Because these shallow-draft ships were designed for service on the lake, they lacked the strength and stability of their oceangoing counterparts. In potential firepower, however, they were unsurpassed. The St. Lawrence, which carried a large number of powerful carronades, had more firepower than any other ship in the Royal Navy. Its broadside was 36 percent larger than the Victory, Lord Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar (even though it, too, mounted 104 guns). Although the St. Lawrence was put into service in October, the war ended before the other four battleships were completed. Had the conflict lasted another year, five of the most powerful warships in the world would have been concentrated within thirty-five miles of one another at Kingston and Sackets Harbor on an inland lake with no access to the sea.59
Assault on Oswego
In the spring of 1814 Commodore Yeo took advantage of temporary superiority on the lake to mount an attack against Oswego, an important way station in the supply line from New York City to Sackets Harbor. Oswego was protected by a decaying fortification named Fort Ontario, which was stocked with a few decrepit guns. In early May Yeo ferried some 900 men under Lieutenant General Drummond to the American fort, which was defended by 300 regulars, mostly artillerymen, and 200 militia, all under Lieutenant Colonel George E. Mitchell. In their first attack on May 5, the British, led by Lieutenant Colonel Victor Fischer, were repulsed by artillery fire because contrary winds prevented Yeo from offering supporting fire. The following day, the British landing force got the naval support it needed and drove the Americans from the beach and then stormed the fort. The British suffered ninety casualties, the Americans half this number, although an additional twenty-five Americans were taken prisoner. The British destroyed the post and withdrew with whatever provisions and war material they could find. Fortunately for the United States, they missed a large cache of naval guns and rope intended for Sackets Harbor that had been stashed twelve miles above the fort at Oswego Falls (present-day Fulton, New York).60
The Battle of Sandy Creek
Another engagement ensued when a flotilla of boats under Master Commandant Melancthon Woolsey tried to ferry the naval guns and rope from Oswego to Sackets Harbor. With a powerful British squadron nearby, Woolsey began his voyage on the night of May 29, hugging the shoreline and taking refuge the next day in Sandy Creek about twenty miles from Sackets Harbor. To protect Woolsey’s valuable cargo, 130 riflemen under Major Daniel Appling served as an escort. Once in Sandy Creek, they were joined by 300 men (who brought along artillery) from Sackets Harbor and 120 Oneida Indians.
Captain Stephen Popham, who was on detached duty from the main British squadron, discovered Woolsey’s presence. Convinced that the American flotilla was undefended, Popham led a flotilla of gunboats carrying 200 British soldiers, seamen, and marines into the creek to mount an attack. Although the Oneida Indians fled, Popham’s force was cut to shreds by the American artillery and riflemen. More than seventy British soldiers were killed or wounded before the rest surrendered. The American force sustained only two casualties. Deprived of these gunboats, Yeo called off a Congreve rocket attack that had been planned for Sackets Harbor.61
With the British squadron nearby, Woolsey could not hazard moving his precious cargo back into the lake, so most of the guns and rope were transported to Sackets Harbor overland. But there was one cable intended for the Superior that was so large that it would not fit into any wagon. It was 300 feet long, seven inches in diameter, and weighed a staggering 9,600 pounds. After some delay, Colonel Allen Clarke’s regiment of New York militiamen offered to carry the hope on their shoulders. Part of the rope was loaded into a wagon, while the rest was carried by the men, perhaps 100 in all. The men marched for a mile at a time and then rested. Many padded their shoulders with straw to cut down on the chafing. Although some men dropped out along the way, others appeared to take their places. Thirty hours after departing from Sandy Creek, the militia arrived at Sackets Harbor with the cable. As a reward, the men were given a barrel of whiskey and a bonus of $2 a day.62
