Glass _Jc:3ii3 Book___A /- THE LIFE COMMODORE OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. ALEX. SLIDELL MACKENZIE, U.S.N. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. L N EW-Y ORK: IIAKPRR & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-STREET. 18 43. L.353 ^f^iitpi-pii, acf-'jnliiig to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, bv liAKPEK & Brothers, In the L'li^-iv"s UlRce of the Southern District of INew-York. Pj T^»..nnf<»t JU^ ^ L PREFACE. The following work was undertaken at the re- quest of Doctor Grant Champlin Perry, the eldest son of Commodore Perry, who, perceiving in the Naval History of Mr. J. F. Cooper an attempt to diminish that admiration with which the people of the United States have been accustomed to regard the memory of Perry, with a view of raising the standing of his second in command in the battle on Lake Erie, was desirous that a full account should be published of his father's life and services. This request having been willingly assented to, he accordingly forwarded to the writer the papers of his father, consisting almost entirely of public cor- respondence and log-books of various cruises, of which, however, the series was incomplete, and a vast mass of documents relating to the battle of Lake Erie, the whole forming rather materials for writing the history of that event than the life of Commodore Perry. The writer has had no ac- cess, either directly or through extracts, to Perry's corraspondence with his immediate family, which IT P E E F A C E. would have afforded not only great assistance m carrying on the thread of the narrative, but also a better insight than could be otherwise obtained into his thoughts, his feelings, and affections. While reverencing the motive which led to this sacred treasuring from the public eye of all that remains of such a husband and father, he cannot but regret, as his biographer, the want of access to such valuable sources of information. Compelled to seek materials when he had be- lieved that his only task would be to make use of those which, through a long series of years, had been collected, the writer addressed himself forth- with to the living friends and companions of Com- modore Perry, and to others who could lend him assistance in his undertaking. He has been kind- ly and generously aided by most of those to whom he applied. To the sister of Commodore Perry, nearest his own age, he is indebted for materials used in detailing the incidents of his early life, and her own words have occasionally been incor- porated in the narrative. To Lieutenant A. A. Harwood, of the Navy, a resident of the neigh- bourhood in which Commodore Perry was born, he is under great obligations for anecdotes of the commodore's early life, obtained among the com- panions of his youth, and for a description of the family homestead. From Commander Stephen Champlin and Mr. Thomas Brownell he has re- PREFACE. ▼ ceived personal explanations on various minor points relating to the Lake Erie squadron, con-- cerning which the printed and written document;^Jf were obscure or silent. To Doctor Usher Par- sons, of Providence, the only medical officer in the Lake Erie squadron who was able to peform duty during and immediately after the battle, and who was subsequently surgeon of the Java when under Perry's command, the writer has to acknowledge himself under great obligations for a variety of facts communicated in a series of interesting notes, and just and intelligent opinions with regard to the character, manners, and acquirements of Perry. He has also to acknowledge the valuable commu- nication he has received from the Honourable John Chambers, of Kentucky, an aiddecamp of General Harrison during the campaign of 1813, containing several interesting anecdotes of Perry, which, with little change of the language in wliich they were communicated, will be found incorpo- rated in the narrative. In addition to the various facts illustrative of the battle of Lake Erie, and of Captain Elliott's course towards Commodore Perry, subsequent to his succeeding him in the command, obtained from the highly intelligent and