Combat· War of 1812
Defense of Sackett's Harbor
While the main American army was off capturing Fort George, the British struck at the lightly held American naval base at Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario, the shipyard where Chauncey's squadron was built and supplied.
Sir George Prevost landed a force meaning to destroy the yard and the warship on the stocks, but General Jacob Brown's defenders, including Marines stationed at the base, put up a stiff resistance. The fighting was confused and sharp; at one point an American officer, fearing the base was lost, set fire to the stores, but the British attack faltered and Prevost broke off and re-embarked. The yard and its half-built ship were saved. Holding Sackett's Harbor kept the American Lake Ontario squadron in being, preserving the naval balance on the lake at a moment when its loss could have been crippling.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 224