56 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Another detachment of boats landed a small body of troops at 

 Swanton near the mouth of the Mississquoi River, which had been 

 lately occupied by a battalion of volunteers. That village had been 

 evacuated several days before and the barracks and storehouses 

 with a number of boats were destroyed. In all eight sloops and schoon- 

 ers, being nearly the whole of the merchant craft upon the lake, except 

 what had been collected for safety in Burlington harbour, were cap- 

 tured. Four of these, being considered fit for conversion into gun- 

 boats, were brought off and the others destroyed. On the way back 

 to Isle aux Noix, Captain Eliot was landed with a detachment of the 

 100th at Chazy, and marched three miles inland to Champlain village 

 where the barracks and commissary's store, containing a quantity 

 of forage, were burned. 1 



Murray had thus succeeded in accomplishing in a very credit- 

 able manner all that could be reasonably expected without any loss 

 except some twenty desertions. Sixteen soldiers of the 103rd, all of 

 them convicts, who had been permitted to escape imprisonment 

 by enlisting in the army, went off in a body. This corps was known 

 to contain a large proportion of hardened criminals who were believed 

 to be "capable of any villainy." Complaint was made by inhabi- 

 tants of Plattsburg that the contents of three warehouses destroyed 

 in that town, mainly belonged to merchants, and that other houses 

 had been pillaged and private property wantonly destroyed, for which 

 there was probably some ground. 2 



Everard lost no time in returning to his ship. An officer and 

 twenty-one seamen destined for service on Lake Champlain had arrived 

 and Pring went down to Quebec in the vain hope of enlisting a few more. 

 A convoy of transports with de Meuron's Regiment on board had oppor- 

 tunely arrived there since Everard 's departure and the officer in com- 

 mand eventually agreed to lend him sixty seamen, who would be 

 permitted to remain as long as they were needed on the condition that 

 they were sent back to Quebec in time to sail for England on the last 

 troop-ship leaving before the close of navigation. 3 



Advantage was taken of the presumed effect of the expedition 

 down Lake Champlain to arrange a general transfer of troops on the 

 frontier. The detachment of the 100th Regiment which had been 

 stationed at Isle aux Noix was ordered to join the forces in Upper 



1 Everard to Prévost, Aug. 3; Eliot to Murray, Aug. 4; Mooers to Tompkins, 

 Aug. 8; letter from Burlington, dated Aug. 3, 1813, in the New York Gazette of 

 August 12, 1813. 



2 Baynes to Scott, Aug. 17. Scott MSS. 



3 Glasgow to Sheaffe, July 28 and 30; Sheaffe to Brenton, Aug. 1 and 2; Sheaffe 

 to Prévost, Aug. 5. 



