News

War along our shores: Tale of the Cutter Eagle

Having delivered his prisoners, Capt. Gallaway headed southeast in the Dispatch on Oct. 13. It was then he encountered a fellow British warship. A massive fifth-rate frigate, the HMS Narcissus was fitted with 32 guns and hardened by more than a dozen years of naval warfare.

Unlike the relatively new Dispatch, the Narcissus was a distinguished ship with a long history of military success. It was first launched in 1801. The Narcissus was ordered to the North American coast in 1814.

The Dispatch signaled to the Narcissus that an American “schooner” was beached on the Long Island shore and was protected by four gun emplacements. The two ships — along with the British sloop that had captured the Susan days before — turned west together and sailed back to Northville, only to discover that the Americans had refloated the Eagle.

The three British ships took up positions around the Eagle and Capt. Lee ordered his vessel beached again, although this time it became stuck on a sandbar.

Seven barges were launched from the three ships, followed by a barrage of cannon fire.

Yet the Americans fought on. But luck was not on Capt. Lee’s side. By noon, the British threw a line onto the Eagle and dragged it off the sandbar. They sailed away with their prize, leaving Capt. Lee stranded on Long Island.

Capt. Lee would serve another 13 years before retiring at age 63.

The Eagle was towed toward Nova Scotia, but its ultimate fate is unknown. And to many, the skirmish was quickly forgotten.

The British barely acknowledged the engagement and few American histories outside the Coast Guard’s records make note of it. Though cannonballs were found in Riverhead farm fields in the decades following the battle — and will be part of the 200th anniversary display — the memory of the battle has faded.

[email protected]