This ridiculous affair excited the deepest indignation throughout the country; and, in obedience to public sentiment, the President soon removed General Dearborn from command. It was hardly more than a fortnight later, July 11th, when Lieutenant-Colonel Bisshopp planned an attack on Black Rock, a few miles north of Buffalo, where the Americans had a dockyard and large storehouses. With about three hundred men, before daylight of July 11th, he crossed the river in boats, surprised and took possession of the place. {125}and proceeded to burn and plunder as rapidly as possible. He set fire to the block-houses, the barracks, the navy-yard buildings, and a schooner that lay at the wharf, and carried off a considerable quantity of stores. But before he could accomplish all this, General Peter B. Porter had got together a small force, consisting of regulars, volunteers, militia, and a few friendly Indians, and vigorously attacked the invaders. A fight of twenty minutes' duration ended in the precipitate retreat of the British, who left behind them a captain and nine men killed or wounded, and fifteen prisoners. After the boats had pushed off, the Americans renewed their fire, by which Bisshopp, commander of the expedition, was killed, and many of his men were either killed or wounded. The loss of the Americans was three men killed and three wounded. That of the enemy is supposed to have been about seventy. They had carried off four guns, besides spiking all they left. Bisshopp, who had proved himself an energetic and skilful officer, was a serious loss. Commodore Chauncey, who was a most meritorious naval commander, though he never made a very brilliant reputation, was all this summer trying to bring Sir James Yeo to a decisive battle on Lake Ontario; but Sir James had a genius for not fighting, and could only be chased to shelter under the {126}guns of the British forts. It was said also that his instructions forbade his fighting except under the most favorable circumstances. Once there seemed to be a prospect of a square battle near the mouth of the Niagara, in August; but Chauncey's plan was frustrated by the captains of two of his schooners, who in disobedience of orders tried to get to windward of the British line, and were captured. On the 28th of September there was a partial engagement between the two squadrons; but from their unequal sailing, it was only possible to bring three of the American vessels into action. One of these was badly crippled, but another handled the British flagship so severely that she crowded on all canvas and made off, followed by the entire fleet, which the Americans could not overtake. On the 5th of October Chauncey gave chase to a squadron which proved to be seven British gunboats used as transports. One of them was burned, one escaped, and the other five were captured, together with more than two hundred and sixty men. Two of the prizes were those taken from Chauncey near the Niagara.