The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-08-15

his flagship, 20 guns; the brig Niagara, 20 guns:
the brig Caledonia, three guns; the schooner
Ariel, four guns; the schooner Scorpion, two
guns and two swivels; the sloop Trippe, one
gun; the schooner Tigress, one gun; the schooner
Porcupine, one gun and the schooner Somers,
one gun.
He had his feet now but not enough sailors TO
man them! Think of my situation" he wrote in
one letter 1.-The enemy in sight, the vessels IN
der my command more than sufficient and ready
to make sail, and yet obliged TO bite my fingers
with vexation for want of men" But after many
delays the arrival early in August Of Capt. Jesse
Duncan Elliott, second in command, with 100 men
enabled Perry to venture out into the lake. He
reached Sandusky August II and was met there
by General Harrison who came aboard the Law
renee to confer with Perry on the fall campaign.
Then he sailed out into the lake to look for the
enemy.
On the morning of September 10, 1873 the
lookout on the Lawrence sang out sail ho!
and in the distance off Put-in-Bay the Americans
saw the long-awaited British feet advancing in
faultless battle array. Commanded by Robert
II. Barclay, who had fought with Nelson at Ira
faIgar and lost an arm in that historic engage
ment the enemy consisted of the ship Detroit,
10 guns, one pivot and two howitzers; the ship
Queen Charlotte, II guns and one howitzer; the
brig Lady Provost, Is guns and one howitzer;
the brig Hunter. 10 guns; the sloop Little
Belt, three guns and the schooner Chippewa,
one gun and two swivels
In ships the British had the superiority, their
vessels being stronger and their forces being
more concentrated; the American gunboats at
the right of the American line, separated from
each other by at least a half cables length
were not near enough for good service In the
number of guns the British had 6S, the Ameri-
cans 81 In action at a distance, the British
bo had 1npr rO had "
the advantage; in close action the weight of
metal would favor the Americans. The British
commander had 80 men from the royal navy,
so Canadian sailors, and 240 soldiers, mostly
regulars, and some Indians, making, with their
officers a little more than 500 men, of whom at
least 40 were efficient The American crews,
of which about one-fourth were from Rhode
Island, one-fourth regular seamen, American and
cosmopolitan, about one-fourth raw volunteers
from Pennsylvania, Ohio, but chiefly Kentucky,
and about onefourth blacks, numbered the
muster roll 400 but of these 116 were sick,
nearly all of whom were too weak to come on
deck, so that the efficient force Of the squadron
was little less than 400.
As the American fleet led by the Lawrence adj
vanced TO attack, the Detroit opened fire. Its
first shot fell short, but the second went crash
ing through the Lawrence and before the other
American vessels could come to his support, the
effect upon Perry's flagship 1t was struck many
times before he could get close enough to open
fire effectively and even then, with the Niagara
and other ships hanging back, his ship seemed
doomed TO destruction as the combined British
fire raked her.
For nearly two hours the battle ragged furi-
ously until the Lawrence lay on the waters
dismantled wreck, her rigging shot away. her
spars battered into splinters, all of her guns but
one dismounted and her decks, slippery with
blood, strewn with the dead and dying. The
masts carrying the Stars and Stripes and the blue
flag, bearing the large white letters Don't Give
Up the Ship!" the dying words of Capt James
Lawrence, for whom the flagship was named,
were shot down, but Perry's sailors raised them
again on spars for hagstaffs. Finally Perry saw
that his cause hopeless if he remained on
the Lawrence. With the aid of few men who
were not yet disabled he loaded the remaining
gun, dragged it forward and fred last shot at
the British. Then. telling those left on board
TO keep the Stars and Stripes floating to the last
he gave orders for a boat TO be lowered to carry
him TO the Niagara in which he proposed to
carry on the fight.
Descending into this boat and carrying with
him the blue flag. he was rowed amid storm of
bullets and grape-shot TO the approaching Mag
ara where he raised his banner and bore down
swiftly upon the enemy. In the meantime the
flag on the Lawrence had been shot away for
the last time and seeing ii fall the British raised
a cheer. But just then the Niagara, supported
by the other vessels. closed in on the British
ships and their guns raked the Detroit the Queen
Charlotte, the Lady Provost and the Little Belt.
Within short time the British ships struck
their colors. The battle was over and defeat had
been changed TO victory
On the decks of the Lawrence the survivors
OF the crew raised the Stars and Stripes again
and In the cabin of the Niagara Commander
Perry sat down 10 write letter to General Har-
rson- And this was the message which Mid
shipmaa Hugh Nelson Page Of the Ariel, who