[CRUIKSHANK] COMMAND OF LAKE ONTARIO, 1812-1813 191 
To mislead his opponent he circulated a report that the Pike 
could not be made ready for service before August 1, and to confirm 
this, gave orders for her cables and anchors to be detained at Oswego 
Falls. x 
Late in the afternoon of July 1, Chauncey received the amazing 
information from a deserter from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 
who had just come in, that Sir James Yeo had crossed the lake the 
night before with between eight hundred and a thousand picked men 
in open boats and then lay concealed in the thick woods on Chaumont 
Bay about seven miles distant with the intention of making a surprise 
attack upon his ships that night. This man stated that Sir James 
had landed there about daybreak that morning, hauled up his boats 
and covered them with green boughs. He intended to head the attack 
on the Madison himself while the other vessels were to be boarded at 
the same time. “The plan was well arranged,’’ Chauncey remarked, 
“and if it had been attempted there would have been a dreadful 
slaughter on both sides.’’ He kept his whole force under arms in 
- apprehension of attack but daylight returned without unusual in- 
cident. The squadron then got under way and ran outside in the hope 
of intercepting the British force while returning toward Kingston 
but could discover no sign of it. Going on board the Lady of the Lake 
Chauncey examined every part of Chaumont Bay without. result. 
At sunset he returned into the harbour and anchored, taking the same 
precautions for the defence of his ships as the night before. Two 
more deserters came in during the night with information that Yeo 
had abandoned his design and re-embarked shortly after dark on the 
previous evening, informing his men that he had received positive 
information from the town that their presence was known and prepara- 
tions were being made to cut off their retreat and this was confirmed by 
the appearance of two guard vessels cruising outside the harbour. 
He assured them that the enterprise would only be postponed for a 
few days as it was his full intention to return some dark and stormy 
night when he anticipated complete success. 
Yeo’s high reputation in fact rested largely on his success in 
conducting daring cutting-out expeditions and boarding parties. 
On this occasion his force consisted of no more than 450 seamen 
and marines of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and 250 of the 
Royal Scots and 100th. As the force then assembled at Sackett’s 
Harbour on the most reliable authority was estimated to amount to 
not less than four thousand soldiers and seamen, success could only 
be expcted as the result of complete surprise. The desertion of two 
men of the Royal Newfoundland, which was discovered late in the after- 
noon, made this clearly impossible and his situation became one of 
