To Prevost it looked like a costly business to attempt to carry these defenses by assault and he therefore decided to await the arrival of the British ships of Captain George Downie.

A combined attack by land and sea, he believed, should find no difficulty in wiping out American resistance.
Such was the situation and the weighty responsibility which confronted Macdonough and his sailors.

It was the most critical moment of the war.
With a seaman's eye for defense Macdonough met it by stationing his vessels in a carefully chosen position and prepared with a seaman's foresight for every contingency.

Plattsburg Bay is about two miles wide and two long and lies open to the southward, with a cape called Cumberland Head bounding it on the east.

It was in this sheltered water that Macdonough awaited attack, his ships riding about a mile from the American shore batteries.