HMS ''Royal George'' was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

20-gun wooden

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

of the

Provincial Marine Provincial Marine was a coastal protection service in charge of the waters in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and parts of Lake Champlain under British control. While ships of the Provincial Marine were designated HMS, they were ope ...

, and subsequently, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, operating on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. The vessel took part in several

Engagements on Lake Ontario The Engagements on Lake Ontario encompass the prolonged naval contest for control of the Lake Ontario, lake during the War of 1812. Few actions were fought, none of which had decisive results. The contest essentially became a naval building r ...

and was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the Provincial Marine at the First Battle of Sackett's Harbor. In 1814, the vessel was renamed ''Niagara''. Following the war, the sloop was converted to a transport and sold in 1837.

Description

''Royal George'' was designed by Master Shipwright John Dennis of the

. The vessel measured 330

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship bas ...

and was long at the

gundeck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns on ...

and at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. The sloop had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . The vessel was quantified a "ship corvette,

square-rigged Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...

with a flush upper deck." ''Royal George'' was initially armed with twenty

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...

s. In early 1813, two of the carronades were replaced with two guns. Later that year two more 32-pounder carronades were replaced with two carronades and the 9-pounder guns replaced with guns. By 1814, the vessel's armament was eighteen 32-pounder carronades, two 18-pounder guns and one gun. By 1815 ''Royal George'' was armed with eight 24-pounder guns, two guns and ten 24-pounder carronades. The initial

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

was 95, by 1830, it had grown to 175.

Service history

In 1808, the British learned that the United States was constructing the brig at

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

. Their response was to order the construction of a warship that could match the capabilities of the American ship. The vessel's

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at the

Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard The Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard from 1788 to 1853 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the site of the current Royal Military College of Canada. History The British naval forces on the lakes, known as the Provincial M ...

in Kingston, Upper Canada in February 1809 and launched in July 1809. ''Royal George'' remained in a non-commissioned state until 1811 after the American

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

on Great Britain was lifted. The vessel entered service only after the Americans began to ready themselves for war. In 1811, the Provincial Marine underwent a review by Major General

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

and command of the force was given to Lieutenant Hugh Earl, who was promoted to Master and Commander of ''Royal George'', now the

of the Provincial Marine. The

began in July of that year and at the outset of the war, the British fleet on

was more powerful than their American foe. On 19 July, ''Royal George'', ''Earl of Moira'', and and a fifth unnamed ship, appeared off

Sackett's Harbor, New York Sackets Harbor (earlier spelled Sacketts Harbor) is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, on Lake Ontario. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who ...

intent on battling with ''Oneida''. At 06:00 ''Oneida'' sailed out intending to separate the British fleet into groups, but the British kept together and ''Oneida'' returned to port. There it anchored near the naval yard. ''Royal George'', ''Moira'' and ''Prince Regent'' then sailed into the bay. The wind faltered during the British fleet's approach, allowing time for the carronades aboard ''Oneida'' to be carried ashore and mounted in the fortifications. As the British approached, the Americans began firing, claiming to have hulled ''Royal George'' several times. The British broke off their attack and retreated from the

First Battle of Sacket's Harbor The First Battle of Sacket's Harbor (also spelled as Sackett's) was a battle fought on July 19, 1812, between the United States and the British Empire; it was the first engagement of the war between these forces. It resulted in American forces re ...

. For the rest of the summer and autumn of 1812, ''Royal George'' would primarily be used as a transport service for men and ammunition for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. On 1 October, Earl in ''Royal George'' anchored off the

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

and sent an armed party ashore to

Charlotte, New York Charlotte is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,521. Charlotte is centrally located in the county, north of Jamestown and south of Dunkirk. History The area was first settled ...

. The 80 armed men seized the dismantled

''Lady Murray'' and a revenue cutter. Departing that day, they returned on 2 October to demand the rigging and masts for the sloop. At the time of the raid, ''Royal George'' was crewed by fifty members of the Provincial Marine with 64 members of the

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal N ...

augmenting them. This was the only success during the

that took place while the British fleet was under the sole command of the Provincial Marine.

Flight of ''Royal George''

In November 1812, ''Royal George'' was the largest warship on the lake, operating under the command of Hugh Earl (or "Earle"). On 9 November 1812, an American fleet of seven vessels under the command of Commodore

Isaac Chauncey Isaac Chauncey (February 20, 1772 – January 27, 1840) was an American naval officer in the United States Navy who served in the Quasi-War, The Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. In the latter part of his naval career he was President of th ...

surprised ''Royal George'' as the sloop passed near the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

on Lake Ontario. ''Royal George'' eluded the American vessels by slipping into the North Channel between

Amherst Island Amherst Island is located in Lake Ontario, west of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Amherst Island, being wholly in Lake Ontario, is upstream, above the St Lawrence River Thousand Islands. The Island is part of Loyalist Township in Lennox and Addingt ...

and the mainland as night fell, making her way into the safety of her home harbour at Kingston by 02:00. The following morning, 10 November, the American fleet resumed the pursuit, burning a small commercial vessel near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and proceeding along the shore. As they approached Kingston, they came under fire from shore batteries. Chauncey directed his vessel, ''Oneida'' and the rest of the American squadron to bombard and attempt to seize ''Royal George'' within Kingston's harbour. Artillery fire from the shore batteries along the shoreline, including two batteries on Point Henry, attempted to prevent them from closing on the British vessel.

