to myself, the officers, and men, will ever hereafter be gratefully remembered. I have the honor to be, &c.
Sir James L. Yeo, when transmitting a copy of Captain Pring’s letter to the Admiralty, declared himself “of opinion, that there was not the least necessity for our squadron giving the enemy such decided advantages, by going into their bay to engage them; even had they been successful, it would not in the least have assisted the troops in storming the batteries; whereas, had our army taken the works first, it would have obliged the American squadron to quit the bay, and given the British a fair chance[1].” Sir James subsequently preferred the following charges against Sir George Prevost:–
"For having, on or about the 11th Sept. 1814, by holding out the expectation of a co-operation of the army under his command, induced Captain Downie to attack the American squadron on Lake Champlain, when it was highly imprudent to make such attack without the co-operation of the land forces, and for not having afforded that co-operation.
“For not having stormed the American works on shore at nearly the same time that the said naval action commenced, as he had given Captain Downie reason to expect.
“For having disregarded the signal for co-operation which had been previously agreed upon; and,
“For not having attacked the enemy on shore, either during the said naval action, or after it was ended, whereby his Majesty’s squadron, under the command of Captain Downie, might have been saved.”
Unfortunately, justice was interrupted in its course by the death of Sir George Prevost, before the demanded investigation could take place. On the 28th Aug. 1815, however, Captain Pring, and the majority of the surviving officers and men late belonging to the Lake Champlain squadron, were tried by a court-martial at Portsmouth, and the following was the sentence pronounced:–
- ↑ Official letter to J. W. Croker, Esq., dated at Kingston, 24th Sept. 1814.
