Robert Barrie Sir Robert Barrie KCB , KCH ( 5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841 ) was a British officer of the Royal Navy noted for his service in the War of 1812 . He was helped early in his naval career by the patronage of his uncle , Sir Alan Gardner , who arranged for him to take part in the Vancouver Expedition . When the Pacific Coast was explored , he had served as a midshipman with Captain Vancouver in 1791 . He served in European waters from 1801 to 1811 . He was mentioned in dispatches for his gallant conduct in a fight with a French squadron when , " though dangerously wounded , he had disdained to quit the deck " . Barrie then commanded a number of ships during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . In 1804 he had been promoted Captain commanded " Brilliant " at 24 - guns and in 1806 he went to " Pomone " at 38 - guns . On June 5 , 1807 , he attacked a convoy of seventeen ships , sank three men - of - war , and captured fourteen other warships and store ships . He captured a privateer commanded by De Boissi , the Adjutant - General of France . In 1809 , he captured a French warship and five transports . In 1811 he captured a Corsican fort and three French men - of - war . In 1811 , He captured several important French prisoners , including Napoleon ' s brother Lucien Bonaparte on a French ship . He was particularly active during the War of 1812 , carrying out several successful attacks on American towns and shipping in the Penobscot River region , and helping to destroy the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla . From 1813 to 1815 he served in the " Dragon " in American waters , and here again he made many captures . After a brief period spent living in France Barrie took up the post of Acting Commissioner of the Quebec Dockyard 1817 - 1818 . By 1819 , he served as Commissioner of the dockyard at Kingston . He was active in a number of areas , building and expanding the dockyard and promoting important hydrographic surveys and the construction of canals . Between 1819 and 1820 Captain Barrie , as Flag Officer of the Great Lakes , built the Stone Frigate in Kingston Royal Navy Dockyard to house the gear of the warships of 1812 laid up in Navy Bay . His instructions were to expedite the repair of the vessels at the bases in case of any emergency . From December 1820 , the command of Flag Officer of the Great Lakes disappeared from the Navy List . In March 1824 Barrie was listed as " Acting Resident Commissioner , Kingston , Upper Canada " and his headquarters was shown to have been transferred to Kingston . He cultivated friendships with several important political figures , and on his return to England in 1834 received a number of honours . Family and early life . Barrie was born at St . Augustine , Florida on 5 May 1774 , the son of Scottish surgeon Dr Robert Barrie of Sanquhar and his wife , Dolly Gardner , the sister of Sir Alan Gardner . His mother returned to England on the death of her husband in 1775 , and settled in Preston , Lancashire . She remarried in 1784 , while her son was schooled at Neston , Cheshire , and later at Dedham . Between 1784 and 1788 , he was carried on the books of HMS " Europa " as a servant to the captain ( his uncle , Alan Gardner ) but most likely his first shipboard service was as a junior midshipman on HMS " Goliath " . Vancouver expedition . Gardner arranged for Barrie to serve as a midshipman aboard from December 1790 until 1795 , during George Vancouver ' s voyage of diplomacy and exploration along the Pacific coast of North America . Many of his letters home survive , describing his experiences of adventure , punctuated by periods of boredom after he exhausted the books on the ships . Barrie gained an acting promotion to Lieutenant on the expedition , and commanded a survey party on the northern coast of what is now British Columbia . He was formally promoted to Lieutenant upon the return to England in October 1795 . In 1800 Barrie served in the West Indies under Thomas Manby , who had also taken part in the Vancouver expedition . On 23 October 1801 Barrie received a promotion to commander , and seven months later was advanced to post - captain while commanding the 16 - gun sloop " Calypso " . Later commands . Barrie took command of the frigate in June 1806 , serving initially off the French coast and then in the Mediterranean . He captured two significant Frenchmen during this period , the adjutant general of France , Chevalier Charles de Boissi , in June 1809 , and Napoleon ' s brother Lucien Bonaparte , in October 1810 , while Lucien was attempting to escape to America from Italy . On 1 May 1811 with two other ships , he