5 The Provincial Marine

5

THE PROVINCIAL MARINE

by 1795, the provinciAl mArine consisted of six vessels, two of which were the gunboats stationed at York.1 Civilian passengers were routinely brought aboard. Sailing on Provincial Marine vessels could be genteel, particularly for those of high social status. One traveller described the accommodation on board as pleasant, with a well-served table that included port and sherry. Before boarding, flags were flown from the ship masthead to signal the time of sailing and destination. At York, when it was time to sail, a white flag was raised if Niagara was the destination. A blue flag was hoisted to indicate Kingston.2 In this case, the captain was Jean-Baptiste Bouchette, who was described as French Canadian, and likewise most of his officers. The vessel was controlled by the army at any place they landed.3

Another passenger, François-Alexandre-Frédéric de La RochefoucauldLiancourt, described conditions on Lake Ontario in 1795 as warm (92 degrees Fahrenheit) with light breezes and summer haze. Sailing from Niagara to Kingston on board HMS Onondaga, the passengers were kept awake at night by the heat. La Rochefoucauld described the vessel as a “cutter,” pierced for twelve 6-pound guns but having only six in peacetime. He knew that all the naval vessels were built of fresh timber, unseasoned, and “that is why they never last longer than six to eight years.” La Rochefoucauld noted that the Mississauga needed repairs, its timbers almost all rotten, and that the two gunboats built for Lieutenant Governor Simcoe were on the stocks.

52 WARRIORS AND WARSHIPS

The captain of the vessel was Lieutenant Hugh Earl, who was most civil and obliging. Earl, a Scotsman, had just married a prominent Kingston woman, Ann Brant Johnson, who was the daughter of Molly Brant, an important Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) leader and the consort of Sir William Johnson. The crew of a brigade of bateaux in the king’s service consisting of 41 Canadiens was on board. There were also two detachments of soldiers and various officers.4 Before reaching Kingston, the soldiers dressed, “plastered” their hair, and arranged their headdresses with tresses of hair tied with knots. This took two hours and much time in front of the mirror.

Although the usual travel time across the lake was 36 hours, this trip took 48. Simcoe had advised La Rochefoucauld not to compensate Earl for the passage, but the Frenchman’s proposal to pay was readily accepted. “Offers of this kind are seldom refused, nor did ours meet with the denial. Yet it is but justice as to add, the Captain Earl is a worthy man, civil, attentive, constantly on the deck, apparently fond of his profession, and master of his business.”5 By accepting the fee, Earl was accepting freightage, a payment made to him for transporting stores or people on government transports.

Another traveller in 1796 noted that the Provincial Marine naval officers could carry non-military cargo if they were not otherwise engaged, the “freight of which is their perquisite.” This had been going on since at least 1791. The fare was two guineas, wine included. Those in steerage paid one guinea. Collecting of fees by the captains was selective, and it was frequently waived for upper-class visitors. A few years later, Colonel Steven Jarvis offered Commodore John Steel two guineas for his passage and messing. Steel refused, stating that was the price, but they did not take money “from persons of our description.”6

Invariably, the fees created resentment, especially among merchants whose vessels were, in effect, competing with those of the government. Richard Cartwright, the Kingston businessman whose land encroached on the Point Frederick military reserve, complained that Commodore Bouchette and the other vessel captains always received a 5 percent fee over and above the government freighting charges. Cartwright wanted to ship additional freight free to make up for the extra charge.7

The inefficiencies of the Provincial Marine were also pointed out by Cartwright. He noted in late 1797 that they were unable to supply the soldiers at Fort George. With winter approaching and none of the Provincial

the ProvINcIAl mArINe 53

Marine vessels fit for sea duty, the situation became serious. The unfit vessels probably included the Onondaga and the gunboats Catherine and Sophia, which were already considered condemned.8 Cartwright arranged for one of his own vessels to supply the Fort George garrison before winter.9

