Ohio History Journal

38        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

 

THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE.*

September 10, 1813.

 

BY MRS. JOHN T. MACK.

It was a fair morning in September, a gentle breeze was

blowing down the lake, rippling the water. A little American

fleet lay peacefully at anchor in the beautiful island-locked bay

of South Bass Island, its brave young commander and sturdy

men anxiously waiting for the sign of a coming hostile sail.

A few days before, with the Union Jack vauntingly flying, they

had passed the British forts at Malden, up at the head of the

lake, behind which, under cover, lay the British fleet. The

challenge to come out and fight in open water had been un-

heeded, and Perry and his men were waiting for something to

turn up.

The sun was just coming up in a cloudless sky behind the

slopes of the islands, when a messenger knocked at the com-

mander's cabin door. The British fleet was in sight, coming

down the lake. "The day has come at last!" exclaimed Lieu-

tenant Elliott as he climbed up the side of the flagship Lawrence

to get his commander's order. "The one we have long been

wishing for," responded Perry. Quickly the plan of action was

decided. Hurried orders were given. On the ship Lawrence,

up from the halyards, rose the great blue flag, bearing to the

breeze the dying words of the brave James Lawrence: "Don't

give up the ship"-words that so soon were to be the sign by

which a great battle was to be won and the fame of an American

boy made immortal.

What a little fleet it was to win so great a victory!-Meas-

ured by modern standards of engineering warfare but a mere

handful of small sailing vessels, rudely constructed; compris-

ing, all told, but nine boats, some carrying but one or two guns,

and all only fifty-four. The most effective of these were as

* Paper read by Mrs. Jno. T. Mack, of Sandusky, at the Second Annual

Ohio State Conference Daughters of the American Revolution, Colum-

bus, Ohio, October 31, 1900.

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The Battle of Lake Erie.              39

 

short in range as a pistol. One warship of Dewey's fleet could

have torn them all to shreds. The crews numbering, all told,

only about 400, were made up almost entirely of untried sailors

and landsmen. But they were brave men, stirred with the

spirit of patriots, and fired by love of country. Their com-

manders were all young officers, few of whom had seen actual

service, but they felt that their nation's honor was in their keep-

ing. How true it is that a righteous cause is half the victory

already won.

The British fleet, on the other hand, was commanded by

officers of experience in naval warfare. Commodore Barclay

had seen service with the great Nelson in ocean warfare, and

lost an arm in one of his battles on the Nile. His fleet com-

prised six vessels, three less than Perry's in number, but carry-

ing sixty-six guns of longer range and larger calibre. Seamen

trained to the service stood behind them and before the masts.

Out from the little bay sailed Perry and his fleet, into the open

water to the westward. The British fleet was slowly, but de-

fiantly, coming down the lake upon them. The breeze dying

away delayed the encounter. Close action was what young Perry

wanted, and so it proved also wished his opponent, the brave

Captain Barclay.

Not long had they to wait. Swinging hither and thither,

their sails hanging lifeless, the little fleet of American vessels

was indeed at the mercy of the wind-too far away to get into

action, they could not come up to help the Lawrence, on which

Perry had led and was soon to be under the British fire. At

a quarter before twelve the British commander opened fire from

his flagship, the Detroit. A gun from the Lawrence replied,

but the shot fell into the water. It had carried scarcely two-

thirds the way of its mark. Another shot from the British tore

through the Lawrence and the brave Lieutenant Yarnell stag-

gered bleeding, but rose to take his place again defiantly at the

guns. Under such a fire, now joined in by the other British

ships, stood the dauntless Perry and his determined crew, until

the Lawrence was torn and riddled, and stripped of sail and

mast, and the dead and wounded covered the decks and crowded

the hatchways.

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40        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

It was a terrible suspense! With the rest of the American

fleet too far away to help, waiting a favorable breeze to bring

them up to the ill-fated Lawrence fighting solitary and alone.

