Engagement on Lake Huron
Encyclopedia
The series of minor Engagements on Lake Huron left the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 in control of the lake and thus of the Old Northwest
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...

 for the latter stages of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

Background

The British had captured the important American trading post at Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac is a former American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century near Michilimackinac, Michigan, on Mackinac Island...

 by surprise in the Siege of Fort Mackinac early in the war. Large numbers of Indians rallied to the British, who subsequently forced the surrender of an American army at the Siege of Detroit
Siege of Detroit
The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit, or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the Anglo-American War of 1812...

.

On 10 September 1813, the Americans won the decisive Battle of Lake Erie
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...

, which allowed them to recapture Detroit, and also cut the British supply line to Mackinac, although it was too late in the year for the Americans to send ships and troops into Lake Huron to attack Mackinac. During the ensuing winter, the British opened another supply line to Mackinac from York via the Nottawasaga River
Nottawasaga River
The Nottawasaga River is a river in southern Ontario, Canada. Its headwaters are located on the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine. It flows through the Minesing Swamp, recognized as a wetland of international significance , and empties into Nottawasaga Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay, at...

.

In 1814, the Americans mounted an expedition to recover Mackinac. The American force initially consisted of five vessels (the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

s Lawrence
USS Lawrence (1813)
The first USS Lawrence was one of two 493-ton Niagara-class brigs built at Erie, Pennsylvania, by Adam and Noah Brown under the supervision of Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins and Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, for United States Navy service on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.She was...

, Niagara
USS Niagara (1813)
The US Brig Niagara or the Flagship Niagara, is a wooden-hulled brig that served as the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. It is one of last remaining ships from the War of 1812. The Niagara is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in...

 and Caledonia
USS Caledonia (1812)
USS Caledonia was a brig, formerly HMS Caledonia, which was captured by the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812 and taken into American service. The brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie, and was sold at the end of the war.Caledonia was the first warship in the U.S...

, and the gunboats Scorpion
USS Scorpion (1813)
The USS Scorpion was a schooner of the United States Navy during the War of 1812. She was the second USN ship to be named for the scorpion....

 and Tigress
USS Tigress (1813)
The first USS Tigress was a schooner of the United States Navy that took part in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, which in September 1814 was captured by the British and subsequently served in the Royal Navy as HMS Surprise....

) under Commodore Arthur Sinclair
Arthur Sinclair
Commodore Arthur Sinclair was an early American naval hero, who served in the U.S. Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War and in the War of 1812...

, with 700 soldiers (half of them regulars from the 17th, 19th and 24th U.S. Infantry, the other half volunteers from the Ohio Militia) embarked under Lieutenant Colonel George Croghan
George Croghan (soldier)
right|thumb|350px|Congressional medal presented by Congress Feb. 13, 1835. Obverse: Presented by Congress to Colonel George Croghan, 1835. Bust of Colonel Croghan Reverse: Pars Magna Fuit Ft...

.

The expedition sailed from Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 and entered Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

 on 12 July. They first searched Matchedash Bay
Matchedash Bay
Matchedash Bay is a bay and Ramsar wetland in Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is the "final inland extension of Severn Sound" on Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, and is "situated at the interface between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield ". It exhibits geologically unique...

 for the British supply base but failed to find it. They then attacked the British post at St. Joseph Island
St. Joseph Island
St. Joseph Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, near the mouth of the St. Marys River which connects Lake Huron with Lake Superior. It is the second largest island in Lake Huron and the third largest in the Great Lakes overall, trailing Manitoulin and Lake Superior's Isle Royale.St...

 on 20 July but found that it too had been abandoned. On 4 August, they attacked the main British position at Fort Mackinac but were repulsed with heavy losses at the Battle of Mackinac Island
Battle of Mackinac Island
The Battle of Mackinac Island was a British victory in the War of 1812. Before the war, Fort Mackinac had been an important American trading post in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...

.

Action at Nottawasaga

In spite of their victory, the British at Mackinac were very short of provisions and would starve if they were not resupplied before Lake Huron froze at the start of winter. Sinclair had earlier captured a small schooner (the Mink) belonging to the Canadian North West Company, and learned from one of the prisoners that the British supply base was at Nottawasaga Bay
Nottawasaga Bay
Nottawasaga Bay is a bay of Lake Huron in Ontario, at the southernmost end of Georgian Bay. Communities on Nottawasaga Bay include Meaford, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach....

. Having sent the Lawrence and Caledonia back to Detroit with the militia, he arrived at the Nottawasaga with the Niagara, Scorpion and Tigress on 13 August.

