YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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8497

i Notes on tlie visits of American and.
British Naval Vessels to the
I Genesee River. 1309-1814.
Fr.anklin Hanford
Rochester, 1911.

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NOTES ON THE VISITS

OF

American and British Naval Vessels
To the Genesee River

1809- 18 14.

BY
FRANKLIN HANFORD
Rear-Admiral, United States Navy (Retired)

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ROCHESTER, N. Y.
THE GENESEE PRESS
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Notes on the Visits of American and British
Naval Vessels to the Genesee River
1809-18 14

It is difficult for the summer resi
dents who people the shores of Lake
Ontario from Nine Mile Point on the
east to Manitou Beach on the west of
the Genesee river, or for the holiday
makers who wander among the trivial
or amusing shows of Ontario Beach
park at Charlotte to realize that the
now peaceful waters of "the beautiful
lake," as the Iroquois called it, were
once plowed by hostile fleets. And yet,
for a period of three years, nearly a
century ago, during our war of 1812-
14 with Great Britain, both American
and British fleets appeared off the
Genesee at intervals, and the pioneers
of Monroe county witnessed naval
maneuvers, ,heard the sound of an
enemy's guns, and actually gathered to
resist the invasion of tHeir country.
It is proposed to mention here all the
authenticated visits of American and
British naval vessels to the mouth of
the Genesee river up to, the year 1815.
While it is generally supposed that no
men-of-war's men ever entered the
Genesee in a government' craft before
the year 1812, there was certainly one
such visit as early as June, 1809, near
ly three years before the commence
ment of the War of 1812. An enter
taining account of that visit will be
found in J. Fenimore Cooper's "Lives
of Distinguished American Naval Offi
cers," published in 1846, in two vol
umes. In the second volume Cooper de
votes thirty-three pages to his friend,
Melancthon Taylor Woolsey, U. S.
Navy. Following Cooper's account it
appears that in 1808, our relations with
Great Britain being strained, Woolsey,
who was then a, lieutenant, was select
ed by the Navy department to proceed
to Oswego and superintend the con
struction of a brig of sixteen guns for
service on Lake Ontario, and to com
mand the first regular armament ever
made under the Union on our inland
waters. Woolsey took with him to Os
wego two midshipmen, Messrs. Gamble
and Cooper, the latter being James
Cooper (whose name was afterwards
changed to James Fenimore Cooper),
the celebrated American novelist and

naval historian. They spent the winter
at Oswego and in the spring of 1809,
the brig, named the Oneida, was
launched and equipped for service. Her
contractors were Christian Bergh and
Henry Eckford, both of whom became
eminent naval constructors.
Woolsey now decided to take a holi
day and get a. view of Niagara. Man
ning and provisioning the Oneida's
launch he and Midshipman Cooper
sailed from Oswego late in June, 1809.
Relying upon the boat's sails, only foul
seamen from the Oneida's crew were
taken along, and as they soon met
strong head winds, there was not
enough force to do much with the oars.
Three times they beat up to a headland
called the Devil's Nose [which is in
the present town of Hamlin, Monroe
county] before they could pass it. "Four
nights were passed in the boat, two
on the beach, and one in a hut on the
banks of the Genesee, a. few miles be
low the falls, and of course quite near
the present site of Rochester." Their
provisions having failed they were act
ually suffering for food. One old sea
man of the crew, who had passed forty
years on the lake, and knew the posi
tion of every one of the few dwellings
near the shore between Oswego and
Niagara, guided the two officers to
some log huts where they obtained a,
loaf of bread, two pies, and a gallon
of milk. Returning to the launch, sail
was made and the party proceeded, but
"hunger and head winds again brought
the adventurers to a stand. A solitary
hut was known to be at no great dis
tance inland from the point where the
boat now was, and again the party
landed," having been driven to leeward
of the river, "The boat entered by a
narrow inlet into a large bay that was
familiarly called Gerundegutt (Ironde-
quoit), and was hauled up for the
night. The whole party bivouacked
supperless." Next morning, however,
they found a house, a mile or two in
land, and bought a sheep for a, half
eagle. Woolsey contrived to make a
sort of soup of part of the mutton.
Having appeased their hunger tliey

again set out for the westward, but
again the weather was foul and squal
ly. In crossing Genesee bay, the boat
nearly filled and they had to bear up
again for the river. "Here the party
passed another night, in a solitary log
cabin, at, or near the point where the
steamers and other craft must now
make their harbor. A little bread was
got in exchange for Some sheep, and
milk was purchased." In the morning,
however, they again headed to the
west and finally got past the Devil's
Nose and into the Niagara river. "It
was the Fourth of July, [1S09], and the
launch entered the river with an Ameri
can ensign set. It proceeded to New
ark, where the two officers took up
their quarters for a week. In an hour
a deputation from Fort Niagara came
across to inquire who had brought the
American ensign, for the first time, in
a man-of-war's boat, into that river.
On being told, a formal invitation was
given to join the officers on the other
side in celebrating the day."
"Woolsey and his party remained
some time in and about Niagara. He
passed up on the upper lake, and paid
a visit on board the Adams, a brig that
belonged to the War department. The
return to Oswego was less difficult, and
was accomplished in two days. These
were the first movements by American
man-of-war's men that ever occurred
on the great lakes — waters that have
since become famous by the deeds of
McDonough, Perry, and Chauncey."
Woolsey remained on the Lake On
tario station until after the close of
the War of 1812, but Cooper not long
after the trip to Niagara returned to
the Atlantic coast. His winter at Os
wego and his trip to Niagara by way of
"Gcrundegult," the Genesee river, and
the Devil's Nose gave him a personal
knowledge of the inland sea and of
the wilderness which then surrounded
it, and to that experience we owe the
vivid pictLires of Lake Ontario drawn
in his story of "The Pathfinder."
At the beginning of our second war
with Great Britain, neither party to
the contest had more than an insig
nificant force on Lake Ontario. The
British had the greater number of ves
sels, but they lacked regular and expe
rienced officers to command. Hence the
American navy under Lieutenant Me-
lancthon T. Woolsey, of our regular
service, was able to hold in check thu
British squadron under the Canadian
Commodore Earle during 1812, until
the arrival of Captain Isaac Chauncey,
U. S. Navy, in October of that year,
when he assumed command of our

forces on the lake and continued in
(Command during the rest of the war.
In May, 1813, Captain Sir James
Lucas Yeo, of the Royal Navy, together
with four captains, eight lieutenants,
twenty-four midshipmen, and about 450
picked seamen, arrived on the scene of
action, sent out by the home govern
ment especially for service on the
lakes, and Sir James continued in com
mand of the British naval forces there
until the close of the war.
Both Chauncey and Yeo held the act
ual rank of captain, but by custom and
courtesy were called commodore from
the fact tha.t they had command of
squadrons. The headquarters of the Americans
was at Sacketts Harbor, and of the
British, at Kingston. Both parties,
from the beginning, made strenuous ef
forts to increase their fleets, especial
ly by building vessels at the ports men
tioned. The Americans, in 1812, pur
chased a number of small vessels and
converted them into gunboats. Ship
wrights and other mechanics were
brought from the seaboard by both
the British and Americans and em
ployed constantly at shipbuilding until
the war closed, by whicSi time both
fleets had some vessels of considerable
size, mounting- guns ranging from 6-
pounders to 68-pounders.
Among the vessels sold to our gov
ernment were several which were en
gaged <n the lake commerce to and
from the Genesee river. ¦ The following
extract from the "Recollections of
George C. Latta" in "Early Rochester
Records," as published in the Roches
ter "Post Express" of May 27, 1911, re
fers to some of these vessels: "As
early as 1809 Roswell Lewis & Co. of
Ogdensburg built a schooner called the
Experiment, Captain Holms, and began
the forwarding business from Genesee
to Ogdensburg. They afterwards built
a vessel called the Captain Dickson
and the schooner called the Genesee
Packet, Captain Ober Meeyer. These
vessels continued to do business be
tween Ogdensburg and Genesee river
until the spring of 1812, when war was
declared between the United States and
Great Britain, and the vessels were
then sold to the government and sent
into service on the lake."
None of- the American or British his
tories of naval operations on Lake
Ontario which I have consulted, make
any reference to events at or near the
Genesee during the year 1812, though
vessels of both nations were cruising
on the lake during the latter part of
that year, and there is good reason to