There was no thought, however, of surrender. All Perry was

seeking was a position where he could fight back. The Law-

rence had ceased firing. "It is wasting powder and shot," ex-

claimed its commander. But God did not desert him-dark

though it looked. Soon the Lawrence drifted in among the

British boats-every brace and bow line shot away, and not a

sail left to work. But her carronades were within range of the

enemy's boats, and their shot began to tell. Down came the

topmast of one of the English brigs. With seven guns that

Perry found he could use, her motto flag still flying, the Law-

rence stood her ground with thirty-two English guns concen-

trated upon her. It was a terrible ordeal, but the men on the

Lawrence kept at it, as if to fight was the only thing to do,

no matter what their fate.

Perry realized that to surrender the Lawrence would be

a death blow to all chance of victory and held on. His men

realized it as well as he. English shot went clear through the

Lawrence; man after man at the guns was torn to pieces. Soon

the brave Lieutenant Brooks fell. Again and again was the

resistless Yarnell wounded, only to leave his post for the sur-

geon below, after the repeated order of his commander, only

to return again. Four times was he wounded. How fortunate

it was that in this terrible encounter of the Lawrence, Perry's

life was spared. The dying words of Brooks were prophetic:

"If Perry's life is saved he'll win us out of this." In that swift,

single-handed engagement of the Lawrence with the entire British

fleet, every American officer save Perry was wounded or killed,

and three-fourths of the crew.

In the two hours of awful suspense and terrible conflict,

a slight breeze had sprung up and the other vessels of Perry's

fleet began to move slowly toward the line of battle. Unable

to shift his own ship, now completely disabled and riddled, Perry

seized upon a new plan. It came like an inspiration as he looked

out toward his now slowly moving boats, still too far away.

He ordered the little yawl boat manned. Two men who were

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The Battle of Lake Erie.              41

 

helping the surgeon care for the wounded and dying below had

to be called, so shattered was his force on deck, and leaving

the brave Yarnell in command he ordered down the motto flag,

wrapped it about his arm and was a moment later being rowed

away to the Niagara, the shot flying about his little craft and

cutting the water all about him. This suddenly conceived, and

as suddenly executed act of Perry marked the supreme moment

in the great battle. It turned the tide of victory. The lowering

of the motto from the Lawrence had, as it were, taken the enemy

by surprise; the firing from their ships for the moment ceased.

They looked only for the surrender flag to be hoisted. Once

on board the Niagara, the motto flag, "Don't give up the ship,"

went swiftly up its halyards, and fluttered in the breeze as de-

fiantly as a few moments before it had waved above the dead

and dying on the decks of the Lawrence. Cheer after cheer

went up from every American boat; the breeze seemed to catch

the inspiration, and on, now swept the boats, the valiant Perry

leading with the Niagara, his new flagship, right in among the

British vessels. The battle raged fierce and hot on every ship.

"Order close action!" commanded Perry, and the brave Elliott

obeyed. "We're all right now," cried an old battle-scarred tar,

as he saw Perry take command on the Niagara. Even the shat-

tered ship Lawrence, almost deserted, had caught the spirit of

victory. Up to the masthead had Yarnell hoisted the Stars

and Stripes-her colors were at the peak. "Don't give up the

ship!" rang in the ears of the brave Yankee seamen, and they

fought with a desperate valor, daring and dash that fairly stunned

the Red Coats. Their fire was swift, sure and terrible. Vessel

after vessel of the British was in turn attacked, riddled, stripped

of her masts and sail, and left helpless.

We all recall the words of Dewey as he gave the quiet

command to fire at Manila. So Perry, nearly a century before,

with like coolness, standing on the forward deck of a mere toy

boat compared with Dewey's great Olympia, said:

"Have you the range there, Judson?" "You may fire."

The final encounter was soon over.

"Cease firing," came the order from Perry, as the smoke,

clearing away, revealed a British officer coming to the bulwarks

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42        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

of his disabled vessel, waving a white flag-that blessed harbin-

ger of peace.

