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THE HAMILTON AND THE SCOURGE

History is a pattern of timeless moments.

Review Questions

Vocabulary:

1. Why do you think Sir James Yeo was knicknamed the 'British Knight'?

2. What was it about General Prevost that Yeo found frustrating? Bearing in mind Yeo's range of behaviours, why might we consider this a little ironic?

3. In one of his letters, Yeo gives three reasons for not wishing to engage the enemy. Which do you think mattered most to him? Why?

4. Yeo states in one of his letters: "The enemy's fleet may very possibly engage the squadron under my command." What is rather strange about this assertion?

5. What reason did Chauncey give for not wanting to fully engage the British squadron? Evaluate his argument.

6. Give the best meaning of these words as used in the narrative: swell, pursuit, prime, prow, commandeered, shipwright, squall, heeling, a blow, firepower, canister.

7. Explain: (a) fixed battle; (b) knightly foe; (c) the full concurrence and approbation; (d) the gun was 'run out'; (e) the 'smasher'; (f) important theatre; (g) dressed to kill or be killed; (h) lightning scared the sky; (i) centre of gravity; (j) rammed home; (k) slow match; (l) calibre of the cannon; (m) sold as part and parcel of his greatness.

8. Explain the difference between a cannon and a carronade and explain how one would defend against each.

9. (a) How did President Madison explain Chauncey's failure to defeat the British on Lake Ontario? Some might have said he was rationalizing. Explain.

10. Write a stirring account of what happened the night of August 8th, 1813. Include the main idea and several supporting details.

11. How is the definition 'History is a pattern of timeless moments' relevant to this narrative?

12. Some American military officers were adept at composing stirring statements in moments of historical crises. Quote one example of this and explain its impact on the men who heard it.

13. The Scourge became a coffin. Explain.

14. Why were converted commercial schooners hazardous to one's health?

15. Why are the sunken vessels described as 'time machines'?

16. Give reasons why or why not you think the City of Hamilton should agree to the U.S. proposal to raise these two historic ships.

17. (a) In what ways were Wolfe and Nelson similiar? Different?

18. The details regarding the public reaction to the death of Nelson and the death of Brock are similar in several ways. Explain.

19. According to Horatio Nelson, "It is not ships that win battles, it is men." Do you agree? Justify your answer.

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