USS Trippe ( 1812 ) USS " Trippe " was a sloop in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 . She was named for John Trippe . Originally named " Contractor " , she was purchased by the Navy on the Niagara River in New York in 1812 — was converted to a warship by Henry Eckford of New York ; renamed " Trippe " ; and placed in commission soon thereafter , Lieutenant Thomas Holdup Stevens in command . For a while , " Trippe " and her sister ships , fitted out on the Niagara River , were bottled up by British shore batteries at Fort George . However , Commodore Isaac Chauncey ' s squadron joined the troops under Colonel Winfield Scott in a combined attack upon the fort , and it fell on 27 May 1813 . The fall of Fort George forced the British to evacuate Fort Erie as well . With the river open , Chauncey ' s ships began passage of the Niagara rapids on 6 June 1813 and , on the 19th joined Oliver Hazard Perry ' s fleet at Erie , Pennsylvania . " Trippe " and the rest of Perry ' s squadron remained at Erie for another month . At first , the need for additional men to complete its crews kept the fleet in port . Later , a British blockade restricted its movement . However , the British were not exceedingly vigilant ; and , on 4 August , " Trippe " and the other ships crossed the bar to leave Erie harbor . They remained near Erie until the 12th when they set sail for the western end of Lake Erie . Perry established his operating base in Put - In - Bay at South Bass Island . That location afforded him excellent lines of communications with American forces to the south and put him within easy striking distance of Commodore Robert Barclay ' s British fleet , based just inside the mouth of the Detroit River at Amherstburg . For over a month , the British ships remained at their base under the protection of heavy shore batteries . However , Barclay had to order his ships out of the river in order that supplies might be delivered to British troops operating near the Detroit River . They weighed anchor on 9 September and departed Amherstburg . At sunrise the following morning , American lookouts sang out , " Sail ho . " Perry ' s ships , including " Trippe " , cleared for action and headed out in the line of battle with flagship in the lead . Though they outnumbered the British nine ships to six , the Americans were outgunned 54 to 63 . By midday , the two forces opened fire . The British concentrated on the lead American ships , " Lawrence " , , and . Meanwhile , " Trippe " — stationed near the rear of the American force — fought a long range duel with and , battering " Lady Prevost " severely . The Britisher ' s captain and her first lieutenant received serious wounds , and she herself , reduced to an unmanageable wreck , fell off to leeward . Perry ' s flagship suffered similar damage , but he moved his flag to " Niagara " and ordered his ships forward , through the enemy line . " Trippe " charged ahead , firing furiously . The British resisted the American onslaught heroically , but — one by one — they struck their colors . When and " Little Belt " attempted to flee , " Trippe " and overhauled them and herded them back to their defeated fleet . The Battle of Lake Erie , " Trippe " ' s only action in the War of 1812 , assured American control of Lake Erie and enabled American troops led by General William Henry Harrison to win a decisive victory in the Battle of the Thames . Throughout the remainder of her career , " Trippe " carried supplies to support General Harrison ' s land operations . In October , the British attacked Buffalo at the east end of the lake and forced the Americans to evacuate the city . They found " Trippe " aground near Buffalo Creek and set fire to her . She and her cargo of supplies burned completely .