USS Caledonia ( 1812 ) USS " Caledonia " was a brig , formerly HMS " Caledonia " , which was captured by the U . S . Navy during the War of 1812 and taken into American service . The brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie , and was sold at the end of the war . " Caledonia " was the first warship in the U . S . Navy to carry that name . Capture of " Caledonia " . " Caledonia " was built for the Canadian North West Company at Malden , near Amherstburg in Upper Canada in 1807 , for the North American fur trade on the Great Lakes . In 1812 , the brig was taken into military service with the Provincial Marine , a naval transport and protection service in Canada . It played a major part in the Battle of Mackinac Island , transporting artillery which was used to force the American garrison of the island to surrender . After the American garrison of Detroit surrendered after the Siege of Detroit , " Caledonia " and the brig " Adams " which had been captured at Detroit , were engaged in transporting troops and stores from Detroit and Amherstburg to the Niagara River , where an American attack was anticipated . On 8 October 1812 , the two brigs were anchored near Fort Erie at the head of the Niagara River . The " Caledonia " carried two 4 - pounder guns on pivots , and had a crew of twelve . There were also ten American prisoners aboard , and a cargo of furs worth approximately $ 200 , 000 , a considerable sum of money at the time . A boarding party of American sailors under Lieutenant Jesse D . Elliott and soldiers under Captain Nathan Towson boarded and captured both brigs . The " Adams " ran aground under artillery fire on an island in the river and was eventually set on fire to prevent it being recaptured . The " Caledonia " was taken successfully to the navy yard at Black Rock , New York . During the boarding one American sailor was killed and four seriously wounded by a volley of musketry . The twelve Canadian crew members were made captive . Service in the War of 1812 . The " Caledonia " was formally purchased by the U . S . Navy on 6 February 1813 , and was fitted with two long 24 - pounder guns and one 32 - pounder carronade . This gave " Caledonia " a broadside of 80 pounds of shot . For several months , the " Caledonia " and several other schooner s which had been purchased by the Navy and were converted into gunboat s were prevented from leaving Black Rock by the British batteries on the other side of the Niagara . On 26 May , the British were defeated at the Battle of Fort George at the foot of the river and were compelled to abandon Fort Erie and the nearby batteries . Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry had the " Caledonia " and the other vessels towed by oxen up the fast - flowing river , an operation which took several days . He then sailed with them along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Presque Isle , where the other vessels of Perry ' s squadron were being constructed . On 10 September , " Caledonia " played a key role in the decisive Battle of Lake Erie . " Caledonia " was commanded in this battle by Lieutenant Daniel Turner , who was praised by Perry for his conduct . For much of the early part of the battle , the other major American vessels were outranged , and only " Caledonia " s long guns could engage the British flagship and the other British vessels at the center of the battle . Following the American victory , " Caledonia " transported American troops to Detroit and Amherstburg , which had been abandoned by the British Army . In 1814 , " Caledonia " was part of the expedition to Lake Huron , which attempted to recover Mackinac Island . Post - war disposition . The brig was sold at Presque Isle in May , 1815 . Refitted as a commercial ship , she was named the " General Wayne " , and reportedly sank in the 1830s in Lake Erie . However , a 1934 article in the Canadian history magazine " The Beaver " claimed the ship did not sink , but was dismantled in Erie , Pennsylvania . On 24 July 2009 , a story appearing in the " Buffalo News " mentioned the discovery of an 85 foot schooner on the bottom of Lake Erie , which may be " Caledonia " . The American company Northeast Research Ltd proposed raising the well preserved wreck and putting it on display near Buffalo , New York . In May 2010 a New York magistrate ruled that this would violate New York ' s " in situ preservation " policy of leaving shipwrecks intact , and where they are found . The decision has been appealed , and in September 2010 the case is being heard by U . S . District Judge Richard Arcara .