_Enterprise_, one killed and thirteen wounded, three of whom afterwards
died.
X
THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE
[September 10th, 1813]
[Illustration: MEDAL PRESENTED BY CONGRESS TO CAPTAIN OLIVER HAZARD PERRY]
Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, inherited from his father
a fearless, high-strung disposition, and early in life showed his
longing for adventure. The elder Perry was a seaman from the time he
could lift a handspike, and fought in the revolutionary days, first
as a privateersman on a Boston letter-of-marque, and afterwards as
a volunteer on board the frigate _Trumbull_ and the sloop of war
_Mifflin_. He was captured and imprisoned for eight long months in the
famous Jersey prison-ship, where he succeeded in braving the dangers of
disease, starvation, and hardship, and at last regained his liberty.
Once more he became a privateersman, but ill-fortune followed him. He
was captured in the English Channel, and confined for eighteen months
in a British prison, whence he again escaped and made his way to the
island of St. Thomas. From thence he sailed to Charleston, South
Carolina, where he arrived about the time that peace was concluded.
After that Perry found employment in the East Indian trade until 1798,
when he was appointed to the command of the U.S.S. _General Greene_.
He was the head of a large family, having married in 1783, the oldest
of his children being Oliver Hazard. Of the four other sons, three of
them also entered the navy and served with distinction.
Oliver Hazard as a boy was not physically strong; he grew tall at
an early age, and his strength was not in keeping with his inches.
Nevertheless, he declared himself positively in favor of taking up the
sea as a profession, and in April of 1799, after his father had been
in command of the _General Greene_ for one year, to his delight young
Perry received his midshipman’s warrant, and joined the same ship.
The young midshipman made several cruises with his father to the West
Indies; his health and strength increased with the life in the open
air; he showed capacity and courage, and participated in the action
that resulted in the reduction of Jacmel in connection with the land
attack of the celebrated General Toussaint’s army. This was the last
active service of the _General Greene_; she was sold and broken up,
and upon the reduction of the navy in 1801 the elder Perry left the
service. In 1803 his son returned from a cruise in the Mediterranean,
and was promoted to an acting lieutenancy.
In our naval history of this time the recurrence of various names,
and the references made over and over again to the same actions and
occurrences, are easily accountable when we think of the small number
of vessels the United States possessed and the surprisingly few
officers on the pay-rolls. The high feeling of _esprit de corps_ that
existed among them came from the fact that they each had a chance to
prove their courage and fidelity. There was a high standard set for
them to reach.
Oliver Hazard Perry went through the same school that, luckily
for us, graduated so many fine officers and sailors--that of the
Tripolitan war. After he returned to America, at the conclusion of
peace with Tripoli, he served in various capacities along the coast,
proving himself an efficient leader upon more than one occasion. The
first service upon which the young officer was employed after the
commencement of the war with England was taking charge of a flotilla of
gunboats stationed at Newport.
As this service was neither arduous nor calculated to bring chances
for active employment in the way of fighting, time hung on his hands,
and Perry chafed greatly under his enforced retirement. At last he
petitioned the government to place him in active service, stating
plainly his desire to be attached to the naval forces that were then
gathering under the command of Commodore Chauncey on the lakes. His
request was granted, to his great joy, and he set out with all despatch.
It was at an early period of the war that the government had seen
the immense importance of gaining the command of the western lakes,
and in October of 1812 Commodore Chauncey had been ordered to take
seven hundred seamen and one hundred and fifty marines and proceed
by forced marches to Lake Ontario. There had been sent ahead of him
a large number of ship-builders and carpenters, and great activity
was displayed in building and outfitting a fleet which might give to
the United States the possession of Lake Ontario. There was no great
opposition made to the American arms by the British on this lake, but
the unfortunate surrender of General Hull had placed the English in
undisputed possession of Lake Erie.
In March, 1813, Captain Perry having been despatched to the port of
Erie, arrived there to find a fleet of ten sail being prepared to take
the waters against the British fleet under Commodore Barclay--an old
and experienced leader, a hero of the days of Nelson and the _Victory_.
