On the Lakes 195 



possible to lay the Royal George aboard. At 3 P.M. 

 the attack was made. The Hamilton and Tompkins 

 were absent chasing, and did not arrive until the 

 fighting had begun. The other four gunboats, Con 

 quest, Julia, Pert, and Growler, led, in the order 

 named, to open the attack with their heavy guns, 

 and prepare the way for the Oncida, which followed. 

 At the third discharge the Peri's gun burst, putting 

 her nearly hors dc coinbat, badly wounding her 

 gallant commander, Mr. Arundel (who shortly 

 afterward fell overboard and was drowned), and 

 slightly wounding four of her crew. The other 

 gunboats engaged the five batteries of the enemy, 

 while the Oneida pushed on without firing a shot till 

 at 3.40 she opened on the Royal George, and after 

 20 minutes' combat actually succeeded in compelling 

 her opponent, though of double her force, to cut 

 her cables, run in, and tie herself to a wharf, where 

 some of her people deserted her ; here she was under 

 the protection of a large body of troops, and the 

 Americans could not board her in face of the land 

 forces. It soon began to grow dusk, and Chauncy's 

 squadron beat out through the channel against a 

 fresh head-wind. In this spirited attack the Ameri 

 can loss had been confined to half a dozen men, 

 and had fallen almost exclusively on the Oncida. 

 The next day foul weather came on, and the squad 

 ron sailed for Sackett's Harbor. Some merchant 

 vessels were taken, and the Simco, 8, was chased, 

 but unsuccessfully. 



The weather now became cold and tempestuous, 