believe that vessels of our squadron
ascended the river as high as Hanford's
Landing, not only in 1812, but subse
quently, for refuge, for recruits or for
supplies. But I am able to quote from
a broadside printed in 1S43, which con
tains an address given by Mr. Donald
McKenzie before the Mumford, N. Y.
Lyceum in that year. Mr. McKenzie
was one of the Scotch pioneers who-
had settled near the Caledonia "Big
Springs." He said:
In the latter part of the year 1812,
being on a visit' with my wife at her
father's at the mouth of the river, he
accompanied us on horseback to the
residence of my brother-in-law, Abel
Rowe, on the Ridge Road. The next
morning, as we were mounting our
horses to return, a messenger arrived
with an express, stating that a British
fleet was approaching the mouth of the
river, and requesting Captain Rowe to
call out the militia immediately. Re
turning, on our way towards the land
ing, we could hear distinctly the report
of every cannon fired by the enemy.
After leaving my wife with the family
of my worthy friend, Benj. Fowle, at
the landing, we hurried on as fast as
possible to the mouth of the river. But
nothing was to be seen of the fleet nor
of the few families there. We rode
immediately to my father-in-law's old
log house, standing then on the very
spot where now stands the United States
Light House, fastened our horses, and
from there, with my brother-in-law,
William Hencher, jr., went on foot to
the beach of the lake. We soon dis
covered the fleet sailing towards lis,
from the direction of Braddock's Bay,
but not anticipating any danger, we
remained on the spot until it ap
proached quite near us. We were
shortly saluted with a 24-pounder,
which whistled through the bushes
near where we stood, and entered the
bank of the lake in our rear. This shot
was in rather too close proximity to us
to be agreeable. I afterwards dug the
ball out of the bank and used it for a
number of years to grind indigo with
in my woolen factory.
The British squadron then, according
to Mr. McKenzie, retreated "without
landing or doing any injury." It was
probably in command of Commodore
Earle, a Canadian officer, and composed
of the Royal George, and a brig, and
two or three smaller vessels. Mr. Mc-
Kenzie's visit was probably in Octobei
or November, 1812, as navigation
closed by the middle of the latter
month. I have endeavored to find out
what became of the British shot, but
regret to say that all trace of it is lost,
as I learned from Mr. McKenzie's
daughter, Miss Elizabeth McKenzie, and
his nephew, Mr. William S. McKenzie,
of Caledonia.
James Fenimore Cooper, in his His
tory of the Navy of the United States,
says that on June. 16, 1813, Sir James

Yeo went off the Genesee with his
squadron where some provisions were
seized and carried away. The follow
ing official report from Commodore Yeo
to Mr. John Wilson Croker, Secretary
of the Admiralty, includes a reference
to this event. It is given in "A Full
and Correct Account of the Chief Naval
Occurrences of the Late War between
Great Britain and the United States of
America," by William James, published
at London, in 1817:
H. M. S. Wolf, Kingston, Upper Canada,
29th June. 1813.
Sir: I have the nonor to inform you for
the information of the Lords Commis
sioners of the Admiralty, that on the
3d instant, I sailed with His Majesty's
squadron under my command from this
port, to co-operate with our army at
the head of the lake, and annoy the
enemy by intercepting all supplies go
ing to the enemy and thereby oblige
his squadron to come out for its pro
tection. At daylight on the Sth, the enemy's
camp was discovered close to us at
Forty-mile creek. It being calm, the
large vessels could not get in, but the
Beresford, Captain Spilsbury, the Sir
Sidney Smith, Lieutenant Majoribanks,
and the gun-boats under the orders of
Lieutenant Anthony (first of this ship)
succeeded in getting close under the
enemy's batteries, and by a sharp and
well-directed fire, soon obliged him to
make a precipitate retreat, leaving all
his camp equipage, provisions, stores,
etc., behind which fell into our hands.
The Beresford also captured all his
batteaux, laden with stores, etc. Our
troops immediately occupied the post.
I then proceeded along to the west
ward of the enemy's camp, leaving our
army in front. On the 13th we cap
tured two schooners and some boats,
going to the enemy with supplies; by
them I received information that there
was a depot of provisions at Genesee
river. I accordingly proceeded off that
river, landed some seamen and marines
of the squadron, and brought off all
the provisions found in the government
stores; as also a sloop laden with grain
for the army. On the 19th I anchored
off the Great Sodas, landed a part of
the 1st Regiment Royal Scots and took
off 600 barrels of flour and pork, which
had arrived there for their army.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
J. L. Yeo, Commodore.
Nearly all the writers on events con
nected with the local history of Mon
roe county and Western New York re-
*fer to this incident of the Carrying
away of provisions by Sir James Yeo's
fleet. A very clear account of the af
fair is given by a writer in the Roch
ester "Post Express" of May 19, 1894, as
follows: Coming to anchor he sent a party
ashore for plunder. There was no mili
tary organization at the mouth of the
river and no opposition was offered.
The enemy remained over night, keep
ing sentries posted, and retired to their

ships next morning, taking salt, whisky,
and provisions from the storehouse of
Frederick Bushnell. George Latta, who
was Bushnell's clerk at the time, ob
tained a receipt from the British officer
for these goods. It has been said that
the British hurriedly boarded their
ships because they heard that an armed
force was collecting at Hanford's Land
ing and intended to move against them.
Probably the British remained until
they had gathered the supplies they
needed and left at their own conven
ience and in accordance with their orig
inal plan. At this time the British
squadron consisted of the Wolfe, Royal
George, Moira, Melville, Beresford, Sid
ney Smith, and one or two gunboats.
"The Post Express" writer's view of
the affair (that Commodore Yeo left at
his own convenience and to carry out his
original plan), is borne out by the
British . officer's letter quoted above.
And it will be noted that while off the
Genesee, on this occasion, he had on
board the vessels of his fleet at least
a part of the First regiment of Royal
Scots. It is not probable, therefore,
that he was driven off by fear of the
force of hurriedly gathered militia up
the river.
Turner, in his History of the Phelps
and Gorham's Purchase, says, with ref
erence to this affair of June 16, 1813,
that "the only restraint that was put
upon a few captured citizens, was the
preventing their going out to warn the
inhabitants of the neighborhood of their
presence," and that a body of armed
men that had collected at Hanford's
Landing "marched down, arriving at
the Charlotte Landing just as the in
vaders were embarking on board their
boats. Some shots were fired upon
them, but from too great a distance to
be made effective."
The men to whom Turner refers were
probably those under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Caleb Hopkins. The
following letler to Hopkins from Major-
General Amos Hall, of Ontario county,
refers to the event under discussion:
Bloomfield, June 16th, 1813
4 o'clock, P. M.
Lt. Col. Caleb Hopkins.
Sir: I this moment received your let
ter by Major Norton advising me of
the landing of the enemy from their
fleet off the mouth of the Genesee river. •
Your calling out your Regiment was
perfectly correct. You will please to
collect as many men as appearances
will justify until the enemy's vessels
leave the mouth of the river. It can
not be expected they will make much
stay. But you will be able to judge of
their movements by to-morrow morn
ing. I shall expect you will give me
immediate notice if you think more
force will be wanted.

