Don Bamford - Four Years on the Great Lakes, 1813-1816: The Journal of Lieutenant David Wingfield, Royal Navy

FOUR YEARS ON THE
GREAT LAKES, 18131816

FOUR YEARS ON THE
GREAT LAKES, 18131816

The Journal of Lieutenant David Wingfield, Royal Navy

Don Bamford & Paul Carroll
Foreword by Barry Gough

Copyright Don Bamford & Paul Carroll, 2009

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

Edited by Jane Gibson
Copy-edited by Allison Hirst
Proofread by Jason Karp
Designed by Erin Mallory
Printed and bound in Canada by Webcom

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Wingfield, David, ca. 1789-1863
Four years on the Great Lakes, 1813-1816 : the journal of Lieutenant David Wingfield, Royal Navy / by Don Bamford and Paul Carroll.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55488-393-6

1. Wingfield, David, ca. 1789-1863--Diaries. 2. Canada--History--War of 1812--Personal narratives, British. 3. Canada--History--War of 1812--Naval operations. 4. Ontario, Lake (N.Y. and Ont.)--History, Naval--19th century. 5. Sailors--Great Britain--Diaries. I. Bamford, Don II. Carroll, Paul, 1944-III. Title.

FC443.W55A3 2009 971.034092 C2009-900300-7

1 2 3 4 5 13 12 11 10 09

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and The Association for the Export of Canadian Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

J. Kirk Howard, President

www.dundurn.com
Published by Natural Heritage Books
A Member of The Dundurn Group

Front cover: On October 14, 1814, lightning struck the HMS St. Lawrence while she sailed on a shakedown cruise. There was significant, but repairable damage, and several crewmembers were killed. Painting by Peter Rindlisbacher. Reprinted with the permission of the artist. Back cover: An aerial view of Wingfield Basin. Courtesy of Telfer Wegg.

We humbly dedicate this work to those soldiers, seamen, and militia of both sides of the conflict in the War of 181214, who served King or Commander-in-Chief and country, in a foreign and somewhat hostile land. Many of these men received very little credit for their efforts and sacrifices.

Both sides produced men of high levels of bravery and excellent leadership. Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, K.B. and Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, USN, were honoured by outstanding monuments erected in memory of their battles. Others were remembered in the history books with only a few lines, or at most, a few pages.

The experiences of David Wingfield, away from the battle scenes, are unique in several respects. We hope this work will properly honour him and his compatriots.

CONTENTS

by Barry Gough

by Paul Carroll

Chapter One
Joining the Lake Service: Arrival and Adventures on Lake Ontario

Chapter Two
Capture and Experiences as a Prisoner of War

Chapter Three
Return to Active Duty on Lake Ontario

Chapter Four
Ordered to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: Commanding the Surprise

Chapter Five
Arrival on Georgian Bay: Service on Lake Huron

Chapter Six
Return to Kingston as Master of the Beckwith: And Home

Appendix A
The David Wingfield Family Tree

Appendix B
The Wingfield Family Society as submitted by Jocelyn Wingfield

Appendix C
Place Names

Appendix D
Glossary of Maritime Terms and Related Items

Appendix E
A Timeline: A Wingfield Chronology

Appendix F
The Friends of Cabot Head

Appendix G
Cover Art and Artist Peter Rindlisbacher

Map 1
A Plan of the Straits of Lake Huron into the Manitoulin Lake
from the Open Gat to Cabots Head.

Map 2
Chart of Wingfield Basin.

Map 3
Upper Canada and Great Lakes Basin, circa 1800.

Map 4
Kingston Harbour and Naval Installations.

Map 5
East End of Lake Ontario, including Sackets Harbor.

Map 6
West End of Lake Ontario, Little Lake, and Burlington Heights.

Map 7
York to Nottawasaga.

Map 8
Survey of Nottawasaga Bay, Penetanguishene Harbour, in Lake Huron.

Map 9
Plan of His Majestys Naval Establishment at Penetanguishene,
Lake Huron, 1829.

Map 10
Nottawasaga to Mackinac.

Map 11
Sketch Map of Wingfield Basin by William Fitz William Owen.

A Plan of the Straits of Lake Huron into the Manitoolin Lake from the Open Gat to Cabots Head from a Survey made 26th, 27th, and 28th Sept. 1815 by W.F.W. Owen. This sketch map, drawn on linen, is the first map depicted of the entrance to Georgian Bay and the passage across to Wingfield Basin at Cabot Head. It is noteworthy that many of the original names given to islands and landmarks have remained to this day, yet several others have been lost, altered slightly, or completely changed. Isle of Coves is now Cove Island, Point Hurd is Cape Hurd, Walkers Island is Baptist Island, and Nancy Strait is not named in any way on todays nautical charts. The Bruce Peninsula was called Little Cabotia by Owen and his company of assistant surveyors in 1815.

In their usual fashion, staff at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the New York Public Library, London (Ontario) Public Library, and the D.B. Weldon Library at the University of Western Ontario, have all made resources available as requested. The Great Lakes Cruising Club and The New York State Canal Corporation, through Car-mella R. Mantello, have provided helpful clarifications. Research material has been accessed through the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. The various websites for the General Register Office for the United Kingdom and www.Ancestry.com have been accessed numerous times for the confirmation of genealogical data.

We are indebted to the staff at Library and Archives Canada, particularly G. Dry, librarian, and T. Dub, military archivist, for helping us track down more information about the source of the Wingfield journal. The Archives of Ontario has also been used as a resource. Paul Adamth-waite, of the Archives and Collections Society, Picton, Ontario, has provided resource assistance several times.