The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-08-02

moved on into deep water. Ihe mel
worked all mig hit to get this one bril-
over. The schooners passed over easil,
and moored outside. The St. Lawrenc,
was scarcely, once more afoat, befor,
the returning feet hove in sight. Per
ry Immediately prepared for action, bu
Barclay, after accommodating for half al
hour, crowded all sail and disappeared
again up the lake. The next day PER-,
sailed in pursuit, but after cruising ;
whole day without finding the enemy
returned to take in supplies On the
18th of August he received information
as he was about to start again, of the ex
.pected approach of party of seame1
under the command of Capt. Elliott.
Waiting :Say or two to receive thil
welcome aid, he set sail for Sandusky
to put himself in communication with
Gen. Harrison and the northwestern
army.
He then,s on the 25th, returned tc
Maiden, where the British feet lay, an6
going into Putin Bay, a haven in its vi
.cinity, waited for the enemy to come out
Here, many of his crew were taken sick
with the. fever, which at last seized him,
together with three surgeons of the
| squadron. Ht 5ff ~ -s-.
He was not able to leave his cabin
till the early part of September, when
he received an additional reinforcement
of hundred volunteers.
These came from Harrison's army,
and were mostly Kentucky militia and
soldiers from the 28th Regiment of In
fantry, and all volunteered for the ap-
preaching battle. The Kentuckians,
most of them, had never seen square
rugged vessel before, and wandered up
and down, examining every part of the
ship without scruple.
Dressed in their fringe, insey wolsey,
hunting froeks, with their muskets in
their hands, they made as novel ma
rine corps as ever trod the decks of a
battle ship.
On the morning of the 10th of Sep
tember, it was announced that the Brit
| ish fle. was coming out of Maiden, and
Perry Immediately set sail to meet it.
His squadron consisted of three briggs,
the Laurence, Niagara, Caledonia, and
Triple, a sloop, and five schooners, car
rying in all fifty-four guns.
That of the British was composed of
six vessels mounting sixty-three guns.
1t was beautiful morning, and the
light breeze scarcely ruffled the surface
of the water, as the two squadrons, with
all the sails set, slowly approaching each
other. The weather gage, at first, was
with the enemy, but Perry, impatient to
close, resolved to waive this advantage,
and kept standing, on, when the wind
II, ~.
tain Barclay observing this, Immediate
ly hove to, and laying with his topsails
aback, awaited the approach of his adj
versary. .....-,1.. -
With all this canvass out, Perry bore
slowly and steadily down before the
wind. The breeze was so light that he
scarcely made two miles an hour. Il
The shore was lined with spectators
gazing on the exciting spectacle, and
watching with intense anxiety the move
ments of the American squadron. Not
cloud dimmed the clear blue sky over
head, and the Lake lay like q mirror re-
fecting upon its beauty and purity
Perry in the Lawrence led the line.
Taking out the flag which had been
previously prepared, and mounting the
gun-slide called his crew about him, and
said, )" My brave lads, s,zthis flag contains
the last words of Captain. Lawrence
Shall I hoist it ?" /" Ay, ay, sir" was
the cheerful response. Up went the
flag with a will, and as it swayed to the
breeze it was greeted with loud cheers
from the deck As tho rest of the
squadron beheld the flag floating frem
the mainmast of their commanders yes
sci, and saw +" don't giUe up the ship ~
was to be the signal for action, a long,
loud cheer rolled down the line
The excitement spread below, and all
the sick that could move tumbled up to
aid in the approaching combat.
Perry then visited every gun, having
n word of encouragement for each cap
tain. Seeing some of the gallant tsrs
who had served on board the COnStitu-
tsOs, many of whom now stood with
handkerchiefs tied around their heads,
all clear for action, he said Well boys,
are you ready ?'' All ready, your
honor" was the quick response.
81 need not say anything to you.-
You know how to beat those fellows ,"
he added smilingly as he passed.
The wind was so light that it took an
hour and half after all preparations
had been made to reach the hostile
squadron. This long interval of idle
ness and suspense was harder to bear
than battle itself. Every man was 81
lently watching the enemy's vessel, or
in low and earnest conversation with
each other, leaving requests and mes
On oes tn friends in case thew fell
Perry gave his last direction in the
event of his death, to Hambleton-tied
weights to his public papers, in order
to have them cast overheard in case
they should be dsfeated-read over his
wife's letters for the last time, and then
tore them up, so that the enemy should
not see those records of his heart, and
turned away, remarking "th1s rs The
most important day Of nsy life !" The
deep seriousness and silence which had
fallen on the ship was broken by the
blast Off bugle from the Detroit, fol-
lowed by the cheers from the British
squadron. A single gun whose shot
went skipping past the Lawrence, first
uttering its stern challenge, and in 3
few moments all the long guns of the
feet began to play upon the American
squadron. azaE go isi'Ga1d SIS =
Being mile and half distnnt, Per.
~ could not use his carronades, and he
was exposed to this fire half an hour be-
fore he could get within range. Steer
ing straight for the Detroit, fourth
larger than his own, he gave orders to
the lsehooners that Jagged behind to
ranoa mn within cahle length These or