Round shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a la ...

from the American vessels penetrated into the town but they were unable to capture ''Royal George'', which had retreated further into the harbour around 16:00. At the end of the day, they anchored out of sight of Kingston, intending to resume their attack the next day. However, an approaching storm caused Chauncey to withdraw to the American base at Sacketts Harbor without seizing their prize. One sailor was killed aboard ''Royal George'', but little damage had been done to the ship beyond torn up rigging. This would be the only American attack on Kingston during the War of 1812 as more personnel were sent to this important military and naval centre and strong fortifications were built on Point Henry to defend the dockyards. It was the only time that shots were fired from Point Henry in its history.

Arrival of Commodore Yeo

During the winter of 1812–1813, the condition of ''Royal George'' deteriorated and during an inspection, the vessel was found to be "filthy and disorganized." In November Chauncey ordered the blockade of Kingston by

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s which prevented ''Royal George'' and the rest of the British squadron from resupplying garrisons on the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. In May 1813,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Robert Barclay Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...

arrived to take command of the Lake Ontario squadron, replacing Earl who was made supervisor of the naval arsenal. Barclay's posting was temporary as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Sir

James Lucas Yeo Sir James Lucas Yeo, , (; 7 October 1782 – 21 August 1818) was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812. Born in Southampton, he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 10 and saw his first action in the Adriatic Sea. He distingu ...

had been named to take command of the naval forces on the Great Lakes, and given the flag rank of commodore. Yeo arrived at Kingston on 16 May 1813, with Barclay departing to command the squadron on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. The commands of the ships were shuffled, and Commander William Mulcaster was given command of ''Royal George'', which was now manned by mostly Royal Navy personnel. The remaining Provincial Marine personnel were scattered throughout the squadron. On 27 May, ''Royal George'' was part of the squadron that set out to attack Sacketts Harbor with elements of British infantry. The squadron arrived on 28 May and promptly captured 115 American troops transiting the lake. Though ''Royal George'' did not directly participate in the following battle, the British managed to succeed in half of their objectives, destroying the American shipyard. Following this, the British withdrew into the lake. On 3 June, the squadron departed Kingston to resupply General John Vincent's forces in the Burlington Heights area. After anchoring overnight at

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for th ...

, Yeo's force spotted a large American encampment near Forty Mile Creek. Yeo then ordered ''Beresford'' and ''Royal George'' to

bombard __NOTOC__ Bombard may refer to the act of carrying out a bombardment. It may also refer to: Individuals *Alain Bombard (1924–2005), French biologist, physician and politician; known for crossing the Atlantic on a small boat with no water or food ...

the camp while the rest of the squadron resupplied Vincent. Confronted by Vincent's advancing force and Yeo's bombarding ships, the Americans withdrew quickly to Fort George. The squadron remained off Forty Mile Creek until 11 June and then set sail along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, trading fire with the fortifications at

Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British forces in 1756 during the French and Indian War. The fort was established in 1727 on the orders o ...

and raiding Sodus. The squadron returned to Kingston on 26 June, transporting some of the Americans captured at the

Battle of Beaver Dams The Battle of Beaver Dams took place on 24 June 1813, during the War of 1812. A column of troops from the United States Army marched from Fort George and attempted to surprise a British outpost at Beaver Dams, billeting themselves overnight in ...

. The squadron returned to Lake Ontario on 31 July. On 6 August, ''Royal George''s main powder

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

was flooded after the vessel sprang a leak. The sloop's store of powder was ruined and was only replenished from the other vessels of the squadron. However, the location of the leak was not found, with the pumps manned at all hours. The American squadron was spotted off Niagara River on 7 August at 04:30. Sailing southwest, the firing began at 07:30, but Chauncey turned east to keep his squadron under the protection of American shore batteries. In response, Yeo turned north, ending the engagement. On 10 August, the two squadrons came together again and ''Royal George'', along with and , forced the surrender of two American

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

s, and . Following the engagement, the British squadron anchored at York on 11 August. There, ''Royal George''s leak was found and repaired. The squadron departed on 13 August for

