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The 'Battle of Lake Erie', sometimes referred to as the 'Battle of Put-in-Bay', was fought on September 10, 1813 in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain’s Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the remainder of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh.

Contents

Background

1812

1813

Battle

Results

Aftermath

Causes of the American victory

Vessels involved

Notes

References

External links

Background

1812

When the war broke out, the British immediately seized control of Lake Erie. They had a small force of warships there controlled by the Provincial Marine. This was a military transport service rather than a naval service, but the Americans lacked any counter to it. Major-General Isaac Brock used this superiority to defeat an American army at the Siege of Detroit.
The United States Navy lost its only warship on Lake Erie, the brig ''Adams'', when Detroit was surrendered. The British renamed her ''HMS Detroit''. Together with the brig ''Caledonia'', she was boarded and captured near Fort Erie on October 9, 1812, by American sailors and Marines under the command of Jesse Elliot. ''Detroit'' went aground on an island in the middle of the Niagara River and was burned to prevent recapture. ''Caledonia'' was taken to the navy yard at Black Rock and commissioned into the United States Navy. ''Caledonia'' and some purchased schooners being converted into gunboats were pinned down in Black Rock by the guns of Fort Erie, which dominated the Niagara River.

1813

In January 1813, the Americans had begun to construct two brig-rigged corvettes and several other vessels at Presque Isle, the present day city of Erie, Pennsylvania. (“''Presqu’isle''” is French for “peninsula,” literally “almost an island”). Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry had earlier been appointed to command on Lake Erie, and he arrived there to take command at the end of March. Having arranged for the defence of Presque Isle, he proceeded to Lake Ontario to obtain seamen from Commodore Isaac Chauncey who commanded the American fleet there. After commanding American schooners and gunboats at the Battle of Fort George, he then went to Black Rock where the American vessels had been released when the British abandoned Fort Erie at the end of May. Perry had them towed up the Niagara, a strenuous operation which took several days, and sailed with them along the shore to Presque Isle.
Meanwhile, Commander Robert Heriot Barclay was appointed to command the British squadron on Lake Erie. He was forced to make the tedious journey to Amherstburg overland and did not arrive before June 10. He brought with him only a handful of officers and seamen. Nevertheless he immediately put out in two warships. He first had a look at Perry’s base at Presque Isle and determined that it was defended by 2,000 militia, with batteries and redoubts. He then cruised the eastern end of Lake Erie, hoping to intercept the American vessels from Black Rock. The weather was hazy, and he missed them.
During July and August, Barclay attempted to complete a corvette at Amherstburg, HMS ''Detroit'', and to augment the strength of his squadron. He repeatedly requested men and supplies from Commodore James Lucas Yeo, commanding on Lake Ontario, but received very little. The commander of the British Army on the Detroit frontier, Major-General Henry Procter, declined to make an attack on Presque Isle unless he was reinforced, and instead he incurred heavy losses in an unsuccessful attack on Fort Stephenson.
Barclay maintained a blockade of Presque Isle but had to leave on July 29 because of shortage of supplies and bad weather. When he returned four days later, he found that Perry had worked most of his squadron across the sandbar at the mouth of the harbor. This was an exhausting task. The guns had to be removed from all the boats, and the largest of them had to be raised between “camels” (barges or lighters which were then emptied of ballast). Perry’s two largest brigs were not ready for action, but the gunboats and smaller brigs formed a line so confidently that Barclay withdrew to await the completion of the ''Detroit''.
Once Perry had manned his squadron and remounted all its guns, he controlled the lake. Since Barclay was now unable to move supplies to Amherstburg, his sailors, Procter’s troops, and the very large numbers of Indian warriors and their families there quickly ran out of supplies. Barclay had no choice but to put out again and offer battle with Perry.

