 Incomplete HMS Sir Issac Brock in York, 1813. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Sir Isaac Brock |
| Builder | Thomas Plucknett, York |
| Fate | Unfinished, burned on stocks |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sloop-of-war |
| Tons burthen | 637 |
| Complement | 220 (if finished) |
| Armament | 24 guns (if finished) |
HMS Sir Isaac Brock was a warship which was destroyed before being completed at York, Upper Canada during the War of 1812. The ship was named after the famed hero of the war, Major General Sir Isaac Brock.
At the end of 1812, the British learned that the Americans were building warships at Sackett's Harbor, New York, and laid down two sloops of war in response. Construction of Sir Isaac Brock began at York.
The new ship was a sister ship to HMS Wolfe, which was constructed at Kingston. Although construction on both ships began around the same time, as the end of April 1813 approached, Wolfe was very nearly ready to be launched while Sir Isaac Brock was still many weeks away from being complete. [1] She had been partially planked on her starboard side but was not even close to that far along on her port side. Most of the responsibility for the delay in readiness could be laid on the shoulders of shipyard Superintendent, Thomas Plucknett.
The ship had a registered weight of 637 tons, and was rated as having 24 guns. In fact, the rating system often omitted carronades, and Sir Isaac Brock would have had 30 guns or even more in service. (Wolfe was completed with a medley of whatever guns were available).
Late in the afternoon 26 April 1813, the American flotilla was sighted off York, with a strong embarked force of infantry and artillerymen. The next day, the Battle of York was fought. The outnumbered British regulars and militia were forced to fall back. The Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe, ordered his regulars to retreat to Kingston, but also dispatched Captain Francis Tito LeLièvre (1794-1830) of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment [2] to set fire to Sir Isaac Brock to prevent her falling intact into enemy hands. LeLièvre may have been assisted in this task by Thomas Plucknett, [3] as shipyard superintendent was the man most responsible for Sir Isaac Brock being in her partially built condition.
The Americans were enraged to find that the ship had apparently been set ablaze while negotiations for surrender with the local militia were still taking place. When eventually, a surrender was arranged, Sir Isaac Brock had been reduced to charred timbers.
HMS Detroit was a 20-gun sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in July 1813 and serving on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. She was the most powerful British ship in the Lake Erie squadron until the Americans captured her during the Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813. Detroit was commissioned into the United States Navy as its first USS Detroit. However, she was so damaged that the sloop took no further part in the war. Postwar, Detroit was sunk for preservation at Misery Bay off Presque Isle until 1833, when she was refloated and converted for commercial service. In 1841, Detroit was reduced to a hulk at Buffalo, New York where she was purchased with the intent of sending her over Niagara Falls. The plan went awry and Detroit ran aground on a shoal before the falls and broke up.
USS Julia was a schooner in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. Initially the privately-owned schooner Julia, she was captured at the onset of the war by armed boats looking for violators of President James Madison's embargo of trade with the British. Purchased by the United States Navy, the vessel was armed with two guns and made part of the squadron on Lake Ontario. Julia took part in the Battle of York and the Battle of Fort George. In August 1813, the schooner was captured by the Royal Navy after failing to execute a turn and was put in service as HMS Confiance. The vessel continued as a warship in British service for a couple of weeks before being converted to a troop transport. In October, Confiance was recaptured by the Americans and renamed Julia. No longer considered capable as a warship, the vessel was retired from service.
HMS Royal George was a British 20-gun wooden sloop of the Provincial Marine, and subsequently, the Royal Navy, operating on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. The vessel took part in several Engagements on Lake Ontario and was the flagship 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.
HMS Duke of Gloucester was a 10-gun brig of the Royal Navy which was launched at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard in Kingston, Ontario. A Provincial Marine vessel, during the War of 1812, the brig took part in several of the early engagements between British and American naval forces on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. While being repaired at York, Duke of Gloucester was captured by Americans in 1813. A month later the British destroyed the brig at the Battle of Sackett's Harbor.
The schooner or gunboat HMS Speedy sank in a snowstorm in Lake Ontario south of the future site of Brighton, Ontario, and west of Prince Edward County, on 8 October 1804, with the loss of all hands. The sinking changed the course of Canadian history because of the prominence of the citizens of the tiny colony of Upper Canada lost in the disastrous event.
HMS Princess Charlotte, later HMS Burlington, was a 42-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy built in 1814, during the War of 1812 at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard in Kingston, Ontario. She had originally been built as Vittoria, but was renamed before being launched. She was constructed to a design by George Record, and was built under a private contract by Master shipwright John Goudie. She served on Lake Ontario, having been commissioned at Oswego on 5 May 1814 under Captain William Mulcaster.