The British detachment at Nottawasaga consisted of a Midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 and 21 sailors of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 under Lieutenant Miller Worsley
Miller Worsley
Miller Worsley was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for playing a major part in the Engagement on Lake Huron in the Anglo-American War of 1812....

 and 9 French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

 voyageur
Voyageur
Voyageur is a French word meaning "voyager" or "traveler".Voyageur can refer to:*Voyageurs, persons who transported furs by canoe during the fur trade era....

s. The schooner HMS Nancy was present at the Nottawasaga, loaded with 300 barrels of provisions (salted pork, flour, spirits etc.) for the garrison at Mackinac. A few days before the Americans appeared, Lieutenant Robert Livingston of the Indian Department had arrived, carrying a warning from Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall
Robert McDouall
Major-General Robert McDouall was a Scottish-born officer in the British Army, who saw much action during the Napoleonic Wars and the Anglo-American War of 1812...

, the commandant at Mackinac, of the American presence. The Nancy was towed 2 miles (3.2 km) up the Nottawasaga River
Nottawasaga River
The Nottawasaga River is a river in southern Ontario, Canada. Its headwaters are located on the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine. It flows through the Minesing Swamp, recognized as a wetland of international significance , and empties into Nottawasaga Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay, at...

, and a crude blockhouse armed with two 24-pounder carronades removed from the Nancy and a 6-pounder field gun was hastily constructed for her protection. Livingston had proceeded onwards to York to request reinforcements, but none were available. (Almost all the British regular troops in Upper Canada were already engaged in the Siege of Fort Erie
Siege of Fort Erie
The Siege of Fort Erie was one of the last and most protracted engagements between British and American forces during the Niagara campaign of the American War of 1812...

, and the militia could not be persuaded to turn out.) On his return, Livingston was able to gather 23 Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

 Indians to help Worsley's party.

The Americans believed that the Nancy was still en route to the Nottawasaga and intended to intercept the schooner on the lake, but on 14 August, some of Croghan's troops landed to set up an encampment on the spit of land at the mouth of the river, and foraging parties chanced on the schooner's hiding place. The next day, Croghan's troops (three companies of regular infantry) landed and attacked. The American ships opened fire over intervening sand hills without success, but the Americans then landed a detachment of artillery with one (or two) 5.5–inch howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

s to support the infantry.

Worsley had decided that further defence was impossible and made preparations to destroy the blockhouse and schooner. A line of powder was set running to the Nancy and from there to the blockhouse. At four o'clock, the Nancy was set alight which in turn by way of the powder train, set off an explosion in the blockhouse. The blockhouse explosion surprised Sinclair, causing him to think that one of the howitzer's shots had found its mark. Worsley's party then retreated into the woods, having suffered one killed and one wounded.

The Americans recovered the guns from the wrecked blockhouse and then felled trees across the river to block it. Sinclair departed for Detroit in the Niagara, leaving the gunboats under Lieutenant Daniel Turner
Daniel Turner (naval officer)
-Biography:Probably born at Richmond on Staten Island, Turner was appointed a midshipman in the Navy on 1 January 1808. Following brief duty at the New York Naval Station, he served in Constitution on the North Atlantic Station...

 to maintain a blockade of the bay. Sinclair's orders were that the gunboats were to remain until they were driven from the Lake by bad weather in October, by which time it would be impossible for small boats to re-establish communications between the Nottawasaga and Mackinac. Sinclair did however authorize the Tigress to cruise for a week or two around St. Joseph Island to intercept fur canoes. The gunboats' crews were reinforced by twenty-five men of the 17th U.S. Infantry, to serve as marines.

Movements in late August

The Americans had missed one hundred barrels of provisions in a storehouse, and two batteaux and Livingston's large canoe which had been moved higher up the Nottawasaga River. Worsley removed the obstructions from the river and sailed for Fort Mackinac with his sailors and Livingston, carrying seventy barrels, late on 18 August. Accounts of subsequent events vary; some state that Worsley evaded the gunboats, which were forced back into Lake Huron by a storm (which also nearly sank the Niagara) a few days later, while others state that one or both gunboats had left the Nottawasaga almost as soon as the Niagara was out of sight, hoping to capture boats and canoes involved in the fur trade with their valuable cargoes, and thus leaving the Nottawasaga unguarded.

The Americans then heard that several boats manned by hired Canadian voyageurs under Captain J. M. Lamothe were attempting to reach Mackinac Island with supplies via the traditional fur-trading route of the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

, Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing is a lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Excluding the Great Lakes, Lake Nipissing is the fifth-largest lake in Ontario. It is relatively shallow for a...

 and the French River. To intercept this party, the gunboats cruised in a narrow channel about 36 miles (57.9 km) east of Mackinac Island, known as the Detour Passage. The voyageur party were warned and temporarily turned back up the French River.

