Horse Island was central to the history of Sackets Harbor, from its military role in the War of 1812 to its later lighthouse and waterfowl habitat. Strategically positioned and connected to the mainland by a natural causeway, it was the site of Camp Volunteer established by the Albany Volunteers, and during the May 29, 1813 battle the first attacks and defenses occurred around the island before it became a place of retreat at the battle's end. The wider conflict grew from tensions between the United States and Great Britain between 1793 and 1812, including British searches and seizures of U.S. merchant ships and the impressment of American sailors, leading the United States to declare war on June 18, 1812. Because control of the Great Lakes was crucial, Sackets Harbor became the U.S. military headquarters for the northern frontier and a major shipbuilding center on Lake Ontario. After most of the American army and squadron sailed to attack Fort George, British forces from Kingston moved against the harbor in hopes of destroying American facilities and a powerful new warship under construction, later named the General Perry. Sighted on May 28, 1813, the British delayed landing until the next morning, when fighting opened at Horse Island and the opposite shore and continued through the morning toward the village and military hub. After the war, Horse Island became a pastoral setting for a brick lighthouse built in 1831, rebuilt after a fire in 1870, enlarged in 1914, converted to an automatic light by 1926, and sold by the federal General Services Administration to Carl Martin in 1959.