The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-12-31


Detroit, Dec. PIC. M. Burton Is cir
gagged in diplomatic relations with the
Canadian government looking toward
the removal of the sunken' British war
vessels, which he discovered in the
River Thames. The ships are the shat
tered remnant Of the proud British fleet
| that attempted to resist Commodore
Perry, at Put-in-Bay. What roman
tic story is concealed behind these wat
er-logged hulks! Veritable vikings
craft, they are returning after nearly
! 100 years beneath the waves.
! Contrasted with modern war vessels,
the ships Of 1912 are but miniature and
absurd impossibilities; but their ribs
were Of the stout green-heart oak Of
the primeval forests, and the axes Of
the workmen rang merry tune In the
old-time shipyards. These ships, Eng
land g "wooden walls,' in their day
and generation were the nation g
pride.
The battle in which the long-lost
British ships were destroyed occurred
Oct. 5, 1913. For nearly a century the
ships have rested on the shifting sands
Of the Thames river bottom. Get out
your biographies and locate the River
! Thames. Look, for the southeastern
! corner of Lake st. Clair, on the Great
Lakes. The Thames empties there,
and the battle took place about twenty
five miles up stream.
! On Hull is surrender, the northwest
had fallen into the hands Of the Brit
ish. Perry retrieved the loss and sent
the British flying. Those ships that es-
capped destruction at Put-in-Bay came
up Lake Erie to Detroit and were has
tily pressed into service by General
Proctor, in command at Detroit. After
Perry's victory, Proctor realized that
safety lay in flight. He there made a
mad attempt to escape over the PENN
sula between Detroit and Lake Erie.
Proctor ordered the little fleet, four
boats and q schooner, to go up the
Thames. The battle followed; the ships
were sunk. Tecumseh, the great In
dian leader, lost his life Proctor es-
capped, but later in modification, COM
mitted suicide.
Such in brief, explains the way the
British ships found their graves in the
river bottom.
The Search for the Hulks.
G. M. Burton, distinguished his.
torian Of the northwest, in examining
some old war papers, found a plan of
the battle. He began wondering wheth-
er the hulks might not still be pre-.
served. Before that, none had ever
dreamed Of raising and saving the yes.
sells. Besides, no one knew the place
Of battle.
Naturally, the whole map Of the
country has been transformed. Where
once was the wilderness and the SAND
dunes, thriving towns and cities have
sprung up. .-..
Mr.. Burton, hiring a. diver and a
steam tug, slipped away on an explor-
ing tour. For several days the crew
patrolled the Thames without results.
Soundings were made at various points
but to no purpose. By means Of the
ancient chart, the exact location Of the
battle was at last found. The diver;
on coming up from below, reported the
hull of one of the long-lost vessels lying
in deep water. Her upper works had
been burned away, Captain Quinn re
ported, but her decks were loaded with
boxes containing cannon balls. The sec
ond war vessel was found about zoe
yards further up stream. After much
difficulty, the third was located si1
miles farther up stream. She had quit
ted the scene Of battle, but was over
taken and destroyed. ~ s..."
Strange to say, she is already ashore
buried in a promontory made by the
changing tides at remote period dur
ing the past 100 years. There is eight
cen feet Of sandy soil over her, and ar
oak tree has grown there, three feet il
circumference.
j. III
ed on a submarine hillock, which ha:
slowly risen from the old river bottom
; The action Of the ice and other natura
completely over.
Their Timbers Still Solid.
The ships sunk in the battle Of thu
Thames are between thirty-fve and fifty
feet long. The oak timbers, despite thu
lapse of time, are as sound as the day
they were hewn from the ancient forest
The ships have keel anr ribs Of rec
oak. Their stems are the roots Of i'm
mense walnut trees. The relics consis
of two tons of cannon balls. The ship
were rugged with two masts. .r.
So far, no cannon have been recov
cred. The probability is that they wer
thrown overheard at the last moment
to save them from falling into tn
hands Of the approaching enemy.
The hero of, the great battle, tina
day, was William Henry Harrison, at
forwards president. Assisting Procto
was Tecumseh, the mighty Indian. TIL
battle began at dawn and ragged fierce
". The Indians became disheartene
and fed<to swamp about twenty mile
back in the country. They were pul
sued by Harrison s men and killed.
British historians say that the dc
struction of this fleet at the Thame
was great contributing cause for tn
final loss Of Michigan. Had Harriso
been defeated on the Thames, had Ger
eral Shelby's Kentuckians turned an
ran, the British flag would in all prof.
ability be still waving over Michigan.
The destruction of the British fee
& Oct. 5, 1913, was, in it's way, as epoel
making as was Dewey's victory Of Ms
Mia bay. Two great nations were COZ