12 An Uncertain Peace

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u.s. commodore chAuncey first leArned of the building of the St. Lawrence in June 1814. He thought the new ship would mount 84 guns, a low estimate that did not account for Royal Navy commodore Yeo’s changes that brought it up to a first-rate of more than 100 guns. For Chauncey, a frigate of 84 guns was bad enough and provided him with a very serious problem.

The difficulty was Chauncey’s own ability to launch a large ship in the shallow water of Sackets Harbor. First-rate warships drew a considerable depth at any time afloat but especially during the launch, when the hull dug deeper into the water. The St. Lawrence, when operationally configured, drew 21 to 23 feet of water.1 This was not a problem at Navy Bay, where the depth of water off Slip No. 4 increased sharply close to shore to more than 27 feet and deeper beyond (see Fig. 12.1B).

The situation was different at Sackets, a tight harbour protected by a point of land. The entrance to the harbour was constrained by a sandbar, and the greatest depth in the harbour and inside the sandbar was 14 feet, with as little as 10 feet near the entrance (see Fig. 12.1A). Since U.S. master shipwright Henry Eckford estimated that launching his first-rate would require 27 feet of water depth, there was a definite challenge.2

Worse yet for Chauncey, Yeo and the British command knew about his dilemma. In March 1814, one of Yeo’s carpenter spies, while at Sackets,

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Fig. 12.1A: On

the left are depicted water depths of 1835 Sackets Harbor showing a maximum depth of 14 feet inside the sandbar. Beyond the sandbar, outside the harbour entrance, the water became deeper but would require a first-rate ship to be launched over the sandbar to find the 25 to 27 feet of depth needed. Fig. 12.1B: On the

right is a detail of the 1816 Vidal, Owen, Renny, Bayfield map of Navy Bay showing 27 feet of depth immediately offshore and well into the bay. overheard Chauncey having a conversation in the yard. In reference to one of his ships nearing completion, Chauncey said “they must give the large ship up as they had not sufficient water to launch her.” Chauncey could only find 11 feet of water.3

If Yeo had earlier suspicions of the predicaments facing American builders in launching large ships, this information would have confirmed them. This may have influenced him to change the design of the frigate and enlarge it to a first-rate ship that the Americans were unlikely to match.

Yeo passed the information on to Governor-in-Chief Prévost. When asked if he supported an armistice in April 1814, Yeo wrote to Prévost concerning the American shipbuilding program that the “third ship now building4 is, I believe, of far greater force than any the enemy can launch at Sackets Harbor, and doubts have arisen as to the practicality of launching the large ship now ready, as will appear by the accompanying deposition of the carpenter of the Madison.”5

By the end of June, U.S. secretary of the navy William Jones also knew of the problem. In his letter of June 24, 1814, Chauncey wrote that “we have nothing to oppose so overwhelming a force, and as this class of vessel is so much beyond anything which the Government contemplated … I should not feel myself authorized even to prepare to build anything to oppose such a vessel without special authority.”6

Both Chauncey and Eckford were skeptical that such a large ship could be launched successfully, even by the British at Navy Bay. From his cabin on

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USS Superior during the blockade of Kingston in August 1814, Chauncey wrote that “she is to have three complete decks with 34 guns on each deck but that she is slight built. They express apprehension for her safety in launching as they have no means of laying her ways below the water so that when she tips she will be waterborne and it is thought her great weight may break her in two, this is also the opinion of Mr. Eckford.”7

By this time, efforts were underway to end the war diplomatically. Both sides wished for an honourable exit, and more if they could get it. By August, with peace talks beginning in Ghent, Belgium, President James Madison still wanted to possess Canada as a condition of ending the war. Meanwhile, Chauncey faced the prospect of being badly outgunned on Lake Ontario in 1815.8 Both teams of negotiators likely knew that if the war continued, the Royal Navy ships St. Lawrence, the new Psyche, and the two existing frigates would give Britain control of Lake Ontario. With the planned additions of two more first-rates, HMS Canada and HMS Wolfe, British dominance on the lake would be certain and perhaps insurmountable.

Peace talks faltered late in 1814, and Chauncey was authorized to build two first-rate warships. Without a suitable harbour, he embarked on a desperate plan to produce USS New Orleans on the spit of land — Navy Point — enclosing the harbour (see Fig. 12.1A). The ship would have been launched over the sandbar and into the deeper waters beyond the harbour entrance where it might have found the requisite depth. The shipbuilding site was on the outer fringe of the harbour defences, away from fixed docks and wharves and exposed to naval gunfire from Black River Bay. Launching and rigging required building a large slipway and floating docks, and construction began on December 15, 1814.

