One of the grandest of all triumphs was gained by the American navy in the early autumn of 1813. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry was sent to Lake Erie to build a navy. Perry at that time was not thirty years old and had never seen a naval battle. By August, he had a squadron of two large and seven small vessels, carrying 54 guns and 416 men, with which he set out to find Commodore Barclay, who had two large and four small vessels, with 63 guns and 440 men.
The two squadrons met at the western end of Lake Erie on the 10th of September. Barclay centred such a furious fire upon the Lawrence, Perry's flagship, that in two hours she was in a sinking condition. Perry entered a small boat, and, exposed to a sharp fire, was rowed to the Niagara, on which he hoisted his flag. The battle was renewed, and, while the enemy was trying to form a new line of battle, Perry ran the Niagara directly through the fleet, delivering broadsides right and left. The other vessels were prompt in following her, and poured such a raking fire into the enemy that fifteen minutes later Barclay surrendered. The British commander had but one arm when the battle opened, and, before it ended, his remaining arm was shot off. He lost 200 killed and wounded and 600 prisoners, while the Americans had 27 killed and 96 wounded.
It has already been shown that this victory was of the utmost importance, for Proctor was waiting to invade Ohio, if it went his way, while General Harrison was also waiting to invade Canada, in the event of an American triumph. In sending news of his victory to General Harrison, Perry, in his hastily written dispatch, used the words which have been quoted thousands of times: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." It will be recalled that Harrison immediately embarked his troops on Perry's ships, and, crossing the lake, pursued Proctor to the Thames, where he decisively defeated him and ended all danger of an invasion of Ohio by the enemy.
The American government now began to heed the benefit of the severe lessons of defeat. The worthless generals were weeded out, and the army in western New York reorganized so effectually that the country was cheered by a number of victories—proof that the rank and file were of the best quality and that their previous defeats were due to their leaders.
On July 3, 1814, Gens. Scott, Ripley, and Brown crossed the Niagara from Black Rock to Erie with 3,000 men. Brown's ability had become so manifest that by this time he was a major-general. When he appeared in front of Fort Erie, it surrendered without resistance. Brown pursued a British corps of observation down the river until it crossed Chippewa Creek and joined the main body. Brown withdrew and united also with the principal forces of the Americans, who attacked the British on the 5th of July, in their strong intrenchments behind the Chippewa. They were completely defeated, routed out of their defenses, and driven up the shore of Lake Ontario. Their Indian allies were so disgusted with the defeat of the British and the furious fighting of the Americans that all deserted the British commander.
BATTLE OF LUNDY'S LANE.
The British army received reinforcements and turned back to meet the Americans who were pursuing them. The armies met, July 25th, at Lundy's Lane, within sight of Niagara Falls, where the fiercely contested battle, beginning at sunset, lasted until midnight. The British commander was wounded and captured and the enemy driven back. The loss of the Americans was serious. Scott was so badly wounded that he could take no further part in the war, Brown was less severely injured, and Ripley withdrew with the army to Fort Erie.
An exploit of Colonel James Miller deserves notice. At a critical point in the battle, General Brown saw that victory depended upon the silencing of a battery of seven guns stationed on a hill, that was pouring a destructive fire into the Americans.
"Colonel," said he, "can you capture that battery?"
"I can try," was the modest reply, and a few minutes later Colonel Miller was in motion with his regiment. The darkness enabled the men to conceal themselves under the shadow of a fence, along which they silently crept until they could peep between the rails and see the gunners standing with lighted matches awaiting the order to fire. Thrusting the muzzles of their guns through the openings, they shot down every gunner, and, leaping over the fence, captured the battery in the face of a hot infantry fire. The enemy made three attempts to recapture the battery, but were repulsed each time. When General Ripley retreated, he left the guns behind, so that they again fell into the hands of the British from whom they had been so brilliantly won.