As the reader will remember, Perry, when operating on Lake Erie, was subordinate to, though fortunately not under the immediate supervision of, Captain Chauncey, who made his headquarters at Sackett’s Harbor. It would have been fortunate for the American cause had Perry superseded Chauncey, but he was brought to the Atlantic instead, where circumstances prevented his accomplishing anything, while Captain Arthur Sinclair was sent to take charge of the American fleet west of the Niagara, and that region was made an independent station--Sinclair was responsible only to the Navy Department. Sinclair had first seen active service as a midshipman in the _Constellation_ along with Macdonough, under Truxton, when the French frigate _Insurgent_ was whipped. He next appeared in history as the captain of the brig _Argus_ that sailed with the squadron of Rodgers--a squadron of which the _United States_ was a member, and that was the cruise when the _Macedonian_ was captured. The _Argus_ took five merchantmen and reached port in safety--it was something to the credit of an American captain to bring in his ship when one remembers the overwhelming naval force the British kept on the western side of the Atlantic. Aside from keeping watch over the enemy’s coast of the great lakes to see that no more war-ships were built there, Sinclair had but one thing to do really worth doing, and that was to recapture the important frontier trading post of Mackinaw that the British had surprised on the morning of July 17, 1812, and with an overwhelming force captured without resistance. The American garrison had not even heard that war had been declared! Besides retaking Mackinaw, the Americans wished to destroy some union posts occupied by the British, and damage the British fur trading company as much as possible, because the company’s officials had been the active and efficient agents of the British Government in securing the aid of the western savages with their scalping-knives for attacks on the American settlements. With the _Niagara_, the _Caledonia_, the _Ariel_, the _Scorpion_, and the _Tigress_, Captain Sinclair sailed into Lake Huron late in July, carrying along nearly one thousand soldiers including some militia. On July 20, 1814, the fleet reached the trading post of St. Joseph’s, in what may be called the northwest corner of Lake Huron. Everything of value there was destroyed, including a small fort. Then a number of men went on to Sault Sainte Marie, at the head of the rapids, at the outlet of Lake Superior. This was the chief post of the British fur company, and it was burned. The _Perseverance_, a small vessel belonging to the company, was fired by the company’s agent as he fled. The Americans extinguished the flames, but lost the vessel on the rocks as they were bringing her through the rapids. [Illustration: SCENE OF Naval Operations on LAKE HURON, 1814.]