The Argus: The Vietnam War

the reasons for this were that merchant convoys would break up at the end of their journeys to return home, “and because the [Royal Navy’s] strength was deployed to blockade enemies rather than guard the British Isles.” The Argus was meet by the British ship Pelican and chose to stay and fight, rather than run. The battle was quick lasting only 30 minutes, the Argus was outmatched and her gunnery was below the level set by the American ships previously: “before the British could board, the American vessel struck her colours.” This, along with the defeat of the Chesapeake, marked the beginning of the end for the short-lived American naval supremacy. The British created a more effective blockade of the American coast and no longer allowed its

The opening moves by the Americans were to try and reclaim land lost in the previous year, but they faltered after the advanced guard was defeated in Frenchtown. They soon gained momentum again after a victory on the Niagara front. The American forces on Lake Ontario along with the U.S. held Fort Niagara began bombarding Fort George on the Niagara River. After a short land skirmish in which the British and Natives were outnumbered, Fort George was abandoned, along with Fort Erie and other posts on the river. This allowed U.S. ships to sail to meet the Fleet being built on Lake Erie. General Dearborn wanted to continue the momentum and embarked on an expedition to force the British out of Burlington Heights. Benn mentions that the Iroquois in the region, fearing an attack on their settlements from the Americans, agreed to abandon the British and even to attack them if prompted. The British, fearing the attack, decided to attack first in the early hours of the morning. Benn comments that the battle was so confusing that “friend shot at friend, and two American brigadier-generals walked into the hands of British troops because they could not distinguish blue from red uniforms in the dark.” The attack had the desired effect and the Americans withdrew to a camp on Lake Ontario. The Americans held onto their new territory but failed to make any progress from

This gave inherent power to the British and stifled American advancement in the area, as the British were now able to sail anywhere on the lake. In the late summer of 1813, the British fleet came across the American fleet at Fort Niagara. The two fleets sailed but never began a formal battle. The two fleets spent days trying to maneuver into the advantage, but neither fleet could. After the Americans lost a few ships, mostly due to accident, the two fleets separated, with the British having that advantage, but no decisive victory was won. Horsman claims that both the American and British commanders were unwilling to take the risks to gain victory and that the “battle” failed to satisfy British land forces, who had hoped for aid from the British fleet in driving the Americans out of Fort George. Horsman paints a picture of two commanders who were both unwilling to commit to combat and avoided it whenever possible. He believes this to be advantageous to the British, who were mostly fighting a defensive