Battle of Lake Erie
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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. It was between nine ships of the United States Navy and six vessels of Great Britain. The decisive victory of the Americans over the British fleet ensured American control of the lake and the Northwest Territory during the War of 1812, opened supply lines, and improved American morale after a series of U.S. defeats in the Great Lakes theater. The successful U.S. invasion of southwestern Upper Canada in the following month, culminating in the U.S. victory at the Battle of the Thames, is regarded by many historians as a critical factor in forcing the eventual stalemate in the war.
Background
The British had been blockading the port of Erie, Pennsylvania, where Oliver Hazard Perry had secretly commissioned a fleet of ships, during the summer of 1813, but on August 1 they unexpectedly withdrew. The American ships in the harbor were finally able to leave, and throughout August, Perry prepared for the inevitable battle while keeping a close eye on the British ships at Detroit. As the American ships left Erie harbor, the Lawrence ran aground on a sandbar. At that time British sails appeared on the horizon. As a bluff, Perry sent a handful of his smaller ships toward the British Navy. The British ships, believing that Perry had a larger fleet laying in wait, returned to Detroit to get more ships. This effectively bought Perry the time to get the Lawrence out of the harbor and refitted with weapons.The battle
On September 10, British Commodore Robert Heriot Barclay, in his flagship HMS Detroit, met Captain Perry near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. Barclay's six ships outweighed and outgunned Perry's nine, including Perry's flagship, Lawrence. Lawrence faced an unfavourable wind and was destroyed in the course of the battle with four-fifths of its crew killed or wounded. Both of the fleet's surgeons were sick with lake fever so the wounded were taken care of by the assistant, Usher Parsons. However, Perry was able to row a half-mile through heavy gunfire and transfer command to Niagara, a ship equal in size and strength to Lawrence, but which had not yet been engaged in the battle. As HMS Detroit had suffered some damage, Niagara was able to capture it, along with the other five British ships. Although Perry won the battle on the Niagara, he received the British surrender on the deck of the Lawrence so as to allow the British to see the terrible price his men had suffered.Results
Each side suffered over 100 casualties, the Americans slightly more. The vessels were anchored and hasty repairs were underway near West Sister Island when Perry composed his now famous message to 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
Due to the outcome of the battle, Britain retreated from Detroit and lost control of Lake Erie for the remainder of the war. As this prevented the British from re-supplying or reinforcing their troops in the south-western part of Upper Canada (now Ontario) over water from their primary forts in the Niagara peninsula, it accounted for much of the success of the American land campaigns in this theatre in 1813. It also removed the threat of a British attack on Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Western New York during the rest of the war.
After the war, the U.S. Navy intentionally sank both Lawrence and Niagara in Misery Bay in Lake Erie; the battle damage they had suffered was too extensive to repair. In 1875, Lawrence was raised and moved to Philadelphia, where it 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, it subsequently fell into disrepair. It was eventually disassembled and portions of it 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.
Ships involved:
Note: * - swivel gun; long guns unless otherwise stated
United States
Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry:USS Lawrence - 2-12pdr, 18-32pdr carronades
USS Caledonia - 2-24pdr*, 1-32pdr carronade*
USS Ariel - 4-12pdr*
USS Somers - 1-24pdr*, 1-32pdr carronade*
USS Scorpion - 1-32pdr*, 1-24pdr carronade*
Master Commandant Jesse Elliot:
USS Niagara - 2-12pdr, 18-32pdr carronades
USS Porcupine - 1-32pdr*
USS Tigress - 1-32pdr*
USS Trippe - 1-32pdr*
Britain
Commander Robert Heriot Barclay:HMS Detroit (flag) - 2-24pdr, 1-18pdr*, 6-12pdr, 8-9pdr, 1-24pdr carronade, 1-18pdr carronade
HMS General Hunter - 2-6pdr, 4-4pdr, 2-12pdr carronades
HMS Chippewa 1-9pdr*
Commander Robert Finnis:
HMS Queen Charlotte 2-12pdr, 1-12pdr*, 14-24pdr carronades
HMS Lady Prevost 2-9pdr, 1-9pdr*, 10-12pdr carronades
HMS Little Belt 1-9pdr*, 2-6pdr
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]
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