166 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



On October 6, Chauncey arrived at Sackett's Harbour accom- 

 panied by the zealous governor of the State who never lost an op- 

 portunity of rendering assistance. The Oneida was completely ready 

 for service and five of the purchased schooners were in a condition to 

 receive theh' armament when it arrived. An officer was at once des- 

 patched to Oswego to buy four more lying there, and as the autumn 

 rains had already made the roads nearly impassable, the seamen in 

 charge of the guns and stores coming from New York were directed 

 to alter their route to that port by way of Lake Oneida and its outlet. 

 These schooners were all stoutly built craft ranging in size from seventy 

 to one hundred tons, and although unprovided with bulwarks, were well 

 adapted to carry one or two long heavy guns, mounted on circles, to 

 which, American naval officers of that day were so partial. The con- 

 struction of a large corvette and two large gunboats was well advanced. 



Macdonough arrived at Plattsburg on October 13, but decided 

 to establish his naval base at Whitehall, where it would be less sub- 

 ject to espionage or attack, and stores from the seaboard could be 

 delivered more conveniently. There he began fitting out two small 

 sloops which he armed with seven guns each and named the Eagle and 

 Growler, and two row gallies each carrying a long twelve pounder. 

 The men Chauncey had been required to send him, failed to arrive, 

 but after some delay he was joined by four officers and twenty-two 

 seamen from New York. He was accordingly compelled to com- 

 plete his crews with soldiers and landsmen. The sloop President had 

 already been armed with eight guns and manned by an indifferent 

 crew under instructions from the War Department, and her commander, 

 an officer of the quartermarter general's department, refused to obey 

 Macdonough's orders, in which course he was sustained by General 

 Dearborn. He was consequently deprived of control of the largest 

 and best equipped vessel on the lake, which he complained "was 

 placed in the hands of those who knew not what to do with her." 

 Three other sloops were fitted out as transports.* 



Fairly accurate reports of these preparations soon reached Pré- 

 vost. On October 17, he wrote urgent letters both to the Duke of 

 York and the Secretary of War, in which he referred to the recent 

 attempts of the enemy to interrupt his communications with Upper 

 Canada and the "uncommon exertions" they were making to obtain 

 a superiority of force on Lakes Erie and Ontario, the command of 

 which had been of so great an advantage to him, and his inability to 

 provide the vessels of the Provincial Marine with competent officers 

 and adequate crews. He had indeed detailed the Royal Newfoundland 

 Regiment for service on the lakes and the Quartermaster General had 



*Macdonough to the Secretary of the Navy, Oct. 14 and 16, and Dec. 20. 



