Action of 13 December 1814 ( Louisiana Campaign ) The Action of 13 December 1814 was a naval action during the War of 1812 . A flotilla of British longboats were on their way to fight the Battle of Lake Borgne . Before reaching the lake , they would encounter an American schooner of the United States Navy . Background . The Louisiana Campaign had begun , British ships were sailing off the American southern coast , destination New Orleans . The British landing area for the invasion of Louisiana was set for Lake Borgne but in order to land , a squadron of American gunboat s and other ships , had to be destroyed . At night , on December 13 , 1814 , the British set course for the lake . Alexander Cochrane , of the Royal Navy , ordered Captain Nicholas Lockyer to proceed to the lake with a force of forty - two armed longboats , armed barges , armed launches and three armed gigs . Manned by 1 , 000 to 1 , 200 sailors and marines with 8 to 24 pound guns , mounted at the bow of the longboats . The force pushed off from HMS " Armide " at an unknown time of evening . American forces , on USS " Sea Horse " and commanded by Sailing Master William Johnson were on a mission to Bay St . Louis , Mississippi to destroy a store of weapons to prevent its possible capture by the British fleet sailing in the region . " Sea Horse " was armed with only one 6 pound cannon and had a crew of fourteen men . Both sailors and artillery were sparse in the then frontier South . Action . USS " Sea Horse " had not yet made it to Bay St . Louis when spotted by Captain Lockyer ' s longboats late at night on December 13 , somewhere in a waterway between Lake Borgne and the Bay of St . Louis along the Gulf of Mexico . As soon as Lockyer spotted " Sea Horse " from a distance , an unknown number of boats were sent in that direction to cut the American schooner off and capture her . At some point , Sailing Master Johnson spotted the Royal Navy boats and attacked . A brief exchange occurred which resulted in light damage to the American schooner by a couple British shots . Two men were killed and another two wounded . William Johnson then ordered his crew to head for the nearby coastline , protected by an artillery battery . The British vessels followed . Once drawing the British boat fleet into range of the artillery battery , " Sea Horse " turned and headed back into battle . The artillery on the coast began firing and the British flotilla retreated . But only for a short while . After fighting off a first United Kingdom boat attack , Master Johnson felt the coastline under protection of the battery was a good place to anchor his ship until the next morning . So the anchor was dropped and the " Sea Horse " s crew began to settle for the night . After short while of rest , the British longboats returned , more in numbers this time . The Royal Navy was able to achieve a closer range than during their first attack , due to the Americans believing their action was over for that night . One member of the fourteen man U . S . crew spotted the silently approaching British boats and the alarm was raised . Immediately the crew were ordered to arm themselves with the schooner ' s issue of musket s , or man the sailing vessel ' s one gun . The British boats drew close and the Americans opened fire . Hearing the " Sea Horse " s fire , the American battery commenced . Accurate fire from the American ' s small arsenal of weapons proved efficient and another longboat attack was driven off . Captain Lockyer decided to abandon his attempt to capture the " Sea Horse " and ordered his men to continue on to Lake Borgne . Aftermath . The British suffered several armed longboats damaged in action and an unknown number of dead and wounded . The United States lost the said two dead and two wounded , as well as minor damage to the schooner . William Johnson , just after his encounter with the British , realized that the enemy fleet was nearby and the capture of his ship by the main Royal Navy fleet was indeed possible . So he ordered his ship to make for the nearest settlement . Once there , near a friendly location to prevent being stranded , Johnson ran his schooner aground on a beach and had her burnt .