An Unsung Hero...

Figurehead of HMS Nancy

   To put it mildly, things were looking pretty bleak for the home side in the summer of 1814 in the thrid summer of conflict in the War of 1812.

   The War of 1812 was a battle between American and British forces, fought mostly along the border of the U.S. and Canada.

   Now, all Wars are senseless, but this one was incredibly so.  The British, more concerned with a war they were fighting in Europe, fielded a force of mostly second-rate officers in the North American version.  The Americans, for their part, were less than enthusaistic about fighting a war on “foreign” soil.

  In many ways, the War of 1812 was an attempt at “pay-back” by the Americans after their long

and bloody War of Independence from Britain over a quarter of a century earlier. The U.S. sought redress for a number of grievances with Britain, including trade restrictions on the U.S. as a result of Britain's War with France, impressment of American sailors, and the Americans' belief that Britain was supporting Indian tribes in their resistance of American westward expansion.

  For the first half of the War, the combined force of British soldiers, Native allies and Canadian Volunteers had successfully repelled several American attacks.

  In the summer of 1813, however, the Americans began to get serious.

First , they captured and burned the village of York, the capital of Upper Canada.  You might now York better now as Toronto, a city of over 2 million people. In 1813, it was home to a population of about 5 000.

 Then, the U.S. got into building Warships on the Great  Lakes.  In a big way.

After winning several naval battles on Lake Erie, the Americans found themselves in control of the Upper Great Lakes (Michigan/Huron/Superior) by the spring of 1814. 

  The British now had only one remaining fort on the Great Lakes - Fort Mackinaw, where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet.  They had captured the fort from the Americans at the start of the War.  Seems the U.S. Forces there hadn’t received word that the War had even started.

   The British were also down to one ship on the Upper Great Lakes by this time.  The HMS Nancy had originally been built as a commerical schooner. It was built originally to serve in the fur trade, but was pressed into service for the British during the War's first summer.

  By 1814, it served as an important link in the chain between Fort Mackinaw and the rest of Canada.  Supplies were hauled by lakes, streams, rivers, and even by land from York to a storage building at the south end of Nottawasaga Bay, where they would be transported to Mackinaw by the Nancy.

Fort Mackinaw

  In the summer of 1814, the Americans decided it was time to re-take Fort Mackinaw, and begin to put a stranglehold on the British.  They sent five armed ships to do the job.  The Nancy, which was built as a cargo vessel, would be no match for the Americans.  The new British Naval Commander for Lake Huron knew this all too well.

  Miller Worsley was born in England in 1791.  He joined the Royal Navy at the age of 12.  This was not uncommon for those times. Worsley was summoned to serve in the War in mid-1812.

  By 1814, while still a young man, Worsley was a seasoned sailor, having fought in several famous Naval battles.

   Worsley knew that the Nancy was all that stood between the Americans and a possible victory in the War.  He also knew that he couldn’t outrun or outgun the powerul U.S. ships.

  When the U.S. Warships Tigress and Scorpion appeared at the north end of Nottawasaga Bay one August morning in 1814, Worsley knew he had to take action quickly.  He ordered the Nancy pulled by ropes up the Nottawasaga River  to the blockhouse at Schooner Town.

  The Americans knew that something was up, however.  Sailors who had gone ashore to look for firewood discovered the Nancy’s mast among the tall oak and pine trees that once ringed the Bay.  The sailors scrambled back to the Tigress and Scorpion to report the news, and it wasn’t long before cannon balls began to come screaming across the treetops in the Nancy’s direction.

With a small force of soldiers and native allies, Miller realized quickly that time was running out.  He ordered a trail of gunpowder to be laid between the Nancy and the blockhouse. 

The Americans’shipboard cannons proved to be very inaccurate because of the sand dunes on shore.  As a result, they sent men ashore with a mortar.  In short order, while Miller and his men retreated to the woods for safety, and American shell landed on the blockhouse, blowing up both it and the Nancy.

   The Americans felled a number of trees across the mouth of the river to make sure that no ships of any kind made it out.  They quickly pulled up anchor, and turned the two ships north, in the direction of Mackinaw. With the last remaining British ship now out of commission, and the supply chain to its remaining base severed, the Americans seemed poised to win the war.

