Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor

The Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor or simply the Battle of Sacket's Harbor, took place on 29 May 1813, during the War of 1812. A British force was transported across Lake Ontario and attempted to capture the town, which was the principal dockyard and base for the American naval squadron on the lake. They were repulsed by American regulars and militia.

Background

At the start of the campaigning season of 1813, the main American forces on the border between the United States and Canada were stationed at Sacket's Harbor on Lake Ontario, under Major General Henry Dearborn and Commodore Isaac Chauncey. Chauncey's squadron was superior in numbers to the opposing British and Canadian-manned squadron at Kingston, and the troops concentrated under Dearborn could outnumber the British at any point on their extended front. The Americans had a chance to storm Kingston, which would have eliminated the British squadron and perhaps allowed the Americans to secure almost all of Upper Canada, but Dearborn and Chauncey exaggerated the number of British regulars stationed there. Instead they proceeded to attack York, the Provincial capital of Upper Canada, at the other end of the lake. On 27 April, the Americans won the Battle of York, occupying and looting the town. They then withdrew to the mouth of the Niagara River, preparing to attack the British position at Fort George.

Late in 1812, Captain James Lucas Yeo had been appointed by the Admiralty to command the British naval force on the...
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