Read Online The War of 1812 by Wesley B. Turner - Free Book Online
Authors: Wesley B. Turner
Ads: Link
give up the ship!â 1 â and Captain Broke, who was seriously wounded. No less than three heroes are remembered from this battle: Lawrence for the Americans, Broke for the British, and Wallis for the Nova Scotians. Provo William Parry Wallis, born in Halifax twenty-two years earlier, was second lieutenant of the
Shannon
. With the captain wounded and the first lieutenant dead, it fell upon Wallis to take command of the ship and bring her, with the captured
Chesapeake
, into Halifax harbour where the people lined the shore to cheer both the victory and the man. 2 Wallis went on to a glorious career in the navy and ended by becoming an admiral before he died two months short of his 101st birthday! The success of the
Shannon
showed that Americans could no longer count on winning single-ship battles.
Much more important was the effect of the blockade, for it strangled American trade. This reduced the amount of taxes collected and therefore the money available to the American government for fighting the war. One estimate puts the income from customs revenue, the governmentâs main source, at one-tenth of its prewar level. 3 By the end of 1813, the United States was facing bankruptcy as well as serious internaldisunity as states in New England showed increasing hostility to supporting the war.
Naval power thus played an important part in the war in more ways than one.
The Attack on York 27 April 1813.
[Reprinted from
The Defended Border,
by Morris Zaslow (Toronto,
Macmillan of Canada, 1964), p. 255.]
THE WAR ON THE INLAND LAKES
Naval development on the lakes would greatly affect the land war during 1813. American success on Lake Erie would lead to victories by their army on land. But on the more important Lake Ontario, the British would not lose, and this was crucial to their ability to hold on to most of Upper Canada.
The Provincial Marine, which was controlled by the army, had too few trained or experienced seamen. Prevost asked the government to send more and even wanted the Royal Navy to take control on thelakes. In May, this was done when the British navy sent 450 seamen, thirty-six officers, and a new commander for the lakes, Sir James Lucas Yeo. He had entered the navy at age 11 and during his twenty yearsâ service, had taken part in several naval battles. He would prove a most skillful, though cautious, commander of naval forces.
At Kingston and York, during the winter of 1812â1813, construction of warships hurried ahead. These were to have twenty-four guns each so that they could match the
Madison
. Chauncey started an even larger vessel at Sackets Harbor. A pattern developed of each side trying to out-build the other on the lakes. The Americans had the advantage of plenty of supplies, good shipbuilders, and seamen. Naval personnel and equipment for Canada had to come from Halifax and even England. Both sides knew that such aid would be limited while the war with Napoleon dragged on.
The naval contest on Lake Ontario would differ from that on lakes Erie and Champlain. On those lakes, decisive naval battles were to be fought that in both cases would result in American victories. On Ontario, Yeoâs and Chaunceyâs fleets would sail near each other but they would avoid a major engagement, preferring instead to attack each otherâs naval bases and supply depots.
The Americans made the first raid against York on April 27. In addition to the prestige of capturing the provincial capital, the Americans hoped to take the vessels in the harbour and destroy the ship under construction there. Despite the importance of York, its garrison was small (about three hundred regulars, four hundred militia anddockyard workers, fifty to one hundred Indians) and its defences weak. These consisted of a few heavy guns mounted west of the town by the lakeshore. There was a small fort, but its only strong part was the stone magazine where ammunition was stored.
View of the taking of Little York by
Shannon
. With the captain wounded and the first lieutenant dead, it fell upon Wallis to take command of the ship and bring her, with the captured
Chesapeake
, into Halifax harbour where the people lined the shore to cheer both the victory and the man. 2 Wallis went on to a glorious career in the navy and ended by becoming an admiral before he died two months short of his 101st birthday! The success of the
Shannon
showed that Americans could no longer count on winning single-ship battles.
Much more important was the effect of the blockade, for it strangled American trade. This reduced the amount of taxes collected and therefore the money available to the American government for fighting the war. One estimate puts the income from customs revenue, the governmentâs main source, at one-tenth of its prewar level. 3 By the end of 1813, the United States was facing bankruptcy as well as serious internaldisunity as states in New England showed increasing hostility to supporting the war.
Naval power thus played an important part in the war in more ways than one.
The Attack on York 27 April 1813.
[Reprinted from
The Defended Border,
by Morris Zaslow (Toronto,
Macmillan of Canada, 1964), p. 255.]
THE WAR ON THE INLAND LAKES
Naval development on the lakes would greatly affect the land war during 1813. American success on Lake Erie would lead to victories by their army on land. But on the more important Lake Ontario, the British would not lose, and this was crucial to their ability to hold on to most of Upper Canada.
The Provincial Marine, which was controlled by the army, had too few trained or experienced seamen. Prevost asked the government to send more and even wanted the Royal Navy to take control on thelakes. In May, this was done when the British navy sent 450 seamen, thirty-six officers, and a new commander for the lakes, Sir James Lucas Yeo. He had entered the navy at age 11 and during his twenty yearsâ service, had taken part in several naval battles. He would prove a most skillful, though cautious, commander of naval forces.
At Kingston and York, during the winter of 1812â1813, construction of warships hurried ahead. These were to have twenty-four guns each so that they could match the
Madison
. Chauncey started an even larger vessel at Sackets Harbor. A pattern developed of each side trying to out-build the other on the lakes. The Americans had the advantage of plenty of supplies, good shipbuilders, and seamen. Naval personnel and equipment for Canada had to come from Halifax and even England. Both sides knew that such aid would be limited while the war with Napoleon dragged on.
The naval contest on Lake Ontario would differ from that on lakes Erie and Champlain. On those lakes, decisive naval battles were to be fought that in both cases would result in American victories. On Ontario, Yeoâs and Chaunceyâs fleets would sail near each other but they would avoid a major engagement, preferring instead to attack each otherâs naval bases and supply depots.
The Americans made the first raid against York on April 27. In addition to the prestige of capturing the provincial capital, the Americans hoped to take the vessels in the harbour and destroy the ship under construction there. Despite the importance of York, its garrison was small (about three hundred regulars, four hundred militia anddockyard workers, fifty to one hundred Indians) and its defences weak. These consisted of a few heavy guns mounted west of the town by the lakeshore. There was a small fort, but its only strong part was the stone magazine where ammunition was stored.
View of the taking of Little York by
Similar Books