Battle

The two squadrons met near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on September 10. The wind was light. Barclay initially held the weather gauge, but the wind shifted and allowed Perry to close and attack. Perry hoped to get his two big brigs, his flagship US Brig ''Lawrence'' and US Brig ''Niagara'' into carronade range quickly. However, the ''Niagara''—under Elliot—was slow to come into action (it may have been obstructed by the unhandy ''Caledonia'') and aboard the ''Lawrence'', Perry had to face three British ships alone. This would prove a matter of dispute between the men for many years.
Although the American gunboats steadily pounded the British ships from a distance, ''Lawrence'' was eventually reduced to a wreck. Four-fifths of its crew were killed or wounded. Both of the fleet’s surgeons were sick with lake fever[1], so the wounded were taken care of by the assistant, Usher Parsons. Perry decided to transfer his flag. He was rowed a half mile (1 km) through heavy gunfire to the ''Niagara'' while the ''Lawrence'' was surrendered.
Once aboard ''Niagara'', Perry dispatched Elliot to bring the gunboats into closer action, while he led ''Niagara'' at Barclay’s damaged ships. ''Niagara''’s broadsides severely wounded Barclay. ''Detroit'' collided with another British ship, HMS ''Queen Charlotte'', and both ships surrendered, being unmanageable and their commanders having been killed or wounded. The smaller British gunboats tried to flee but were overtaken and also surrendered.
Although Perry won the battle on the ''Niagara'', he received the British surrender on the deck of the recaptured ''Lawrence'' so as to allow the British to see the terrible price his men had suffered.

Results

Each side suffered over 100 casualties. The vessels were anchored and hasty repairs were underway near West Sister Island when Perry composed his now famous message to General William Henry Harrison, commander of the Army of the Northwest. Scrawled in pencil on the back of an old envelope, Perry wrote:

Dear General:

We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop.

Yours with great respect and esteem,

''O.H. Perry''

Perry next sent the following message to the Secretary of the Navy, William Jones:

Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister,

Head of Lake Erie September 10, 4 P. M.

Sir:- It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop, have this moment surrendered to the force under my command after a sharp conflict.

I have the honor to be, Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

''O. H. Perry''

Once his ships were patched up, Perry ferried 2,500 American soldiers to Detroit, while Harrison moved overland with 1,000 mounted troops. The British force under Procter had abandoned Detroit and Amherstburg and were retreating when Harrison caught up with them and defeated them at the Battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh died.
The Americans controlled Lake Erie for the remainder of the war. This accounted for much of the Americans’ successes on the Niagara peninsula in 1814 and also removed the threat of a British attack on Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Western New York.

Aftermath

After the war, the U.S. Navy intentionally sank both the ''Lawrence'' and ''Niagara'' in Misery Bay in Lake Erie; the battle damage they had suffered was too extensive to repair. In 1875, the ''Lawrence'' was raised and moved to Philadelphia, where she was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Later that year, the ship burned when the pavilion that housed it caught fire. Although ''Niagara'' was raised and restored in 1913, she subsequently fell into disrepair. She was eventually disassembled, and portions of her were used in a reconstructed ''Niagara'', which is now on view in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The Perry Monument within Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial now stands atop Put-in-Bay, commemorating the men who fought in the battle.
After the war, there was a bitter quarrel between Perry and Elliot over their respective parts in the action, mostly fought at second hand in the press. On the British side, Barclay was exonerated of any blame by a court-martial but was too badly injured to see service again for several years.
The Battle of Lake Erie is one of five American naval engagements cited by United States Naval Academy Professor Craig L. Symonds in his book ''Decision at Sea'' (2005) as being decisive in establishing U.S. naval superiority. The others were the Battle of Hampton Roads (1862), the Battle of Manila Bay (1898), the Battle of Midway (1942), and Operation Praying Mantis (1988).

Causes of the American victory

Most historians attribute the American victory to what Theodore Roosevelt described as, "Superior heavy metal".^[1] Although Perry’s cannon came from foundries on Chesapeake Bay, and were moved to Presqu’Isle only with great difficulty, Perry could obtain other materials and fittings from Pittsburgh, which was expanding as a manufacturing center. By contrast, Barclay’s guns and supplies had to come up the Saint Lawrence River and along the lengths of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Because the Americans controlled Lake Ontario and occupied the Niagara Peninsula in early 1813, supplies for Barclay had to be carried overland from York. The American victory at the Battle of York meant that guns intended for the ''Detroit'' fell into American hands. ''Detroit'' had to be completed with a miscellany of guns from the fortifications of Amherstburg, Ontario. It was alleged that these guns lacked flintlock firing mechanisms and matches, and that they could be fired only by snapping pistols over powder piled in the vent holes. (Nevertheless, they were very effectively served during the battle).
There were a number of personalities which were pivotal to the creation of the two squadrons. Jesse Elliott's "cutting-out" expedition in late 1812 was responsible for the destruction of the ''Detroit'' (the renamed brig ''Adams'', not to be confused with the flagship of Barclay’s squadron), and the capture of the brig ''Caledonia.''^[2] Danial Dobbins was a long time lake mariner who was charged with the initial construction efforts and chose Erie as the construction site, as well as personally overseeing much of the movement of supplies to Erie. Noah Brown served as the main constructor at Erie, and designed the two largest brigs (which were close copies of the contemporary USS Hornet).
On the British side, William Bell served as constructor and built the ''Detroit'', which was the best built ship on the Lake. However, the ''Detroit'' was built slowly in part due to Bell's perfectionism, and indeed it was the only British warship built on Lake Erie during the war. This building imbalance, given the fact that six American ships were built in the same time frame, was another important cause of the American victory (although it might be argued that, even if Barclay possessed more hulls, he would be unable to obtain armament and crews for them).
The crews on both sides were a mixture of professional seamen, with lake sailors and boatmen or ''voyageurs''. Volunteers from Harrison’s army made up the American crews, while Barclay had several soldiers drafted from Procter’s 41^st Regiment.
The battle itself was close-run. Because of failing winds, Perry’s superior squadron straggled into action, and as a result, Perry’s flagship was forced to fight against unequal odds. A draw might have been possible, though a complete British victory was unlikely. In the event, the portion of the American squadron which had not been engaged in the early part of the action was later able to overwhelm the damaged British ships with their depleted and exhausted crews.