"Call away a boat," he said, "and put me on board the Law-

rence. I will receive the surrender there."

Wounded men crawled to the ports to greet their victo-

rious commander, and tears filled his eyes as he stepped upon

the deck of his own vessel baptised in the blood of his country-

men. When British officer after officer of the defeated fleet

came forward to offer his sword, the hero of Erie, in quiet recog-

nition said: "I request that you will keep your sword. It has

been bravely used and worn."

Grant at Appomattox was filled with like charity for a fallen

foe. Somehow the spirit of liberty and of free institutions tends

to nobility of soul. This was the simple message of Perry to

his general in command, written upon the back of an old en-

velope:

U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister, Head of Lake Erie:

Sept. 10, 1813, at 4 p. m.

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.

When the count was taken after the battle it was found

that twenty-two men had been killed and sixty-one wounded

on the flagship Lawrence; two killed and twenty-five wounded

on the Niagara; on the Scorpion two killed, and one on the

Arion; three wounded on the Caledonia, Somers and Trippe,

making a total loss for the American fleet of twenty-seven killed

and ninety-six wounded. The British loss in this battle was

greater-forty-one being killed and ninety-four wounded. Twice

had the British officer in command, Commodore Barclay, been

wounded, and rendered helpless by injury to the only arm he

had. The dead sailors of both fleets, each wrapped in a sailor's

shroud of a hammock with a round shot at his heels were buried

in the waters of Lake Erie. The next day the six dead officers-

Midshipmen Henry Laub and John Clark and Lieutenant Brooks

of the American fleet, and Captain Finnis, Lieutenant Stokes

and Lieutenant Garland of the British fleet-were placed in

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The Battle of Lake Erie.              43

 

rudely constructed coffins and following a solemn procession

of boats, rowing minute strokes to the sound of the solemn dirge

of the band, were conveyed to the shore of Put-in-Bay Island

for burial. The officers and surviving crews of both fleets fol-

lowed and about the open grave stood the victorious Perry,

supporting upon his arm the torn and shattered form of the

brave Commodore Barclay.

The Battle of Lake Erie marked a turning point in the

life of the young and struggling republic. It settled forever

its supremacy upon the lakes that separate it from British ter-

ritory. It did more than that. It opened the way for the vic-

torious march of General Harrison and his army into the enemy's

territory to the north, and made possible the settlement of the

vast territory of the West and its development into the sister-

hood of states that now crown our flag with their cluster of

forty-five stars. That battle, though small both in numbers and

instruments of warfare, was yet one of the great sea battles

of the world-great because fought with a bravery and daring

that startled the world-led by a commander who showed him-

self to be one of the world's heroes, and great because stupen-

dous and far-reaching in its results.

Nearly four score years and ten have passed since the Battle

of Lake Erie was fought and won. The graves of the six brave

officers who lost their lives in that battle still remain unmarked

by the nation. The spot where they sleep is but a few rods

from the shore at the southern end of the village park of Put-

in-Bay. For years only a willow tree marked it. Later a single

chain supported by plain posts surrounded the sacred mound.

The frosts and storms of time have shattered the willow that so

many years swung and tossed above them as the blasts came

sweeping in from off the waters where as foe to foe they had

fought and fallen. Only a stump and a few ragged limbs now

remain. Two or three years ago the people of Put-in-Bay se-

cured from the government eight condemned cannon and eighty-

five shells. They raised by private subscription, entertainments

and otherwise about $500, paid the transportation on the cannon

and placed them along the walk leading past the mound looking

out over the bay and lake. The shells were built up in the form

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44         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

of a pyramid over the graves of the dead heroes. Some years

ago a bill was introduced in Congress by Hon. S. R. Harris,

of Bucyrus, making an appropriation for a monument at Put-

in-Bay. At the last session of Congress, Hon. Melville Bull,

the member from the Newport district, Rhode Island, where

Commodore Perry was born and lies buried, introduced a bill

appropriating $25,000 for the same object.

