The Detroit mounted six long six-pounders, and her crew numbered some sixty men. She was worth saving, but so badly was she grounded on the island that it was impossible to get her off, and, after taking her stores out, Elliott set her on fire to get rid of her. The little Caledonia was quite a valuable capture, aside from her armament, as she had on board a cargo of furs whose value has been estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
But to return to the condition of affairs upon the arrival of Captain Perry. The fleet that in a few weeks he had under his command consisted of the brig Lawrence, of twenty guns, to which he attached his flag; the Niagara, of twenty guns, in command of Elliott; and the schooners Caledonia and Ariel, of three and four guns respectively. There were, besides, six smaller vessels, carrying from one to two guns each; in all, Perry’s fleet mounted fifty-five guns. The British fleet, under command of Barclay, consisted of the Detroit (named after the one that was wrecked), the Queen Charlotte, and the Lady Prevost. They mounted nineteen, seventeen, and thirteen guns, in the order named. The brig Hunter carried ten guns; the sloop Little Belt, three; and the schooner Chippeway, one gun; in all, Barclay had sixty-three guns, not counting several swivels—that is, more than eight guns to the good.
The morning of September 10th dawned fine and clear. Perry, with his fleet anchored about him, lay in the quiet waters of Put-in Bay. A light breeze was blowing from the south. Very early a number of sail were seen out on the lake beyond the point, and soon the strangers were discovered to be the British fleet. Everything depended now upon the speed with which the Americans could prepare for action. In twelve minutes every vessel was under way and sailing out to meet the on-comers; the Lawrence led the line. As the two fleets approached, the British concentrated the fire of their long and heavy guns upon her. She came on in silence; at her peak was flying a huge motto-flag—plain to view were the words of the brave commander of the Chesapeake, “Don’t give up the ship.”
The responsibility that rested upon the young commander’s shoulders was great; his position was most precarious. This was the first action between the fleets of the two hostile countries; it was a battle for the dominion of the lakes; defeat meant that the English could land at any time an expeditionary force at any point they chose along the shores of our natural northern barrier. The Lawrence had slipped quite a way ahead of the others, and Perry found that he would have to close, in order to return the English fire, as at the long distance he was surely being ripped to pieces.
Signalling the rest of the fleet to follow him, he made all sail and bore down upon the English; but, to quote from the account in the Naval Temple, printed in the year 1816, “Every brace and bowline of the Lawrence being shot away, she became unmanageable, notwithstanding the great exertion of the sailing-master. In this situation she sustained the action within canister distance upward of two hours, until every gun was rendered useless and the greater part of her crew either killed or wounded.”
It is easy to imagine the feelings of Perry at this moment. The smaller vessels of his fleet had not come within firing distance; there was absolutely nothing for him to do on board the flag-ship except to lower his flag. Yet there was one forlorn-hope that occurred to the young commander, and without hesitation he called away the only boat capable of floating; taking his flag, he quitted the Lawrence and rowed off for the Niagara. The most wonderful accounts of hair-breadth escapes could not equal that of Perry upon this occasion. Why his boat was not swamped, or its crew and commander killed, cannot be explained. Three of the British ships fired broadsides at him at pistol-shot distance as he passed by them in succession; and, although the water boiled about him, and the balls whistled but a few inches overhead, he reached the Niagara in safety.
THE TWO SQUADRONS JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE
In this diagram and the following, A is the British squadron, and its vessels are designated by Roman numerals: I, Chippeway; II, Detroit; III, Hunter; IV, Queen Charlotte; V, Lady Prevost; VI, Little Belt. B is the American squadron, and the vessels are designated by Arabic numerals: 1, Scorpion; 2, Ariel; 3, Lawrence; 4, Caledonia; 5, Niagara; 6, Somers; 7, Porcupine; 8, Tigress; 9, Trippe.
The diagrams were furnished to Benson J. Lossing by Commodore Stephen Champlin, of the United States Navy, the commander of the Scorpion in the battle.