Sackets Harbor - Fall 1814

Sackets Harbor - Fall 1814. A Fortified Naval Base. Focus On Defense , Before the War of 18 12 Sackets Harbor had no defenses. By the fall of 1814, the combined efforts of the Army, Navy, Marines, and militia had created one of the most heavily fortified sites in North America., Land Defenses , Built to protect the village and Navy Yard from a British raiding party that might land some distance away and proceed along the lake shore or through the woods to the village., Arming the Forts, Mortar , A mortar fired an explosive shell at a steep angle to land inside an enemy's fort or onto the deck of a ship., Carronade , Carronades were short-range weapons firing 12 to 68 pound solid iron balls, shotgun-like grape, or canister shot for use against enemy troops., Cannon , Weighing up to 6,500 pounds, fortress cannon fired 9 to 32 pound solid iron balls to an effective range of about a mile. Cannon often fired balls heated red hot to set ships on fire., Water Defenses , Built to keep British warships from directly attacking the village or entering Black River Bay.,