The next enterprise decided upon was an attack on Fort George, located almost due south from York across the western end of Lake Ontario and on the Canadian side of the Niagara River where it empties into Lake Ontario. Commodore Chauncy carefully reconnoitered the defenses of the British stronghold on 26 May. Before dawn the following morning, the squadron moved in with the embarked assault troops. While the larger ships of the squadron bombarded the various defenses and batteries around the fort, "Asp" joined and in covering the landings themselves. Their point-blank grape shot fire riddled the British ranks to such a degree that the American troops easily established a beachhead and soon drove off the remnants of the British who tried unsuccessfully to rally further inland. In that victorious combined operation, the American Army and Navy succeeded in securing the Niagara frontier and the river by forcing the British to evacuate the entire area. It also allowed the Lake Erie squadron to be augmented by five vessels which had been bottled up in the Niagara between the falls and British batteries at the southern (Lake Erie) end of the river.