USS Vixen (1803)-- Part 4: Capture and Sinking

The Vixen continued patrolling  the Atlantic Coast until the outbreak of the War of 1812, at which time she sailed along the southern coast under Master Commandant Christopher Gadsden, Jr., and after his death on 28 August 1812, under Lt. George Washington Reed, youngest son of General Joseph Reed.

During one of her war cruises in the West Indies, the Vixen encountered the 32-gun British frigate HMS Southampton, under command of Captain James Lucas Yeo.  The Southampton then chased, intercepted and captured the Vixen on 22 November 1812.

Yeo described the Vixen as a brig armed with twelve 19-pounder carronades and two 9-pounder guns.  The Vixen had been at sea for about five weeks at the time, but had not captured anything.

Both vessels were wrecked five days later Conception Island in the Bahamas.  All of the crews and officers survived, but Lt. Reed, however, died later of yellow fever in Jamaica before he could be exchanged.

The Story of a Ship.  --Brock-Perry

Burlington Heights Markers-- Part 2:

More markers on the Heights"

MARCH TO STONEY CREEK  (about 180 meters away from first marker).

"Theses ramparts were erected by British troops during the War of 1812-1815.  From this place on the night of June 5th 1813, 700 men  under the command of Lieut. Colonel Harvey, marched to Stoney Creek where they surprised and routed an American force of 3,750 men ridding the Niagara Peninsula of the invaders."

THE BURLINGTON RACES  (about 180 meters from the first one).

"On the morning of September 28, 1813, a powerfully-armed United States fleet comprising  ten ships under the command of Commodore Isaac Chauncey appeared off York (Toronto) .  The smaller fleet of six vessels, commanded by Commodore Sir James L. Yeo, was in the harbour, but on the approach os the enemy set sail to attack.

After a sharp engagement, the British squadron was forced to withdraw toward Burlington Bay where it could take refuge under the batteries on the adjacent heights.  A close chase ensued (hence, the Burlington Races), but by skillful seamanship, Yeo was able to bring his ships through the shallow channel in the sand-bar to the safety of the bay."

--Brock-Perry

HMS St. Lawrence-- Part 3: The Power on Lake Ontario

The St. Lawrence cost the British government 500,000 pounds.  It immediately became Commodore Sir Francis Lucas Yeo's flagship.This ship gave the British Navy unmatched domination of Lake Ontario.  The day of the launch, the American fleet under Isaac Chauncey showed up off Kingston and offered battle, hoping to engage the St. Lawrence before the crew was properly trained.

But, the British declined.

The St. Lawrence put to sea October 19 and was struck by lightning with a mast damaged and several deaths.  Later, there was an American attempt to destroy the St. Lawrence with a "torpedo" in Kingston Harbor.

Nothing came of it.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Prince Regent-- Part 2: Flagship of British Lake Erie Fleet

It became the flagship of Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo and gave him the edge in the naval race so he immediately used it.  The British squadron departed Kingston 4 May 1814 to attack Fort Oswego, New York, which involved a landing operation.  The fort and town of Oswego were captured May 6.

On May 19, they set up a blockade of the US Navy at Sackets Harbor, New York.  After the defeat at Sandy Creek, they abandoned the blockade June 5 and returned to Kingston.

With the launch of the first rate ship-of-the-line HMS St. Lawrence, Yeo transferred his flag to that ship and once again he had naval superiority

--Brock-Perry

Machine Guns in the War of 1812-- Part 11: Never Used in Battle

But Chauncey's repeated attempts to bring his fleet to action with the British were hampered by shortages of equipment, weapons and men.  he was finally able to sail at the end of July.  The British, under Commodore Sir James Yeo had also found reasons to be inactive and the sailing season largely passed without confrontation.

Chauncey, now with the upper hand in the naval ship race on Lake Ontario, alternated his time between watching the British naval base at Kingston, Ontario, and waiting and guarding Sackets Harbor.

The season ended in the first week of November and with it, the naval war on the Great Lakes.

Chambers' marvelous repeating arms had never fired a shot in battle.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Napoleon Enters Paris and USS Hornet Captures the HMS Penguin

MARCH 19, 1815:  British Commodore Sir Edward Campbell Rich Owens arrives at Kingston, Upper Canada, to assume command of the British Royal Navy station from Commordore Sir James Yeo.

MARCH 20, 1815:  Napoleon enters Paris and begins his 100 Day Rule.

MARCH 23, 1815:  USS Hornet captures the HMS Penguin.

--Brock-Perry

Launch of the HMS Psyche on Dec. 25, 1814-- Part 1: "In Frame"

I already mentioned this, but a little more detail on it.

