For Honour's Sake by Mark Zuehlke

Author:Mark Zuehlke [Zuehlke, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-37058-7
Publisher: Knopf Canada
Published: 2006-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Prevost’s claim that Yeo had engaged in an act of daring greatly stretched the truth. Throughout July the British commodore had trolled Lake Ontario in a vain attempt to embarrass Commodore Isaac Chauncey into coming out of the shelter of Sackets Harbor to give battle. But the American refused the challenge, content to wait until his flagship General Pike was ready. While Yeo could claim mastery of the lake during the early summer, there was scant value in it as the army was in no position to carry out offensive operations. And inevitably Chauncey would venture forth. When he did, control of the lake would shift to the Americans.

There was nothing Yeo could do to prevent this unless he was blessed with inordinate good fortune. It was simply a straightforward outcome of the strength of the American squadron on the lake compared to that of the British. Yeo had six vessels that varied in size and sailing rig but were all able enough warships and capable of working well together in formation. Chauncey had more vessels, but they were a hodgepodge of types. Ten were civilian schooners of various sizes that had been converted into fighting ships simply by loading them up with cannon. There were also three corvettes, including General Pike, which were fighting ships. The great weight of the guns rendered the schooners sluggish in response to their sails, and all the crews were poorly trained, so the ability of the ships to manoeuvre as a squadron was poor. This reduced the value of Chauncey’s superior numbers. The American’s trump card lay in the type of guns his ships carried, for of the two principal classes of naval cannon available in 1813, Chauncey had the type best suited for lake warfare. His ships mounted long guns, which in accordance to their designation had long range but fired a fairly light shot. Yeo’s ships were fitted out with carronades, short-ranged cannon that fired heavy shot.

So long as Chauncey stayed beyond range of Yeo’s ships, he could batter the British at will. Yeo’s only chance was to get right in among the American vessels, and to achieve that he would require a strong breeze combined with an advantageous position to enable his ships to close before Chauncey could escape. Another advantage would come Yeo’s way if he could force a fight at extremely close range. The cannon on the American schooners were mounted on the decks, and these ships, having not been intended for combat, lacked the bulwarks common to warships that protected crews from enemy fire. Sailors on the schooner decks were exposed from the feet up, and carronades fired a type of shot perfect for butchering ship.’ crews—canister. A case usually packed with small iron balls—when these were unavailable, nails, spikes, or any scraps of iron sufficed—canister separated upon being discharged to spray a wide area in the same manner as buckshot. Its ability to maim or kill men caught in the open was terrific. But its range was extremely short and it was easily blunted.

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