188] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



whose captain, Finnis, was killed, 

 having struck, he was compelled 

 to submit to the same fate. He 

 ^ represents the American squadron 

 as greatly superior in strength ; 

 and says that there were not more 

 than 50 British seamen on board 

 his own vessels. He returns the 

 loss in the action at 3 officers and 

 38 men killed ; 9 officers and 85 

 men wounded. 



The consequence of this disaster 

 to the British was the relinquish- 

 ment of the IMichigan territory, 

 excepting Michilimackanak, and 

 the abandonment of the posts in 

 Upper Canada beyond the Grand 

 River. General Proctor, on Sep- 

 tember 24th, commenced his re- 

 treat from Sandwich, having pre- 

 viously dismantled the posts of 

 Amherstsburg and Detroit,and de- 

 stroyed the public buildings and 

 stores of every kind. On October 

 5th, when within a few miles of 

 a strong position which he pur- 

 posed to take at the Moravian vil- 

 lage on the Thames, he was at- 

 tacked by general Harrison with 

 a force so much superior, that re- 

 sistance was vain, and his small 

 armj', consisting of not more than 

 4.50 regular troops, was obliged to 

 disperse. Of these he afterwards 

 collected about 200, with whom 

 he at length reached Burlington 

 Heights, the head-quarters of ma- 

 jor-gen. Vincent. 



In the American account of this 

 action, the prisoners taken are said 

 to amount to 601 regulars, in- 

 cluding ofiicers. Eight pieces of ar- 

 ■tillery were also captured. 



On Lake Ontario, the opposite 

 commanders, sir James Yeo, and 

 commodore Chauncey, each in 

 .their despalches of September re- 



present themselves as eager to bring 

 their antagonist to fair combat, 

 but disappointed by manoeuvring, 

 and unfavourable winds. On the 

 11th, there was a probability of a 

 general engagement, the American 

 fleet having, with the wind in their 

 favour, got near enough to the 

 British to do some mischief with 

 their long guns, the fire of which 

 could not be adequately returned. 

 The fleets, however, parted without 

 coming to close action. On the 

 28th the fleets had a running fight, 

 in which the Pike, the American 

 commodore's ship,lost her maintop- 

 mast, and the Wolfe, sir J. Yeo's 

 ship, her main and mizen top-mast; 

 but a heavy gale separated the 

 combatants. Little loss was incur- 

 red on either side in these afiairs ; 

 but on October 5th the British 

 suffered a serious disaster. Six sail 

 of transports with troops on board, 

 proceeding without convoy from 

 York for Kingston, were intercept- 

 ed and captured by the American 

 fleet. The prisoners taken, of all 

 descriptions, are stated at 264, a 

 number which at this period could , 

 be ill spared. 



Sir George Prevost having re- 

 ceived information that the Ame- 

 ricans were assembling in consi- 

 derable force on the Montreal 

 frontier, thought it expedient to , 

 quit Kingston, and repair to Mon- 

 treal, where he arrived on Septem- 

 ber 25th. He found that the Ame- 

 rican major-general Hampton, af- 

 ter advancing to the frontier line, 

 and overpowering one of the Bri- 

 tish picquets, had suddenly moved 

 to the westward. In the mean- 

 time, the Britijh commander of 

 the district, sir R. SheaSe, had 

 moved the whole of his troops to 



