The first USS Oneida was a 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...

 of war 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...

.

Oneida was built at Oswego, New York

Oswego, New York

Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...

 1808–1809, under contract awarded by her first commanding officer, Lieutenant M. 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,...

, to Henry Eckford

Henry Eckford (shipbuilder)

Henry Eckford was a Scottish-born shipbuilder, naval architect, industrial engineer, and entrepreneur who worked for the United States Navy and the navy of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.-Early life:...

 and Christian Bergh. Although her displacement was 243 tons by carpenter's measurement, her draft could compare with 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....

 of 80 tons. This enabled her to enter the rivers feeding 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...

 without fear of grounding. She was delivered by the contractors in the spring of 1809, but was not equipped and sent upon the lake until the fall of 1810.

War of 1812

Oneida operated principally from Sackets Harbor, New York

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...

, not far from the commencement of the St. Lawrence

Saint Lawrence River

The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

, while 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...

 port of 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...

 lay nearly opposite in 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...

.

First Battle of Sacket's Harbor

On 5 June 1812, Oneida captured the British 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....

 Lord Nelson, while enforcing the Embargo Law. On 19 July, the British squadron sailed on Sackets Harbor where Oneida and her prize were anchored. After failing to gain the open lake, Oneida anchored again near a bank in a position to rake the harbor entrance. She mounted the guns from her off side ashore and presented a full battery. After an exchange of cannonade, of two hours duration, the British squadron broke off the engagement and sailed for Kingston, Canada.

USS Oneida vs HMS George

On 8 November, Oneida, flying the broad pennant of Commodore Isaac Chauncey

Isaac Chauncey

Isaac Chauncey was an officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:Chauncey, born in Black Rock, Connecticut, 20 February 1779, was appointed a Lieutenant in the Navy from 17 September 1798...

, sailed from Sackets Harbor to intercept British ships conveying supplies to the Army at Kingston. The sloop was sighted and chased 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...

 and lost sight of during the night. Sighted again the following morning, the chase was resumed. Oneida brought up the rear of the squadron to allow the heavy guns of her schooners to open way for a close attack. Royal George cut her mooring cables and attempted to make further headway up the channel, finally making fast to a wharf under the protection of troop muskets. Royal George suffered extensive damage, and Oneida had some damage aloft with one seaman killed and three wounded, but a gale ended the engagement and the Americans returned to Sackets Harbor.

Battle of York

On 25 April 1813, along with other ships of the American squadron, Oneida set sail from Sackets Harbor and arrived off York, Canada (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...

) on 27 April with troops under General Pike

Zebulon Pike

Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a United States Army captain in 1806-1807, he led the Pike Expedition to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase and to find the headwaters of the Red River,...

 embarked. Boats were hoisted out and within two hours the brigade was ashore, soon capturing York despite the loss of General Pike. On the night of 26 May she again embarked troops and artillery and set sail with the squadron for Fort George

Fort George, Ontario

Fort George National Historic Site is a historic military structure at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, that was the scene of several battles during the War of 1812...

, Canada. A landing was made about 9 a.m. on 27 May, and by noon the town and fort were taken.

Oneida made a second unopposed landing at York on 27 July liberating prisoners and seizing provisions. On 31 July 1814, Oneida made for 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 blockade British ships anchored there. She was assisted by the brig and the schooner , while the remainder of the American Squadron blockaded Kingston. The blockade was lifted in September 1814, and Oneida returned to Sackets Harbor. Ice closed the lake in November, and peace was declared the following month.

Post War

Oneida was sold 15 May 1815, but afterwards was repurchased by the Navy, laid up at Sackets Harbor, and finally sold in 1825 to a timber company in the village of Clayton, New York.

Oneida worked as a timber ship for several years before sinking in French Creek Bay near Clayton sometime in the 1830s. One of the ship's cannons is currently in Clayton's Memorial Park, while one of its anchors is in the possestion of French Creek Bay Marina.