1813     BRITISH AND AMERICANS ON CANADIAN LAKES     253

Sidney Smith, of the United States' navy. The British had three men wounded ; the Americans, one man killed, eight severely wounded, and, including the latter, 99 prisoners. No British naval officer was present. The feat was performed by detachments of the 100th. regiment, and royal artillery, under the direction of Major Taylor, of the former.

On the 1st of August, some officers and seamen having arrived from Quebec, Captain Thomas Everard, late of the 18-gun brig-sloop Wasp, with the two prize-sloops, three gunboats, and several batteaux, containing about 1000 troops under the command of Colonel Murray, entered the American port of Plattsburg. Here the colonel landed with his men ; and, after driving away the American militia at the post, destroyed all the arsenals, block-houses, barracks, and stores of every description, together with the extensive barracks at Saranac. The two enterprising officers then proceeded off Burlington and Swanton, in Vermont ; where they seized and destroyed several sloops laden with provisions, and did other considerable injury. At this time the United States' troops at Burlington, distant only 24 miles from Plattsburg, under the command of Major-general Hampton, amounted to about 4000 men. Although a letter written by an inhabitant of Burlington, and published in most of the American papers, declares that the British troops " did no injury whatever to private property," an American historian states thus : " They (the British) wantonly burned several private store-houses, and carried off immense quantities of the stock of individuals." *

As a proof that a little energy on the part of the Americans might have averted the Plattsburg misfortune, it appears by a statement, published in the United States within three weeks after the above affair happened, that the American naval force on Lake Champlain then consisted of the President, of 12 guns, the Commodore-Preble and Montgomery of 11 guns each, the Frances, of 6 guns, two gun-boats, of one 18-pounder each, and six scows, of one 12-pounder each.

* Sketches of the War, p. 156.

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