But there was room for only one first-rate at Sackets, so another location had to be found. Shipwright Eckford picked Storrs Harbor, about 1.8 miles east along the shore road of Black River Bay. Built on the shore close to the deeper water of Black River Bay, there was a chance of a successful launch. But the site was exposed, undefended, and lacked buildings, sheds, or accommodations. These amenities would have to be built before construction could commence. Eckford bought the land around the planned shipyard, leasing it back to the navy. After completing the few basic buildings, work started on USS Chippewa in early February 1815.9

While construction of these large warships normally took months, Eckford had perfected his quick, no-frills approach. The speed of construction

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came with risks. The completed vessels were sometimes difficult to handle under sail, a feature observed by Yeo, and the poor workmanship could make them prone to breakup. A near-tragedy occurred when USS Jefferson started to come apart during a storm in September 1814 and was only saved by throwing cannons overboard. After the war, British shipwright John Aldersley visited Sackets Harbor and inspected the U.S. ships. Appalled at the poor quality of construction, he described it as “the most abominable, neglectful, slovenly work ever performed, no regard for heads, heels or scarphs of timbers, nor even the posts.”10

While the shipbuilding on Point Frederick continued unabated, Commissioner Robert Hall settled into his new role. He had not been impressed with the yard at first. Acting Commissioner Richard O’Conor had accomplished much in transforming the small provincial yard into a Royal Navy dockyard capable of building the largest warships, but it was done in haste with materials at hand. Unlike the British naval yards Hall knew, the Point Frederick one was made of wood-frame and log buildings loosely arranged in a field dotted with stumps. As with the ships, the buildings were constructed of unseasoned wood that warped and rotted early, creating a worn appearance despite being only a few years old. There was also the risk of fire, which was great, especially among the clutch of storehouses crowded close to the wharf. Hall was most horrified by the rundown log and frame cottages and shanties, some inhabited by officers. With stone readily available, he wanted the whole yard, especially the storehouses, rebuilt with stone.

After watching the efficient rigging, arming, and deploying of the St. Lawrence, Hall oversaw the assembly and construction of the prefabricated ship that soon became the Psyche. He then ordered the construction of three more gunboats and two mortar boats, each with a 10-inch sea mortar. Next, Hall began a comprehensive small-boat building campaign that included army transports.11

The lack of accommodations in Kingston and at Point Frederick remained a problem. High demand for lodgings was bound to create business opportunities, and Richard Cartwright was prepared. In 1787, he had acquired ownership of the farm lot immediately north of the military reserve, despite questions by military authorities. Some of the land had been part of the original military reserve. This caused outrage at the time, but after an inquiry, Cartwright was permitted to retain ownership subject to conditions.

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The location of Cartwright’s land presented an ideal business opportunity. It was just north of Front Road in Pittsburgh Township, today’s Highway 2. Built in 1790, Front Road extended east from the scow ferry landing and connected settled lots along the river shore before eventually joining with Montreal Road farther north. Point Road, today’s Highway 15, which allowed transport of wood from Kingston Mills to the dockyard, ran through Cartwright’s property, forming a junction with Front Road near the head of Navy Bay.12 Uphill from the junction was Cartwright’s land, still undeveloped. He proposed the creation of a village near the confluence of the two important roads and two military installations, close to the water and ferry to Kingston. This was a situation sure to attract merchants.

Cartwright laid out a village plot on his land in June 1814, which included street allowances, lots, and street names, most preserved today. James Street formed the south border of the village and the north border of the Point Frederick military reserve. It extended west to the Cataraqui River and Green Bay. The first lots developed were water ones on the north side of James Street at Green Bay, offering direct access to the Cataraqui River. Most of the village lots were quickly sold.13

Not surprisingly, a store, tavern, and smithy were soon operating. Although the details of the early settlers can only be surmised, William Baker, the son of Captain William Baker of the Provincial Marine, lived nearby on Point Frederick. There, he had established a thriving joiner and cabinet-making business in 1812.14 He bought a lot in Cartwright’s village in 1816.

