Movements in Late August
The Americans had missed one hundred barrels of provisions in a storehouse, and two batteaux and Livingston's large canoe which had been moved higher up the Nottawasaga River. Worsley removed the obstructions from the river and sailed for Fort Mackinac with his sailors and Livingston, carrying seventy barrels, late on 18 August. Accounts of subsequent events vary; some state that Worsley evaded the gunboats, which were forced back into Lake Huron by a storm (which also nearly sank the Niagara) a few days later, while others state that one or both gunboats had left the Nottawasaga almost as soon as the Niagara was out of sight, hoping to capture boats and canoes involved in the fur trade with their valuable cargoes, and thus leaving the Nottawasaga unguarded.
The Americans then heard that several boats manned by hired Canadian voyageurs under Captain J. M. Lamothe were attempting to reach Mackinac Island with supplies via the traditional fur-trading route of the Ottawa River, Lake Nipissing and the French River. To intercept this party, the gunboats cruised in a narrow channel about 36 miles (58 km) east of Mackinac Island, known as the Detour Passage. The voyageur party were warned and temporarily turned back up the French River.
Having rowed and paddled 360 miles (580 km), Worsley encountered the two gunboats in the Detour on 24 August but was able to turn aside without being spotted. He concealed the batteaux at a secluded bay and his whole party reached Mackinac Island in the canoe on 1 September. At one point, he had passed within only a few yards of one of the gunboats at night, without being detected.
Read more about this topic: Engagements On Lake Huron
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