Before Perry’s arrival a brilliant little action had taken place in
October of the previous year. Two British vessels, the _Detroit_ and
the _Caledonia_, came down the lake and anchored under the guns of
the British Fort Erie on the Canadian side. At that time Lieutenant
Elliot was superintending the naval affairs on Lake Erie, and the news
having been brought to him of the arrival of the English vessels on the
opposite side, he immediately determined to make a night attack and
cut them out. For a long time a body of seamen had been tramping their
toilsome march from the Hudson River to the lakes, and Elliot, hearing
that they were but some thirty miles away, despatched a messenger to
hasten them forward; at the same time he began to prepare two small
boats for the expedition. About twelve o’clock the wearied seamen,
footsore and hungry, arrived, and then it was discovered that in the
whole draft there were but twenty pistols, and no cutlasses, pikes, or
battle-axes. But Elliot was not dismayed. Applying to General Smyth,
who was in command of the regulars, for arms and assistance, he was
supplied with a few muskets and pistols, and about fifty soldiers were
detached to aid him.
Late in the afternoon Elliot had picked out his crews and manned the
two boats, putting about fifty men in each; but he did not stir until
one o’clock on the following morning, when in the pitch darkness he
set out from the mouth of Buffalo Creek, with a long pull ahead. The
wind was not strong enough to make good use of the sails, and the poor
sailors were so weary that those who were not rowing lay sleeping,
huddled together on their arms, and displaying great listlessness and
little desire for fighting. At three o’clock Elliot was alongside the
British vessels. It was a complete surprise; in ten minutes he had
full possession of them and had secured the crews as prisoners. But
after making every exertion to get under sail, he found to his bitter
disappointment that the wind was unfortunately so light that the rapid
current made them gather an increasing sternway every instant. Another
unfortunate circumstance was that he would have to pass the British
fort below and quite close to hand, for he was on the Canadian shore.
As the vessels came in sight of the British battery, the latter opened
a heavy fire of round and grape, and several pieces of flying artillery
stationed in the woods took up the chorus.
The _Caledonia_, being a smaller vessel, succeeded in getting out of
the current, and was beached in as safe a position as possible under
one of the American batteries at Black Rock, across the river; but
Elliot was compelled to drop his anchor at the distance of about four
hundred yards from two of the British batteries. He was almost at their
mercy, and in the extremity he tried the effect of a ruse, or, better,
made a threat that we must believe he never intended carrying into
effect.
Observing an officer standing on the top of an earthwork, he hailed him
at the top of his voice:
“Heigh, there, Mr. John Bull! if you fire another gun at me I’ll bring
up all my prisoners, and you can use them for targets,” he shouted.
The answer was the simultaneous discharge of all of the Englishman’s
guns. But not a single prisoner was brought on deck to share the fate
of the Americans, who felt the effect of the fire, and who now began to
make strenuous efforts to return it. Elliot brought all of the guns on
one side of his ship, and replied briskly, until he suddenly discovered
that all of his ammunition was expended. Now there was but one chance
left: to cut the cable, drift down the river out of the reach of the
heavy batteries, and make a stand against the flying artillery with
small arms. This was accordingly done, but as the sails were raised
the fact was ascertained that the pilot had taken French leave. No one
else knew the channel, and, swinging about, the vessel drifted astern
for some ten minutes, then, fortunately striking a cross current, she
brought up on the shore of Squaw Island, near the American side. Elliot
sent a boat to the mainland with the prisoners first. It experienced
great difficulty in making the passage, being almost swamped once
or twice, and it did not return. Affairs had reached a crisis, but
with the aid of a smaller boat, and by the exercise of great care,
the remainder of the prisoners and the crew succeeded in getting on
shore at about eight o’clock in the morning. At about eleven o’clock a
company of British regulars rowed over from the Canadian shore to Squaw
Island and boarded the _Detroit_, their intention being to destroy
her, and burn up the munitions with which she was laden. Seeing their
purpose, Major Cyrenus Chapin, a good Yankee from Massachusetts, called
for volunteers to return to the island, and, despite the difficulties
ahead, almost every man signified his willingness to go. Quickly making
his selection, Major Chapin succeeded in landing with about thirty men
at his back, and drove off the English before they had managed to start
the flames. About three o’clock a second attempt was made, but it was
easily repulsed.
