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CLICK ON THE SKETCH CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF THE NANCY
TO READ THE BOTTOM TO SEE THE SHIP IN PERSON
The NANCY described as a perfect masterpiece of workmanship and beauty, built as a private cargo vessel in 1789 for the North West Trading Company for shipping furs, hardwood ashes, and potash from the settlements, and cargoes of salt, flour, tobacco, tea, leather for harnesses, and furniture came to the early settlers on the upper Great Lakes.
The exact size of the Nancy was recorded being 80 feet in length with a
beam of 22 feet, the depth of hold 8 feet, and weighed 90-100 tons.
The carrying capacity of the
Nancy = 350 Barrel's.
During the War of 1812 the NANCY was pressed into service for the British Navy and outfitted with one 4 inch cannon on the bow of the ship no match for the huge war ships of the Americans with 48 cannons with 8 inch bore.
Because of the Nancy's speed and the cunning and trickery of the Captain and Crew of the Nancy they managed to elude the American war machines, becoming the most sought after ship in the Great Lakes.
It was the only ship that stood in the way of the Americans taking over all the Canadian land west of Lake Erie.
The Nancy became so famous and notorious for her cunning and daring under the command of British Naval Officer Lieutenant Worsley that the Royal Navy in 1814 renamed the ship the H. M. S. NANCY a great honor at the time for the Captain and crew.
In September 1813, the Battle of Put-In-Bay on Lake Erie, the Americans won cutting off the Traditional
British supply route to the Upper Great Lakes. The only British that stood in the way of the Americans
taking control of all the Upper Great Lakes was a Large British Garrison at Fort Mackinac, between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.The only British ship in the Upper Great Lake that could bring the British Garrison supplies and gun-powder was a small two masted schooner named Nancy. By sinking the Nancy the British Garrison would be starved of food and gun-powder and would easily give up or so the Americans thought!
Unknown to the Americans, the British set up a new supply route. This was a partially overland route used by the Indians. It started in the town of York which is now Toronto, north to the Holland river to Lake Simcoe to Georgian Bay (part of lake Huron). The Nancy would dock in the Nottawasaga River (now Wasaga Beach) and recieve supplies to take to Fort Mackinac.
American forces soon learned of this new British supply route and made plans to capture the Nancy. A 360 mile canoe trip was made from Fort Mackinac to the Nottawasaga River by British scout, Lieutenant Livingston with a message warning Lieutenant Worsley captian of the Nancy to hide the Nancy up river away from the approaching Americans.
However on August 14, 1814, THREE AMERICAN SHIPS discovered the Nancy. Despite a courageous battle by Lieutenants Worsley and Livingston, 22 seamen, 23 Indians and 9 French Canadian voyageurs, against some 500 American Men, the Nancy was set afire and sunk into the depths of the Nottawasaga River.
The Americans thought that the survivors of the squrmish were running for their lives all the way back to England.
The Americans didn't know there was a small British outpost farther up the Nottawasaga River were Lieautenants Worsley, Livingston and all the survivers went to regroup and strategize.
After dark Lieutenant Worsley, Nancy's crew, the British soldiers from the out-post, the Indians and the French voyageurs all canoe'd out to the American ships taking one, sinking number two and over running the third by surprise.
When it was all over the American Ships, Tigress and Scorpian were in the control of the British the third American ship was sunk.
This was the turning point of the war, the American Navy was unable to recoup the loss of three ships and the British regain control of this vital trade route.
Because of this incident the TREATY of GHENT was signed in 1814 and us Canadian and Americans aren't fighting anymore. Isn't that NICE!!