To help deal with shortages, shipbuilding ramped up and HMS Speedy and HMS Swift were launched at Point Frederick in 1798. Sister vessels, each measured about 80 feet at the keel. An 80-foot keel length required a slipway length 120 feet above the high-water mark (50 percent longer)10 to generate enough speed for a successful launch. Although designed as gunboats, the gunwales were raised to provide more deck space for cargo. This delayed their completion dates into the summer. The wood for their construction was cut on Wolfe Island and clearly had not been allowed to season.11

The arrow in Fig. 5.1 shows the most northerly dockyard slip (Slip No. 1) in 1862. The large building to the left of the slip was a mould and sail loft built in 1813. Mould lofts were constructed in proportion to the size of the vessels. The large ships that justified a loft of this size were not contemplated in the 1790s. The Speedy, the Swift, or both were likely built on Slip No. 1.

The Speedy was plagued with problems soon after entering service. Serious leaks were detected within the first year. The problems were familiar, caused by wood rot. Delays in making repairs were made worse by a shortage of workers. The master builder reported that he needed nine men to work at

Fig. 5.1: Photograph of Point Frederick from Fort Henry, circa 1862–67. The 1813 mould loft is the two-and-a-halfstorey building in the centre. The arrow points to Slip No. 1.

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least 22 days to complete winter repairs to a vessel not yet two years in service. Other delays were a result of the cumbersome approval process. The master builder, who supervised work on the vessels, was responsible for generating cost estimates for repairs. His estimates required the concurrence of the army officer acting as a commissioner. If the officer agreed, the estimate was forwarded to the Kingston garrison commander. This officer then sought approval for the work from the lieutenant governor in York. There, it resided until the lieutenant governor reviewed the estimates and decided. The response was then sent back to Kingston and had to be received before supplies could be ordered, contractors found, and the work scheduled.12

In 1804, Captain Holt Mackenzie, an army officer who was acting as the commissioner of the Provincial Marine, noted that the Speedy still required caulking and that annual repairs were not completed. But he gave assurances that the vessel would sail to York “without loss of time” to transport members for both legislative houses.13 It is unlikely that Mackenzie consulted with Thomas Paxton, now the captain of the Speedy. They were barely on speaking terms. Previously Mackenzie had also been in open conflict with Commodore Bouchette.14 Mackenzie’s generous offer to send an unrepaired vessel to York was a symptom of a deeper problem in the Provincial Marine.

Organized as a branch of the army, the Provincial Marine functioned well enough under the guidance of Royal Navy officer Captain Schank. But with Schank’s departure in 1784, control devolved to officers in the Quartermaster General’s Office at Quebec who pushed directives to local army officers. Under this system, Provincial Marine captains were obliged to follow the orders of army officers at any location they visited. This resulted in arbitrary commands to ship’s officers by army officers who were unqualified in naval matters. Vessel captains were sometimes ordered to sail under conditions they knew to be impractical or unsafe, which created tension between the services and invariably led to disaster. 15

Recruiting seamen for the Provincial Marine was also a problem, due to low pay. The number of desertions was high. Professional standards fell and undermanning was common. With the vessels constantly needing repair, confidence in the Provincial Marine waned, compelling acting Lieutenant Governor Peter Russell to request authority to independently build a vessel at York.16

The York vessel was designed and built by John Dennis, a shipwright and United Empire Loyalist who had served in the British Army. He had come

the ProvINcIAl mArINe

to York in 1796 and established a small dockyard near the mouth of the Humber River.17 During construction of the new vessel in 1798–99, to be named the Toronto, Russell attempted to recruit Lieutenant Paxton to become its captain. But Paxton was not available, having been assigned master of the Speedy.18 A more senior officer, William Baker, old and experienced, was instead assigned to the Toronto.

19

Provincial Marine crews normally lived on board their vessels during the winter. To provide better protection, roofs were constructed over the decks in the fall before the freeze. This was a problem during the winter of 1798–99. By the time Commodore Bouchette requested wood to erect a roof over the deck of the Mohawk, it was almost December and too late to obtain the required stores.