The _Detroit_ mounted six long 6-pounders, and her crew numbered some
sixty men. She was worth saving, but so badly was she grounded on
the island that it was impossible to get her off, and, after taking
her stores out, Elliot set her on fire to get rid of her. The little
_Caledonia_ was quite a valuable capture, aside from her armament, as
she had on board a cargo of furs whose value has been estimated at one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
But to return to the condition of affairs upon the arrival of Captain
Perry. The fleet that in a few weeks he had under his command consisted
of the brig _Lawrence_, of 20 guns, to which he attached his flag;
the _Niagara_, of 20 guns, in command of Elliot; and the schooners
_Caledonia_ and _Ariel_, of 3 and 4 guns respectively. There were
besides six smaller vessels, carrying from one to two guns each; in
all, Perry’s fleet mounted 55 guns. The British fleet, under command
of Barclay, consisted of the _Detroit_ (named after the one that was
wrecked), the _Queen Charlotte_, and the _Lady Prevost_. They mounted
19, 17, and 13 guns, in the order named. The brig _Hunter_ carried 10
guns; the sloop _Little Belt_, 3; and the schooner _Chippeway_, 1 gun;
in all, Barclay had 63 guns, not counting several swivels--that is,
more than eight guns to the good.
The morning of the 10th of September dawned fine and clear. Perry,
with his fleet anchored about him, lay in the quiet waters of Put-in
Bay. A light breeze was blowing from the south. Very early a number
of sail were seen out on the lake beyond the point, and soon the
strangers were discovered to be the British fleet. Everything depended
now upon the speed, with which the Americans could prepare for action.
In twelve minutes every vessel was under way and sailing out to
meet the on-comers; the _Lawrence_ led the line. As the two fleets
approached, the British concentrated the fire of their long and heavy
guns upon her. She came on in silence; at her peak was flying a huge
motto-flag; plain to view were the words of the brave commander of the
_Chesapeake_: “Don’t give up the ship.”
The responsibility that rested upon the young commander’s shoulders
was great; his position was most precarious. This was the first action
between the fleets of the two hostile countries; it was a battle for
the dominion of the lakes; defeat meant that the English could land
at any time an expeditionary force at any point they chose along the
shores of our natural northern barrier. The _Lawrence_ had slipped
quite a way ahead of the others, and Perry found that he would have to
close, in order to return the English fire, as at the long distance he
was surely being ripped to pieces.
Signalling the rest of the fleet to follow him, he made all sail and
bore down upon the English; but to quote from the account in the _Naval
Temple_, printed in the year 1816: “Every brace and bowline of the
_Lawrence_ being shot away, she became unmanageable, notwithstanding
the great exertion of the sailing-master. In this situation she
sustained the action within canister distance upwards of two hours,
until every gun was rendered useless, and the greater part of her crew
either killed or wounded.”
It is easy to imagine the feelings of Perry at this moment. The smaller
vessels of his fleet had not come within firing distance; there was
absolutely nothing for him to do on board the flagship except to lower
his flag. Yet there was one forlorn hope that occurred to the young
commander, and without hesitation he called away the only boat capable
of floating; taking his flag, he quit the _Lawrence_, and rowed off
for the _Niagara_. The most wonderful accounts of hair-breadth escapes
could not equal that of Perry upon this occasion. Why his boat was not
swamped, or its crew and commander killed, cannot be explained. Three
of the British ships fired broadsides at him at pistol-shot distance,
as he passed by them in succession; and although the water boiled about
him, and the balls whistled but a few inches overhead, he reached the
_Niagara_ in safety.
There are but a few parallel cases to this, of a commander leaving one
ship and transferring his flag to another in the heat of action.
The Duke of York upon one occasion shifted his flag, in the battle of
Solebay; and in the battle of Texel, fought on August 11, 1673, the
English Admiral Sprague shifted his flag from the _Royal_ _Prince_
to the _St. George_, and the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp shifted his flag
from the _Golden Lion_ to the _Comet_, owing to the former vessel being
practically destroyed by a concentrated fire. This does not detract
from the gallantry of Perry’s achievement. The danger he faced was
great, and he was probably closer to the enemy’s vessels than any of
the commanders above mentioned.
