The second USS Eagle, a sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

, was a merchant ship purchased at Vergennes, Vermont

Vergennes, Vermont

Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, in the United States. Bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton and Waltham, as of the 2000 census the city population was 2,741. It is the smallest of Vermont's nine cities in terms of population...

 on Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...

 in 1812 and fitted for naval service. The British captured her in 1813 and renamed her HMS Finch, only to lose her to the Americans at the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814. She was sold in 1815.

American service and capture

She cruised on the lake under the command of Sailing Master J. Loomis as a member of Commodore

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...

 Thomas Macdonough

Thomas MacDonough

Thomas Macdonough was an early-19th-century American naval officer noted for his roles in the first Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He was the son of a revolutionary officer, Thomas Sr. who lived close to Middleton, Delaware. Being the sixth child born, he came from a large family of ten...

's squadron blockading the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 advance from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The British captured Eagle on 3 June 1813 on the Sorrell River near Ile aux Noix

Ile aux Noix

Île aux Noix is an island on the Richelieu River in Quebec, close to Lake Champlain. The island is the site of Fort Lennox National Historic Site. Politically, it is part of Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix.-Background:...

 on the Canadian side of the lake and took her into the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 as HMS Shannon. They later renamed her HMS Chubb.

British service and recapture

Finch accompanied the expedition that burned the arsenal and storehouses at Plattsburg, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. She was under the command of Lieutenant William Hicks on 11 September 1814 at the Battle of Lake Champlain. She was bringing up the rear of the British line together with some gunboats. She was ordered to sail towards and engage the USS Preble

USS Preble (1813)

USS Preble , sometimes called Commodore Preble, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Commodore Edward Preble. A sloop purchased on Lake Champlain in 1813, she was commissioned 6 August 1813, Lt. Charles Budd in command...

, a sloop of seven guns. As she did so, the schooner USS Ticonderoga

USS Ticonderoga (1814)

The first USS Ticonderoga was a schooner in the United States Navy. Ticonderoga was built as a steamer in 1814 at Vergennes, Vermont. She was purchased by the Navy at Lake Champlain, converted to schooner rigging, and relaunched on 12 May 1814....

 fired on Finch shooting away her rigging. Finch ran aground near Crab Island where a small American shore battery commenced firing on her. Unable to free herself, and with two men wounded, Hicks struck the colors.

Fate

After the Americans recaptured Finch they took her back into the U.S. Navy under her original name. After the war, she was sold in July 1815 at Whitehall

Whitehall (village), New York

Whitehall is a village located in the town of Whitehall in Washington County, New York, USA. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.