''Seneca'' was a merchant

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

that the Provincial Marine commandeered at the outbreak of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. She belonged to an American owner, Ebeneezer Hubbard, and the British seized her at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

on 25 June 1812. She may have been armed with two guns, and Commodore Isaac Chauncey at one point reported that she was armed with 4 guns and had a crew of 40 men. On 2 November she was at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

undergoing a survey of her stores. On 21 November cannon fire from Fort Niagara sank her as she lay in the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

under Navy Hall.

References

*Stacey, C.P. (1953) "The ships of the British Squadron on Lake Ontario, 1812–14". ''Canadian Historical Review'' (Vol. 34), pp. 312–313. War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Great Lakes ships War of 1812 ships of Canada Provincial Marine {{Canada-mil-ship-stub