288 Naval War of 1812 



the gantlet through the enemy's squadron by put- 

 ting before the wind, were captured. Yeo's account 

 is simple : "Came within gunshot of Pike and Madi- 

 son, when they immediately bore up, fired their 

 stern chase guns, and made all sail for Niagara, 

 leaving two of their schooners astern, which we 

 captured." 19 The British had acted faultlessly, and 

 the honor and profit gained by the encounter rest- 

 ed entirely with them. On the contrary, neither 

 Chauncy nor his subordinates showed to advantage. 

 Cooper says that the line of battle was "singu- 

 larly well adapted to draw the enemy down," and 

 "admirable for its advantages and ingenuity." In 

 the first place it is an open question whether the 

 enemy needed drawing down; on this occasion he 

 advanced boldly enough. The formation may have 

 been ingenious, but it was the reverse of advanta- 

 geous. It would have been far better to have had the 

 strongest vessels to windward, and the schooners, 

 with their long guns, to leeward, where they would 

 not be exposed to capture by any accident happen- 

 ing to them. Moreover, it does not speak well for 

 the discipline of the fleet, that two commanders 

 should have directly disobeyed orders. And when 

 the two schooners did tack, and it was evident that 

 Sir James would cut them off, it was an extraordi- 

 nary proceeding for Chauncy to "edge away two 

 points ... to lead the enemy from the Growler and 

 Julia." It is certainly a novel principle, that if part 

 of a force is surrounded the true way Jto rescue 



19 Letter of Sir James Lucas Yeo, Aug. 10, 1813. 



