Who should be masters of
Lake Erie was an important question to be solved in 1813.
The United States government did not fulfil its promise to
Hull to provide means for securing the naval supremacy on
Lake Erie.
The necessity for such an attainment was so obvious before the close of 1812 that the government took vigorous action in the matter.
Isaac Chauncey was in command of a little squadron on
Lake Ontario late
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in 1812, and
Capt. Oliver Hazard Perry, a zealous young naval officer, of
Rhode Island, who was in command of a flotilla of gunboats on the
Newport station, offered his services on the
Lakes.
Chauncey desired his services, and on Feb. 17
Perry received orders from the
Secretary of the Navy to report to
Chauncey with all possible despatch, and to take with him to
Sackett's Harbor all of the best men of the flotilla at
Newport.
He sent them forward, in companies of fifty, under
Sailing-Masters Almy,
Champlin, and
Taylor.
He met
Chauncey at
Albany, and they journeyed together in a sleigh through the then wilderness to
Sackett's Harbor.
In March
Perry went to
Presque Isle (now
Erie, Pa.) to hasten the construction and equipment of a little navy there designed to co-operate with
General Harrison in attempts to recover
Michigan. Four vessels were speedily built at
Erie, and five others were taken to that well-sheltered harbor from
Black Rock, near
Buffalo, where
Henry Eckford (q. v.)had converted merchant-vessels into war-ships.
The vessels at
Erie were constructed under the immediate supervision of Sailing-
Master Daniel Dobbins, at the mouth of
Cascade Creek.
Early in May (1813) the three smaller vessels were launched, and on the 24th of the same month two brigs were put afloat.
The whole fleet was finished on July 10, and consisted of the brig
Lawrence, twenty guns; brig
Niagara, twenty guns; brig
Caledonia, three guns; schooner
Ariel, four guns; schooner
Scorpion, two guns and two swivels; sloop
Trippe, one gun; schooner
Tigress, one gun; and schooner
Porcupine, one gun. The command of the fleet was given to
Perry, and the
Lawrence, so named in honor of the slain commander of the
Chesapeake, was his flag-ship.
But men and supplies were wanting.
A British squadron on the lake seriously menaced the fleet at
Erie, and
Perry pleaded for materials to put his vessels in proper order to meet danger.
“Think of my situation,” he wrote to
Chauncey— “the enemy in sight, the vessels under my command more than sufficient and ready to make sail, and yet obliged to bite my fingers with vexation for want of men.”
Perry, anxiously waiting for men to man his little fleet at
Erie, was partially gratified by the arrival there of 100 men from
Black Rock, under
Captain Elliott, and early in August, 1813, he went out on the lake before he was fairly prepared for vigorous combat.
On Aug. 17, when off
Sandusky Bay, he fired a signalgun for
General Harrison, according to agreement.
Harrison was encamped at
Seneca, and late in the evening of the 19th he and his suite arrived in boats and went on board the flag-ship
Lawrence, where arrangements were made for the fall campaign in that quarter.
Harrison had about 8,000 militia, regulars and
Indians, at
Camp Seneca, a little more than 20 miles from the lake.
While he was waiting for
Harrison to get his army ready to be transported to Fort Malden,
Perry cruised about the lake.
On a bright morning, Sept. 10, the sentinel watching in the main-top of the
Lawrence cried, “Sail, ho!”
It announced the appearance of the British fleet, clearly seen in
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the northwestern horizon.
Very soon
Perry's nine vessels were ready for the enemy.
At the mast-head of the
Lawrence was displayed a blue banner, with the words of
Lawrence, the dying captain, in large white letters “Don't give up the
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Put-in-bay—smoke of battle seen in the distance. |
ship.”
The two squadrons slowly approached each other.
The British squadron was commanded by
Com. Robert H. Barclay, who fought with
Nelson at
Trafalgar.
His vessels were the ship
Detroit, nineteen guns, and one pivot and two howitzers; ship
Queen Charlotte, seventeen, and one howitzer; brig
Lady Prevost, thirteen, and one howitzer; brig
Hunter, ten; sloop
Little Belt, three; and schooner
Chippewa, one, and two swivels.
The battle began at noon, at long range, the
Scorpion, commanded by young Sailing-
Master Stephen Champlin, then less than twenty-four years of age, firing the first shot on the
American side.
As the fleets drew nearer and nearer, hotter and hotter waxed the fight.
For two hours the
Lawrence bore the brunt of battle, until she lay upon the waters almost a total wreck —her rigging all shot away, her sails cut into shreds, her spars battered into splinters, and her guns dismounted.
One mast remained, and from it streamed the national flag.
The deck was a scene of dreadful carnage, and most men would have struck their flag.
But
Perry was hopeful in gloom.
His other vessels had fought gallantly, excepting the
Niagara,
Captain Elliott, the stanchest ship in the fleet, which had kept outside, and was unhurt.
As she drew near the
Lawrence,
Perry resolved to fly to her, and, renewing the fight, win the victory.
Putting on the uniform of his rank, that he might properly receive
Barclay as his prisoner, he took down his broad
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Position of the two squadrons just before the battle. |
pennant and the banner with the stirring words, entered his boat, and, with four stout seamen at the oars, he started on his perilous voyage, anxiously watched by
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those he had left on the
Lawrence.
Perry stood upright in his boat, with the pennant and banner partly wrapped about him.
Barclay, who had been badly wounded, informed of
Perry's daring, and knowing the peril of the British fleet if the young commodore should reach the decks of the
Niagara, ordered big and
little guns to be brought to bear on the little boat that held the hero.
The voyage lasted fifteen minutes. Bullets traversed the boat, grape-shot falling in the water near covered the seamen with spray, and oars were shivered by cannon-balls, but not a man was hurt.
Perry reached the
Niagara in safety.
Hoisting his pennant over her, he dashed through the
British line, and eight minutes afterwards the colors of the enemy's flag-ship were struck, all but two of the fleet surrendering.
These attempted to escape, but were pursued and brought back, late in the evening, by the
Scorpion, whose gallant commander (
Champlin) had fired the
first and
last gun in the
battle of Lake Erie.
Assured of victory,
Perry sat down, and, resting his naval cap on his knee, wrote to
Harrison, with a pencil, on the back of a letter, the famous despatch: “We have met the enemy, and they are
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ours—two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.”
The name of
Perry was made immortal.
His government thanked him, and gave him and
Elliott each a gold medal.
The legislature of Pennsylvania voted him thanks and a gold medal; and it gave thanks and a silver medal to each man who was engaged in the battle.
The
Americans lost twenty-seven killed and ninety-six wounded. The British loss was about 200 killed and 600 made prisoners.
At about nine o'clock in the evening of the day of the battle, the moon shining brightly, the two squadrons weighed anchor and sailed into Put-in-Bay, not far from
Sandusky, out of which the American fleet had sailed that morning.
The last survivor of the
battle of Lake Erie was
John Norris, who died at
Petersburg, Va., in January, 1879.
