the _Oneida_, of 18 guns, all full of
troops, the Americans had appeared before the place. At 4 o'clock on the
morning of the 10th the adjutant of the 49th came into Tom's barrack
room to arouse him with the news that the enemy was thought to be
landing a force five or six miles above the town. "He lit my candle,"
says Tom, "and left. I immediately jumped out of bed, dressed myself in
a devil of a hurry and sallied forth to the Barrack yard where I found
three Companies of the 49th under arms, Gunners preparing matches and
artillery horses scampering out of the yards with field pieces." He was
soon sent to hold a bridge about three miles west of the town. The ships
kept up a fierce cannonade for some time but it was so briskly returned
that in the end they drew away having lost four men. But they had
command of the lake, a supremacy not to be challenged until a British
Commodore, Sir James Yeo, arrived in the following summer.

In his letters at this time Nairne speaks of his heavy expenses and says
that even if the opportunity came to visit Murray Bay he could not go
for lack of money. So he begs his mother to build all the mills and
houses she can, and thus to make the profits which he sorely needs. He
complains of hearing from home so rarely: "You have only wrote once, I
believe, since I came to the Upper Country. What in the name of wonder
are you all about? I hope Yankey Doodle has not run off with you. I am
sure there can be no complaints of my being negligent in this way."

The scene changed rapidly. Early in February, 1813, Nairne was sent to
Niagara. Here for a time he was stationed at Fort George. The Americans
were now menacing Fort Erie on the Canadian side of the Niagara River.
But things were looking well for the British. On January 22nd the
British Colonel Procter defeated the American General Winchester at
Frenchtown near Detroit and made him and 500 of his men prisoners. Now
young Nairne talked even of "extirpating" General Harrison whom the
English were attacking in what is now the state of Ohio. But again high
hopes were dashed. General Harrison succeeded in forcing the British to
evacuate Detroit; then he invaded Canada, and before the campaign of
1813 was over he defeated the British badly at the river Thames in what
is now Western Ontario. Meanwhile about Niagara there was some lively
campaigning. In March Nairne describes an exciting night journey in
sleighs from Fort George to Chippewa near Niag