Yours respectfully,

A. Hall.

Hopkins at that time held the double
position of collector of customs and
inspector of customs at the port of
Genesee, both commissions having been
issued by President Madison, but his
civic duties did not prevent his engag
ing in military pursuits, as is shown
by the above letter.
The effect of this invasion was to
spread alarm through the community
and it was feared that the British
Commodore might at some subsequent
day land a large force of troops from
his fleet and march up the river. Some
families of settlers at and below the
falls of the Genesee removed to other
places. In several instances the wom
en and children were sent away while
the men of the family remained. The
settlement and development of the Gen
esee region were much retarded by the
War of 1812.
About August 10-12, 1813, according
to Fenimore Cooper's account of Naval
Operations on Lake Ontario, Commo
dore Chauncey. after a running fight
with the British squadron at the west
ern end of the lake, determined to run
with his vessels for the Genesee, on
account of a gale which had sprung up,
but as the gale increased and two of
his vessels had but a day's provisions
on board, he stood in for Sacketts' Har
bor, where he arrived August 13, 1813.
The following is taken from Chauncey's
official report to the Secretary of the
Navy, dated on board the U. S. ship Gen
eral Pike, 13th August, 1813, at Sack
etts' Harbor:
Sir: I arrived here this day. .
The gale increasing very much, and as
I could not go into Niagara with this
ship, I determined to run to Genesee
Bay, as a shelter for the small vessels,
and with the expectation of being able
to obtain provisions for the squadron,
as we were all nearly out, the Madison
and Oneida having not a single day's
on board when we arrived opposite
Genesee Bay. I found there was every
prospect of the gale's continuing, and
if I did, I could run to this place, and
provision the whole squadron with
more certainty, and in nearly the same
time that I could at Genesee, admitting
that I could obtain provisions at that
place. After provisioning his ships for five
weeks, Chauncey, according to Cooper,
"sailed on another cruise the very day
of his arrival. On the 16th, the squad
ron was off the Niagara, and the same
day the enemy was made, being eight
sail in all. Some maneuvering to ob
tain the wind followed, btit it coming
on to blow, the vessels ran into the
mouth of the Genesee and anchored.
The wind, however, freshened so much
as to -compel the whole squadron to

weigh and bear up, forcing them down
the lake under easy canvas." The
American squadron on this occasion
consisted of the Pike, Madison, Oneida,
Tompkins, Conquest, Ontario, Pert, and
Lady of the Lake. As the gale con
tinued to increase, Chauncey took his
vessels to Sacketts' Harbor where they
arrived on the 19th of August, 1S13.
Following Cooper's History it ap
pears that "on the 11th of September,
[this was the day after Perry's victory
on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813,] the
enemy was becalmed off the Genesee,
when the American vessels got a breeze
and ran within gunshot, before the
English squadron took the wind. A
running fight, that lasted more than
three hours, was the result; but the
enemy escaped in consequence of his
better sailing, it being out of the pow
er of the American commander to close
with more than two of his vessels, the
Sylph being totally unfitted for that
kind of combat. As the Pike succeeded
in getting several broadsides at the
enemy, he did not escape without being
a good deal cut up, having, according
to his own report, an officer and ten
men killed and wounded. The Pike was
hulled a few times, and other triflin*
injuries were received, though no per
son was hurt. Previously to this af
fair, Commodore Chauncey had been
joined by the Fair American and Asp.
On the 12th, Sir James Yeo ran into
Amherst bay, where the Americans
were unable to follow him, on account
of their ignorance of the shoals. It was
supposed that the English commodore
declined engaging on this occasion, in
consequence of the smoothness of the
water, it being his policy to bring his
enemy to action in blowing weather,
when the American schooners would be
nearly useless."
Nearly all writers on the history of
the UnUed States navy mention this
skirmish off the Genesee. Willis J. Ab
bott in his "Blue Jackets of 1812," says:
"On the 11th of September [1813] the
enemies met near the mouth of the
Genesee river and exchanged broad
sides. A few of the British vessels
were hulled, and. without more ado,
hauled off into the shallow waters of
Ambert [Amherst?] bay where the
Americans could not follow them."
In John R. Spear's four-volume "His
tory of the Navy," he says, referring
to the operations on Lake Ontario in
1813: "On the day after Perry's vic
tory, the two squadrons did have a
brush at long range in a. light breeze.
It was a good day for the Yankee
schooners and Sir James, by his own
confession, sailed away after a. few

shots had been fired. The Americans
lost nothing. The British lost four
killed and seven wounded."
Theodore Roosevelt in his "Naval
War of 1812," gives a very full discus
sion of this event. He says: "On the
11th of September a partial engage
ment, at very Ipng range, in light weath
er, occurred near the mouth of the
Genesee river; the Americans suffered
no loss whatever, while the British had
one midshipman and three seamen
killed and seven wounded, and after
ward ran into Amherst bay."
The latest American writer on the
Naval War of 1812 is Captain Alfred
T, Mahan, who, in his "Sea Power in
its Relations to the War of 1812" says:
"On one occasion, off the Genesee, on
September 11, [1813] a westerly breeze
carried the United States squadron
within three-quarters of a, mile of the
enemy, before the latter felt it. A
cannonade and pursuit of some hours
followed, but without decisive results."
William James, the English author
of "A Full and Correct Account of the
Chief Naval Occurrences of the Late
War between Great Britain and the
U. S. of America," already referred to,
says of this engagement off the Gene
see: "The only shot received by the
British fleet that wanted a plug, struck
the Melville, and that so far under the
water, that Captain Spilsbury had to
run his guns in on one side, and out
on the other, to enable him to stop it."
James also wrote "The Naval His
tory of Great Britain," and in the Lon
don, 1837, edition of that six-volume
work, he says: "On the 11th of Sep
tember [1813], while the British squa
dron lay becalmed off the Genesee river
the American fleet of eleven sail, by
the aid of a partial wind, succeeded in
getting within range of their long 24-
and 32-pounders, and during five hours
cannonaded the British who did not fire
a carionade, and had only six guns
in all the squadron that could reach
the enemy. At sunset a breeze sprang
up from the westward when Sir James
steered for the American fleet; but the
American commodore avoided a close
meeting and thus the affair ended. It
was so far unfortLinate for Sir James
Yeo that he had a midshipman (Wil
liam Ellery) and three seamen killed
and seven wounded."
It will be seen that the English au
thor's statement that Chauncey avoid
ed a close contest is directly contrary
to Sir James Yeo's own account of the
affair which is given herewith in that
officer's official report to Admiral Sir
John Warren who was then in com
mand of the British naval forces on

the American coast. This report is
taken from William James's "Naval Oc
currences," London. 1817:
H M's Ship Wolfe, off the False Duck
'Islands, on Lake Ontario, Sept.
12, 1813.
Sir:
I have the honor to .acquaint you
that H. M.'s squadron Lifider my com
mand, being becalmed on Genesee
river, on the 11th instant, the enemy's
fleet of eleven sail, having a partial
wind, succeeded in getting within
range of their, long 24- and 32-pound
ers; and from their having the wind
of us, and the dull sailing of some of
our squadron, I found it impossible to
bring 'them to close action. We re
mained in this mortifying situation five
hours, having only six guns in the
squadron that would reach the enemy;
(not a carronade being fired) ; at sun
set a breeze sprang up from the west
ward, when I steered for the False
Duck Islands, under which the enemy
could not keep the weather-gauge, but
be obliged to meet us on equal terms.
This, however, he carefully avoided.
Although I have to regret the loss of
Mr. William Ellery, midshipman, and
three seamen killed, and seven
wounded, I cannot but conceive it for
tunate that none of the squadron have
received material damage, which must
have been considerable, had the enemy
acted with the least spirit, and taken
advantage of the superiority of position
they possessed.
Inclosed is a list of killed and
wounded. Killed, 3; wounded, 7. J. D. Yeo.
In order to complete the account of
this skirmish off the Genesee, Com
modore Chauncey's official report to the
Secretary of the Navy is also given. It
is taken from H. A. Fay's "Collection of
the Official Accounts, in Detail, of all
the Battles fought by Sea and Land,
between the Navy and Army of the
United States, and the Navy and Army
of Great Britain, During the years
1812, 13, 14, & 15," published at New-
York, 1817:
On board the U. S. S. Gen. Pike off Duck
Island, Sept. 13, 1813.
Sir —
On the 7th, at daylight, the enemy's
fleet was discovered close in with the
Niagara river, wind from the south
ward. Made the signal, weighed with
the fleet, (prepared for action) and
stood out of the river, after him. He
immediately made all sail lo the north
ward; we made sail in chase, with our
heavy schooners in tow — and have con
tinued the chase, all round the hike,
night and day, until yesterday morn
ing, when he succeeded in getting into
Amherst Bay, which is so little known
to our pilots and said to be so full of
shoals, that they are not willing to take
me in there. I shall, however, (unless
driven from my station by a gale of
wind), endeavor to watch him so close,
as to prevent his getting out upon the
lake. During our long chase, we fre
quently got within from one to two
miles of the enemy; but our heavy-sail

