“The main armies of the British were always near Montreal and Quebec, but for the first two years of the war, both sides were busy in another direction, particularly on the Lakes Ontario and Erie. The contending powers watched each other’s movements and kept nearly pari passu in the augmentation of their naval forces; the English always in the advance, having in many respects greater facilities; if not in ship building, certainly in procuring munitions of war, sails, rigging, &c.
“Towards the close of the summer of 1814, the warlike preparations on Lake Champlain, and its vicinity, seemed to portend some powerful shock.
“Large bodies of troops, the veterans of Wellington’s army, to the amount of sixteen thousand, had arrived in Canada, and were preparing to strike a severe blow on the frontiers, one that would be felt to the very vitals of the nation. Izard received orders to assist Brown, and Macomb was left with a handful of men to defend Plattsburgh. The fleet under Macdonough was put in readiness for an attack. He had only four ships, the Saratoga, twenty-six guns; the Eagle, twenty guns; the Ticonderoga, seventeen guns; the Preble, seven guns; and ten galleys, carrying sixteen guns, making in all eighty-six guns.
“The British force was larger; four ships and thirteen galleys, in all ninety-five guns; their complement of men was also much larger.
“That the American fleet was commanded by a young officer who ranked only as lieutenant, and the British by an old experienced officer, gave Sir George Prevost no doubt of the issue of his naval operations. On the land, too, with his veterans from Waterloo, he was quite certain of a signal victory. On the afternoon of the 10th of September, it was evident that the assault on the lake and on the land was to be made the next day; and Macdonough deemed it best to await the attack at anchor. At eight o’clock on the morning of the 11th, the British fleet was seen approaching, and in another hour the battle had commenced.
“The most accurate description of it must be from his own pen. ‘At nine,’ says Macdonough, ‘the enemy anchored in a line ahead, at about three hundred yards distant from my line; his ship opposed to the Saratoga; his brig to the Eagle, Captain Robert Henley; his galleys, thirteen in number, to the schooner, sloop, and a division of our galleys; one of his sloops assisting their ship and brig; the other assisting their galleys; our remaining galleys were with the Saratoga and Eagle.
“‘In this situation, the whole force on both sides became engaged, the Saratoga suffering much from the heavy fire of the Confiance. I could perceive at the same time, however, that our fire was very destructive to her. The Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, gallantly sustained her full share of the action. At half past ten, the Eagle not being able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable and anchored in a more eligible position, between my ship and the Ticonderoga, where she very much annoyed the enemy, but unfortunately leaving me much exposed to a galling fire from the enemy’s brig.
“‘Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dismounted, or unmanageable, a stern anchor was let go, the lower cable cut, and the ship winded with a fresh broadside on the enemy’s ship, which soon after surrendered. Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the brig, which surrendered about fifteen minutes afterwards. The sloop which was opposed to the Eagle, had struck some time before, and drifted down the line. The sloop that was with their galleys had also struck. Three of their galleys sunk, the others pulled off. Our galleys were about obeying with alacrity the signal to follow them, when all the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking condition.
“‘It then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys, and order their men to the pumps. I could only look at the enemy’s galleys going off in a shattered condition, for there was not a mast in either squadron that could stand to make sail on. The lower rigging being nearly shot away, hung down as though it had just been placed over the mast heads.
“‘The Saratoga had fifty-five round shot in her hull; the British ship Confiance, one hundred and five. The enemy’s shot passed principally just over our heads, as there were not twenty whole hammocks in the nettings, at the close of the action, which lasted without intermission two hours and twenty minutes.