Stephen Champlin's Post War Service-- Part 3: The 1838 Patriot War

In 1838, during the Patriot War, he was put in command of the military force that was sent, along with the steamers Robert Fulton and New England, to prevent  the developing  invasion of Canada by private forces.
These forces had as their goal, the liberation of Canada from the yolk of British colonialism.  That the Canadians did not want to be free was overlooked by these men so the U.S. government found it necessary  to head off the invasion before it caused another confrontation with Britain.

On January 25, 1838, Champlin's ships broke through the ice of Buffalo Creek and proceeded up the lake.  They captured many of the "deluded liberators" and averted further bloodshed.

(I'd never heard of this incident, but there is a big article in Wikipedia about it.  There was also a Patriot's War in East Florida back during the War of 1812.  The steamer Robert Fulton mentioned here was not a U.S. Navy ship, but a steamer chartered by the U.S. government, as was the New England.  There were also two U.S. Navy ships named the USS Fulton, neither of which was this Robert Fulton ship.)

--Brock-Perry