Invasion of New York
The British mounted their most significant campaign on the northern frontier in 1814 against northern New York. Officials in London supplied Sir George Prevost with additional troops, including several of Wellington’s generals from the Spanish Peninsula, and ordered him to take the offensive. “If you shall allow the present campaign to close without having undertaken offensive measures,” said a dispatch, “you will very seriously disappoint the expectations of the Prince Regent and the country.”63 The only caveat that the government gave Prevost was to make sure that he was not cut off the way that Major General John Burgoyne was in 1777, when he was forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga. In response to this mandate, Prevost devised a plan to march down the western side of Lake Champlain, destroy the American position at Plattsburgh, and occupy a significant portion of northern New York.64
Having amassed an army of 10,000 men at Montreal, Prevost crossed into the United States on August 31. To minimize opposition, he issued a proclamation promising to treat civilians kindly and urging them to sell supplies to the British army.65 Secretary of War Armstrong, who did not expect the British to mount a major attack in this region, had ordered 4,000 troops under Major General George Izard to depart from Plattsburgh for Sackets Harbor and then the Niagara frontier.66 This left the burden of defense on Brigadier General Alexander Macomb, who had only 3,400 troops at his disposal, many of whom were new recruits. Although some members of his staff urged Macomb to retreat, he refused. “The eyes of America are on us,” he said. “Fortune always favors the brave.”67
Macomb sent skirmishing parties—consisting mainly of militia—to slow the British march, but these troops were brushed aside. “So undaunted . . . was the Enemy,” Macomb reported, “that he never deployed in his whole march always pressing on in Column.”68 The British also had to move trees felled by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Appling’s riflemen. Prevost arrived on the north shore of the Saranac River on September 6 with about 8,000 men. For the next five days he skirmished with American troops and marked time, waiting for the British squadron on Lake Champlain to engage the American squadron. Macomb used the time to shore up his defenses and summon additional militia from New York and Vermont.69
The Battle of Lake Champlain
The British had won control of Lake Champlain the previous summer when they captured the Eagle and Growler, but both nations had been building ships, and the two squadrons were now about evenly matched.70 The British squadron, commanded by thirty-six-year-old Captain George Downie, consisted of the Confiance (39 guns), Linnet (16 guns), Chub (11 guns), Finch (11 guns), and twelve gunboats mounting a total of 17 guns. The Confiance was the largest ship on the lake—superior to anything the United States had—but she was not quite ready for action. In fact, the last carpenters did not leave the ship until just before the naval battle began. Opposing the British was thirty-year-old Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough, whose squadron consisted of the Saratoga (26 guns), Eagle (20 guns), Ticonderoga (17 guns), Preble (7 guns), and ten gunboats carrying a total of 16 guns. Although the British held advantage in long guns, the United States had the edge in the more powerful short-range carronades.71
Macdonough anchored his squadron in Plattsburgh Bay to await Downie’s attack. He positioned his ships far enough from the shore to ensure that he was out of range of land-based artillery in case the British overran Macomb’s position. Macdonough also set the kedge anchors of his two largest ships so that he could rotate these vessels if he needed to bring fresh batteries to bear on the enemy. This, as it turned out, gave him a decisive advantage in the battle that ensued. The winds also favored Macdonough because the British could not easily stand off and use their long guns to good effect. Instead, they would have to close, where Macdonough’s carronades were likely to be more effective.