HMS Psyche was a 54-gun fourth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard in Kingston, Upper Canada during the War of 1812, using frames shipped from Britain and assembled in Upper Canada. The ship was not completed until after the end of the war in 1815 and did not enter service. Under the Rush–Bagot Treaty of 1816, the frigate was disarmed and laid up at Kingston. The ultimate fate of the ship is unknown.
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.
The Naval Shipyards were naval shipbuilding facilities used by the Provincial Marine and the Royal Navy in York, Upper Canada. The naval shipyards were ordered by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in 1793, and were opened in 1798.
HMS Prince Regent was a 56-gun British warship that served on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. Prince Regent was built at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard in Kingston, Upper Canada and launched on 14 April 1814. Rated as a fourth-rate frigate, Prince Regent took part in the Raid on Fort Oswego in 1814. Following the War of 1812 the frigate was renamed HMS Kingston on 9 December 1814. In 1817, the vessel was placed in reserve following the Rush-Bagot Treaty that demilitarized all the lakes along the United States-Canada border. Discarded in 1832, the vessel found no buyer and sank in Deadman Bay off Kingston after 1832.
HMS Moira was a British 14-gun schooner of the Royal Navy, that plied the waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River during the War of 1812. Initially constructed for the Provincial Marine in 1805, the vessel took part in the Engagements on Lake Ontario. Renamed Charwell in 1814, following the war, the vessel became a powder hulk and an accommodation vessel. The vessel was sold in 1837.
HMS Wolfe was a 20-gun sloop-of-war, launched at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard at Kingston, Upper Canada, on 22 April 1813. She served in the British naval squadron in several engagements on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. Upon her launch, Wolfe was made the flagship of the squadron until larger vessels became available. Along with the naval engagements on Lake Ontario, Wolfe supported land operations in the Niagara region and at the Battle of Fort Oswego. Following the war, the vessel was laid up in reserve and eventually sold in 1832.
HMS Lord Melville was a brig of the Royal Navy launched at Kingston, Ontario, on 20 July 1813. Initially designed as a schooner, she was altered to 14-gun brig in 1813. She served on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812, and was renamed HMS Star on 22 January 1814. By 1815, she was unfit for anything but transport duties. She was sold in 1837.
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 operated in more of a coast guard manner than as a full-fledged navy. Operations were maintained and staffed by the Royal Navy. Most ships of the Provincial Marine were built on the Great Lakes.
Caledonia was a British brig which saw service on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. Caledonia was built in Malden in Upper Canada for the North West Company, and launched in 1807. During the early part of the War, the vessel was commandeered by the Provincial Marine, and played an important part in the Siege of Fort Mackinac, carrying troops and guns to the island.
USS Lady Prevost was a schooner captured from the British during the War of 1812 and pressed into use in the United States Navy.
HMS Chippawa, or Chippeway, was the mercantile schooner Chippawa, built and launched in 1810. The British brought her into service as HM Schooner Chippawa, sometimes recorded as Chippeway.
Queen Charlotte was the ship-rigged ship-sloop constructed for the Upper Canada Provincial Marine in 1810 as part of the fleet renewal in the lead-up to the War of 1812. Ordered in 1809, the ship was designed by Master Shipwright William Bell and constructed at Amherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard in Amherstburg, Upper Canada on Lake Erie. The design was based on the Snake class and was considered an effective design. During the War of 1812, Queen Charlotte was part of the Lake Erie squadron. After the Royal Navy took over command of the Great Lakes, Queen Charlotte was commissioned in 1813. On 10 September 1813, Queen Charlotte and the rest of the Lake Erie squadron were captured at the Battle of Lake Erie. The ship entered service with the United States Navy, though after the defeat of the British squadron, saw no further action during the war. Following the war, the ship was intentionally sunk at Put-in-Bay for preservation. Raised and sold into commercial service in 1825, the vessel continued in service until 1844, when the ship was no longer considered serviceable and left to rot as a dismasted hulk.
Governor Simcoe was a merchant schooner launched in 1793. The Provincial Marine acquired her in 1813 and renamed her after the British naval officer Sir Sidney Smith. She saw service on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812. The Royal Navy acquired her in 1814 and renamed her HMS Magnet. A few months later her captain had to blow her up to prevent the Americans from capturing the vessel.
Prince Regent was a schooner constructed for Upper Canada's Provincial Marine for use on Lake Ontario. Built just before the beginning of the War of 1812, the vessel took part in the attack on Sackett's Harbor, New York. With the arrival of the Royal Navy in the Great Lakes under the command of Commodore James Lucas Yeo in 1813, the vessel was renamed HMS Lord Beresford or General Beresford, or Beresford. The British detachment on the lake engaged the American naval squadron and attacked American positions in the Niagara region, while supporting British armies.