Bouchette added to the frustration by surprising his supervisor with news of the need to repair the Mohawk. The need for mending was the result again of wood rot, and a few years later the ship was beyond restoration. The needed repairs precluded the ship from providing quarters for the crew over the winter, and they had to live ashore. Bouchette was told to lodge them in the marine hospital, a facility located on the Kingston side. This necessitated the seamen to cart firewood from Point Frederick to Kingston for use by the officers. Bouchette was accused of making mistakes, “most of them willful.” His army commander documented previous examples.20

By 1801, a new vessel, HMS Duke of Kent, was started on the stocks at Point Frederick. Soldiers from the garrison were employed to obtain timber. This involved operating in the water building rafts that would be towed to the dockyard, with the workers often fortified by rum.21 The Duke of Kent was completed and on the lake transporting troops by the spring of 1803.22 It replaced the Mohawk, which was beyond repair. Subsequently, there was a pause in shipbuilding. This might have been due to the small number of shipwrights and the need for their employment to keep existing vessels afloat.

In September 1801, four privates deserted from Point Frederick. Three were guards and one was employed in the yard as a sawyer. This followed the desertion of a sergeant from the Kingston garrison who had vanished several days earlier.23 In the process, a boat from the Speedy was stolen. Three search parties were deployed toward Quinte and Wolfe Island. The deserters were discovered on Carleton Island and brought back to Kingston under guard. During the subsequent court martial, a corporal was sentenced to reduction in rank to private and 600 lashes.24

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56 WARRIORS AND WARSHIPS

Life on Point Frederick during the summer of 1801 is vividly illustrated by an incident involving Indigenous people. Probably Anishinaabe, they were camped in huts on the south point. They were drinking when confronted by four soldiers from Kingston who had taken the garrison barge to cross the river without authority. Commodore Bouchette noticed the soldiers near the huts as he approached to buy venison. The soldiers had been warned by the people to leave or be stabbed, which prompted the soldiers to attack and beat the men with clubs. A woman approached Bouchette, asking him to send the soldiers away because her people were drunk and harm might occur. When Bouchette ordered the soldiers to leave, he was ignored. After returning to Kingston, the soldiers were arrested and each sentenced to 600 lashes, perhaps the usual punishment.25

By 1802, several dockyard buildings needed repairs. The floor, roof, and chimney of the guardhouse, which was near the wharf, required fixing and construction of a new arms rack. The naval storehouse, possibly one of those built in 1784, needed a new lower floor because of joist failures and settlement. A new transport storehouse was recommended, since stores and materials were being left out and exposed to the weather. An estimate for a stone building was forwarded to headquarters. The wharf itself was being repaired. Other buildings were in good condition.26

The four vessels active on Lake Ontario were the Toronto, the Duke of Kent, the Speedy, and the Swift. In an attempt to improve the situation at Point Frederick, John Dennis, at York, was recruited and became the master shipbuilder, the appointment confirmed in January 1803.27

Commodore Bouchette found himself the subject of a court of inquiry under the authority of the new lieutenant governor, Peter Hunter, who unlike Simcoe, was also the commander of military forces in Upper and Lower Canada. The inquiry dealt with the allegation that Bouchette had shorted the crews’ rum ration by using a smaller measure. After the testimony of 17 witnesses, Bouchette was found to be highly culpable.28 Clearly, Bouchette was approaching the end of his tenure.

During the winter of 1801–02, in ill health and unable to sail, Bouchette requested permission to travel to Quebec. Hunter denied the request, then transferred Bouchette’s administrative duties to the army commander. Bouchette brought the situation to a head during an unfortunate meeting with Hunter. While being accused of disobedience by his army supervisor, Bouchette became insolent, physically threatening, and threw his hat on the

the ProvINcIAl mArINe

floor. The three charges of insubordination against him were substantiated, and he moved back to Quebec, where he died in the spring of 1804.

