Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall v4p1.djvu/412

 at Kingston, Lake Ontario, in the summer of 1814, he was appointed by Sir James Lucas Yeo to the Montreal, commanded by his gallant relative the late Captain George Downie; and we shortly afterwards find him employed in watching the movements of the American squadron in Sackett’s harbour, where, on the night of their sailing from thence to blockade Kingston, he had the good fortune, with only two gigs, to capture two loaded transport vessels in the midst of the enemy i and succeeded in carrying them off undiscovered. He subsequently accompanied Captain Downie to Lake Champlain, and there bore a distinguished part in the gallantly fought, though disastrous, battle off Plattsburg, Sept. 11th, 1814. When tried by a court-martial for his conduct on that occasion, he read the following

“On the 3d Sept. 1814, Captain George Downie took command of H.M. late ship Confiance, and of the naval establishment on Lake Champlain; and I the same day joined as senior lieutenant.

“The Confiance had been launched eight days previous, and was then alongside a wharf, with top-gallant-masts an end, courses bent, and the major part of her guns in; but a very considerable part of the artificers’ work behind hand, and manned by drafts from H.M. ships Warspite, Ajax, Ceylon, Leopard, and several others, (also a few from transports,) all of whom arrived at l’Isle-aux-Noirs the day previous to the Confiance being launched, with the exception of a few of the Ceylon’s who arrived a short time before, and some who had been previously on the establishment.

“On the 4th, the seamen were employed in stowing ballast and provisions, and variously about the rigging; the artificers fitting magazines, catheads, tillers, bitts, carronade chocks, hammock nettings, driving in bolts, making top-gallant and royal-yards, gaff, spanker-boom, &c. &c. &c. On the 5th, artificers employed as before, seamen reeving running rigging, coiling away cables and hawsers, getting the rest of the guns on board, their carriages having just arrived, as well as some more long carriages in which we mounted the guns previously put into short carriages; but neither beds nor coins arrived with them.