ing schooners prevented our closing in
with him, until the 11th off Genesee
river; we carried a breeze with us,
while he lay becalmed, to within about
three-fourths of a mile of "him, when
he took the breeze, and we had a run
ning fight of three and a half hours; but
by his superior sailing, he escaped me,
and run into Amherst Bay, yesterday
morning. In the course of our chase,
on the llth, I got several broadsides.
from this ship, upon the enemy, which
must have done him considerable in
jury, as many of the shot were seen to
strike him, and people were observed,
over the side, plLigging shot-holes; a
few shot struck our hull, and a little
rigging was cut, but nothing of im
portance — not a man was hurt.
I was much disappointed, that Sir
James refused to fight me, as he was
so much superior in point of force, both
in guns and men — having upwards of
20 guns more than we have, and throws
a greater weight of shot.
This ship, the Madison, and Sylph.
have each a schr. constantly in tow;
yet the others cannot sail as fast as the
enemy's squadron, which gives him de
cidedly the advantage, and puts it in
his power to engage me when arid how
he chooses.
I have the honor, &c. Isaac Chauncey.
Hon. W. Jones, Sec'y Navy.
Roosevelt condemns both Sir James
Yeo and Commodore Chauncey for not
making the most of the opportunity to
fight on this occasion, and calls atten
tion to the fact that each' claimed that
the other tried to avoid a battle. He
says, "both sides admit that Yeo got
the worst of it and ran away, and it
is only a question as to whether Chaun
cey followed him or not."
Cooper, whose opinions on our naval
operations are always worth consider
ing, thought that Chauncey behaved
well and praises his conduct "while in
command of the naval force on Lake
Ontario; he also praises Yeo's ability
and energy, but is of the opinion that
Yeo had orders from higher authority
to avoid a general contest for the
supremacy of the lake, unless abso
lutely sure of a victory, and that this
accounts for his not being willing to
bring on a. real battle.
In this affair off the Genesee, the
American had ten vessels as follows:
CHAUNCEY'S SQUADRON.
Ships.
Pike. Tonnage, S75;crew, 300; broad
side metal, 360 lbs.; armament, 28
long 24-pounders.
Madison. Tonnage, 593; crew, 200;
broadside metal, 364 lbs.; armament, 24
short 32s. Brig.
Oneida. Tonnage, 243; crew, 100;
broadside metal, 172 lbs.; armament, 16
short 24s. Schooners.
Sylph. Tonnage, 300; crew, 70;
broadside metal, 146 lbs. ; -armament, 4
long 32-pounders, and 6 long 6s.

Conquest. Tonnage, 82; crew, 40;
broadside metal, 56 lbs.; armament, 1
long 32-pounder, 1 long 12-pounder and
4 long 6s.
Tompkins. Tonnage, 96; crew, 40;
broadside metal, 62 lbs.; armament, 1
long 32-pounder, 1 long 12-pounder,
and 6 long 6s.
Ontario. Tonnage, 53; crew, 35;
broadside metal, 44 lbs.; armament, 1
long 32-pounder and 1 long 12-pounder.
Fair American. Tonnage, 53; crew,
30; broadside metal, 36 lbs.; armament,
1 long 24-pounder and 1 long 12-
pounder. Pert. Tonnage, 50; crew, 25; broad
side metal, 24 lbs.; armament, 1 long
24-pounder. Asp. Tonnage, 57; crew, 25; broad
side metal, 24 pounds; armament, 1
long 24-pounder.
Commodore Yeo's squadron was com
posed of six vessels as follows:
YEO'S SQUADRON.
Ships.
Wolfe. Tonnage, 637; crew, 220;
broadside metal, 392 lbs.; armament, 1
long 24-pounder, S long 18s, 4 short
68s and 10 short 32s.
Royal George. Tonnage, 510; crew,
200; broadside metal, 360 lbs.; arma
ment, 3 long 18s, 2 short 68s, and 16
short 32s. Brigs.
Melville. Tonnage, 279; crew, 100;
broadside metal, 210 lbs.; armament, 2
long 18s and 12 short 32s.
Moira. Tonnage, 262; crew, 100;
broadside metal, 153 lbs.; armament, 2
long 9s and 12 short 24s.
Schooners.
Sydney Smith. Tonnage, 216; crew,
80; broadside metal, 172 lbs.; arma
ment, 2 long 12s and 10 short 32s.
Beresford. Tonnage, 187; crew, 70;
broadside metal, 87 lbs.; armament, 1
long 24-pounder, 1 long 9-pounder, and
6 short 18s.
The above tables are taken from
Roosevelt's "Naval War of 1812" and
were compiled by him after a careful
study of the reports of both British
and American authorities.
To recapitulate: Chauncey had ten
vessels with a total tonnage of 2,402,
865 men in their crews, and 98 guns
throwing a broadside of 1,288 lbs. of
metal. And Yeo had six vessels with a
total tonnage of 2,091, 770 men in their
crews, and 92 guns throwing a, broad
side of 1,374 lbs. of metal.
Chauncey's squadron was the largest
and he had the greater number of men
and guns.- Yeo's squadron was much
more homogeneous and he had a slight
advantage in the total weight of his
broadside. If the British commodore
had really wanted to fight it would
seem that this was an opportunity not
to be missed.
Of the American vessels engaged in
this affair, the Flagship Pike was com
manded by Captain Arthur Sinclair; the
Madison, by Master Commandant Wil

liam M. Crane; the Oneida, by Lieu
tenant Thomas Brown; the Sylph, by
Master Commandant Melancthon T,
Woolsey; the Conquest by Lieutenant
John Pettigrew; the Tompkins, by
Lieutenant William Bolton Finch; the
Pert, by Lieutenant Samuel W. Brown,
and the Asp, by Lieutenant Smith. It is
uncertain as to who commanded the
Ontario and Fair American. Nor can
the names of the commanding officers
of the British ships be given at pres
ent with certainty, except that the
Royal George was in command of Cap
tain William Howe Mulcaster.
While the writers on naval affairs
give considerable space to this 11th
September, 1813, skirmish, few of the
historians of Monroe county and West
ern New York give it space. But it
will be of interest to quote from
Turner's "Phelps and Gorham's Pur
chase" in order to get the point of view
of onlookers from the shore. Turner's
account is as follows:
Toward the last of September, of the
same year, [1813] both the British and
American fleets were at the upper end
of the lake, Commodore Chauncey mak
ing frequent demonstrations to Sir
James Yeo, of his readiness to contend
for the supremacy of the lake, but the
latter declining, and gradually making
his way down the lake. Arriving oil
the mouth of the Genesee river the fleet
was becalmed and lay almost motion
less upon the water. The inhabitants
at Charlotte supposed the fleet had an
chored preparatory to another landing,
expresses were sent into the country;
men armed and unarmed flocked from
the- back-woods settlements, and in a
few hours- a considerable number of
men collected ready to fight or to run,
as chances of invasion should make it
expedient. While anxiously watching
the British fleet, expecting every mo
ment to see their boats coming toward
the shore, a light breeze sprang up, and,
soon after, the fleet of Commodore
Chauncey was seen rounding Bluff
Point. It was a welcome advent, was
hailed with joyous shouts from the
shore; at a moment when a weak force
had supposed themselves about to en
gage with a vastly superior one, suc
cor had come — a champion had stepped,
or rather sailed in, quite equal to the
task of defence, in fact seeking the
opportunity that seemed to have oc
curred. Commodore Chauncey brought
his fleet within a mile from the shore,
and when it was directly opposite the
becalmed fleet of the enemy, he opened
a tremendous Are upon it. At first a
sheet of flame arose from the American
fleet, and then a dense cloud of smoke
that rolled off before a light breeze,
blowing off shore, as completely shut
out the British fleet from view as if the
curtains of night had been suddenly
drawn; while the American fleet re
mained in full view. The fire was re
turned, but as the breeze increased
both moved down the lake, continuing
to exchange shots until after dark.
Tha fire upon the British fleet was
pretty, effective, until by its superior