Vessels involved

Listed in order of sailing:

'Nationality'	'Name'	'Type'	'Tonnage'	'Crew'	'Armament'	'Notes'
United States	''Scorpion''	schooner	86	35	1 long 32-pdr 1 32-pdr carronade	Long gun dismounted (overcharged)
"	''Ariel''	schooner	112	36	4 long 12-pdr	One gun exploded (overcharged)
"	''Lawrence''	brig	480	136	2 long 12-pdr 18 32-pdr carronade	Flagship of O. H. Perry surrendered but recaptured
"	''Caledonia''	brig	180	53	2 long 24-pdr 1 32-pdr carronade	captured from British October 9, 1812
"	''Niagara''	brig	480	155	2 long 12-pdr 18 32-pdr carronade	Commanded by Jesse Elliot
"	''Somers''	schooner	94	30	1 long 24-pdr 1 32-pdr carronade
"	''Porcupine''	schooner	83	25	1 long 32-pdr
"	''Tigress''	schooner	82	35	1 long 32-pdr
"	''Trippe''	sloop	60	35	1 long 24-pdr
Britain	''Chippeway''	schooner	70	15	1 long 9-pdr	captured
"	''Detroit''	ship	490	150	1 long 18-pdr (on swivel) 2 long 24-pdr 6 long 12-pdr 8 long 9-pdr 1 24-pdr carronade 1 18-pdr carronade	Flagship of R. H. Barclay captured
"	''Hunter''	brig	180	45	4 long 6-pdr 2 long 4-pdr 2 long 2-pdr 2 12-pdr carronade	captured
"	''Queen Charlotte''	ship	400	126	1 long 12-pdr 2 long 9-pdr 12 24-pdr carronade	Commanded by Lieutenant Robert Finnis captured
"	''Lady Prevost''	brig	230	86	1 long 9-pdr 2 long 6-pdr 10 12-pdr carronade	captured (lost rudder)
"	''Little Belt''	sloop	90	18	1 long 12-pdr 2 long 6-pdr	captured

Notes

1. Roosevelt, Theodore. The Naval War of 1812; or The History of the United States Navy During the Last War with Great Britain. (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1882): 326
2. Elliott to Hamiliton, Oct. 9th, 1812 in Dudley, William S. ed. The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History. vol. 1: 327-331

References

★ “The Dobbins Papers.” Severance, Frank H. ed. Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society v. 3 (Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society, 1905)

★ The Perry's Victory Centenary - Report of The Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York, , George D. (Compiled by), Emerson, J. B. Lyon Company, ,

★ Mahan, Alfred T.. ''Sea Power in Its Relations to the War of 1812 ''. 1905.

★ Pennsylvania Battlefields and Military Landmarks, , Arthur P. Jr., Miller, Stackpole Books, , ISBN 0-8117-2876-5

★ Roosevelt, Theodore. ''The Naval War of 1812''. The Modern Library, New York. ISBN 0-375-75419-9

★ A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-13, , David, Skaggs, Naval Institute Press, , ISBN 1-5575-0892-5

★ Decision at Sea, , Craig, Symonds, Oxford University Press, , ISBN 0-1951-7145-4

★ Zaslow, Morris (ed). ''The Defended Border''. Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0-7705-1242-9

External links

★ Perry's account of the Battle of Lake Erie

★ "Log of the Battle of Lake Erie" by Sailing Master William Taylor

★ US Brig ''Niagara''