Launch of the HMS Psyche, 56-gun frigate sent "in frame" from England and assembled in Kingston, Canada.

In the summer of 1813, British Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo struggled to vanquish the growing American fleet in Lake Ontario.  As a result, the crown adopted an innovative approach to shipbuilding: sending prefabricated pieces to expedite the construction of warships.

Transports left Chatham Dockyard, England, early in 1814 with four vessels "in frame."  Three of the ships never made it past Montreal, but sections of "Frigate B", the Psyche, were laboriously shipped up the St. Lawrence River to Kingston, where shipwrights assembled the parts.

--Brock-Perry

Royal Navy Dockyard at Point Frederick, Kingston-- Part 3: HMS St. Lawrence

A problem facing Yeo was getting supplies, equipment and reinforcements as they all had to come down the St. Lawrence River where they were exposed to American attack.

He had permission to build a large warship, but greatly increased its size until it became a ship-of-the-line, the HMS St. Lawrence.  Construction on it began April 12, 1814 and it became designated as a first rate ship-of-the-line since it mounted 100 guns and was crewed by 800 men.

Thousands of trees were needed.  Some 5,750 for the hull alone.  Pine and spruce were used for the masts and spars.  Then, there was need for a vast amount of sails and rope for rigging.

It cost $500,000 and was launched September 10, 1814, with a crew of 1837.

--Brock-Perry

Royal Navy Dockyard at Point Frederick, Kingston-- Part 2

Continued from October 14th.

The dockyard was not attacked much by the Americans and never captured.

During the War of 1812, especially in 1814, there was a huge shipbuilding war going on between the Americans and British.  That involved Kingston and the British Naval Dockyard there and the Americans at Sackets Harbor, New York.  Whoever got the most and biggest ships out on Lake Ontario, thereby controlled the lake.

British Commodore James Lucas Yeo arrived in Kingston on May 15, 1813, and became commander of the Great Lakes Fleet.  He wanted to continue British domination of sea power but faced a problem in that his ships mostly had shorter range carronades to use against the American long guns.

In sea battles, Americans would try to keep the distance great between them and the British ships as far as they could in order to maintain their superior firepower.

--Brock-Perry

Gen. Izard's Cut Off

OCTOBER 16TH, 1814:  General George Izard wrote a letter to Armstrong expressing his concerns about being cut off from supplies and reinforcements now that the British control Lake Ontario after the launch of the HMS St. Lawrence.  he is also afraid that Yeo's control of the lake might enable larger forces to be brought against him.

At this point, Izard is seriously considering withdrawing from Fort Erie.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Ship of the Line HMS St. Lawrence Launched on Great Lakes

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 1814:  A British flotilla gathers near Chazy, New York, on Lake Champlain.  The pivotal Battle of Plattsburg was the two days later.

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 1814:  Launch of the ship of the line HMS St. Lawrence, the largest warship on the Great Lakes in the Age of Sail, at Kingston, Upper Canada.

The contest for supremacy on the Great Lakes continued to intensify as the British and American navies raced to construct the most powerful fleets.  Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo gained undisputed control of
Lake Ontario in October when he sailed out of Kingston in his new flagship, the HMS St. Lawrence, launched this day.

It was a three-decked warship mounting 102 cannons.  This was a viable counter to three U.S. ships being built at Sackets Harbor.

The St. Lawrence epitomized the "shipbuilders war" and the extraordinary logistical and financial investments by the British since almost all materials and ordnance used to build warships at Kingston came across the Atlantic Ocean from England to Quebec City and Montreal, Lower Canada.  From there, supplies were transported by bateaux up the St. Lawrence River.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Fort Oswego, NY (Battle of Oswego)-- Part 1: Naval Arms Race on Lake Ontario

From Wikipedia.

I have been referring to this as the battle of Oswego.

The article considered the British attack on the American fort and village as "partially successful."  The battle led directly from the naval arms race on Lake Ontario.  Both the Americans and British were building two frigates apiece as 1814 opened.  The two British frigates (HMS Prince Regent and HMS Princess Charlotte) were finished at Kingston, Upper Canada, in April.

British commander James Yeo knew that the American frigates were stronger and quickly nearing completion, so he decided to strike while he had the edge.  His first thought was the main American naval base at Sackets Harbor, NY, but he did not have enough troops and Canada's Governor General, Lt. Gen. George Prevost refused to give him any more soldiers.

So, he and Drummond decided to attack the weaker Fort Oswego and village of Oswego farther down the Lake Ontario shore.    It was a major American staging point and still had importance.

--Brock-Perry

The 1814 Naval Race on the Lakes: HMS Prince Regent and Princess Charlotte

The timeline for April 1814 clearly shows that a big naval arms race was on along the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain during the early part of 1814.