interesting letters of Samuel Hambleton, Esq., pur- ser of the Lawrence, to Commodore Perry, Mr. Hambleton has kindly placed at the writer's dis- posal all the letters of Commodore Perry to him- A VI PREFACE. self, during a long period of friendly correspond- ence ; and has, moreover, obligingly favoured him with extracts from his journal when on Lake Erie, and readily answered the various questions ad- dressed to him. From his intelligent friend, C. O. Handy, Esq., secretary of Commodore Perry when on board the Java, and subsequently purser of the John Adams on his last cruise, the writer has received the heartiest assistance and valua- ble critical aid in the prosecution of his underta- king. The writer has made occasional use of the val- uable life of Perry published in 1821, by the Hon- ourable John M. Niles ; also of the masterly and beautiful sketch on the same subject, from the pen of Mr. Washington Irving, in the Analectic Mag- azine, and of various other works tending to throw a light on the subject 5 he has also carefully con- sulted Niles's Register, and a few contemporary newspapers. With few exceptions, however, the present life is entirely written from original docu- ments and materials collected expressly for the pur- pose, and the utmost care has been taken in the verification of the facts. With regard to the tone of the book, it has been unavoidably rendered more controversial than the taste of the writer would have dictated ; but the assaults made by Captain ElUott against the character of Commo- dore Perry have been so notorious, and the at- PREFACE. VU tempts of Mr. Cooper to dignify this gentleman at Commodore Perry's expense so obvious, that the life of Perry would have been incomplete had the writer failed to make use of the ample materials before him to set the question between these two officers effectually at rest. Tarrytown, October 19, 1840. CONTENTS THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. Pag« Introduction. — Ancestors of Perry. — Emigra- tion of Edmund Perry. — He settles in Ply- 'mouth. — Driven away hy Religious Persecu- tion. — Removes to Narragansett. — Account of Perry^s Father. — He serves through the Rev- olutionary War. — 7^ captured. — Confined on board the Jersey. — Is released. — Recaptured, — Escapes. — Conclusion of War. — Becomes Master of a Merchantman. — Marries. — Birth of Oliver Hazard Perry. — Anecdotes of his Boyhood. — Is sent to School. — His various Teachers. — His Family settles in Newport, — Becomes a Pupil of Mr. Eraser. — Suffers from his Irascibility. — Firmness of Mrs. Per- ry. — He improves in his Studies. — Is taught Navigation. — Proves an apt Scholar. — Forms a taste for Reading. — French Aggressions on our Commerce. — Measures for its Protection. — Creation of a Navy. — Oliver^s Father ap- pointed Post-captain, — Builds the General Greene. — Oliver left in charge of the Family, — Conceives the idea of entering the Navy, — Gives reasons for his choice 13 A2 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER n. Oliver enters as a Midshipman on hoard the Gen- eral Greene. — Cruise to the West Indies. — Return to Newport. — Second Cruise to the West Indies. — Ship ordered to St. Domingo. • — Co-operation with Toussaint. — Blockade and Capture of Jaquemel. — Cruise round the Island. — Part of Crew taken out by Commo- dore Talbot. — Ship ordered to the Missis, sippi. — Rencounter with a British line-of hattle Ship. — Spirited conduct of Captain Perry. — Return to Neurport. — Peace with France. — Reduction of the Navy. — Captain Perry left out. — Oliver retained. — Tripolitan War. — Early operations. — Oliver embarks in the Adams. — She sails for the Mediterranean. — Employed in Blockading. — Gives Convoy up the Mediterranean. — Visits Spain and Italy. — Arrives off Tripoli. — Boat Expedi- Hon. — Blockade. — Attempted Negotiation. — Squadron returns to Gibraltar. — Perry re- turns home. — His Occupations and Character CHAPTER m. ?rosecution of Tripolitan War under Preble. — Perry'* s anxiety to take part in it. — Equipment of four Frigates. — Perry ordered to the Con- stellation. — Joins her at Washington. — Min- gles in Society. — Sails for the Mediterranean* Page CONTENTS. VI Pag* — Preble superseded. — The War loses its chivalrous Character. — Expedition of General Eaton. — lis partial Success. — Perry trans- ferred to the Nautilus. — Commodore Rodg. ers succeeds to the Command. — Concludes Peace. — Visits Tunis. — Confirms the friend^ ship of that Power. — The Nautilus visits Al- giers. — A change of Administration in that Regency. — Visit to Gibraltar. — Perry re- moved to the Constitution. — His Character as an Officer. — Returns home in the Essex. — Description of him by a Shipmate , . . . 