Land Voyage of Ship's Boat Captured Two Men-of-War: Schooner Days CCXXV (225)

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SIR JAMES LUCAS YEO, commodore of the British fleet on Lake Ontario in 1813, spent his time preserving the reputation he had acquired as a singleship captain on salt water. He fought two running battles with the American fleet, but never a stand-up fight. He was always playing for favorable conditions, always quarreling with his tools, always speaking of the enemy’s reluctance to engage or of the handicap of carronades, which were heavy short-range guns.

Chauncey, the American commodore, was just the same, so the water war on Lake Ontario used up lots of ink and little blood; which was a good thing. Chauncey lost more men by drowning than he did by cannon-shot and Yeo lost more prisoners of war than ships or spars; but Yeo kept communications open for the army, and so may be credited with scoring over his opponent. He was certainly on top at the end of the war when he got the colossal St. Lawrence afloat and Chauncey had to blockade himself in Sacket’s Harbor.

But we are supposed to be getting on with the particular career of His Majesty’s schooner-of-war Prince Regent, built here in Toronto for the War of 1812. A description of her remains, discovered last year—or the remains of a vessel exactly corresponding to her dimensions and description — was given in recent numbers, and last week was outlined the activities of the Prince Regent up to the time she was renamed General Beresford in 1813.

As the General Beresford, the schooner from Toronto was assigned the task of getting in close with the gunboats for the attack on Sacket’s Harbor, May 27-29th, 1813. This was badly bungled by all the brass hats, Yeo included. He blamed headwinds and calms for taking two days for getting his vessels across from Kingston to Sackett’s, a distance of some fifty miles. He could have towed them over with rowboats in that time, but he appears to have been afraid to wade in and win. The Americans had the wind up so badly that they set fire to the captured Duke of Gloucester and other vessels, to prevent their capture. When they saw the British fleet hauling off from the vicinity, and the British troops, who had landed from gunboats, retreating, they put the fires out and called it a victory.

The Beresford, which was to support the small craft, never got her guns into play, but did as well as any of the British vessels—and that was very badly. She had the excuse of calms and headwinds. The real reason was holdback instructions. The Beresford’s failure was probably Yeo’s reason for writing that she “had never been any real use to him,” when he wanted her detached for re-armament. He had captured an American war schooner, the Julia, and took her big thirty-two pounder —known as the Old Sow-out of her and had it mounted in the Beresford,. The Julia was a “fine prize” when he reported her capture and Ned Myers left it on record that she was the second fastest vessel in the American fleet. But she, too, was “not the slightest use” to Yeo, but a drawback, as soon as he had to use her. He disarmed her and detached her for convoy and cargo work—in which she was promptly recaptured, with her convoy, on Oct. 6th, 1813.

But Yeo contradicted the impression he had given of the Beresford by recording his “marked” approbation for Lieut. Radcliffe, her third and most celebrated commander, for the part he played in the famous Burlington Races.

On this occasion Yeo’s sextette lay in York Roads, that is, Humber Bay, when Chauncey came storming across from Niagara, with a fleet of ten, intent on raiding York’s flour bins. Leading in his new flagship, the Wolfe, Yeo stood out to meet him, and tacked to cut the American line in two. The heaviest American ships the van, each towing a smaller one. Their schooners could not keep up with the big square-riggers, but these smaller craft were armed with heavy guns, and their weight of metal was wanted.

Chauncey turned back to meet this peril to the rear of the American line, and as his flagship the Pike passed the Wolfe she loosed a broadside which shore down the Wolfe’s main and mizzen topmasts. This so crippled the British ship that she could only sail before the wind, and she fell off, heading west, with the Beresford and Sir Sidney Smith sheltering her on one side, the two brigs on the other and the Royal George gallantly throwing herself into the gas astern.

Back and forth across the Pike’s bows the Royal George zigzagged, thundering salvo after salvo as she exposed alternate quarters to the enemy. Chauncey gave the fact that he was towing a schooner, and trying to keep his whole fleet together, as a reason for never getting to grips with the maimed British flagship. The Royal George’s broadsides were more convincing reasons. The battle strung out thus all the way to Hamilton—although there was no city of Hamilton then. The British popped into Burlington Bay, and the Americans turned back for Niagara, beating all night to get clear of the perils of the lee shore at the head of the lake. It was blowing half a gale then and blew the rest of it soon.