entered the Gulf of Sagone , Corsica , sank three ships and destroyed its fortifications . He was then ordered to bring the British ambassador to Persia back to England , but " Pomone " was sunk while approaching Portsmouth . The subsequent court - martialled for the loss of the ship acquitted Barrie of misconduct but did censure the pilot . War of 1812 . Barrie took command of the 74 - gun third rate in October 1812 , and sailed to America during the War of 1812 . He participated in the blockade of Chesapeake Bay . He served as the commodore of the squadron for several months , and captured over 85 vessels . His squadron blockaded the Patuxent River between June and August . In September 1814 he joined Sir John Coape Sherbrooke ' s forces for the attack on the Penobscot River region in the American state of Maine ( then part of Massachusetts ) . Barrie commanded a joint expedition that defeated American militia in the Battle of Hampden , capturing and looting the towns of Hampden and Bangor and destroying the frigate . Barrie ' s rough treatment of the captured towns in central Maine earned the British lasting resentment in that region . Forces under Barrie went on to destroy the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla . Post - war . Barrie went onto half pay after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 . He married Julia Wharton Ingilby on 24 October 1816 and went to live in France . He returned to service in January 1819 , with the post of commissioner of the dockyard at Kingston , Upper Canada . The post made him senior naval officer in the Canadas , with control over the inland waterways and the port at Quebec . His instructions were to expedite the repair of the vessels at the bases in case of any emergency . He settled at Point Frederick , Kingston and among his achievements was the construction of a three - storey stone warehouse between 1819 and 1820 . The building held the equipment of the ships reduced to the reserve under the Rush - Bagot Agreement of 1817 . It was used briefly as a barracks , and then refitted to become part of the Royal Military College of Canada by 1876 . It still survives , and is known as the Stone Frigate . From December 1820 , the command of Flag Officer of the Great Lakes disappeared from the Navy List . In March 1824 Barrie was listed as " Acting Resident Commissioner , Kingston , Upper Canada " and his headquarters was shown to have been transferred to Kingston . Barrie exerted himself in a number of maritime - related matters , including the International Boundary Commission . He promoted a hydrographic survey of the St . Lawrence River and the Great Lakes , the building of the Rideau and Welland canal s , and relations with the United States . He became particular friends with a number of politicians , including Governors Lord Dalhousie and his successor Lord Aylmer , and Sir Peregrine Maitland and his wife Lady Sarah . During his later in Canada Barrie considered the possibility of a seat on the executive councils of the Canadas , but received an unpromising response from Sir George Cockburn . Later life . Barrie returned to England in 1825 and was consulted by the Admiralty on the naval establishments and defences of the Canadas . He was subsequently promoted to commodore first class and returned to Kingston in 1827 . In August 1827 , the " Cockburn " , was commissioned as the first of the Rush - Bagot treaty gun - boats . In 1831 , he was ordered by the Admiralty to sell off the old warships of 1812 and to prepare to close down the dockyard fit . He remained there until June 1834 , when the inland naval establishment was abolished . In 1834 , he was ordered to strike his broad pennant and pay off the " Cockburn . " After the " St . Lawrence " was sold , for $ 9925 , the other old warships remained as hulks in the Navy Bay or " in frame " on the stocks on Point Frederick . The naval stores were sold , or sent down to Quebec for carriage to England . Barrie , a popular figure in Kingston , left for England . He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic Order and was knighted by King William IV . Barrie was promoted to rear - admiral in 1837 , and in 1840 was further honoured by being created a Knight Commander of the Bath . Rear - Admiral Sir Robert Barrie died on 7 June 1841 at his seat in Swarthdale . Legacy . Barrie ' s time as commissioner in Canada was commemorated in a number of place - names , foremost of these being the city of Barrie , Ontario . Others include Barrie Creek in British Columbia , Barrie Point in British Columbia , Barrie Reach in British Columbia , the village of Barriefield in Ontario , and Barrie Island in Lake Huron .