Square Nail from The Schooner, Nancy

Date1789-1814

DimensionsOverall: 3.1 x 15.2 cm

Credit LineTransfer from the London and Middlesex Historical Society, 1958

Object number1958.001.193

Label TextThis is a spike from the schooner Nancy, which, during the War of 1812 (1812-1814) served as a British transport vessel. American forces aboard the U.S.S. Niagara, the U.S.S. Tigress, and the U.S.S. Scorpion overpowered and destroyed this supply ship in a short but decisive engagement on August 13, 1814. When the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812, the schooner Nancy, a private cargo ship built in 1789, was supplying the fur trade. With the start of hostilities, it became part of the Provincial Marine and then, in 1814, the Royal Navy. In the early years of the war, Nancy served a vital function on Lake Erie, sailing between British-held Detroit and Fort Erie, transporting supplies and military personnel. The ship became even more important after the Americans defeated the British fleet during the September 10, 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. This loss cut the British supply lines to Detroit, forcing them to retreat and allowing the Americans to retake the town. It also meant that the only British supply route left was the one that stretched overland from Lake Ontario at York, now Toronto, to Holland Landing and the Holland River. At that point, the route entered Lake Simcoe and led to the head of Kempenfeldt Bay at Barrie, Ontario, where Nine Mile Portage led to Willow Creek, the Nottawasaga River, and Lake Huron. The Nancy had been absent on a trip to the British-held Fort Mackinac, on Lake Huron, during the Battle of Lake Erie. It was the only British ship left to sail to the mouth of Nottawasaga River, the location of the British supply base. After their victory on Lake Erie, the Americans decided to try to recapture Fort Mackinac, which the British had taken on July 17, 1812. They launched their attack on July 3, 1814. While they failed to retake the Fort, the Americans did learn of the location of the Nancy from a prisoner. Three American ships, U.S.S. Niagara, Tigress, and Scorpion sailed to Nottawasaga Bay to intercept it. Ship’s commander Lieutenant Miller Worsley, Royal Navy, learned of the American’s plans. To protect it, he had the Nancy towed 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) up the Nottawasaga River to a blockhouse, which hid it from view. It was the ship’s and Worsley’s bad luck that an American wood-gathering party stumbled upon their location. The Americans, with a far superior force, launched their attack. Recognizing that the situation was hopeless, Lieutenant Worsley decided to scuttle the Nancy rather than let it, and the supplies it contained, fall into enemy hands. The Nancy burned to the waterline and sank. The British forces escaped and were not pursued.

NameNail