James Lucas Yeo Sir James Lucas Yeo KCB ( 7 October 1782 – 21 August 1818 ) was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812 . Yeo was born in Southampton on 7 October 1782 , and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of 10 . He first saw action as a lieutenant aboard a brig in the Adriatic Sea . He distinguished himself during the siege of Cesenatico in 1800 , when thirteen merchant vessels were burned or sunk . In 1805 he captured a fort and a privateer at Muros Bay . He was sent to Brazil , given command of a frigate and four hundred men , where , he captured a fortified position of two hundred guns and took a thousand prisoners . He participated in several sea battle s during the Napoleonic Wars , so successfully that he was made a post captain at the age of 25 . In 1810 , he was knight ed for his services at the Invasion of Cayenne . In 1811 he commanded the frigate Southampton , which captured a piratical frigate - " Amethyste " . In 1812 , he commanded the frigate , then stationed in the Bahamas . He captured the pirate ship " Heureuse Réunion " at the Action of 3 February 1812 and the American brig in November 1812 , but shortly afterwards " Southampton " and " Vixen " were wrecked in the Crooked Island passage , although no lives were lost . As was customary in the case of the loss of a ship from any cause , Yeo was court martial led , but the court accepted that the reef on which he was wrecked was not charted , nor were the local currents documented , and Yeo was exonerated . The importance of the naval warfare on the Great Lakes raised " The Lakes Service " to the status of a Flag Command and Kingston was the Commodore ' s headquarters . Yeo was sent to Canada to command the British naval forces in the Great Lakes during the War of 1812 . The Commission of Sir James Lucas Yeo stated " During the continuance of your Command you are hereby authorized to hoist a distinguishing Pennant as Commodore on Board such one of His Majesty ' s Ships as you may select - " Sir James ' s use of his small navy was always determined and skilful , but he was hampered by a lack of cooperation from the British army . The commander of these forces , Sir George Prevost , failed to follow up key advances made by Sir James at Sackett ' s Harbour and elsewhere that might have resulted in major British victories . On the whole , historians regard the war on Lake Ontario as having been a draw . During 1814 both Yeo and Chauncey , the American commander tried to out build the other . Yeo captured Oswego and then blockaded Sacketts Harbour on May 6 , 1814 , when reinforced by two frigates built on Point Frederick . During the final months of the war , Yeo ensured British control of the lake by the 1814 launch of the , a 112 gun first rate ship of the line built in Kingston specifically for use on the lake , a three - decker man - of - war , and he had two more building . The Americans also had two first line men - o ' - war on the stocks . In August 1815 , Yeo was posted to the " Inconstant " , 36 guns , at Plymouth . After the British - American War , Yeo held important commands on the West African and Caribbean stations , but saw no further action . He died in 1818 at the age of 35 , while returning from Jamaica to England . Legacy . The Yeo Hall at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston , Ontario was named in his honour in 1936 . This multifunctional building houses the Cadet Dining Hall and the Cadet Mess . The barber and Canadian Forces Exchange System ( CANEX ) are located in the basement . A plaque erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada at the Royal Military College of Canada states " Born in Southampton , England , Yeo entered the British Navy , served throughout the Napoleonic Wars and won rapid promotion by his ability . In 1813 , already a Commodore , he came to Canada to command British forces on the Great Lakes . Yeo successfully blockaded the American fleet in Sackett ' s Harbour for some months and subsequently commanded the naval forces at the capture of Oswego in 1814 . Returning to England after the war he was posted to the West African Coast and died at sea while returning from that tour of duty . "