The bill was reported favorably by the committee at the

last session of Congress, and it is now pending on the calendar

of the House.   In a letter to the writer of this article Congress-

man Bull, under date of October 28, says:

"I am hopeful of securing its consideration and passage

at the next session of Congress. Anything you and others at

Sandusky and Put-in-Bay can do to assist my efforts will be

greatly appreciated."

I give below the bill introduced by Mr. Bull and the re-

port of the committee recommending the passage of the bill:

A bill providing for the erection of a monument at Put-in-Bay, Ohio,

commemorative of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and those who par-

ticipated in the naval battle of Lake Erie on the tenth day of September,

eighteen hundred and thirteen.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United

States of America in Congress assembled: That the sum of twenty-

five thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated, out of any

money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the erection of a

monument at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, to the memory of Commodore Oliver

Hazard Perry and the men who fell or participated in the naval battle of

Lake Erie, fought near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on the tenth day of Septem-

ber, eighteen hundred and thirteen: Provided; That the money appro-

priated as aforesaid shall be expended under the direction of the secretary

of the navy, and the plans, specifications, and designs for such monu-

ment shall, before any money so appropriated is expended, be first ap-

proved by the secretary of the navy: And provided further, That no part

of the sum hereby appropriated shall be so expended until the Monument

Association of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, shall procure not less than one-half

acre of ground, located at or near the burial place of the officers and men

who were killed in said battle of Lake Erie, upon which to erect said

monument; and which site for said monument shall be procured without

cost to the United States, and the title to be vested in the United States.

Mr. Cummings, from the committee on the library, submit-

ted the following report:

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The Battle of Lake Erie.                     45

 

The committee on the library, to whom was referred the bill (H. R.

124) providing for the erection of a monument at Put-in-May, Ohio,

commemorative of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and those who par-

ticipated in the naval battle of Lake Erie on the tenth day of September,

1813, having considered the same, beg leave to report as follows:

The naval battle of Lake Erie, in which the American fleet under

Commodore Perry defeated the British, is one of the most glorious events

in our history as a nation. Perry was but 27 years of age; the timbers

of his fleet were still green; his men were for the most part raw recruits.

The British force was formed of veterans and commanded by Commodore

Barclay, who had served under Nelson at Trafalgar. The victory was

won by the desperate valor and consummate skill of the noble young sea-

man and his hardy followers. It established our supremacy on the Great

Lakes, went far toward retrieving the disasters we had suffered on land,

and aided in securing the important results that followed.

The remains of the American dead were buried on what is now Put-

in-Bay Island. A willow tree marks the spot and is all there is to com-

memorate the memory of these noble men and their gallant victory. Your

committee believe that an enlightened and grateful people should express

their gratitude, respect and affection by a suitable memorial. The merit

is not in the cold bronze or stone, but in the warm memories, the grateful

feelings, the noble aspirations that it will stir in every true American heart.

No site can be more fitting than that where these brave men fought

and where those who fell now sleep.

Your committee therefore recommend the passage of the bill.

It is indeed fitting that the simple story of the valor and

the sacrifice of the brave men who fell in the great battle on Lake

Erie be perpetuated in enduring marble and bronze, that the

future generations of Americans may observe the lesson and

have kindled afresh in their breasts love of our common coun-

try, and loyalty to the republic founded by the fathers, and for-

ever established in the sisterhood of nations by the heroes of

1776 and 1812.

We read that next winter Congress is to be asked to ap-

propriate $10,000 to raise from Misery Bay at Erie and pre-

serve the Niagara on which Perry won his great victory. I

hope it will be done. These landmarks of great events in the

nation's life cannot be too sacredly cherished and preserved.

But over and above all inanimate things let us fittingly com-

memorate the heroes who laid upon their country's altar their

lives and thereby vouchsafed to future generations the rich herit-

age of a free and supreme republic.

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