The Battle of Lake Erie, fought on September 10, 1813, was one of the most important American victories of the War of 1812. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s defeat of an entire British squadron secured American control of Lake Erie, forced the British to abandon Detroit, and helped reverse the war in the Old Northwest.
The war had begun in part over violations of American sovereignty, particularly Britain’s practice of impressing sailors from American merchant vessels. After Congress declared war in June 1812, events began badly for the United States. American invasions of Canada failed, Detroit fell, and British naval forces controlled Lake Erie. General William Henry Harrison, commanding American forces in Ohio, needed control of the lake before he could recover Detroit.
The United States responded with an extraordinary shipbuilding effort at Erie, Pennsylvania. Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins promoted Presque Isle Bay as the site for an American naval base despite Erie’s tiny population, limited industry and a shallow sandbar blocking easy access to Lake Erie. Shipbuilder Noah Brown supervised construction of two 500-ton brigs, Lawrence and Niagara, while the 27-year-old Perry assembled sailors, weapons and supplies.
An overlooked part of the story was the role of the Pennsylvania militia. With the unfinished fleet vulnerable to British attack, local militiamen repeatedly left their farms to guard the Erie shipyard. They were summoned again when Perry faced the formidable problem of getting his new warships across the Presque Isle sandbar. Using flotation devices known as “camels,” the Americans raised the ships enough to move them into the lake. The fleet that would defeat the British had finally escaped its own harbor.
Perry’s two principal ships were armed principally with short-range 32-pounder carronades. Their tremendous destructive power came with a disadvantage: Perry had to get close to the British before their longer-range guns disabled his ships.
On September 10, British commander Robert Heriot Barclay approached Put-In-Bay with six vessels. Perry sailed to meet him with nine. From Lawrence flew Perry’s famous battle flag bearing the words of the recently killed American naval officer James Lawrence: “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP.”
The battle nearly became an American disaster.
Perry brought Lawrence into close combat while Niagara, commanded by Jesse Elliott, lagged behind. Elliott’s conduct would become one of the great controversies of the battle. For nearly two hours, British ships concentrated devastating fire on Lawrence. Most of its guns were disabled and a large majority of its crew was killed or wounded.
Perry then made the decision that turned the battle. Leaving the wrecked Lawrence in a small boat, he transferred his command to the relatively undamaged Niagara. Lawrence subsequently surrendered—but Perry had not surrendered the battle.
Taking command of Niagara, Perry drove toward the British line. The badly damaged Detroit and Queen Charlotte collided and became entangled. Perry exploited the opportunity, pouring broadsides into the British vessels while American gunboats joined the attack. Within minutes, the major British ships surrendered. The remaining vessels were captured soon afterward. An entire Royal Navy squadron fell into American hands.
Perry then sent Harrison his immortal message: “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”
The consequences were immediate. Control of Lake Erie enabled Harrison’s army to advance across the lake. The British abandoned Detroit and retreated into Upper Canada. Harrison pursued them and defeated the British and their Native American allies at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, where Tecumseh was killed and his confederacy suffered a devastating defeat.
Perry became a national hero, although his bitter dispute with Elliott continued for years. Theodore Roosevelt later argued that Perry deserved particular praise not simply for winning the battle but for the extraordinary work required to create and prepare the fleet that fought it.
Today, the towering Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-In-Bay commemorates both the battle and the lasting peace that eventually developed between the United States, Britain and Canada.
The Battle of Lake Erie is little remembered today. Yet in 1813 it secured American control of Lake Erie, reversed the war in the Northwest and helped determine the future of the Great Lakes frontier.
For more information see chapter four in Forgotten Battles and American Memory.
