The Escape of the Royal George 

1812

Beside the markers for Upper Gap Archaeological Site

Commemoration

Opposite here is the gap between Amherst Island and the eastern tip of Prince Edward County. On November 9, 1812, the British corvette "Royal George" (22 guns), commanded by Commodore Hugh Earl(e), was intercepted off False Duck Islands by an American fleet, comprising seven ships under Commodore Isaac Chauncey. Pursued by the enemy, "Royal George" escaped through this gap into the Bay of Quinte's North Channel. The chase resumed in light winds the following day when she arrived safely in Kingston harbour. Chauncey, intent on capturing the largest British warship then on Lake Ontario, attacked her in the harbour, but after exchanging fire with"Royal George" and shore batteries, was forced to withdraw.

Background

The Royal George was built at the Royal Dockyard in Kingston in 1809.  In 1814, she was renamed the Niagara.  She was a 20 gun wooden sloop of the Provincial Marine.  (20 gun sloops had approximately 20 guns.)

Chauncey commanded all American naval forces on Lake Ontario in the War of 1812.