At 8:00 a.m. on September 11, Downie rounded Cumberland Head and made for Macdonough’s squadron. The British ships took heavy fire from M
acdonough’s long guns as they approached, but Downie brought his ships around in good order. Once in position the Confiance delivered a withering broadside to the Saratoga, killing or wounding 40 of her crew. The men on the American ship were momentarily stunned and disheartened, but a rooster, whose coop had been smashed, flew into the ship’s shrouds and crowed loudly. The Americans took heart from this omen, let out a cheer, and resumed the battle.72
Early in the contest each side lost a ship. The Chub drifted out of control toward the shore, where she surrendered to American troops. The Preble was also disabled and drifted away from the battle. Most of the fighting was done by the two flagships, which pounded one another relentlessly with devastating broadsides. Both commanding officers were hit during the battle. Downie was killed fifteen minutes into the battle when struck by a gun carriage knocked loose from its moorings. His watch was flattened by the blow, marking the exact time of his death. Macdonough was twice knocked down by flying debris, in one case by the head of a decapitated midshipman.73
Enemy fire eventually silenced all of the guns on one side of the Saratoga. At this point, Macdonough performed the masterstroke that turned the tide in the battle, winding his flagship around so that he could bring fresh guns to bear on the British ships. Lieutenant James Robertson, who had taken command of the Confiance after Downie’s death, tried to bring his flagship around by employing the same maneuver, but without advance preparation his lines became fouled and his ship immobilized. The Saratoga relentlessly pounded the British ship with broadside after broadside. The fire was so intense that a British marine who had been at Trafalgar claimed that “that was a mere flea-bite in comparison with this.”74 Two and a half hours into the fight, the Confiance had 105 shot-holes in her hull, and her crew refused to continue the fight. According to Robertson, “the Ship’s Company declared they would stand no longer to their Quarters, nor could the Officers with their utmost exertions rally them.”75
Robertson had little choice but to surrender his flagship. The Linnet followed suit. The Finch, which had lost control and run aground off Crab Island, also surrendered. Only the gunboats, which had fled during the heat of battle, escaped. In the Battle of Lake Champlain, Americans suffered 110 casualties, the British 170. Echoing Perry after his great victory on Lake Erie, Macdonough sent a message to the secretary of the navy that read: “The Almighty has been pleased to Grant us a Signal Victory on Lake Champlain in the Capture of one Frigate, one Brig and two sloops of war of the enemy.”76
The Battle of Plattsburgh
Meanwhile, the Battle of Plattsburgh had begun on land. The morning of the naval battle Provost had dispatched 4,000 troops under Major General Frederick Robinson west to find a ford across the river and threaten Macomb from the rear. Robinson’s men lost valuable time searching for the ford but eventually found it, crossed the river, and scattered the 400 militia that contested their passage. According to Robinson, his men “dashed down a very steep and high bank, and forded the river like so many foxhounds, driving the Doddles in all directions.”77 But by the time these troops were in a position to attack Macomb from the rear, it was too late. The battle on the lake was over, and Prevost, fearing that the American squadron would menace his supply lines and that militia pouring in would cut off his retreat, ordered his entire army to withdraw to Canada. Furious with the order, General Robinson claimed that the withdrawal was conducted “in the most precipitate and disgraceful manner.”78 The retreat was so unexpected that the British were eight miles away before Macomb realized that they were gone. The British sustained about 160 casualties in the Battle of Plattsburgh, the United States about 100. The British lost an additional 240 men to desertion during the withdrawal. They also abandoned significant quantities of war material.79
The retreat of such a large force after so little fighting created consternation in both Canada and Great Britain. Prevost had alienated many of Wellington’s officers with a strict dress code, and the retreat served only to increase the antagonism.80 According to one observer, “The recent disgraceful business of Plattsburg has so completely irritated the feelings of the whole army, that it is in a state almost amounting to mutiny.” Joining in the criticism were civilians who had never approved of Prevost’s friendly policy toward the French inhabitants of Lower Canada and Yeo and other naval officers who blamed Downie’s defeat on pressure from the army to fight before the squadron was ready. “All ranks of people,” concluded a British newspaper, “were clamorous against Sir George Prevost.”81 Ultimately Prevost was recalled to England to answer for his failure. He demanded a court martial but died before he could present his case. As a result, instead of being celebrated as the savior of Canada, he is remembered for his failures in the field.
Macdonough, on the other hand, was showered with praise and rewards. He received a gold medal from Congress, 1,000 acres of land in Cayuga County from New York, and 100 acres on Cumberland Head from Vermont. He was also given valuable keepsakes by other cities and states.82 “In one month,” he said, “from a poor lieutenant I became a rich man.”83
The battles on Lake Champlain and at Plattsburgh closed out the fighting on the northern frontier in 1814. In spite of growing British strength in Canada, the fighting here continued to be indecisive. Although Great Britain controlled Prairie du Chien, Mackinac Island, and Fort Niagara and the United States controlled both banks of the Detroit River, neither side could claim any significant conquests, and command of the lakes was divided. Thus, after three years of fighting, the war on the Canadian-American frontier was a stalemate.