  At this point, Worsley had to know how dismal things looked.  Stopping to gather both his men and his wits in the woods somewhere south of the Nottawasaga, Worsley could have easily decided it was time to pack it in, and head back to York.  With no ship,  few weapons, and no suitable means of transportation,  going after the Americans would have been futile - it would have been understandable if he decided to cut his losses by retreating back to headquarters at York.  Most men in his situation, after carefully considering the facts, would have done the same.

  But Lt. Col Miller Worsley wasn’t like most men.

Having practically grown up in the Royal Navy, Worsley was more than used to desperate situations - situations that looked hopeless.  He knew that the trees the Americans dumped across the mouth of the Nottawasaga were only an obstacle - one that could be surmounted with intelligence and bravery.  He knew that the fall of Fort Mackinaw, and the whole of Canada was now only a matter of time, unlesss he took action. He had to find a way to get to the Fort, ahead of the Americans, to warn them of the impending attack.

  Worsley emerged from the woods with two batteaux, one canoe, and a small party of men.

 They dragged their boats to the beach, and set off at once for the Fort, hoping to beat the Americans ships there. 

Batteaux

   The only problem was that the Americans had a head start on the nearly 500 km journey, and while the U.S. ships relied on sail power, Worsley and his men had only oars and paddles to navigate the open waters of the Bay with.  And then there was the tricky matter of somehow getting past the Americans without being seen.

  They caught up to and silently slipped by the two warships at night near St Joseph Island on August 30th, passing within metres of them in the narrow channel.

  Worsley appraised the commander of the Fort of the situation, and on September 3rd, he left the Fort with 92 men, in the hopes of defeating the attack before it even got started.  They found the Tigress at anchor by herself, with only a few sailors on watch.  The British easily captured her, and  the American sailors below deck.  The prisoners were sent off to the Fort, but were forced to leave their uniform jackets behind.

  Two days later, the Scorpion returned to the Tigress.

As the Scorpion pulled alongside, nothing seemed unusual.  The deck of the Tigress was full of uniformed sailors going about their daily routines.  Under those uniforms, of course, were the royal blue coats of the British Navy.  Worsley ordered a barrage of cannon and musket fire as the Scorpion came about.

   With the element of surprise, Worsley captured the Scorpion in less than 5 minutes.

  With his bold and daring moves, Worsley had saved Fort Mackinaw from likely being taken over by the Americans.  It’s not a stretch to say that in the process he saved the Upper Great Lakes.  He may have even saved Canada, too. 

     By the fall of 1814, both the Americans and the British were anxious to end the War.  The Americans were tired of losing battles to the spirited Canadian forces, and Britain was eager to devote its full military and naval resources to defeat the French and their Commander Napoleon.

  By the terms of the peace treaty the two signed, Mackinaw was returned to the U.S. Both sides agreed to drastically reduce the number of warships they operated on the Great Lakes.

  The British decomissioned the captured Tigress and Scorpion.  Both ships were scuttled in the harbour  just off the British Naval base at Penetanguishene. 

  While Worsley and his men were paddling off to defeat the Americans in the north end of Georgian Bay, the Nancy was slowly settling on the bottom of the Nottawasaga River just a few hundred metres from the demolished blockhouse.

  A century’s worth of silt and sand was deposited on the hull of the Nancy by the river, creating a small island in the middle of the River.  The island, of course, now houses the Museum of the Upper Great Lakes, telling the story of Lt Col Miller Worsley and how he and his small band of men helped to change history.

   Perhaps worn out by the events of the summer of 1814, Worsley took ill in October of that year, and went on half-pay.

  He returned to his home in England the following spring.  Worsley died at the age of  43 in 1835.

 Miller Worsley’s time in Canada was brief, but his courageous actions left a lasting imprint.

Sir Issac Brock may be the best-known hero for the home side in the the War of 1812, but Worsley’s contribution, coming as it was during crunch time, was no less significant.

  

 

The Museum of the Upper Great Lakes - Nancy Island

Hull of the Nancy