The Battle of Sackett’s Harbour By Patrick A. Wilder. The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, Baltimore, 1994. ISBN 1-877853-27-5. 162 pages plus notes and index. Sackett’s Harbor occupies a key position in the naval fight for command of Lake Ontario. Home to an immense ship building effort and eventually to the largest squadron of the U.S. Navy, Sackett’s Harbor was the object of a serious amphibious attack in May of 1813. However, Wilder’s book not only covers the details of the battle itself, but firmly places the activities at Sackett’s Harbor within the greater context of the struggle for Lake Ontario. It seems that the declaration of war took the southern shore of Lake Ontario by surprise. Neither the War Department nor Governor Tompkins of New York had taken much effort to prepare for that eventuality. The militia was untrained and badly supplied. There were very few regulars anywhere from Fort Niagara on the western end of the lake to the mouth of the St. Lawrence on the eastern end. Naval preparation was in even worse shape. The navy had a single vessel and no permanent facilities. One man, Commodore Isaac Chauncey, changed all that. Sent from command of the naval yard in New York, Chauncey sent carpenters, sailors, ordnance, and the myriad of items that go into ships on to the shores of the lake. But more than that, Chauncey brought with him considerable managerial skill. Examining the American shore, the best location (the only location really) for a protected shipbuilding site was at Sackett’s. Within months, this wide spot in the miserable road was transformed into a boom town housing thousands of shipwrights, carpenters, sailors, regulars, and militiamen. Its rival across the lake, Kingston, was undergoing a similar transformation. Chauncey and his Royal Navy counterpart, Commodore Sir James Yeo, built their squadrons to fight a decisive battle. For any number of reasons, that battle was never fought. However, in the arms race that ensued, both commanders understood that material advantage could be gained not only by outbuilding their adversary, but by destroying what he had already built. Thus came about a small number of raids in which either side hoped to gain an incremental advantage over the other. But a serious raid on either Sackett’s or Kingston, well, that could mean the destruction of the opposing fleet. Both sides cooked up interesting plans to knock out the other’s primary naval base. The most interesting (and wonderful candidate for a wargaming scenario) involved attacks across the ice in the dead of winter. Imagine ships locked in ice at their berths assaulted by hordes of infantry. Wilder discusses these possibilities, but clearly the centerpiece of his work is the May 1813 attack on Sackett’s Harbor. Upon learning from a spy that General Henry Dearborn and Commodore Chauncey had departed Sackett’s Harbor to assault Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara River, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, Governor General of British North America, decided to strike at the American base. Prevost sent an assault force of 900 infantry backed up by 700 sailors crewing the warships and transports. The wind was fickle and the British force had difficulty closing toward shore. This gave the Americans plenty of time to call in the local militia and otherwise prepare themselves. Eventually, the American defensive force numbered 1450 although many of these were raw militia and medical convalescents. Rowing their bateaux toward shore, the British landing force was met by a hail of bullets and canister delivered by militia and volunteers manning the first line of defense. However, once landed, the British forced the American defenders to retreat. Onward the British infantry pushed, through dense woods, across open fields, and into a thicket of abatis. There they were met by the dismounted dragoons and infantry recruits drawn up in ranks. In the ensuing firefight, the British and Canadians managed to keep moving forward, forcing the Americans back into their barracks and other fortifications. The wind was still and the Royal Navy vessels found it exceedingly difficult to move to locations from which to fire upon the Americans on shore. The most controversial episode of the story concerns the burning of the American naval vessels under construction and the considerable stocks of naval stores. Ordered to set fire to the ships and warehouses should the British be winning, a handful of naval officers and mates did so in the utter confusion of the fight. Perceiving that the army defenders were in retreat, navy seaman put the material and vessels to the torch lest they fall into enemy hands. But this act of destruction was premature. George Prevost, watching from the front lines, decided that he did not have the forces necessary to overcome the last fortification between him and the naval yard. Prevost, despite the reluctance of officers around him, ordered a withdrawal to the boats. The Americans could hardly believe their eyes as the British and Canadians pulled back. They quickly quelled the fires and managed to save the ships but lost a mountain of irreplaceable material required to outfit the new vessels. In the aftermath of the raid on Sackett’s Harbor, there was a host of recriminations on both sides, accompanied by the usual courts of inquiry and courts martial and the threat of dueling in the background. But by far the most notable result of the battle was that Commodore Chauncey left the vicinity of the newly captured Fort George and returned to his base with his fleet. He hunkered down at Sackett’s, afraid to leave in search of battle lest Yeo reappear for another attempt at the shipbuilding yard. Commodore Yeo, on the other hand, risked battle with Chauncey and sailed to the Niagara Peninsula to reinforce the remnants of Fort George’s defenders. The results were the twin American embarrassments at Beaver Dams and Stoney Creek. Never again would Chauncey cooperate as closely with the army as he had at the raid on York and the capture of Fort George. This change in behavior had a major impact the following year when Jacob Brown depended in vain upon Chauncey’s assistance as Brown’s well-trained Left Division marched triumphantly down the length of the Niagara River. This battle was clearly critical to the outcome of the war on the Great Lakes for an unambiguous British victory would have been decisive. Had Chauncey lost more than he did, he would not have resourced his subordinate, Oliver Hazard Perry, on Lake Erie. Would Perry then have confronted Barclay? Without naval victory and command of Lake Erie, would Harrison pursue Proctor and Tecumseh? New Insight Wilder has given us new insight into the battle of Sackett’s Harbor and has done so in a generally clear and eminently readable manner. His command of the details is impressive. The maps are useful. Some readers will find disturbing errors of fact in the background material and I was distracted by the poor final editing of the text in which the editor’s queries to the author were not removed and misspellings abound. Despite these quibbles, Wilder’s work is the finest account of the battle I have seen and was certainly a pleasure to read. The wargamers among you will have more than enough material to recreate the battle on your wargame tables and should not hesitate to do so. Exact orders of battle are elusive but enough information as to types and general morale of troops is evident. Victory points might be awarded for vessels and material captured or torched as well as casualties inflicted. It is possible to build in some chance cards such as the naval officers at the shipyard prematurely putting warehouses and ships to the torch. The militia was particularly brittle and their conduct of breaking and eventually rallying is another suitable topic for chance cards. The terrain is striking as the fighting takes place across open fields, deep in woods, and among barracks buildings. This battle is a worthy topic for a convention game with multiple players, both army and navy. Back to Table of Contents -- War of 1812 #1 Back to War of 1812 List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Rich Barbuto. 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