The British Blockade Extended
The British enjoyed more success on the Atlantic coast because here they could make full use of their sea power. The most effective use was still their blockade. The Royal Navy had blockaded the middle and southern states in 1812–1813, and in April 1814 that blockade was extended to New England. The British decided to close New England’s ports to put an end to neutral trade and to prevent warships there from getting to sea.84 President Madison responded by publicly denouncing the entire blockade as illegal. Even the Royal Navy, he said, did not have enough ships to enforce a blockade extending all the way from Maine to Georgia. The administration hoped that European neutrals eager to trade with the United States would oppose the blockade, but this was unlikely in any circumstances and out of the question once Napoleon had been defeated.85
U.S. Trade, 1790–1815. This chart shows progressively steeper declines in American trade, first during the Peace of Amiens (1801–1803), then during the embargo (1807–1809), and finally during the War of 1812 (1812–1815).
The extension of the British blockade further curtailed American trade and reduced government revenue. American exports, which had reached $61 million in 1811, steadily plunged to less than $7 million in 1814. There was a similar decline in imports, from $53 million in 1811 to $13 million in 1814. Even though the customs duties had been doubled at the beginning of the war, revenue from this source fell from $13 million in 1811 to $6 million in 1814, and revenue from all sources declined from $14 million to $11 million.86 The decline in revenue was particularly alarming because the cost of the war was soaring.
The economic bottlenecks that had appeared in 1813 worsened in 1814, and the gluts and shortages in every market increased. Merchants and fishermen could not send their ships to sea, and farmers could not ship their produce to market. The shipping industry was particularly hard hit. The tonnage of American ships engaged in foreign trade dropped from 948,000 in 1811 to 60,000 in 1814.87 Although some of these losses were offset by new economic activities—such as privateering and manufacturing—the overall effect of the war on the American economy was decidedly negative.88
British Raids on New England
Great Britain’s naval presence was felt in other ways. The number of predatory raids increased in 1814, particularly along the lengthy and exposed New England coast, which heretofore had been untouched. “The eastern coast of the United States is much vexed by
the enemy,” reported Niles’ Register in July.89 Although the larger cities enjoyed a measure of protection from coastal fortifications, the smaller ones were more vulnerable. The British, said Niles, “seem determined to enter the little out ports and villages, and burn every thing that floats.”90
In one such raid, a flotilla of British boats rowed six miles up the Connecticut River and attacked Pettipaug (now Essex), Connecticut. After driving away the militia, the British destroyed twenty-seven vessels valued at $140,000.91 Another British naval force threatened Stonington, Connecticut. Although the British did not attempt a landing, artillery fire from their ships destroyed a number of buildings in the town.92
The Royal Navy also cut off the nation’s coastal islands. Nantucket was dependent on food imported from the mainland. By August 1814 the threat of starvation had become so acute that even though Republicans controlled the island they had to proclaim its neutrality. In exchange for surrendering its public stores, supplying British warships, and discontinuing the payment of federal taxes, Nantucket won the right to import provisions and fuel from the mainland and to fish in nearby waters. As a bonus, Vice Admiral Cochrane worked for the release all Nantucketeers who were being held as prisoners of war.93
Other exposed towns also came to terms with the British. On Cape Cod many communities paid tribute to avoid bombardment and plundering.94 On Block Island (which was part of Rhode Island) people were “in the daily habit of carrying intelligence and succour to the enemy’s squadron,” which prompted American officials to cut off all trade with the island.95 British officers were shocked by the eagerness with which Americans pursued their own interests at the expense of the nation’s. “Self, the great ruling principle,” said one, “[is] more powerful with Yankees than any people I ever saw.”96
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