As the new year brightened in 1815, shipwright Thomas Mossington wrote in his journal: “Got the blocks laid and the keel down of a new ship to carry 112 guns…. The other, to be built by the same moulds was let to Mr Gowdy merchant builder from Québec at 18 pounds per ton. Government to fund the whole of the materials.”15

Mossington was referring to the 112-gun ships HMS Canada and HMS Wolfe, then beginning to rise on Slips No. 2 and No. 3. It was planned that both ships would be launched and ready for masts, spars, and guns in the spring. They would join the St. Lawrence and the Psyche, as well as the newly named Prince Regent (soon to become HMS Kingston) and the Princess Charlotte (soon renamed HMS Burlington), later in 1814. Together, they would have been capable of dealing with anything the U.S. Navy could

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have planned. Instead, the two new vessels remained on land, resting on their blocks and bracing, partially built, for the next 18 years.

It was a month later, while working on the new ships, when Mossington heard of the peace. He wrote that “news of the peace arrived when we had got the stems and stern frames up and part of the floors across. News of the peace arrived at New York on the evening of the 13th of February 1815 was notified by the President Mr. Madison in Washington on the 19th of February and articles printed at New York were struck upon board the Saint Lawrence on the 25th.”16

Work continued until March 1, then stopped. Commodore Yeo had been travelling, first visiting Lake Erie, then Lake Simcoe on his way to Penetanguishene. But he had been stopped by bad weather17 and returned to Point Frederick on February 19.18 He and Commissioner Hall reacted quickly to the news. Hall paid off the labourers who were not urgently needed and began to negotiate with contractors to cancel existing agreements.

The most notable was John Goudie and his 233 French-Canadian artificers. They had accomplished much, constructing large warships and gunboats. The balance of power on Lake Ontario would have been lost but for them. Many were homesick, missing their families and lives in Quebec. They had just started another three-month contract on January 12, and the news of the peace allowed them an early return to Quebec. A town crier in Quebec was hired to announce to the wives and friends of the artificers that the war was over and they would soon return.19

On March 4, the Royal Navy officers held a dinner on board the St. Lawrence. Invitations were sent to prominent members of the Kingston community. But in the midst of the celebrations, Yeo knew he was about to be relieved by another officer. The Admiralty had been frustrated with Yeo, especially his lack of communication. As a result, they sent Sir Edward Campbell Owen to relieve Yeo and assume command of the wartime fleet. Owen arrived at Point Frederick on March 19, 1815, and lodged on the newly rigged Psyche. Had the war continued into 1815, it would have been Owen in his flagship St. Lawrence who would have confronted the U.S. Navy.20 Instead, the next day, Yeo turned over his command to a peacetime commodore.

That night, on March 20, Yeo attended a farewell dinner hosted by 80 of his officers. The event took place in the mould loft, the largest and brightest indoor space on Point Frederick. The great room was cleared and decorated for the occasion. The roof and sides were ornamented with paintings on

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canvas and flags of various countries. The decor was lavish, and the enthusiasm was “impossible to describe.”21

At six o’clock, approximately 80 officers of lieutenant rank and above were seated to dinner. Surgeon Lewis attended, as did Arthur Gifford, the victualling agent. After dinner, many toasts were drunk, some to the honoured guests. The navy band played select “tunes” after each, dedicated, for example, to the King (“God Save the King”); to Sir James Yeo (“Britons, Strike Home”); to Commodore Owen (“Tom Tough”); to Sir Robert Hall (“Hearts of Oak”); and to Prosperity to Canada (“Speed the Plough”).22 There were many speeches, all playing out on the footprint of today’s Panet House.

Commodore Owen took command, making the St. Lawrence his flagship.23 He agreed with Yeo on the need to continue work on the Wolfe and the Canada. With most of the French Canadians departing, the work continued using the British artificers who had recently arrived. The frames were up, but planking the ships still needed to be completed. Although Owen remained concerned about the resumption of hostilities, President Madison had already ordered U.S. ships to be laid up.24

James Yeo departed a few days later for England. He chose to travel via Sackets Harbor on the invitation of Chauncey and ended up staying longer than planned. Yeo travelled overland to New York City, where much publicity greeted him and at least one challenge to duel, then sailed for London. He was in the Admiralty offices on May 30.

On April 10, undoubtedly because of an invitation from Yeo, Chauncey sailed into Navy Bay. U.S. major general Jacob Brown was also on board. After an evening of genial entertainment, Chauncey was provided with a tour of HMS St. Lawrence where he received a 13-gun salute.25 Whatever Chauncey’s thoughts, he would have been impressed by the finished, painted, and polished contours of the British vessels as compared to the crude and rough-hewn ships he had taken to war.

