On the Lakes 291 



and that the party to leeward generally made off. 

 The Americans had been reinforced by the Sylph, 

 schooner, of 300 tons and 70 men, carrying four 

 long 32's on pivots, and six long 6's. Theoreti- 

 cally her armament would make her formidable; but 

 practically her guns were so crowded as to be of 

 little use, and the next year she was converted into 

 a brig, mounting 24-pound carronades. 



On the nth of September a partial engagement, 

 at very long range, in light weather, occurred near 

 the month of the Genesee River; the Americans suf- 

 fered no loss whatever, \vhile the British had one 

 midshipman and three seamen killed and seven 

 wounded, and afterward ran into Amherst Bay. 

 One of their brigs, the Melville, received a shot so 

 far under water that to get at and plug it, the guns 

 had to be run in on one side and out on the other. 

 Chauncy describes it as a running fight of 3^/2 hours, 

 the enemy then escaping into Amherst Bay. 23 James 

 (p. 38) says that "at sunset a breeze sprang up 

 from the westward, when Sir James steered for the 

 American fleet; but the American commodore 

 avoided a close action, and thus the affair ended." 

 This is a good sample of James' trustworthiness; 

 his account is supposed to be taken from Commo- 

 dore Yeo's letter, 24 which says : "At sunset a breeze 

 sprang up from the westward, when I steered for 

 the False Duck Islands, under which the enemy 

 could not keep the weather-gage, but be obliged to 



* Letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Sept. 13, 1813. 

 84 Letter to Admiral Warren, Sept. 12, 1813. 