10

sailing abilities it had got out of the
reach of Commodore Chauncey's guns.
The British fleet was a good deal dis
abled; and an officer and ten men were
either killed or wounded. A vessel of
the American fleet got a few shots
through its hull, but no one was either
killed or wounded on board of it.
We find no further references to
events at the mouth of the Genesee dur
ing 1813, except the following from
Cooper and Roosevelt:
Cooper says that on the 13th of No
vember, 1813, "Commodore Chauncey,
who had now almost an undisturbed
possession of the lake, went to the
Genesee, where, on the 16th of the
month, he took on board 1,100 men, be
longing to the army of General Harri
son. A severe gale came on, by which
the vessels were separated, some being
driven as far west as the head of the
lake. The transports, into which most
of the small schooners were now con
verted, having been finally despatched,
the commodore went off Kingston again
to occupy the enemy and to cover the
passage of the troops. All the trans
ports had arrived on the 21st but the
Julia, which did not get in until a few
days later. The Fair American had
gone ashore near the Niagara during
the gale, but was got off, and reached
the harbor [Sacketts harbor] on the
27th. By this time the navigation of
the lake was virtually closed, and it be
ing, too late to attempt any naval
operations, while the duty of transport
ing the troops and stores had been suc
cessfully performed, preparations were
made to lay the vessels up for the win
ter. Thus terminated the naval opera
tions on Lake Ontario during the sea
son of 1813."
Roosevelt's account of this duty of
Chauncey's squadron is that after Octo
ber, 1813, "Yeo remained in Kingston,
blackaded by Chauncey for most of the
time; on November 10th he came out
and was at once chased back into port
by Chauncey, leaving the latter for the
rest of the season entirely undisturbed.
Accordingly, Chauncey was able to con
vert his small schooners into trans
ports. On the 17th these transports
were used to convey 1,100 men of the
army of General Harrison from the
mouth of the Genesee to Sacketts Har
bor, while Chauncey blockaded Yeo in
Kingston. The duty of transporting
troops and stores went on till the 27th,
when everything had been accom
plished; and a day or two afterward
navigation closed."
The following extract from a letter
from Hamlet Scrantom to his father
Abraham Scrantom gives a good idea

of the state of excitement which exist
ed among the pioneers of Western New
York in general and of Rochester in
particular, at the close of the year
1813: Rochester, Sunday Evening,
26th December, 1813.
Dear sir:
You will doubtless have news of the
serious affair on our frontiers before
you receive this. On Sunday morning,
the 19th, the British troops and In
dians crossed the river at the five mile
meadows; they proceeded to Fort Niag
ara, entered, and commenced the horrid
massacre of the sick and wounded.
. . . Our first accounts stated that all
that came in their way were butchered
without regard to age or sex, but it
is not correct. But the distress of the
inhabitants whose lot it was to fall
into their hands is indescribable. Daily
are passing here in sleighs and wagons,
families deprived of their all. Not a
cent of money, no provision, no bed
ding; children barefoot, etc., all depend
ing on the charity of the people. The
enemy continued their ravages from
Sunday morning until Monday after
noon. . . Early on Tuesday morn
ing an express arrived in our village
relative to the above affair; orders
¦were issued by the captains of com
panies, the men were warned out
forthwith and the next morning whole
companies were on their march. . . .
On Thursday morning an express ar
rived at break of day, that the enemy
were landing from their boats at Oak
Orchard Creek about forty miles from
this and were proceeding this way
desolating the country and it was ex
pected another party would be in at
the mouth of the Genesee river. All
were alarmed. Some thought best to
be on the move; others did not appre-'
hend danger. The militia were all
called upon to repair to the bridge and
the mouth of the river; the whole coun
try in confusion. Captain Stone (who
keeps the tavern on the other side of
the river) sent in all directions to as
semble his company of dragoons (a
very fine company), sent his children
to Bloomfield,. and made preparations
to move his most valuable effects at
short notice. The merchants went to
packing goods (of which there are four
very fLill stores here), some running
balls, others making cartridges. 1
yoked my oxen, packed up all our bed
ding and clothing and moved my
family up to my log house on a back
road about a mile from the bridge on
the east side of the river, together with
all my provisions and cooking utensils
that were of immediate use. Before
night our village was crowded with
militia coming in all night and next;
but the whole of this proved to be
a false alarm; the enemy have never
been but ten miles this side of Lewis-
ton. The next week I moved back
again to the village, and now rest se
cure, I think, for this winter. Israel
and his family and one other family
remained in the village all night, the
rest crossed the river.
Fear of further appearances of the
British fleet induced the mititary au
thorities of the state to organize a
force to prepare for a possible invasion.

11

This force was composed entirely of
militia, and, in the spring of 1814, there
was a company of about fifty men
which had been recruited by Captain
Isaac W. Stone, stationed either at
Charlotte or at Rochester. Brigadier-
General Peter B. Porter had command
of all the militia in Western New York,
and in April, 1814, he had sent to Cap
tain Stone from Canandaigua two can
non, an eighteen-pounder and a four-
pounder, the latter of brass, for the de
fence of the Genesee river. Elisha Ely,
in his reminiscences of early days in
Rochester, printed in 1848, in a
pamphlet entitled "Proceedings at the
Annual Festivals of the Pioneers of
Rochester, Held at Blossom Hall, Sep
tember 30, 1847, and October 12, 1848,"
gives an amusing account of the ar
rival of these guns at Rochester. He
says: I think it was in April, 1814 an
eighteen-pound cannon and a f'our-
pounder, the latter of brass, were sent
by General P. B. Porter to the care of
Captain (afterwards Colonel) Isaac W
Stone. It required seventeen yoke of
oxen to draw the eighteen-pounder
through from Culvers to this place,
such was the state of the roads. With
the cannon came powder and ball. We
soon collected some powder in the vil
lage and had a few rounds, very much
to the amusement of all of us. It
was suggested that we should see what
effect a ball would have. The cannon
was placed on Main street at the cor
ners near Blossom's hotel. On the rise
of ground very near the residence of
the lamented General Matthews, a large
limb about- forty feet from the ground
was cut from a tree, -which left a white
spot for a target. I went rather clan
destinely to Captain Stones' barn, got a
ball and intended getting it into the
cannon without his noticing it. He ob
served it, however, and said I ought
not to waste the public property in that
way. I replied, "Never mind, Captain,
we will find it again." "Find the
devil," said he. Enos Stone and Fred
erick Hanford acted as chief engineers,
and myself as assistant. All things
being ready, the cannon was fired. The
ball struck the tree about four feet be
low the mark. The top quivered a
moment and fell. This was our experi
ence in gunnery. The boys soon
brought us the ball, so that the United
States lost nothing by the operation.
The expected British fleet actually
appeared off the Genesee on the even
ing of May 14, 1814, in command of
Commodore Yeo, and came to anchor.
Commodore Chauncey's squadron, at
this time, had not left Sacketts Harbor,-
and, indeed, did not get away from that
place until July 31st, owing to delays
in getting guns and stores for his new
vessels, built during the preceding win
ter. Hence Yeo had practically the
entire command of the lake until after
midsummer.

