The first USS Julia was a schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

.

In September 1812, Lt. Melancthon T. Woolsey

Melancthon Taylor Woolsey

Commodore Melancthon Taylor Woolsey was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 and battles on the Great Lakes. He supervised warship construction at Navy Point in Sackets Harbor, New York, and later had a full career in the Navy.-Biography:Woolsey was born near Plattsburgh,...

 purchased Julia for the Navy on Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

. Julia, Sailing Master James Trant in command, sailed from Sackets Harbor

Sackets Harbor, New York

Sackets Harbor is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2000 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who founded it in the early 19th century.The Village of Sackets Harbor is within the western part of the...

 on 8 November 1812 with Commodore Isaac Chauncey's flotilla. That afternoon lookouts on the American ships spotted , the largest warship yet constructed on 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...

, off False Ducks Island and sent her scurrying into the Bay of Quinte

Bay of Quinte

The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 where she escaped in the rapidly falling night. The next morning they again sighted her and resumed the chase. When 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...

 ship reached the shelter of the Canadian

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...

 batteries at Kingston

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

, Chauncey decided to follow her in to test the strength of the defenses and, if possible, to capture the warship. Led by and Julia, Chauncey's vessels, defying the fire from ship and shore, stood toward the harbor entrance.

Approaching nightfall and threatening weather interrupted the raid by forcing Chauncey to haul off to deeper water where he anchored hoping to resume the action with the sunrise. However, heavy weather on the morning of the 10th ruled out a renewal of the attack and dictated a return to the American base at Sackett's Harbor. As the little flotilla retired, their lookouts spied the Simcoe and chased her into shoal water. Although fire from Julia, Governor Tompkins, and damaged the British ship considerably, Simcoe managed to cross a reef to safety. The attack on Kingston had given Chauncey confidence in the fighting ability of his officers and men and inspired the crews with respect and admiration for their leaders. At this point a bitter winter interrupted operations until spring.

With the return of good weather, Chauncey's ships sortied from Sackets Harbor on 25 April 1813 for a raid on York

Battle of York

The Battle of York was a battle of the War of 1812 fought on 27 April 1813, at York, Upper Canada . An American force supported by a naval flotilla landed on the lake shore to the west, defeated the defending British force and captured the town and dockyard...

 (now Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

), Canada. Two days later, after landing some 1,700 men under General Henry Dearborn

Henry Dearborn

Henry Dearborn was an American physician, a statesman and a veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, where he attended public schools...

, Julia and her sister ships supported the American troops with grape at rapid fire, enabling them to beat off counterattacks by Indians and British sharpshooters while taking York. The American loot included large amounts of naval and military stores and the British brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

 . Moreover, a 24-gun ship nearing completion was burned at York.

On 8 May, bad weather, which had detained Chauncey at York, cleared enabling his ships to get under way beginning a fortnight's duty transporting and convoying troops and supplies for General Dearborn. On the 27th, Julia and led the flotilla into the Niagara River

Niagara River

The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...

 to open an attack on Fort George

Battle of Fort George

The Battle of Fort George was a battle fought during the War of 1812, in which the Americans defeated a British force and captured the Fort George in Upper Canada...

 by shelling a British battery dug in near the lighthouse. The other American ships took preassigned positions where they shelled targets ashore. Meanwhile Captain Oliver Hazard Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry

United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...

directed the disembarkation of troops. In three hours, the carefully coordinated attack drove the defenders from the field.

With Fort George in American hands, the British gave up their forts on the Niagara frontier leaving Chauncey and Dearborn in control of the entire Niagara River.

On the night of 7-8 August, Julia rescued a number of survivors of after that schooner had capsized and sunk in a heavy gale. During the next three days, the American flotilla and the British squadron maneuvered seeking to move into an advantageous position for a general engagement. On the 10th Julia and Growler were cut off from their sister ships and captured. The British renamed the schooners Confiance and Hamilton and used them as troop transports until Chauncey recaptured them near False Ducks Islands, on 5 October. However, the schooners, having proven unstable in heavy seas, were soon retired from service.