In September 1812 U.S. Navy Captain Isaac Chauncey was ordered to assume command of naval forces on Lakes Ontario and Erie with the directive to "...use every exertion to obtain control of them this fall."

Within three weeks he had directed and brought 149 ships' carpenters, 700 Seamen and Marines, and some 100 cannon, along with a good quantity of muskets and other supplies, to Sacket's Harbor on Lake Ontario[8] where there was already a small navy yard.

At the start of the campaigning season of 1813, the main American forces on the border between the United States and Canada had been concentrated at Sacket's Harbor.

However, Dearborn and Chauncey exaggerated the number of British regulars they believed to be stationed at Kingston, and instead proceeded to attack York, the Provincial capital of Upper Canada, at the other end of the lake.

This was Prevost's second visit to Upper Canada in four months, as he thought it would probably prove necessary to replace Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe, who had lost the confidence of the Provincial Assembly after his defeat at York.

While Prevost reorganised his command and attempted to raise the morale of the militia and civil authorities, Yeo hastened the completion of the new sloop-of-war Wolfe and the refitting of several other armed vessels.

On learning of Chauncey's presence off Fort George, Yeo and Prevost realised that the American squadron and Dearborn's army would probably be occupied there for several days.

[11] They had an opportunity to capture Sacket's Harbor, and deliver a decisive blow to the shipyard to ensure that the British gained naval supremacy on the lake.

The distant sails proved to belong to twelve bateaux carrying troops from the 9th and 21st U.S. Regiments of Infantry from Oswego to Sackets Harbor.

[1][13] The British sent out three large canoes full of Native American warriors and a gunboat carrying a detachment of the Glengarry Light Infantry to intercept them.

After about half an hour, during which they lost 35 men killed, the surviving United States troops regained their vessels and raised a white flag.

British Navy: Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo[17] Sackets Harbor: Brigadier General Jacob Brown[17][18]

[3] The British swung to their left, hoping to take the town and dockyard from the landward side, but the American regulars with some field guns gave ground only slowly.

Under the mistaken impression that the fort had surrendered, a young American naval officer, Acting Lieutenant John Drury, ordered the sloop-of-war General Pike, which was under construction, and large quantities of stores to be set on fire.

His own field guns did not come into action and without them he was unable to batter breaches in the American defences, while the militia which Brown had rallied were attacking his own right flank and rear.

Prevost later wrote that the enemy had been beaten and that the retreat was carried out in perfect order, but other accounts by British soldiers stated that the re-embarkation took place in disorder, and each unit acrimoniously blamed the others for the repulse.

Major William Swan's casualty report for the American force detailed 22 killed, 84 wounded, and 26 missing for the U.S. regulars and the federal volunteer units.

The news of the British assault caused Commodore Chauncey to recall his entire squadron to Sacket's Harbor until General Pike was completed, leaving the American Army on the Niagara peninsula without support.

They had already been checked at the Battle of Stoney Creek, and Yeo attacked their vulnerable lakeside flank, capturing provision boats, tents and large quantities of supplies and forcing them to withdraw to Fort George.

Jacob Brown was rewarded for his part in the victory at Sacket's Harbor with a regular commission as Brigadier General in the United States Army.

On the British side, Prevost's prestige was badly damaged by the repulse, although he remained in command in Canada for another year and a half before another defeat at the Battle of Plattsburgh finally ruined his reputation.

He intended to launch a surprise attack from boats at dawn on 1 July, but day broke while he was still short of his objective and his force took refuge on the north shore of Blackwater Creek.

[24] For several months, the fighting on and around Lake Ontario was stalemated, until General Pike heavily damaged Yeo's flagship, Wolfe, in an engagement off York on 28 September.

Yeo had a reputation as a fighting captain, gained by leading landing parties, but was new to the command and conditions on the lake, and cautiously kept most of his warships in deep water on 28 May.