From William James's "Naval His
tory of Great Britain," Vol. VI., from
Roosevelt's "Naval War of 1812," and
from an article in the Rochester "Post
Express" of May 19, 1894, the following
table, giving the details as to Yeo's
squadron in May, 1814, is compiled. In
addition to the vessels given in the
table, there were a number of smaller
ones, gunboats, barges, etc.:
YEO'S SQUADRON.
Ships.
Prince Regent, flag ship, a new ves
sel, Captain Richard James Lawrence
O'Connor; tonnage, 1,450; crew, 485;
broadside metal, 872 pounds; armament,
32 long 24-pounders; 4 short 68s; 22
short 32s; total, 58 guns.
Princess Cnariorte, a new vessel.
Captain William Howe Mulcaster; ton
nage, 1,215; crew, 315; broadside metal,
604 pounds; armament, 26 long 24s, 2
short 68s, 14 short 32s; total, 42 guns.
Montreal, former name Wolfe, Cap
tain Stephen Popham; tonnage, 637;
crew, 220; broadside metal, 258 pounds;
armament, 7 long 24s, 18 long ISs; total,
25 guns.
Niagara, former name Royal George,
Captain Francis Brockell Snilsbury;
tonnage, 510; crew, 200; broadside
metal, 332 pounds; armament, 2 long
12s, 20 short 32s; total, 22 guns.
Brigs.
Charwell, former name Moira, Cap
tain Alexander Dobbs; tonnage, 279;
crew, 110; broadside metal, 236 pounds;
armament, 2 long 12s, 14 short 32s;
total, 16 guns.
Star, former name Melville, Captain
Charles Anthony; tonnage, 262; crew,
110; broadside metal, 236 pounds; arma
ment, 2 long 12s, 14 short 32s; total, 16
guns. Netly, former name Beresford, Lieu
tenant Owens; tonnage, 216; crew, 100;
broadside metal, 180 pounds; armament,
2 long 12s, 14 short 24s; total, 16 guns.
Magnet, former name Sidney Smith,
Captain Henry Collier; tonnage, 187;
crew, 80; broadside metal, 156 pounds;
armament, 2 long 12s, 12 short 24s;
total, 14 guns. Summary.
Eight vessels; tonnage, 4,756; crews,
1,620; broadside metal, 2,874 pounds;
guns, 209.
This was a powerful force compared
with the 600 to 800 militia who could
at most be brought to oppose their
landing had Commodore Yeo decided to
take possession of the mouth of the
Genesee river. But it is more than
probable that, had ' Yeo attempted to
send a force into the country and away
from the range of his naval guns, the
militia would have been able to prevent
much progress towards Rochester.
None of the naval writers concern
ing events on Lake Ontario in 1814
mentions this appearance of Yeo's
squadron off the Genesee; but all the
writers on the history of- Rochester, of

12

Monroe county, or of Western New
York give it considerable space, for
while it was of little moment in con
sidering the campaigns of the year, or
in its effect on the general result, it
was a very important event in our
local history and created great excite
ment all through the Genesee Country,
and from Canandaigua to Le Roy and
Batavia. One of the earliest accounts
of the affair is found in the first Roch
ester Directory, published at Roches
ter in 1827, and is as follows:
"On the 14th of May [1814] Sir James
L. Yeo, admiral of the British fleet on
Lake Ontario, anchored off the harbor
at the mouth of the river with five
large and eight small vessels of war;
when all the male inhabitants of the
village, capable of bearing arms, (be
ing 33) turned out with the Militia of
the neighboring towns, to prevent his
landing, leaving only two men to take
the women and children into the woods,
in case he should land and send a de
tachment of troops, as had been threat
ened, to burn the bridge across the
river." Henry O'Reilly, in his "Sketches of
Rochester," published at Rochester in
1S38, devotes over two pages to this
visit of the British squadron, and while
his account contains some decided er
rors, it is given herewith in full:
A serious alarm, attended by some
amusing consequences, occurred in
May, 1814, when Sir James Yeo, with a
fleet of thirteen vessels of various
sizes appeared off the mouth of the
Genesee, threatening the destruction of
the rude improvements in and around
Rochester. Messengers were despatch
ed to arouse the people in the sur
rounding country for defence against
the threatened attack. There were
then but thirty-three people in Roch
ester capable of bearing arms. This
little band threw up a breastwork
called Fort Bender, near the Deep Hol
low, beside the Lower Falls, and hur
ried down to the junction of the Gen
esee and Lake Ontario, five miles north
of the present city limits, where the
enemy threatened to land, leaving be
hind them two old men, with some
young lads, to remove the women and
children into the woods, in case the
British should attempt to land for the
capture of the provisions and destruc
tion of the bridge at Rochester, etc.
Francis Brown and Elisha Ely acted as
captains and Isaac W. Stone as major,
of the Rochester forces, which were
strengthened by the additions that
could be made from this thinly settled
region. Though the equipments and
discipline of these troops would not
form a brilliant picture for a warlike
eye, their very awkwardness in those
points, coupled as it was with their
sagacity and courage, accomplished
more perhaps than could havp been ef
fected by a larger force of regular
troops bedizened with the trappings of
military pomp. The militia thus hastily

collected were marched and counter
marched, disappearing in the woods at
one point and suddenly emerging else
where, so as to impress the enemy with
the belief that the force collected for
defence, was far greater than it actual
ly was. .(The circumstances here related
are substantially as mentioned to the
writer by one who was then and is now
a resident of Rochester). An officer with
a flag of truce was sent from the Brit
ish fleet. A militia officer marched
down, with ten of the most soldier-like
men, to receive him on Lighthouse
Point. These militiamen carried their
guns as nearly upright as might be
consistent with tneir plan of being
ready for action by keeping hold
of the triggers! The British officer
was astonished: he looked "unutterable
things." "Sir," said he, "do you re
ceive a flag of truce under arms, with
cocked triggers?" "Excuse me, excuse
me, Sir: we backwoodsmen are not
well versed in military tactics," re
plied the American officer, who prompt
ly sought to rectify his error by or
dering his men to "ground arms!" The
Briton was still more astonished, and,
after delivering a brief message, im
mediately departed for the fleet, inai-
cating that the ignorance of tactics he
had witnessed was all feigned for the
occasion, so as to deceive the British
commodore into a snare!
Shortly afterward, on the same day,
another officer came ashore with a flag
of truce for a further parley, as the
British were evidently too suspicious of
stratagem to attempt a hostile landing
if there was any possiblity of com
promising for the spoils. Captain Fran
cis Brown was deputed with a guard
to receive the last flag of truce. The
British officer looked suspiciously upon
him and upon his guard; and, after
some conversation, familiarly grasped
the pantaloons of Captain B. about the
knee, remarking, as he firmly handled
it, "Your cloth is too good to be spoiled
by such a bungling tailor;" alluding to
the width and clumsy aspect of the gar
ment. Brown was quick as well as
resolute, and replied jocosely that "he
was prevented from dressing fashion
ably by his haste that morning to sa
lute such distinguished visitors!" The
British obviously imagined that Brown
was a regular officer of the American
army, whose regimentals were masked
by clumsy overclothes. The proposi
tion was then made, that, if the Ameri
cans would deliver up the provisions
and military stores which might be in
and around Rochester or Charlotte, Sir
James Yeo would spare thp settle
ments from destruction. "Will you
comply with the offer?" "Blood knee-
deep first!" was the emphatic reply of
Francis Brown.
While this parley was in progress,
an American officer, with his staff, re
turning from the Niagara frontier, -was
accidentally seen passing from one
wooded point to another; and this,
with other circumstances, afforded to
the British "confirmation strong" that
their suspicions were well founded;
that there was a considerable American
army collected; and that the Yankee
officers shammed ignorance for the pur
pose of entrapping ashore the Commo
dore and his forces!
The return of the last flag to the
fleet was followed by a vigorous at
tack in bombs and balls, while the