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

before heading for Kingston, arriving on 19 August. On 24 August, Yeo's squadron sailed again. They met the American squadron off the

on 11 September. Firing began at 14:30. ''Royal George'' and ''Lord Melville'' were the two British ships closest to the American battle line and suffered torn sails and rigging. Between the two vessels, they endured four killed and five wounded. At 16:00 the British retreated. ''Royal George'' was tasked with taking the schooner ''Hamilton'' under tow as ''Hamilton'' could not keep up with the rest of the squadron. The British returned to Kingston on 12 September. During the dockside period, ''Royal George'' received its circle-mounted 24-pounder long gun. Yeo and his squadron departed Kingston on 19 September, anchoring in Burlington Bay on 26 September. In what would become known as the "Burlington Races", Yeo engaged the Americans on 28 September. Trading shots with the American vessel , the British squadron's flagship ''Wolfe'' was crippled when the vessel's main topmast was brought down. Mulcaster placed ''Royal George'' between the two vessels, allowing ''Wolfe'' time to fix the problem. ''Royal George'' exchanged broadsides with ''General Pike'', later joined by ''Lord Melville'' and ''Earl of Moira'', forcing ''General Pike'' to turn away. Unable to fight aboard ''Wolfe'', Yeo retreated to his anchorage in Burlington Bay, followed by the rest of the squadron. Once there, ''Royal George'' lost its foretopmast as it came into the anchorage. Once repairs were complete, the squadron sailed to confer with the British land forces commander, Major General

Francis de Rottenburg Major-General Sir Francis de Rottenburg, baron de Rottenburg (4 November 1757 – 24 April 1832) was a military officer and colonial administrator who served in the armies of the Kingdom of France and later the United Kingdom. Early life and se ...

at Four Mile Creek before returning to Kingston on 7 October. On 28 September, William Mulcaster was promoted to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

and was awarded command of , under construction at Kingston. ''Royal George'' made one last patrol on 3 December before being laid up for the winter, during which the vessel was careened.

As ''Niagara'' and fate

''Royal George'' was renamed ''Niagara'' on 22 January 1814. The vessel was reclassified from a sloop to a

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

and Captain

Stephen Popham Stephen Popham (5 July 1745 – 13 June 1795) was a British politician and solicitor who is remembered for improving the residential locality of Georgetown in the city of Chennai, India and reforming the civic and police administration. E ...

was awarded command. Once the Great Lakes became clear for navigation, Yeo intended to attack Fort Oswego. The squadron departed on 4 May with 400

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

and 550 soldiers embarked. They arrived on 5 May and during the night, ''Niagara'' and ''Montreal'' (the ex-''Wolfe'') slipped closer to shore, closing within . At 06:00 on 6 May, the two vessels opened fire attempting to enfilade the shore batteries. ''Niagara'' moved even closer to nearly within

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

range and began trading fire directly with the fort. ''Niagara'' caught fire three times in the exchange. In the end, the British captured the fort and settlement, carrying away its supplies. The force returned to Kingston on 8 May. The squadron sailed again on 11 May along the south shore of the lake. On 19 May, the squadron imposed a blockade on Sackett's Harbor. Captain Popham was given command of two gunboats and ordered to intercept a flotilla of boats on 29 May. At Sandy Creek, Popham and nearly his entire command was either killed or captured by the Americans the next day. ''Niagara'' was manned only by a

skeleton crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...

and to fill out the ship's company, personnel were shifted from HMS ''Magnet'' and . The blockade was lifted on 5 June and the squadron anchored in the Bay of Quinte. Captain Henry Davies was then given command of ''Niagara''. The squadron returned to Kingston on 13 June and ''Niagara'' remained alongside for the better part of the summer. Following the launch of on 10 September, in the resulting command shuffle, Captain Edward Collier was given command of ''Niagara'' with Captain Davies being given command of . ''St Lawrence'', ''Prince Regent'', , ''Montreal'' and ''Niagara'' sailed from Kingston on 16 October and returned on 24 October. Upon the arrival of ''St Lawrence'' on Lake Ontario, the American squadron retired to Sackett's Harbor and did not venture forth again for the remainder of the war. Collier was then ordered to set up a

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

near

Penetanguishene Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual ( French and English) community has a populat ...

, Upper Canada. ''Niagara'' departed Kingston on 28 November carrying twenty of ''Princess Charlotte''s long guns to be used on ships constructed in the new base. ''Niagara'' arrived at York, where the supplies and guns were unloaded to be carried overland to the new base. On 24 December 1814, the

Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...

was signed, ending the War of 1812. Following the war, the vessel was used as a transport ship and was sold in 1837.

Historical reenactment

From 30 June to 1 July 2012, a 3-day reenactment of the flight of ''Royal George'' was performed from Bath, Ontario to Kingston in recognition of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. The role of ''Royal George'' was played by the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

, one of the last two remaining tall ships with an 1812 heritage.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

*
Full of Confidene - The American Attack on Kingston Harbour – The War of 1812 Website
Retrieved March 19, 2015

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal George Ships built in Ontario Great Lakes ships War of 1812 ships of Canada Sloops of the Royal Navy War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Provincial Marine 1809 ships