Follow Up On Fort Cassin

The North American Forts site says that Fort Cassin (1813-1815) was a seven-gun earthwork located at the mouth of Otter Creek near Kingsland Bay State Park.  No remains, no marker.  Too bad as there should really be a marker there.

I thought I recognized  the name Cassin from the famous picture of Pearl Harbor at the dry dock with two destroyed destroyers and the battleship USS Pennsylvania.  The USS Cassin (DD-372) was named for Stephen Cassin.  It and the other destroyer, the USS Downes were essentially destroyed, but parts used later to build a new ship by the same name.

--Brock-Perry

Vermont's Battle of Fort Cassin 200 Years Ago-- Part 2

The British, fully aware of the American buildup, determined to strike first.  In early May 1814, Captain David Pring sailed south, intent on either entering Otter Creek to smash the American fleet or blocking the entrance to pen up Macdonough's fleet.

On May 14th, the British fleet appeared at the mouth of Otter Creek and encountered the hastily construction American fortifications at Fort Cassin, named for Macdonough's key subordinate, Lt. Stephen Cassin.

A battle ensued for two hours before the British fleet withdrew back to Ile aux Noix with the loss of one sailor.  The Americans had just one wounded casualty.

The American victory at Fort Cassin saved Macdonough's fleet.  The British returned to their base and redoubled their shipbuilding effort, finally launching a 37-gun largest-ever ship on Lake Champlain, the HMS Confiance.  The two fleets would meet again in just a few months in September at the decisive Battle of Plattsburgh Bay, or Battle of Lake Champlain as it is also called.

--Brock-Perry

John Cassin-- Part 3: Pearl Harbor's USS Cassin

At the end on June, I was writing about John Cassin, commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard in Virginia back in June 1813, when the British made an attempt to capture Norfolk and the Navy Yard.

I'd never heard of him before and there wasn't a lot of information available on Yahoo. I had heard of a destroyer named the Cassins at Pearl Harbor so wondered if theer was a connection.

I did find out that the Cassin destroyer at Pearl Harbor was not named for John Cassin, it was named the USS Stephen Cassin AND was named for John Cassin's son. Stephen Cassin (1783-1853), commanded the USS Ticonderoga at the Battle of Lake Champlain during the War of 1812.

An earlier destroyer than the Pearl Harbor one had also been named for him.

Small World. --Brock-Perry