During the period from 1808 to 1812, the Fairfield brothers, Jonathan, William, and Benjamin, owned and operated a schooner named Two Brothers as part of their merchant shipping enterprise on Lake Ontario. Their shipping activities primarily focused on Eastern Ontario, and they occasionally crossed the lake to New York State for trade.
On November 10, 1812, Commodore Chauncey, commanding the vessel Oneida, along with his fleet, spotted the Two Brothers anchored in Ernesttown harbor. Chauncey decided to take action and sent a small force ashore on the Hamilton, led by Lieutenant McPherson.
Different accounts present conflicting versions of what transpired next. According to some reports, Benjamin Fairfield secretly boarded the Two Brothers with the intention of cutting its rigging and setting it ablaze in an effort to protect the village. Other sources claim that only the rigging was destroyed.
However, the prevailing account states that the schooner was indeed destroyed. It is believed that the Americans, realizing that the Two Brothers could hinder their pursuit of the Royal George, deliberately set it on fire to eliminate the obstacle. Their actions did not go unchallenged, as British soldiers stationed nearby and local militia members offered resistance against the American forces.
The specific details and sequence of events may vary depending on the sources consulted, but it is clear that the fate of the schooner Two Brothers was sealed on that eventful day in November 1812.
