On 11 October 1776, a flotilla of gunboats partially manned by members of the coastal force defeated an American force on Lake Champlain. In 1777, the unit transported supplies for General John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign. In 1779, the naval base at Carleton Island was established and foraging patrols were sent to operate on Lake Huron between Michilimackinac and Detroit. By 1780, the coastal force had thirteen vessels in service; five vessels Lake Ontario and nine on Lake Erie. Following the war, the unit diminished in size, slowly becoming known as the Provincial Marine. The unit was transferred to the department of the Quartermaster-General to the Forces of the British Army following the war. The Provincial Marine was controlled by the army and manned by personnel borrowed from the navy, by soldiers, and by direct recruitment of Great Lakes sailors. The Provincial Marine used mostly lightly-armed topsail schooners for transportation purposes, with the exception of the brig . When the Provincial Marine was not in use by the military, the ships and personnel were occasionally loaned out to merchants in the fur trade.