 182 182 " -+- long, 54
'- short, 128
In all, 16 vessels, of about 2,402 tons, with 937 men, [Footnote: About; there were probably more rather than less.] and a total of 92 guns, throwing at a broadside 1,192 lbs., 660 from long and 532 from short pieces.