Needing more heavily armed vessels to challenge American Commodore Chauncey for control of Lake Ontario, Sir James Lucas Yeo's British squadron was reinforcedby the HMS Prince Regent (56 guns) and HMS Princess Charlotte (42 guns) on April 14, 1814. This gave Yeo the advantage.

On May 6, 1814, these two and other vessels conveyed part of a 550 soldier force in an amphibious attack on Oswego, New York. Then they covered the landing and bombarded the fort.

Other ships added to the forces in the first part of April 1814: British: HMS Linnert. American: USS Jefferson, Saratoga and Jones.

 --Brock-Perry

The First USS Vixen

From Wikipedia.

As I said earlier, there was a previous USS Vixen to the one captured by the HMS Belvidera. I found out a lot about the first Vixen, but very little about the one the Belvidera captured.

THE FIRST USS VIXEN: Was 83-feet long, mounting 14 guns and a crew of 111. Commissioned in 1803 and fought in the First Barbary War off the coast of Tripoli, but was not there when the frigate USS Philadelphia was captured. It did participate in bombarding Tripoli on four different occasions.

From 1806-1807, it was in ordinary at the Washington Navy Yard. After that, it operated along the Atlantic coast under the command of Lt. James Lawrence (later commander of the USS Chesapeake and the famous "Don't Give Up the Ship" words.

It was captured 22 November 1812 by the 32-gun British frigate HMS Southampton under Captain James Yeo, later commander of the British Lake Ontario fleet.

Both vessels were later lost by Concepcion Island, Bahamas, when strong westerly currents wrecked them on uncharted submerged rocks off the island in the Crooked Island Passage.

On the Rocks As They Say. --Brock-Perry

Conflicting Accounts of the HMS Duke of Gloucester at Battle of York

While looking further into the history of the HMS Duke of Gloucester, I found that digplanet said the ship was captured at York and did not escape as Wikipedia said. It was then taken by the Americans back to Sackets Harbor, New York.

Commodore James Lucas Yeo came to Kingston and took command in early May and immediately set about planning a counter attack on the Americans. On May 29, 1813, his naval force and an Army group attacked Sackets Harbor in what is referred to as the Second Battle of Sackets Harbor, but had to withdraw.

However, Americans, fearful of losing, set fire to the Duke of Gloucester and a heavy sloop of war under construction named the General Pike. After the British withdrawal, the Pike was saved, but Duke of Gloucester a total wreck.

Wikipedia says the British destroyed the Duke of Gloucester.

So, I Wonder Which Account of the Duke Is Correct? ---Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Timeline: April 1813-- Part 3

APRIL 2ND--  Commerce raids by the British fleet begin on the Chesapeake Bay

APRIL 28TH--  British and Indians begin siege of Fort Meigs in Ohio.  Ends May 9th.

APRIL 28TH--  The HMS Sir George Prevost (22 guns) launched.  It was later renamed the HMS Wolfe and became Yeo's flagship

APRIL 29TH--  Raid on Frenchtown, Maryland disperses Maryland militia.

Getting ready for Summer Action.  --Brock-Perry

Letters and Documents from the War of 1812 Up for Auction

From the Nov. 24, 2012, Art Daily.org.

An auction December 12th will feature three drafts of letters/reports from the summer of 1814 written by Alexander Dobbs, commander of a squadron of British ships, to his commander, Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo.  One of them is a personal account of the Battle of Lundy's Lane.

Also included is Dobbs' account of the HMS Magnet which was blown up to prevent capture and his experience at the Siege of Fort Erie, where he said, "our losses have been very severe: 10 Seamen and 11 Marines killed, 15 Seamen and 18 Marines wounded and missing.. I fear that a number of the latter were blown up.  Lieut. Stevenson, Mr. Harris Master and myself were wounded. 

Mr. Hinde, Master's mate, had his thigh broke and was left in the Ditch where I fear he must have perished.  If there is any inaccuracy in this I trust you will excuse it, as my head aches so intolerably I can scarce hold it up."

Another letter from Yeo to Dobbs warns him not to get involved in any attack of the Army on the Americans.  This was essentially a warning to stay off the lake which was under the command of the Americans.

Some Primary Source Materials.  --Brock-Perry

Isaac Chauncey

From Wikipedia.

Feb. 20, 1779-Jan. 27, 1840.

Became a lieutenant in the Navy in 1798 and fought in the Quasi-War with France and the First Barbary War.

During the War of 1812 commanded US naval forces on Lake Ontario and conducted many amphibious operations in cooperation with the Army and contained the much larger British fleet under Sir James Yeo.

Also served twice as the commandant of the New York Navy Yard.

Brock-Perry