[Illustration: THE “NIAGARA” BREAKS THE ENGLISH LINE]
Perry’s younger brother, who was but a midshipman, was one of the seven
other men in the boat. They left on board the _Lawrence_ not above a
half score of able-bodied men to look after the numerous wounded. Owing
to the opinions of many of the contemporary writers, who gave way to an
intense feeling of partisanship, some bitterness was occasioned, and
sides were taken in regard to the actions of Master Commandant Elliot
and his superior officer; but looking back at it from this day, we can
see little reason for any feeling of jealousy. It is hard to point the
finger at any one on the American side in this action and say that
he did not do his duty. As Perry reached the side of the _Niagara_
the wind died away until it was almost calm; the smaller vessels, the
sloops and schooners--the _Somers_, the _Scorpion_, the _Tigress_, the
_Ohio_, and the _Porcupine_--were seen to be well astern. Upon Perry
setting foot on deck, Elliot congratulated him upon the way he had
left his ship, and volunteered to bring up the boats to windward, if
he could be spared. Upon receiving permission he jumped into the boat
in which Perry had rowed from the _Lawrence_, and set out to bring up
all the forces. Every effort was made to form a front of battle, and
the little gunboats, urged on by sweeps and oars, were soon engaged in
a race for glory. In the meantime, however, the English had slackened
their fire as they saw the big flag lowered from the _Lawrence’s_
masthead; they supposed that the latter had struck, and set up a
tremendous cheering. This was hushed as they caught sight of the flash
of oars and realized what was going forward. In a few minutes out of
the thick smoke came the _Niagara_, breaking their line, and firing
her broadsides with such good execution that great confusion followed
throughout the fleet. Two of their larger brigs, the _Queen Charlotte_
and _Detroit_, ran afoul of each other, and the _Niagara_, giving
signal for close action, ran across the bow of one ship and the stern
of the other, raking them both with fearful effect; then squaring away,
and running astern of the _Lady Prevost_, she got in another raking
fire, and, sheering off, made for the _Hunter_. Now the little 1-gun
and 2-gun vessels of the American fleet were giving good accounts of
themselves.
Although their crews were exposed to full view and stood waist-high
above the bulwarks, they did no dodging; their shots were well
directed, and they raked the Englishmen fore and aft, carrying away
all the masts of the _Detroit_ and the mizzen-mast of the _Queen
Charlotte_.
A few minutes after 3 P.M., a white flag at end of a boarding-pike was
lifted above the bulwarks of the _Hunter_. At the sight of this the
_Chippeway_ and _Little Belt_ crowded all sail and tried to escape, but
in less than a quarter of an hour they were captured and brought back
by the _Trippe_ and the _Scorpion_, under the commands of Lieutenant
Thomas Holdup and Sailing-master Stephen Champlin. With a ringing cheer
the word went through the line that the British had surrendered. The
sovereignty of Lake Erie belonged to America. The question of supremacy
was settled.
The events of the day had been most dramatic. This fight amid the
wooded shores and extending arms of the bay was viewed from shore by
hundreds of anxious Americans. The bright sunlight and calm surface
of the lake, the enshrouding fog of smoke that from shore hid all but
the spurts of flame and the topmasts and occasionally the flags of the
vessels engaged, all had combined to make a drama of the most exciting
and awe-inspiring interest. Nor was the last act to be a letting down.
Perry determined to receive the surrender of the defeated enemy nowhere
else but on the deck of his old flagship that was slowly drifting up
into the now intermingled fleets.
Once more he lowered his broad pennant, and rowed out for the crippled
_Lawrence_. He was received on board with three feeble cheers,
the wounded joining in, and a number of men crawling up from the
slaughter-pen of a cockpit, begrimed and bloody.
On board the _Lawrence_ there had been left but one surgeon, Usher
Parsons. He came on deck red to the elbows from his work below, and the
terrible execution done by the concentrated English fire was evident to
the English officers as they stepped on board the flagship. Dead men
lay everywhere. A whole gun’s crew were littered about alongside of
their wrecked piece. From below came the mournful howling of a dog. The
cockpit had been above the water’s surface, owing to the _Lawrence’s_
shallow draught, and here was a frightful sight. The wounded had been
killed outright or wounded again as they lay on the surgeon’s table.