Shipbuilding activities were renewed and became focused on new transports, with some warships being converted. By April, the Montreal (Wolfe) was given an extra deck and had its ports closed to become a transport. Soon, the Kingston (Prince Regent) was serving as a troop ship, along with the Psyche and the Niagara. 26 Gunboats assisted in transporting demobilized British Army troops from Kingston to Prescott. With no obvious purpose in the

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postwar period, by June 1815, the gunboat flotilla was decommissioned. Ten gunboats were retained and laid up in ordinary.27

In June, Commodore Owen decided to lay up the Psyche, the Burlington (Princess Charlotte), and the St. Lawrence. The Niagara’s crew was reduced, but the vessel remained on duty because it was able to negotiate the Niagara River. The Star (Lord Melville) transported stores and troops. The Charwell (Earl of Moira) was noted to be unfit for service and was used briefly as a powder magazine. The Brock, a schooner launched in April 1817, never sailed.

The war was seemingly over. The Admiralty decided to adjust the command structure on the Great Lakes to peacetime conditions, combining the functions of commodore and commissioner. Commodore Owen would have an early return to England, and Commissioner Hall took command of the Point Frederick yard. But before doing so, Hall proceeded to England for discussions with the Admiralty about the future of the yard. With the planned departures of both Hall and then Owen, storekeeper Edward Laws acted as commissioner.28

Hall departed Point Frederick on June 7, 1815, with a full understanding of the extent of his challenges, which were many. The voluminous naval stores, once vital to winning the war, were now surplus and taking up space. The long wooden storehouses near the wharf and shoreline were jammed full. A vast quantity of weather-sensitive items from England continued to arrive and had to be stowed in any available space in the yard. The existing rigging (masts, yards, sails, and ropes), guns, small arms, gunpowder, shot, clothing, anchors, paints, tools, and myriad necessities were already warehoused inside and protected from the threat of fire. Hall was not only responsible for managing all of this but also the other storehouses in Quebec, Lachine, Gananoque, York, Niagara, Holland Landing, Kempenfelt, Willow Creek, Penetanguishene, and farther up the lakes, all with naval stores.

Commissioner Hall needed direction regarding the most important and expensive items of all — the warships. He could either maintain them with crews or place them in ordinary (mothballed) with custodial staff tasked to keep them afloat while minimizing deterioration. Taking initiative, Hall left behind orders to begin a peacetime building program while he was in England. He ordered construction of a 290-by-60-foot heavy wharf, an 84-by-40-foot stone smithy, a 140-by-30-foot two-storey workmen’s shed, and a 90-by-20-foot service wharf. Hall also wanted the yard fenced and

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directed picketing to be raised along the west perimeter of the yard, separating the navy property from that of the army.29

In a letter written to the Navy Board on June 24, 1815, while travelling, Hall described in detail what he and Commodore Owen had in mind. He wanted surgeon Thomas Lewis, still working at the hospital, to assume responsibility for all medical care in the naval yard. The temporary naval hospital in Kingston, arranged by acting Commissioner Richard O’Conor, now empty, would become the hydrographic office. Hall also wished to build two stone dwelling houses, one for the victualling agent and another for the surgeon of the naval hospital.30

By July, manning of the yard had been reduced and there were not enough sentries to guard the yard perimeter. An effort to recruit volunteers was unsuccessful, and in October, HMS Niagara (Prince George), Commodore Earl’s flagship, was taken out of service. The frigate Kingston was similarly removed from service and housed over. The Montreal, the Star, and the Netley were soon also detached from service and roofed over as winter settled in.31

To preserve the vessels, each was opened and aired out twice a week, the bilge pumps being activated when needed. Nobody was on board, although the St. Lawrence was employed as a barrack. Heaters were lit twice a week to keep the interiors dry, hatchways and doors were secured to prevent weather damage, and masts and rigging were soon removed and stored. Owen also ordered the two large vessels on the stocks to be housed over. When that was completed, the extra oxen and horses were auctioned off.32

The new heavy wharf, designed to accommodate the St. Lawrence and other large vessels, was completed by June 1816, before Hall’s return.33 It soon acquired the name “St. Lawrence Wharf.” Built adjacent to the mould loft, this wharf remains present on the modern landscape and is the oldest existing postwar Point Frederick structure. Hall’s west perimeter fence started at the dockyard gate and followed a path along the upper shoreline until it merged with the fenced fort on the tip of Point Frederick. This allowed space on the water side for an access road to the fort along the shoreline. A gap in the fence that gave way to a road from the commodore’s residence allowed goods to enter the naval yard from the wharf. The fence was the forerunner of a stone wall. The painting in Fig. 12.2 depicts the early dockyard gate and fencing in 1815.

