USS Scourge
Schooner · United States · Lost 1813 · Lake Ontario & the St. Lawrence
A Canadian merchant schooner seized by the U.S. Navy as a suspected smuggler became an armed Lake Ontario patrol vessel and sank with dozens of sailors in an 1813 squall.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1811 at Niagara-on-the-Lake as the merchant schooner Lord Nelson, she was seized by the U.S. Navy in June 1812 on suspicion of smuggling and armed as USS Scourge for Commodore Isaac Chauncey's Lake Ontario squadron. She took part in the capture of Fort George in 1813. On the night of 8 August 1813, overloaded with guns, she capsized with sister ship USS Hamilton in a sudden squall, drowning 42 of her crew. Discovered intact in 1973, the wreck is now a jointly designated Canadian national historic site.
Vessel
- 1811
- James Crooks
- Niagara-on-the-Lake, Upper Canada
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- 110
- Sail, schooner rig
- United States Navy (formerly Canadian merchant owner James Crooks)
Loss
- August 8, 1813
- Storm
- Lake Ontario, off Port Dalhousie, Upper Canada
- Lake Ontario
- Not established
- Not established
- 50
- 42
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 290-300
- Remarkably intact upright wreck with masts still standing, resting on the lake bed.
- Not established
- 1973
- Hamilton and Scourge National Historic Site of Canada (designated 1976); treated as a war grave.
Position
- 43.35° N 79.35° W
- Approximate position
- Off Port Dalhousie, near St. Catharines, Ontario
Site is roughly 11 kilometers north of Port Dalhousie; exact protected coordinates are withheld from public sources.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
Parks Canada, Hamilton and Scourge National Historic Site of Canada
Loss date, cause, casualties, discovery date, heritage designation.
Wreck condition, depth, and discovery context.