Twice had Perry called away the surgeon’s aids to help work ship, and
once his hail of “Can any wounded men below there pull a rope?” was
answered by three or four brave, mangled fellows crawling up on deck to
try to do their duty. All this was apparent to the English officers as
they stepped over the bodies of the dead and went aft to where Perry
stood with his arms folded, no vainglorious expression on his face,
but one of sadness for the deeds that had been done that day. Each of
the English officers in turn presented his sword, and in reply Perry
bowed and requested that the side-arms should be retained. As soon as
the formalities had been gone through with, Perry tore off the back of
an old letter he took from his pocket, and, using his stiff hat for
a writing-desk, scribbled the historic message which a detractor has
charged he cribbed from Julius Cæsar: “We have met the enemy and they
are ours:--two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.”
Calling away a small boat, he sent Midshipman Forrest with the report
to General William Henry Harrison.
A computation has been made by one historian of the number of guns
directed against the _Lawrence_ in the early part of the action. The
English had heavier armaments and more long guns; they could fight at
a distance where the chubby carronade was useless. The _Lawrence_ had
but seven guns whose shots could reach her opponents, while the British
poured into her the concentrated fire of thirty-two! This accounts for
the frightful carnage.
When the _Lawrence_ was being shot through and through, and there
were but three guns that could reply to the enemy’s fire, Lieutenant
Yarnell, disfigured by a bad wound across his face from a splinter,
came up to where Perry was standing. “The officers of my division have
all been cut down,” he said. “Can I have others?” Perry looked about
him and sent three of his aids to help Yarnell, but in less than a
quarter of an hour the lieutenant returned again. His words were almost
the same as before, but he had a fresh wound in his shoulder. “These
officers,” he said, “have been cut down also.”
“There are no more,” Perry replied. “Do your best without them.”
Three times was Yarnell wounded, and three times after his wounds had
been hurriedly dressed he returned to his post.
Dulany Forrest, the midshipman whom Perry sent with the despatch to
General Harrison, had a most remarkable escape. He was a brave lad who
had faced death before; he had seen the splinters fly in the action
between the _Constitution_ and the _Java_. Forrest was standing close
to Captain Perry when a grape-shot that had glanced from the side of a
port struck the mast, and, again deflected, caught the midshipman in
the chest. He fell, gasping, at Perry’s feet.
“Are you badly hurt, lad?” asked the latter, anxiously, as he raised
the midshipman on his knee.
“No, sir; not much,” the latter answered, as he caught his breath. “But
this is my shot, I think.” And with that he extracted the half-spent
ball from his clothing and slipped it into his pocket.
Midshipman Henry Laub was killed in the cockpit just after having had a
dressing applied to his shattered right arm. A Narragansett Indian who
served as a gunner in the forward division of the _Lawrence_ was killed
in the same manner.
A summary of the losses on both sides shows that, despite the
death-list of the _Lawrence_, the English loss was more severe. On
board the American flagship twenty-two were killed and sixty-one were
wounded. On board the _Niagara_ two killed and twenty-five wounded. The
_Ariel_ had one killed and three wounded. The _Scorpion_, two killed.
The _Caledonia_, three wounded; and the _Somers_ and _Trippe_ each
showed but two wounded men apiece. In all, twenty-seven were killed and
ninety-six wounded on the American side. The comparison of the loss
of the rest of the fleet and that suffered by the _Lawrence_ makes a
remarkable showing. The English lost forty-one killed and ninety-four
wounded altogether. A number of Canadian Indians were found on board
the English vessels. They had been engaged as marksmen, but the first
shot had taken all the fight out of them and they had hidden and
skulked for safety.
Perry’s treatment of the prisoners was magnanimous. Everything that
would tend to relieve the sufferings of the wounded was done, and
relief was distributed impartially among the sufferers on both sides.
The result of this action was a restoration of practical peace along
the frontier of the lake. The British evacuated Detroit and Michigan,
and the dreaded invasion of the Indians that the settlers had feared so
long was headed off.