HMS Mohawk was a snow

Snow (ship)

A snow or snaw is a sailing vessel. A type of brig , snows were primarily used as merchant ships, but saw war service as well...

 that participated in the Battle of the Thousand Islands

Battle of the Thousand Islands

The Battle of the Thousand Islands was fought 16–24 August 1760, in the upper St. Lawrence River, amongst the Thousand Islands, along the present day Canada–United States border, by British and French forces during the closing phases of the Seven Years' War, as it is called in Canada and Europe, or...

, during the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

.

The French, under Captain Pierre Pouchot

Pierre Pouchot

Captain Pierre Pouchot was a French military engineer and officer in the French regular army.He was born at Grenoble, France, son of a merchant. In 1733 he joined the regular army as a volunteer engineer and on May 1, 1734 was appointed a second lieutenant in the Regiment de Bearn...

, had started to build her in 1758 at Fort Niagara

Fort Niagara

Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...

 but the British captured her at the Battle of Fort Niagara

Battle of Fort Niagara

The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions, making possible a western invasion...

 and then finished her construction. At the Battle of the Thousand Islands

Battle of the Thousand Islands

The Battle of the Thousand Islands was fought 16–24 August 1760, in the upper St. Lawrence River, amongst the Thousand Islands, along the present day Canada–United States border, by British and French forces during the closing phases of the Seven Years' War, as it is called in Canada and Europe, or...

, Mohawk carried sixteen 6-pounders and a crew of 90 seamen and 30 soldiers. The British fleet in the battle was under the command of Captain Joshua Loring

Joshua Loring

Joshua Loring was an 18th century colonial American naval officer in British service. During the French and Indian War, he served as a commodore in the Great Lakes region and was active during much of the Ontario and Quebec campaigns.-Biography:Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Loring was apprenticed...

 in Onondaga. Mohawk was under the command of Lieutenant David Phipps. During the battle Mohawk ran aground under the French guns of Fort Lévis and was badly damaged. After the battle she was refloated and served patrolling the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

. Apparently she was lost in 1764.

Sources

• Mary Beacock Fryer. 1986. Battlefields of Canada. (Dundurn Press), p.91.

• Robert H. Townsend. 2001. Battle of the Thousand Islands: the Last Naval Battle for the North American Continent Between the French and the English. Odyssey Publications. Embodying Writings by C.H.J. Snider: The Last Naval Battle for the North American Continent Between the French and the English.