13

compliment was spiritedly returned, not
without some effect on at least one of
the vessels, by a rusty old six-pounder,
which had been furbished and mount
ed on a log for the important oc
casion. After a few hours spent in this
unavailing manner. Admiral Yeo ran
down to Pulteneyville, about twenty
miles east of the Genesee river, where,
on learning how they had been out
witted and deterred from landing by
such a handful of militia, their morti
fication could scarcely restrain all
hands from a hearty laugh at the "Yan
kee trick."
O'Reilly's informant as to the events
he somewhat flippantly describes could
hardly have been a personal observer
of them, or he would not have given
the historian the "Blood knee-deep
first" story, which is entirely unsub
stantiated; nor would he have called
the eighteen-pounder mounted near the
mouth of the river, "a rusty old six-
pounder." The clearest and best account of this
visit of Commodore Yeo to the Genesee
is that given by Elisha Ely in the
"Proceedings at the Annual Festivals of
the Pioneers of Rochester" pub
lished in 1848, already referred to, and
is here given in full, as he was an ac
tive participant in the "flag of truce"
incident: "It was soon known that the British
fleet was on our own coast, and that
it was at Oswego. Captain, now Col
onel Stone of Porter's Volunteers, was
commissioned to raise a regiment of
dragoons. He had recruited about fifty
men with whom he went to the mouth
of the river. He directed the eighteen-
pounder to be sent there and the four-
pounder to Deep Hollow Bridge. On the
Sabbath we threw up a breastwork on
the south side of the bridge, loosened
all the plank which were pinned down,
and finished our work in the evening.
About sundown on the 14th of May,
1814, I received a message from Col
onel Stone, saying the British fleet
were in sight, and requesting me to
notify the inhabitants; but that we
need not come until the next morning.
About 11 o'clock p. m., another mes
senger came requesting us to come im
mediately. H. Ely and Co. had pre
viously received fifty muskets- and 3,000
fixed ammunition; these were distri
buted among the inhabitants as far as
was necessary. Each man took twen
ty-four rounds of cartridge. At that
time there were but thirty-two men in
the place; one was left to cart off the
women and children if necessary, and
another declined to go. The cart was
the only conveyance in the place. About
2 o'clock in the morning we started. It
rained fast and was very dark; the

roads were exceedingly muddy. We'
arrived at the mouth of the river soon
after daylight in the midst of a fog.
The lake was perfectly calm, and we
could distinctly hear the British boats
rowing about in various directions. An
old boat was lying near which had been
used as a lighter. Colonel Stone pro
posed to Captain Francis Brown and
myself to take some men, and see if
we coLild not capture some of the Bri
tish boats. Six seamen were soon
found to man the oars, and twelve
volunteers with niLiskets were stowed
out of sight in the bottom of the boat.
Captain Brown stood upon one thwart
and myself upon another, and then
with muffled oars we put to sea. At
the point a sentry had been placed who
hailed us. We did not answer and he
fired. The ball passed between Cap
tain Brown and myself and struck the
water beyond us. We rowed on slowly
and noiselessly into the lake. When we
were out a mile or more, a gun was fired
from shore, and soon another and an
other. We lay to conjecturing what it
could mean. The fog was disappearing
very rapidly; we soon could see Colo
nel Stone on his white horse, and be
yond us the topmasts of the fleet which
lay at anchor in a line, up and down the
lake. Directly the fog had entirely dis
appeared, and we lay within the range
of the guns of the whole fleet, seven
teen sail in all. We turned and rowed
slowly towards the shore. Soon a
twelve-oared barge was in pursuit of
us, and gained on us very rapidly. We
feared they might have a swivel on
board and. they were so near us that
we could distinctly count their oars.
After a moment's consLiltation, we con
cluded to head our boat for Ironde-
quoit. The object was to give our 18-
pounder on shore an opportunity to
fire upon the pursuing boat. Brown ob
served to me, 'Well, Ely. we shall have
to go to Halifax.' I replied, 'It looks
very much like it.' Jehiel Barnard,
now of this place, raised his head, and
with compressed lips said, 'I hope you
will let us fight first.' We -had not
gone far towards Irondequoit before
the British boat stopped. Brown ob
served, 'They think there is some trap.'
We stopped rowing; they soon com
menced again, and we too. They pulled
a few strokes and then turned to
wards the shipping, and we to the
mouth of the river. The guns from the
fleet could have sunk us at any time.
"About 10 o'clock a flag of truce put
off from the flagship ofthe enemy. Col
onel Stone asked me whether I was
used to receiving a flag of truce. The

14

¦answer was, 'No!' Captain Brown was
asked; the reply the same. Colonel
Stone then told Brown and myself to
do the best we could, adding, 'Don't
let them come into the river — don't let
them land at all — their feet shall not
pollute our soil.' Up the lake, a little
above the mouth of the river, a very
large tree had fallen into the lake
where there was sufficient water for
the boat to lie alongside. We went
out on the tree and tied a white hand
kerchief to a stick. The boat came
alongside; the officer, who was in full
dress and a splendid looking man, pro
posed going on shore. We told him our
orders were positive; by this time
twelve armed men made their appear
ance on the shore of the lake. The of
ficer bearing the flag said, 'Is it your
custom to receive a flag of truce under
arms?' We told him he must excuse
us, as we were not soldiers but citi
zens; we however requested the men
to return. Pie then said he was com
manded by his Excellency Sir James
Yeo, to say that, 'if we would give up
the public 'property, private property
should be respected.' He then produced
a paper signed by quite a number of
citizens of Oswego, the contents of
which, as near as I can recollect, were
that, as the government had left i
large quantity of stores and munitions
of war at that place, without adequate
force to protect it, they would not risk
their lives and property to defend it.
It was arranged that Brown should
stay with the flag officer and I return
to our commander, Colonel Stone. I
delivered the message and read the
paper above alluded to, which the of
ficer had handed me with a pledge to
return it when read. Colonel Stone
rose and said. 'Go back and tell them
that the public property is in the
hands of those who will defend it.'
"Soon after the flag had returned to
the ship a gunboat was seen coming
from the fleet, towed by four boats.
After a short consultation Judge John
Williams was requested to select
twelve good riflemen and take a posi
tion under a ridge of gravel thrown up
by the waves at tbe point on the east
side of the river. A small boat was
sent up to the turn of the river, out of
sight of the enemy, to ferry the men
across. Soon we saw them crossing
the marsh through the tall grass and
placed in the desired position — all lying
on the ground, from which they were
to rise on a given signal from Colonel
Stone. Brown and myself were to oc
cupy our position in the boat. Our

