The United States declared war on Great Britain in June of 1812, and during that war the British Navy visited the Genesee River four times. Although sparsely populated, Charlotte was a prime target for raids because of its port trade with Canada and its stocked warehouses, and the port's only protection was an 18 lb. cannon. In October 1812, three British navy ships fired on Charlotte. In June 1813, 150 troops went ashore at Charlotte, imprisoned the locals overnight in Sam Latta's house to prevent them from alerting the militia, and took provisions of food, salt, and whiskey; Sam Latta was the collector of customs at the port. On 11 September 1813, Sir James Yeo's fleet appeared at the mouth of the river and was engaged by the American commander Isaac Chauncey in a battle that lasted all day, after which Yeo's fleet escaped to Kingston, Ontario. On 14 May 1814, during the Battle of Charlotte, a large British force was outwitted by locals and forced to retreat when the "Valiant 33" marched in and out of the woods to make it appear that a much larger force was defending Charlotte, and the British never returned.
