190 Naval War of 1812 



curs in connection with matters on Lake Ontario, 5 

 where I have been obliged to have recourse to a 

 perfect patchwork of authors and even newspapers, 

 for the details, using Niles' "Register" and James as 

 mutual correctives. The armaments and equipments 

 being so irregular I have not, as in other cases, 

 made any allowance for the short weight of the 

 American shot, as here the British may have suf 

 fered under a similar disadvantage; and it may be 

 as well to keep in mind that on these inland waters 

 the seamen of the two navies seem to have been 

 as evenly matched in courage and skill as was pos 

 sible. They were of exactly the same stock, with 

 the sole exception that among and under, but en 

 tirely distinct from, the Canadian-English, fought 

 the descendants of the conquered Canadian-French ; 

 and even these had been trained by Englishmen, 

 were led by English captains, fought on ships built 

 by English gold, and with English weapons and 

 discipline. 



5 The accounts of the two commanders on Lake Ontario 

 are as difficult to reconcile as are those of the contending 

 admirals in the battles which the Dutch waged against the 

 English and French during the years 1672-1675. In every 

 one of De Ruyter's last six battles each side regularly 

 claimed the victory, although there can be but little doubt 

 that on the whole the strategical, and probably the tactical, 

 advantage remained with De Ruyter. Every historian ought 

 to feel a sense of the most lively gratitude toward Nelson ; in 

 his various encounters he never left any possible room for 

 dispute as to which side had come out first best. 



