On the Lakes 281 



General Brown having been summoned to take the 

 chief command. About 400 militia also came in, 

 but were of no earthly service. There were, how- 

 ever, 200 Albany volunteers, under Colonel Mills, 

 who could be relied on. The defences were mis- 

 erably inadequate, consisting of a battery of one long 

 gun, and a block-house. 



On the 29th Sir George Prevost and 800 regulars 

 landed, being covered by the gunboats under Sir 

 James Lucas Yeo. The American militia fled at 

 once, but the regulars and volunteers held their 

 ground in and around trie block-house. "At this 

 point the further energies of the [British] troops 

 became unavailing. The [American] block-house 

 and stockade could not be carried by assault nor re- 

 duced by field-pieces, had we been provided with 

 them ; the fire of the gunboats proved insufficient to 

 attain that end; light and adverse winds continued, 

 and our larger vessels were still far off." 13 The 

 British re-embarked precipitately. The American 

 loss amounted to 23 killed and 114 wounded; that 

 of the British 52 killed and 211 wounded, 14 most 

 of the latter being taken prisoners. During the fight 

 some of the frightened Americans set fire to the 

 storehouses, the Pike and Gloucester; the former 

 were consumed, but the flames were extinguished 

 before they did any damage to either of the vessels. 

 This attack differed especially from those on Fort 

 George and York, in that the attacking force was 



18 Letter of Adj. -Gen. Baynes, May 30, 1813. 

 14 James, "Military Occurrences," p. 173. 