Bouchette was the last of the old Lake Ontario French mariners. While he departed Point Frederick bitter and infirm, his legacy included the establishment and operational deployment of naval transport services, first at Carleton Island and later from the Point Frederick dockyard. He saw Point Frederick transform from a forested peninsula to a bustling naval centre capable of shipbuilding. Bouchette is remembered for his rescue of the British general who would command the successful defence of Canada, and for his loyalty to Britain. He and René Laforce led and tutored a generation of Lake Ontario mariners whose expertise would soon be needed.

In September 1803, Captain John Steel, then in his mid-sixties, became commodore and the senior officer of the Provincial Marine on Lake Ontario.29 There is no clear record of Steel’s prior service on Lake Ontario, although he did serve in Lower Canada and probably on Lake Champlain. Steel dealt with the same dysfunctional organization, but with no suggestion that he directed animosity toward his army supervisors.

By the autumn of 1804, after only six years of service, the Speedy was again suffering from dry rot and required maintenance. The timing was bad, since the vessel was needed for a jury trial that necessitated transporting the defendant, lawyers, witnesses, and entire court from York to Newcastle. The case was about the murder of John Sharp, a trader in the Lake Scugog area. The accused was an Indigenous man arrested at York. The judge ruled that jurisdiction entailed that the trial be held in the village of Newcastle, about midway between York and Kingston. Since overland road travel was still rudimentary and risky, Hunter decided that the entourage would sail on the Speedy under the command of Thomas Paxton.

A former Royal Navy officer, Paxton was married with seven small children. He was experienced, having been with the lake service from its beginning on Point Frederick. Paxton had been the master of the Speedy for several years and knew his vessel, its problems, and the need for repairs. He became very concerned for the safety of the vessel. The Speedy was docked at York when Paxton was ordered to undertake the trip. He spoke to Hunter and vigorously made the point that the ship was not seaworthy and should not be sailed. Hunter, described as a severe old man, disregarded Paxton and ordered him to sail.30

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58 WARRIORS AND WARSHIPS

The crew of six and party of 14 boarded at York on the afternoon of October 7, 1804. The passengers included the prisoner and many leading citizens of York. The anchor was raised, and the Speedy left its berth near the small fort at the mouth of Garrison Creek. After passing Gibraltar Point, the Speedy struck shallow sand off the peninsula known today as the Toronto Islands and became stuck, causing a delay of two hours as Paxton worked to release the vessel. Finally free, the ship drifted into the open lake, caught favourable winds, and sailed away briskly toward the east.

Later the same day, spotters saw the Speedy near Presqu’ile Harbour on a heading for Newcastle. But rising from the west was a late-season storm. As the tempest reached the Speedy, the vessel was carried into the open lake and lost to sight. When darkness came, a large bonfire was set as a beacon. However, the Speedy was not seen again. Subsequent inquiries were made along both coasts. The only reported findings were a mast, compass box, and hen coop, all found on a south shore beach.31 The loss was confirmed.

It was William Baker, the captain of the Toronto, who brought the tragic news to York that the Speedy was missing.32 In a village of 400 where all the passengers of the Speedy were known and respected, the news had a devastating effect. Commodore Steel wrote to Lieutenant Governor Hunter requesting government assistance for the families of the crew. He highlighted the dire situation of Captain Paxton’s widow and seven children, left without an income. He pointed out that Boatswain Garrard “left a wife and two children.” In a separate petition, Ann Cameron described her situation of losing two husbands in service to the army, and now her son, John Cameron, the mate of the Speedy. Despite these pleas and the support of Hunter, Paxton’s wife was reduced to extreme poverty before she was finally given a pension. There is no indication that the other surviving families received any support.

