Nothing more uncomfortable than our flat-bottomed boats Batteaux in the British Service during the War of 1812

Nothing more uncomfortable than our flat-bottomed boats:" Batteaux in the British Service during the War of 1812 Robert MalcomsonLes navires étaient les camions de l'époque, transportant d'importants chargements sur les autoroutes d'autrefois.On en sait peu sur eux et sur leur utilisation au début de la colonisation européenne des Grands Lacs.Cet article présente des données historiques sur leur construction, puis décrit l'utilisation qu'en a faite l'Angleterre pendant la guerre de 1812.From the early days of European expansion into the Great Lakes region, the batteau was an essential part of the transportation system.This flat-bottomed boat was a common sight on the lakes and rivers of the wilderness, yet little has been written about it.This article investigates the batteau's development, its various features and uses with a close examination of the manner in which the British organized and utilized the craft during the War of 1812.It will be seen that this very ordinary boat, which received barely a mention from its crews and passengers, played a significant role in supporting the British war effort.Although the simply-built, wooden utility boat is a universal means of transportation, the type that became known as the batteau developed in French Canada along the St. Lawrence River in the mid-1600s.Designed to carry men and cargo over rough and shallow water, as well as deep channels and stormy lakes, the batteau was characterized by its flat bottom, sharp ends, nearly flat sides and shallow draft.Variations on the basic form of the craft evolved as seen in several reports from around 1750 comparing French batteaux with those built by the English near Albany, New York.The English boats, identified as "Schenectady Battoes" were smaller in size (32 feet long, 5 feet wide and 2 feet 5 inches from floor to rail) and constructed of pine, while the French made their boats larger (36 feet long, 6 feet 4 inches wide and 2 feet 5 inches deep) and stronger, using oak for the bottoms and uprights and fir for the planking.The French craft cost more to construct, but the English batteaux did not last long in the wilderness conditions; "I think our boats are not Strong enough for the Navigation of the Lakes," wrote General Jeffrey Amherst in February 1760, "and that we shall be obliged to build Some, near the same The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord, XIII, No. 4, (October 2003) 17-28. 18The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord model of the french." 1 Another source from that period shows the English batteaux were capable of carrying 23 men with a month's provisions or 30 barrels of flour or 16 barrels of pork, equal to about 2 tons of burthen, while the French boats commonly hauled 3 tons of goods.Few contemporary plans or drawings of batteaux have survived but archeological studies have shown that the boats were built without keels.2 The boards that formed the bottom were cut to size and shape and then fastened together by battens laid across the top of them at regular intervals along the length.The frames, shaped from single, naturally curved timber, were attached to the bottom but usually the opposing arms of each set of ribs did not meet in the centre as is often the case in other boats.Planking was added using the clinch-built (planks overlapping) or carvel (flush planks) methods and fastenings tended to be iron nails.Being double-ended and without a keel, batteaux resembled dories but were considerably larger, more heavily built and less flared at either end and along the sides.During the Seven Years' War the British used whaleboats but found that they were not suited to the environment, as this explanation reveals."The English have long-boats for hunting whales, which Model of a batteau, photo from the author, they call "Woel-Bot"; they are very light on the oar but are of no use navigating these rivers especially when the water is low.You often have to get into the water and haul them, and they are not made for that." 3 A Royal Navy midshipman who saw his first batteau at Montreal in 1813 commented Cited in, Brian L. Dunnigan, (ed.), Memoirs of the Late War in North American Between France and England by Pierre Pouchot, (Youngstown, NY: Old Fort Niagara Association, 1994), 365.Thomas D. Mackie, director of the Amherst County Historical Museum, argues that Anthony Rucker invented the batteau, launching the first craft in 1775 on the James River near Richmond, Virginia, in "Rucker's Battoe: A Study of the James River Batteau," www.batteau.org.Other references, given here, establish that batteaux appeared in the Great Lakes region and were used by the French and English decades before Rucker's battoe.Spelling of the term varies among the sources with "batteaux" prevailing.2

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