Lake Erie, Battle of , was a key battle in the War of 1812 (1812-1815). It took place in September 1813 on the western part of Lake Erie, north of Ohio. A United States fleet led by Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet under Commander Robert Heriot Barclay. Perry’s victory forced the British to pull out of Detroit and gave the Americans control of Lake Erie. The Battle of Lake Erie was one the first great naval battles in United States history.
Background.
The United States declared war on the United Kingdom in June 1812. The chief U.S. complaint against the British involved interference with shipping. During the war, the British imposed a blockade on American ports. American forces failed in attempts to invade Canada, which at that time was a British possession. The British and their Indian allies captured Detroit and Fort Mackinac in the Michigan Territory. They also captured Fort Dearborn, at what is now Chicago.
The battle.
Oliver Hazard Perry built and commanded a small U.S. naval force to win control of Lake Erie. On Sept. 10, 1813, he sailed from his staging area at Put-in-Bay, off an island off the Ohio shore, to fight the British. His fleet included nine small ships. The British had only six ships. The British vessels had more long-range guns, but the American fleet had more powerful short-range cannons.
The largest of the U.S. ships were Perry’s flagship, the Lawrence, and its sister ship, the Niagara. The Lawrence was named after Perry’s friend James Lawrence, a recently killed American naval hero. Perry’s battle flag was inscribed with Lawrence’s last words, “Don’t give up the ship.” See Lawrence, James .
Perry directed the U.S. attack toward the two largest British ships. The Lawrence took the brunt of the enemy’s fire, and its crew suffered many casualties. After 2 1/2 hours, the ship was disabled. Perry then rowed to the Niagara.
Under Perry’s command, the Niagara kept the British from boarding the Lawrence. The Niagara raked the two largest British ships with _broadsides—_that is, all the guns that can be fired from one side of a ship. The smaller American ships also directed heavy fire toward the British fleet. The British soon surrendered. During the course of the battle, 27 Americans were killed and 96 were wounded. The British reported 41 killed and 93 wounded.
Following the British surrender, Perry sent to U.S. Major General William Henry Harrison a message: “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” The victory gave control of Lake Erie to the Americans. Within weeks, Harrison crossed the lake and defeated the retreating British forces at the Battle of the Thames River, in what is now Ontario, Canada.
Memorial.
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial stands at Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. It honors the American victory in the Battle of Lake Erie. It also celebrates the long-lasting peace that followed between the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
See also War of 1812 .