Hunter did not hold an inquiry, perhaps because he feared blame.33 Further scrutiny was suspended by his death while in Quebec the following year. But although there was no inquiry or investigation, a lesson had been learned that motivated efforts to improve vessel construction. As indicated a few years later by the deputy quartermaster general, the problem of timber rot on ships on Lake Ontario was well known, and there had been many plans “devised for preserving and seasoning timber.”34

With the timbers of the Toronto already beginning to fail, as well, an experiment at ship preservation was made using salt. In early 1804, John

the ProvINcIAl mArINe 59

Dennis began directing the building of a new vessel, HMS Earl of Moira, at Point Frederick. Dennis had only eight carpenters, and with other vessels continually needing repair, progress was slow. The loss of the Speedy during construction of the Moira might have prompted the decision to pack salt into the spaces between the inner and outer hull planking as a means of preserving the wood.

The Moira was launched at Point Frederick on May 28, 1805, replacing the Speedy. A witness was Thomas Mossington, an English shipwright who had just arrived. He described it as “a very handsome vessel of 10 guns and 130 tons” that was “ship rigged and completely a frigate in miniature.”35

Mossington would have known. He was in Canada to find timber for his employers in England. The single most important item was masts, the critical component of the sailing age and in short supply. Massive in terms of diameter and height, the strength and resilience of masts were essential in carrying the sail wind loads to the ship structure. The very best were of white pine and termed a “pole mast” if tall enough to function without additional pieces.

Cutting and moving the large white pines took planning, ingenuity, and raw power. The power came in the form of oxen or heavy draught horses. Mossington described logging crews loading and hauling a 30-inch-thick mast one and a half miles through heavy bush, using 10 yoke of oxen and a span of horses to lead. He described a 32-inch mast that was 96 feet tall that he was able to deliver to Chatham Dock Yard in England the following year. Susan Greely, when 95 years old, recalled seeing a mast being drawn by 17 yoke of cattle moving along a road on the side of a hill. Another mast, obtained nearby, needed 25 yoke of oxen. She remembered the accidental death of one of the workers.36

Fig. 5.2: The

location of the Point Frederick mast pond is shown in a 1933 aerial photograph. Within two years of the photograph, land infilling of the mast pond began and continued until the pond was filled.

Mast Pond

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The masts brought to Point Frederick were hauled out of the bush and put into nearby rivers or lakes. They were then rafted and towed to Navy Bay. Delivered to the beach at Point Frederick, the great pines were carefully inspected, dressed, and prepared for the highly skilled “mast-maker.”37 Preserving the valuable masts to maintain strength and flexibility required that they be kept moist, which was accomplished in mast ponds. Although large mast ponds were man-made in the great shipyards of England, there was a simpler solution at Navy Bay. The lagoon formed by the Navy Bay sandspit created a natural mast pond that worked well (see Fig. 5.2).

The work area of the dockyard was mostly confined to the 100-yard-by200-yard perimeter that separated the yard from the rest of the peninsula. Left open was the “beach,” where bateaux and timber rafts could gather and unload. Public tenders for wood, such as those published in the Kingston Gazette, included the demand that “pine, cedar, and oak boards” be delivered to the beach on Point Frederick.38 Timber was often harvested from outlying islands, including Wolfe, and probably others near the Bay of Quinte. In a well-run yard, the wood would be cut by sawyers working in saw pits near the shore. It was then sorted and stacked neatly until selected for use by shipwrights during construction. As time went on, more semi-finished wood became available by road from the sawmill at Kingston Mills.

Thomas Mossington was aware of the limitations of the Provincial Marine vessels. While he noted that the largest was the Duke of Kent at 200 tons and mounting 14 guns, he saw that five or six vessels in Navy Bay had already been condemned after only eight or 10 years of service. He knew about the loss of the Speedy and that the cause of the tragedy was poor construction. Mossington could not understand why the vessels were not built of cedar, which he found sufficiently available in size and quality for use at Point Frederick.39 His task completed by the summer of 1806, Mossington returned to England, having shipped masts and other critical wooden sections to the Royal Navy yards. But he would be back.