twelve men were again selected, with
six sailors to row the boat. The ob
ject was to let the gunboat get within
reach of the riflemen, and then that we
should go and capture her. The lieu
tenant having charge of the cannon
had positive orders from Colonel Stone
not to fire until he was directed. By
this time the gunboat was in thirty or
forty rods of where we wanted her.
The boats towing her opened to the
right and left, and she fired a six-
pound shot, which fell into the ' river
several rods below the storehouses.
The moment they fired our cannon was
discharged, and with it went all our
hopes. Colonel Stone was standing
within ten feet of the cannon. He
turned, drew his sword, and I believe
would have done serious injury had
not his arm been arrested. The first
gun from the gunboat was evidently a
trial shot. She would undoubtedly
have come a little nearer the shore
had we not fired, and if so we should
have assuredly captured her. She was
a vessel of from 90 to 100 tons, sloop
rigged. I hardly know whether the
incident is worth relating, but at the
moment it was extremely exciting, for
we considered the gunboat already our
prize. She then fired fifteen or twenty
sixty-eight pound shots, which did no
injury except one, which struck one of
the storehouses. Where they struck
the ground they turned up a deep fur
row, sometimes several rods in length.
Some of the balls were used in this city
n long time afterwards in breaking
stone for buildings.
"Soon after this occurrence General
Porter arrived. About 4 o'clock p. m.
another flag was seen coming from the
fleet. General Porter sent Major
Darby Noon, his aide, to receive it. The
demand then was that if the property
was not surrendered he would land his
army and 400 Indians and take it.
General Porter answered that if he
chose to send his troops and Indians
ashore, we would take care of them,
and that if they sent another flag he
would Are upon it. General Porter ap
peared to be very indignant at the
threat contained in the message from
the enemy.
"Perhaps I ought to mention that
Colonel Hopkins called out his regi
ment. Some companies came from
the west side of the river, and many
in small parties, so that the second
day at night we had 600 or 800 men.
There was plenty of pork, flour, and
whisky, but nothing else, and we were
without utensils for cooking. I well

15

recollect Esq. Scrantom as belonging
to the same mess with me. We used
to mix flour and cold water in little
cakes and bake them on a common
shovel. We toasted our pork on
sticks over a fire and drank water for
coffee. The thought never occurred
to any of us belonging to Rochester
that we eould send home and get food.
"It will be recollected that at this
time the temperance reformation had
not begun in Western New York. It
was considered quite unhealthy to
drink Genesee water without whisky;
and the salt pork without vegetables
made the men exceedingly thirsty.
The result may readily be conceived.
I saw a captain the third morning
throw aside his sword and military
coat and fight with one of his own
men. It was a well-contested battle.
The captain at length conquered his
man, which was of course his un
doubted right under military disci
pline. The third morning the fleet
hoisted sail and stood down the lake,
and we went to our homes."
From the pamphlet to which we are
indebted for Mr. Elisha Ely's excellent
narrative quoted above, the following
paragraph is taken from that part of
the proceedings relative to the Festival
of 1847:
"Mr. Hervey Ely, who came here in
1813, gave a full account of the attack
of the British upon the American
works at the mouth of the river. He
was one of the party who marched to
the defence of the place. As our read
ers are familiar with this action, we
must for want of space omit the par
ticulars. Judge Sampson called upon
all who were present at that engage
ment to rise. Messrs. Ely, Kempshall,
Scrantom, Smith, Graves, and Green
rose." In 1851, three years after the publi
cation of the pamphlet containing
Elisha Ely's account of the British
"flag of truce" incident, Orsamus Tur
ner published in Rochester his well-
known "History of the Pioneer Settle
ment of Phelps & Gorham's Purchase."
In this work he devotes over two
pages to the incident under dis
cussion, and his account is evidently
based almost entirely upon Ely's nar
rative. The only additional informa
tion given by Turner is quoted from
page 518 of his work:
In addition to the force of Captain
Stone, there was stationed at Charlotte
a volunteer company, under command
of Captain Frederick Rowe; the men
principally citizens of what are now the
towns of Gates and Greece; and Col
onel Atkinson's regiment, from what

are now the northwestern towns of
Monroe county, were either there pre
viously or as soon as the exigency re
quired. The only fortification at
Charlotte was a breastwork upon the
bluff, near the old hotel, so located as
to command the road leading up the
bank from the wharf. It was com
posed of two tiers of ship timber with
a space between the tiers filled in with
barn manure.
Neither William F. Peck in his
"Semi-Centennial History of the City
of Rochester" (Syracuse, 1884), or in
his contribution to the "Landmarks of
Monroe County" (Boston, 1895), nor
Jenny Marsh Parker in her "Rochester:
A Story Historical" (Rochester, 1884),
adds anything authentic to Ely's or
Turner's narrative. But the latter
writers base their accounts either
directly or indirectly, it would appear,
upon O'Reilly and Turner, qtioting
from both.
An article in the Rochester "Post Ex
press" of December 18, 1897, signed
W. H. S. and dealing with the various
appearances of Commodore Yeo off the
Genesee, gives an interesting and
pertinent letter from Brigadier-Gen
eral Porter to Governor Tompkins,
concerning the last appearance of the
British fleet. Porter's letter is as fol
lows: Canandaigua, May 17, 1814.
Sir: I returned yesterday with Major
Noon from the mouth of the Genesee
river, where we were called on Friday
last by information of the approach of
the British fleet.
We saved the town and our credit
by fairly outbullying John Bull. The
discovery that we had troops, without
knowing their number, concealed in a
ravine near the mouth of the river to
cut off their retreat in case they en
tered it, together with the tone of the
defiance with which we answered their
demands (the last answer having been
conveyed by our friend Major Noon),
made them think it prudent to be off.
We had, however, some excellent offi
cers and good men well prepared, and
in case the enemy had landed I had no
doubt of a result creditable to the
state. When the enemy left Genesee they
stood to the eastward, and a can
nonading has been heard in the direc
tion of Pultneyvllle, whither I believe
General Swift has proceeded with some
volunteers and militia.
P. B. Porter, Brig.-Gen.
General Porter's letter and Mr. Ely's
reminiscences appear to be the only
first-hand reports by eye-witnesses of
the locally famous events of May 14-
16, 1814.
There has been much discussion as
to why Sir James Yeo did not land a
force and take such supplies as he
wanted from those on hand at the
mouth of the river. The probabilities
are that he did not consider the "same

16

worth the candle," as he had much
more important work to do, either in
blockading Commodore Chauncey's
squadron at Sacketts Harbor, or pre
paring to meet him on the lake. At all
events there is no further record of
Yeo's appearance off the Genesee.
A large portion of the American fleet,
however, did appear there once more,
when on September 22, 1814, it arrived
with 3,000 men under Major-General
Izard. This force left Sacketts Har
bor on the 21st, and after being taken
to the Genesee river by Chauncey's
squadron, proceeded to Batavia. The
incident is reported to the secretary
of war by General Izard in a letter
dated "Northern Army Headquarters,
Batavia, September 28, 1814." It is
taken from an article in the Rochester
"Post Express" of December IS, 1S97,
and signed W. 11. S., and is as follows:
On the 21st instant the fleet under
Commodore Chauncey sailed the fore
noon from Sacketts Harbor, and the
wind favoring us, we, were off the
mouth of the Genesee river the next
morning early. The troops were all
disembarked before night and en
camped near the lake. Every exertion
was used to collect a sufficient number

of wagons and horses for the transfl
portation of our camp equipage anu
provisions, but our appearance of "is
unexpected, and that part of the coun
try thinly peopled, it was not un"'
the 24th that we could resume oui
march. Part of the tents and stores
were unavoidably left, to follow as lasi
as means could be procured for tna-L
purpose. .
Through excessively bad roads ana
amidst continual and heavy rams we
proceeded, the officers of every g™ae,
with very few exceptions, being dis
mounted. On the 26th, some hours be
fore night, the whole of our corps ar
rived in good spirits at this village, ana
with a less proportion of men disaoiea
for immediate duty than could undei
such circumstances have been -expected.
General Izard's force marched up the
west side of the river as far as the
Ridge road, and then west along that
road until it struck off to the left for
Batavia. Meanwhile the American
fleet returned down the lake to Sack
ett's Harbor or to blockade the British
fleet in Kingston.
So far as available sources of infor
mation show this was the last appear
ance of a naval force at the mouth of
the Genesee river during the War of
1812.