The blacksmith shop ordered by Hall was built of stone, a first (see Fig. 12.3). The building contract was awarded to Kingston mason Nicholas

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Fig. 12.2: This detail of an 1815 painting of the naval yard is the first depiction of the dockyard gate and wooden fencing ordered by Commodore Robert Hall. The dockyard gate is near the two buildings and mast pole (with bell) at centre right. The victualler’s storehouse is the structure on the left, above the vessel.

Fig. 12.3: The 1815

smithy was located on today’s RMC parade square, just west of the Stone Frigate. This 1887 photograph was taken when the building was serving as the RMC gymnasium.

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Morin, a French Canadian. Morin made the stone walls two feet thick and up to 17 feet high and included six brick chimneys for the forges. It was to be completed by October 1815,34 although delays pushed the finish month to December. Two smaller wooden companion buildings — a smithy iron shop and a coal shop — were built adjacent soon after 1815.35 When the RMC opened, the smithy became the first college gymnasium.

The 140-by-30-foot two-floor workmen’s shed ordered by Hall became the victualling store.36 The log building is depicted in various images. It was located on the west shore between the commodore’s wharf and the victualler’s wharf, which facilitated the delivery of food supplies from Kingston. The dilapidated remains of the west shore wharves were still visible in 1933.

The timing of these projects and others can be deduced from two remarkable maps of Point Frederick. Each was completed a year apart and

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done independently. The first is the British Admiralty’s A Plan of His Majesty’s Naval Yard Kingston, Point Frederick, Upper Canada, America, in the Year 1815.

37 This is the more detailed one and identifies many of the principal structures. It is unsigned and is the only map that depicts the many shanties built north of the yard gate.

The second map was completed a year later (see Fig. 12.4). It is titled Plan of Kingston and Its Vicinity and was an early product of the Great Lakes survey service. It identifies the principal buildings and is dated June 15, 1816.38 Notably, the St. Lawrence Wharf is shown on this map but not on the Admiralty one, an indication of the date of construction. Other details can be compared between the two maps to understand the dates of Hall’s early postwar construction. The whole map (not shown) includes details of Kingston and the Cataraqui River. It also includes an important insert map of plans for future development (see also Fig. 13.1).

During the summer of 1815 and while the construction of the St. Lawrence Wharf was underway, the largest vessels were partly dismantled and moored in Navy Bay. The masts were still mounted, but the yards, rigging, and sails were removed. A moment from this scene was captured by Emeric Essex (E.E.) Vidal in a remarkable painting, of which Fig. 12.5 is a detail. The vessel on the left is moored just off the pier with the rear mast in contact with sheers, possibly to lift, or place, the mast. Commodore Owen’s

Fig. 12.4: Detail

of the Vidal, Owen, Renny, Bayfield Plan of Kingston and Its Vicinity, including the roads.

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Fig. 12.5: Navy

Bay in July 1816. From left to right: HMS St. Lawrence, HMS Kingston (Prince Regent), HMS Burlington (Princess Charlotte), and HMS Psyche. The northwest stone tower of Fort Henry is on the right. broad pennant flies from the St. Lawrence, his flagship. The Psyche is roofed over and moored closest to Fort Henry.39

While the work of preserving the existing fleet got started, the Admiralty took steps to create a survey service to accurately map the entire St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes Basin. The service would facilitate the work of a border commission and would also be important if there was another war with the Americans. The Admiralty directed Captain William Fitz William (“Fitz”) Owen, the half-brother of Commodore Sir Edward Owen, to proceed to Kingston and direct the service.

The Great Lakes survey took years to complete, and in the case of Acting Lieutenant Henry Wolsey Bayfield, his lifetime. Fitz Owen arrived at Point Frederick in the spring of 1815. By the summer, he had assembled his survey service, which initially consisted of Lieutenant Alexander Thomas Emeric (A.T.E.) Vidal, John Harris (master of the Prince Regent), and Lieutenants Becher and Cranfield.40 On March 4, 1816, Lieutenant Bayfield joined,41 and Amelia Harris, John Harris’s teenage wife, soon became an informal but valuable member of the team.

