HMS Royal George (1809)

HMS Royal George was a British 20-gun wooden sloop of the Provincial Marine, and subsequently, the Royal Navy, operating on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812 with a crew of 200.

History
She was launched at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard in Kingston, Ontario, in July 1809.

The Flight of Royal George
In November 1812, Royal George was the largest warship on the lake, operating under the command of British Commodore Hugh Earl (or "Earle"). On November 9th 1812, an American fleet of seven ships under the command of Commadore Isaac Chauncey surprised the HMS Royal George as it passed near the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. The Royal George eluded the American vessels by slipping into the North Channel between Amherst Island and the mainland as night fell, making her way into the safety of her home harbour at Kingston by 2 am.

The following morning November 10th, the American fleet resumed the pursuit, burning a small commercial vessel near Bath and proceeding along the shore. As they approached Kingston, they came under lire from shore batteries. Chauncey directed his ship, the Oneida and the other American vessels to bombard and attempt to seize the Royal George within its harbour. Artillery fire from the shore batteries along the shoreline including two batteries on Point Henry prevented them from closing on their prize. Roundshot from the American vessels penetrated into the town but they were unable to capture the Royal George. At the end of the day, they anchored out of sight of Kingston, intending to resume their attack the next day. However, an approaching storm caused Chauncey to withdraw hack to the American base at Sackett's harbor without seizing their prize.

This would be the only American attack on Kingston during the War of 1812 as more personnel were sent to this important military and naval centre and strong, fortifications were built on Point Henry to defend the dockyards. It was the only time that shots were fired from Point Henry in its history.

Legacy
She was renamed Niagara in 1814 and was sold in 1837.

Reecnactment
The crew of HMS Royal George is currently portrayed by a War of 1812 re-enactment group, under the HMS Richmond umbrella organization.

From June 30 to July 1 2012, a 3 day reenactment of the flight of the Royal George was performed from Bath, ON to Kingston in recognition of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. In an ironic twist, the role of the Royal George was played by the Brig Niagara, one of the last two remaining tall ships with an 1812 heritage.