Having rowed and paddled 360 miles (579.4 km), Worsley encountered the two gunboats in the Detour on 24 August but was able to turn aside without being spotted. He concealed the batteaux at a secluded bay and his whole party reached Mackinac Island in the canoe on 1 September. At one point, he had passed within only a few yards of one of the gunboats at night, without being detected.

Capture of the gunboats

Worsley asked McDouall for reinforcements to be used to attack the gunboats. He was given 60 men of the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles, all of whom were accustomed to serving as marines, and four large boats. Lieutenants Bulger
Andrew Bulger
Andrew Bulger was a soldier and administrator, born in Newfoundland.In 1804 he joined the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles as Ensign. On the outbreak of the War of 1812, a substantial detachment from the regiment was sent to Upper Canada to serve as marines on armed vessels on the Great Lakes...

 (whose boat was armed with a 3-pounder gun railing gun from the Nancy), Armstrong and Raderhurst of the Royal Newfoundland commanded three of the boats. Worsley, with 17 seamen and a 6-pounder gun, also from the Nancy, commanded the other. Two hundred Ojibwa Indians from Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...

 led by Chief Assiginack followed them in nineteen canoes, in case any warriors were fighting for the Americans.

Late on 2 September, the boats and canoes landed on Drummond Island
Drummond Township, Michigan
Drummond Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 992 at the 2000 census.The township consists of Drummond Island, one of the largest islands in Lake Huron. M-134 runs through the western portion of the island...

. Worsley and Livingston went scouting the next day, and spotted the Tigress anchored a few miles away. That night, the British and Ojibwa set out towards the gunboat. Except for Lieutenant Robert Dickson
Robert Dickson (fur trader)
Robert Dickson was a fur trader, and later an agent for the Indian Department in Upper Canada, who played a prominent part in the War of 1812....

 of the Indian Department and three chiefs, the Native Americans were told to wait 3 miles (4.8 km) away. In the early hours of 4 September, Worsley's four boats approached the Tigress silently. The crew of the gunboat (thirty-one sailors and soldiers under Sailing Master Stephen Champlin
Stephen Champlin
Stephen Champlin was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812.Born in Kingston, Rhode Island, Champlin entered the Navy as a sailing master 22 May 1812...

) spotted them too late, and their fire missed. Before they could reload, Worsley's and Armstrong's boats were alongside the starboard side of the gunboat, and Bulger's and Raderhorst's boats were to port. The Newfoundlanders and Worsley's sailors swarmed on board the gunboat and overpowered the Americans after a sharp struggle. Three Americans were killed and five wounded (including Champlin). Three British were killed and seven wounded, including Lieutenant Bulger.

Livingston set off to find the Scorpion, and returned two hours later to report that she was approaching. The captured Americans were hastily sent ashore. The next day, the Scorpion came into view and anchored about 2 miles (3.2 km) away, but appeared not to have heard any of the fight. At dawn on 6 September, Worsley set sail towards the Scorpion in the Tigress, under American colours and with most of his men below decks or concealed under their greatcoats. The unsuspecting crew of the Scorpion could be seen scrubbing the deck. Worsley came within few yards of the Scorpion and fired a volley of muskets and the Tigress's 24-pounder cannon. As the ships came into contact, Worsley's men swarmed aboard the American vessel. The surprised Americans made little resistance. Two Americans were killed and two wounded. There were no British casualties.

Scorpion (but not Tigress) had boarding nettings rigged and might have been able to fight off a boarding attempt from small boats, but not from a vessel of equal size.

Aftermath

The captured Scorpion and Tigress were renamed Confiance and Surprise. They sailed at once for the Nottawasaga and returned at the start of October with six months' provisions. This was sufficient to keep the garrison of Mackinac and their Indian allies supplied until the end of the war.

The British planned to build a frigate
Fifth-rate
In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...

 and other vessels at Penetanguishene on Matchedash Bay in 1815, which would have further reinforced the British advantage in the area. The end of the war put a halt to their construction (although a naval base was opened at Penetanguishene in 1817).

Results

Although trifling in scale, the British and Ojibwa Indian successes on Lake Huron were vital, given the remoteness and sparse population of the theatre.

Some American historians maintain that their expedition to recapture Mackinac Island was not merely a failure but also a waste of resources. The troops would have been better employed in the battles on the Niagara peninsula and the crews of the vessels more use in the squadron on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

. On the other hand, a mere 300 extra regular soldiers and the same number of sailors would have made little difference given the scale of the battles further east; and the successful recovery of Fort Mackinac would have spared other American troops tied down in garrisons in the west by hostile Native Americans.

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