1. Well aware that a British squadron would soon sail up Lake Champlain to assist Sir George Prevost’s army in an attack on Plattsburgh, U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas Macdonough anchored his four-ship fleet at the mouth of Plattsburgh Bay in such a way as to negate the superior long-range firepower of the British. Macdonough also set up springs and anchors enabling his ships to change position as necessary once the battle had begun. This preparation was the deciding factor in the contest, in which the British had gained a slight advantage until Macdonough moved his largest ship, the Saratoga, to bring a completely new set of guns to bear on the largest opposing ship, the Confiance. The latter’s officers and crew attempted a similar maneuver but were unsuccessful, and surrendered. Heavily damaged and either sinking or unmanageable, the three smaller British ships also struck their colors. The British gunboats, which had played a minor role in the battle, escaped. Macdonough reported fifty-two of his force killed and fifty-eight severely wounded, not mentioning additional less serious injuries; the total British loss was approximately two hundred and fifty (Quimby, U.S. Army in the War of 1812, 2:612–24).

2. Prevost’s army, facing a vastly inferior force under Macomb, which had been weakened by Maj. Gen. George Izard’s departure for Sackets Harbor with four thousand men, arrived at Plattsburgh on 6 Sept. 1814 after repelling various attacks by U.S. troops. Unable to capture the American fortifications there, Prevost decided to wait to renew his attack until the British squadron arrived. The bombardment on the day of the naval battle proved ineffective, however, and Prevost called back the land forces making their way toward the American position when he learned that the British squadron had surrendered (ibid., 607–11, 624–25).