The survey service found its headquarters in Captain Richard O’Conor’s temporary naval hospital in Kingston, and the name became the Hydrographer’s House (see Fig. 11.2). 42 Situated on the escarpment above the Cataraqui River and just inside the Kingston defensive palisade and No. 5 Blockhouse, it enjoyed an elevated, expansive view of Point Frederick, Fort Henry, the Kingston garrison, and surrounding country. Amelia arrived in the fall and kept house. She

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Fig. 12.6: This

map, by John Harris probably in 1815, shows acting Commissioner O’Conor’s temporary naval hospital or Hydrographer’s House (red arrow) and Point Frederick naval hospital (blue arrow). The sight lines align with the Point Frederick hospital, a clear landmark and reference used by mariners.

also proved to be gifted at plotting charts.43 An ink map, complete with sightlines that include the Point Frederick naval hospital and the Hydrographer’s House, done by Harris, is found in the National Archives in London (see Fig. 12.6). Bayfield had joined them by the following spring.

During the first summer while on Lake Erie, the lake service ran into trouble. On September 4, aboard HMS Confiance on the Detroit River, Lieutenant Vidal learned that eight of the crew had deserted to the United States. Presumably armed, he pursued them across the border and into the United States. He arrested them but was soon taken into custody himself. It took serious efforts on the part of Fitz Owen to secure Vidal’s release.44 Vidal’s pistols are today part of the RMC Museum collection.

Surveying during the summer months, the group spent two winters in Kingston before Fitz Owen, Vidal, and the Harrises left the survey, while Bayfield moved on with it. No longer needing the Hydrographer’s House, the building was transferred to the army in December 1818.45 Bayfield continued with the service for many years until he retired to Prince Edward Island in 1856, becoming “the surveyor of the Gulf and River St. Lawrence.”46 They all remained friends and corresponded for many years.47

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Fig. 12.7: Point

Frederick from the high ground north of Fort Henry. While dated 1819, the scene is thought to be from the fall of 1817 and is attributed to Henry Wolsey Bayfield.

A.T.E. Vidal’s brother, E.E. Vidal, the accomplished painter, was on Sir Edward Owen’s staff and left two detailed paintings of the 1815 yard that bring it to life (see details in Figs. 7.1, 7.2, 9.1, and 12.5).

Bayfield is thought to have spent the winters of 1815–17 in Kingston. During that time, he gathered sufficient information to make an important painting of Points Frederick and Henry (see Fig. 12.7). From the high ground north of Fort Henry, visible on the left, the view is to the southwest, capturing Navy Bay, the dockyard, the naval hospital compound, and Kingston.

Throughout the summer of 1815, the naval hospital saw fewer sailors and marines but an increased number of workers. By this time, it was serving shipwrights, smiths, and at least one sawyer, who was injured and died a month later. Six others passed away during the summer, all yard workers.48 In the fall, a well was ordered sunk for the hospital,49 possibly associated with a wellhouse at the rear of the surgeon’s dwelling house, now a shed. In the same newspaper, requests were made for tenders to enlarge the hospital, an indication the navy was assuming a long-term presence on Point Frederick.

Although the yard shipwrights continued to work, a major reduction in the establishment occurred in October 1815. The vessels were moved from their moored positions, as shown in Fig. 12.5, and tied along the shore and near the wharves. Placing the vessels close to shore undoubtedly simplified the processes of maintaining them in ordinary and removing the masts and rigging. In a first step to preserve the empty vessels, most of the decks were housed over with roofs to minimize weathering. Although roofed over like the others, the Kingston (Prince Regent) stayed in service as Commissioner

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Hall’s headquarters and as a barrack for some of the men. Other vessels were taken out of commission.50

In November, with Hall still in London, Owen recommended to the Admiralty that a viable Lake Ontario Naval Squadron would need 6,300 sailors and marines. The number was so extreme that one wonders if he was putting forward a cost he knew could not be justified. Owen may have felt the navy was no longer needed in Upper Canada.

Having completed a comprehensive reduction of the fleet and placing it on a peacetime footing, Owen departed in November, turning the yard over to his brother, Fitz Owen, and then acting Commissioner Edward Laws. Meanwhile, work continued throughout the winter and into the spring.51

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