The Launching of the 112-gun Ship St. Lawrence at Kingston, Lake Ontario

Lingering hostility between England and the new United States after the ending of the American War of Independence in 1783 meant that the border with Canada would be a flashpoint in any future conflict. With travel through the interior so difficult, the most accessible crossings of this border were via the Great Lakes especially Lake Ontario, and thus numerous ships of war - both large and small - were built and retained on the lakes over long periods. When the Anglo-American War of 1812 began, these vessels came into their own and new ones were added to the various flotillas in order to strengthen them. By far the largest ship constructed, and certainly one of the most remarkable ever intended for a land-locked freshwater lake, was H.M.S. St. Lawrence. Laid down on the foreshore of Lake Ontario at Kingston, she was a hugh three-decker of 2,305 tons measuring 191 feet in length with a 52½ foot beam, and was launched on 10 September 1814. Mounting 112 guns, mostly 32-pounders, her design allowed for a much shallower draught than a comparable ocean-going First Rate although she still needed a crew of 700 men to work her. By the time she was completed, the War of 1812-14 was effectively over but she was nevertheless commissioned and survived until 1833 when she was sold out of the government's service.