Capt. Spilsbury had been promoted to another vessel, the Melville. The commander most strongly associated with the Beresford was this Lieutenant Radcliffe, R.N., whose ancient tablet stands above his remains in St. Mark’s Church, Niagara-on-the- Lake.

As with many heroes whose fate it has been to be shot in a ditch, he had that concomitant of fame, “his name misspelled in the gazette.” He appears as “Lieut. H. Radcliffe,” “Lieut. C. Radcliffe,” “Lieut. Charles Radcliffe,” with many minor variants of the Radcliffe spelling, the widest being “Lieut. Copeland.” His real name appears to have been Copleston Radcliffe, for that is the way it is spelled on the tablet, and this was placed there by his nephew, W. P. Radcliffe, of His Majesty’s Twentieth Regiment. On it he is given the rank of Captain, R.N., which may have been a posthumous reward for his valor.

Radcliffe was in command of the Beresford in the running fight from Rochester to Amherst Island, Sept. 11th, 1813; in the Burlington Races, Sept. 28th, of that year; and in the squadron attack on the American camp at French Creek on the St. Lawrence below Wolfe Island, for which he was also mentioned in despatches. There was not room in the creek mouth for the Beresford to enter, but her commander kept up a brisk fire on the American boats and batteries, and the Americans lost ten killed and wounded.

In 1814 the Beresford wag renamed the Netley, but Lieut. Radcliffe retained command. She was out bright and early, as old despatches mention.

“Kingston harbor is perfectly free from ice, April 13th. The Wolfe, Melville, Sir Sydney and Beresford are lying in the offing” . . “H. M. Schooner Netley arrived at Fort George, Niagara, at 6 a.m., April 15th, having left Kingston on the morning of the 14th with a leading wind. Came in her the Grenadier company of the 103rd Regiment and a detachment of rocketeers, with a supply of rockets and signals for this coast, an 18-pounder, steel scabbard swords and marine pistols.”

All this season the Netley was carrying supplies and troops to the head of the lake, particularly Niagara. Here she was supposed to have been chased ashore and set on fire, but Commodore Chauncey, who mentioned her, was mistaken. They show a burgee in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., called the “Beresford flag” and incorrectly supposed to have been captured from her. The vessel destroyed was the Netley’s running mate, the late schooner Sir Sidney Smith, which had been renamed the Magnet. She was cornered by the American fleet on August 6th. The Netley got into the Niagara River and was there blockaded, along with the brigs Star and Charwell.

Lieut. Radcliffe valiantly turned the tables on his pursuers. There was not a British vessel left afloat at this time above the Falls of Niagara, and the Americans had the run of the Upper Lakes. They anchored under the guns of Fort Erie, which their army had captured. Lieut. Radcliffe and Capt. Dobbs, of the Charwell, picked a boat’s crew of able-bodied seamen and had them carry a light rowing gig all the way up the river road from Queenston to Chippewa, in the dark, so that American sentries could not see them. From Chippewa they made their way to Lake Erie, rowed around into the upper half of the Niagara River, and attacked three American schooners lying there. The Porcupine escaped by cutting her cable, but they carried the Ohio and the Somers by boarding, and sailed them down the river to Chippewa, which was still in British hands. Poor Lieut. Radcliffe was shot through the head while swinging up over the Ohio’s quarters, sword in hand; and his body was borne back to Niagara-on-the-Lake for burial.

The blockade of Niagara was soon broken, and the Netley continued to carry troops and stores between York and the peninsula. She was commanded by Lieut. John Tucker Williams, and was one of few vessels kept in commission when the war ended. Brig.-Gen. Victor Williams, Commissioner of Police for Ontario, is the grandson of this last commander of the old wooden man-of-war, built here in Toronto in 1812 and now lying, bedded in the ice, at the bottom of Navy Bay in Kingston Harbor.

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CAPTURE OF U.S.S. SOMERS AND U.S.S. OHIO AT FORT ERIE, IN AUGUST, 1814—Drawings by C. H. J. Snider in the John Ross Robertson Collection of Canadian Historical Pictures, Toronto Public Library.

H.M.S. PRINCE REGENT, which, renamed the NETLEY, supplied the sailors who captured two American schooners. Her commander gave his life in the exploit.