On the Lakes 301 



32-pound carronades) ; and our ten-gun-schooners 

 would hardly be considered very much of an over- 

 match for the Melville, Moira, and Beresford. Had 

 Sir James Yeo been as bold and energetic as Bar- 

 clay or Mulcaster he would certainly not have per- 

 mitted the Americans, when the forces were so equal, 

 to hold uncontested sway over the lake, and by re- 

 ducing Fort George, to cause disaster to the Brit- 

 ish land forces. It would certainly have been better 

 to risk a battle with equal forces than to wait till 

 each fleet received an additional ship, which ren- 

 dered Chauncy's squadron the superior by just about 

 the superiority of the Pike to the Wolfe. Again, 

 Yeo did not do particularly well in the repulse be- 

 fore Sackett's Harbor; in the skirmish off Genesee 

 River he showed a marked lack of resource ; and in 

 the action of the 28th of September (popularly 

 called the "Burlington Races" from the celerity of 

 his retreat) he evinced an amount of caution that 

 verged toward timidity, in allowing the entire brunt 

 of the fighting to fall on Mulcaster in the Royal 

 George, a weaker ship than the Wolfe. On the other 

 hand, he gave able co-operation to the army while he 

 possessed control of the lake ; he made a most gallant 

 and successful attack on a superior force on the loth 

 of August; and for six weeks subsequently by skil- 

 ful manoeuvring he prevented this same superior 

 force from acquiring the uncontested mastery. 

 It was no disgrace to be subsequently block- 

 aded; but it is very ludicrous in his admirers to 

 think that he came out first best. 