62 CHAPTER IV. Perry resumes his Studies at Newport. — Falls in Love. — Is employed in building Gunboats. — Is engaged to be Married. — Sails for New- York with Flotilla. — Employed in Protection of the Harbour. — Attack of the Leopard on the Chesapeake. — Perry^s Feelings on the oc- casion. — British Spoliations on our Commerce, — Our inability to protect it. — Perry ordered to build more Gunboats. — Appointed to com- mand the Revenge. — Attached to Commodore Rodger s's Squadron. — Ordered to Washing, ton to refit. — Sails for CJmrleston. — Cruises on Southern Coast. — Encounter with a British Sloop. — Expects an Engagement. — Prepares to board. — Pacific Termination. — Returns to Charleston. — Proceeds to New- York. — Vm CONTENTS. Pag© Receives Instructions from Commodore Rodg- ers. — Is ordered to Newport. — Engaged in a Survey of the Sound. — Shipwreck of the Revenge. — -Ineffectual efforts to save her. — Crew saved. — Court of Inquiry. — Perry hon- ourably acquitted. — Furloughed. — Married . 76 CHAPTER V. State of our relations with Belligerants. — Na- poleon repeals his predatory Decrees. — Con- tinued Hostility of England. — War against our Commerce. — Impressment of our Seamen, — War with England. — Perry applies for Sea-service. — Appointed to command New- port Flotilla. — Zeal with which he enters on the service. — His Discipline. — Style of Cor- respondence. — Exercise of his Flotilla, — Capture of the Guerriere. — Lieutenant Mor- ris posted. — Dissatisfaction of the Service. — Perry approves of it. — His Conduct towards Mr, Morris. — Loss of Lieutenant Blodgeit, — Renewed application for Sea-service. — Of- fers his Services to Commx)dore Chaunceyfor the Lakes. — Capture of the Macedonian. — Proposed Increase of the Navy. — Suggests the expediency of building a Frigate in Rhode Island. — Lieutenant Allen appointed to the Argus. — Perry remonstrates. — Claims the Command. — His Delicacy to Allen. — Perry designated to command on Lake Erie . . .103 CONTENTS. IX 'A CHAPTER VI. Page Perry ordered to the Lakes. — Sends off Crews of Flotilla. — Visits his Parents. — Goes to Albany. — Joins Commodore Chauncey. — Pro- ceeds to Sacketfs Harbour. — Rumoured At- tack from the Enemy. — Perry detained on Lake Ontario. — Ordered to Erie. — His Jour- ney. — Rumour of an Attack on Erie. — J.r- rival at that Place. — Condition of the Squad- ron. — Difficulties of Equipment. — Perry vis- its Pittsburgh. — Returns to Erie. — Visits Niagara. — Storming of Fort George. — Per- ry^s Account of it. — Perry ordered to Black Rock. — Flotilla manned by Soldiers. — Labour of ascending Rapids. — Arrival at Buffalo. — Passing the British Squadron. — Arrival at Erie. — Preparation of the Squadron. — Want of Men. — Ordered to co-operate with General Harrison. — Urgent Letters from Government and the General. — Letter of entreaty to the Commodore for Men. — Invites him to assume the Command on Erie. — Contemplated Attack of the Enemy on Erie. — Perry receives small Re-enforcements, — Determines to sail in pur' suit of the Enemy 126 CHAPTER Vn. Rise of Naval Armaments on Erie. — Character of the Lake. — Nature of Harbours. — Erie well chosen for Building our Squadron, — CONTENTS. Page Difficulty of Crossing the Bar, — Judicious Preparations, — Labour of getting the Law- rence over. — Enemy appear off the Harbour. — Disappear. — Our Squadron on the open Lake. — Prepare for Battle. — Sail in Pur- suit. — Return to Erie. — Arrival' of Re-en- forcements. — Letter from Commodore Chaun- cey. — Perry considers it insulting, — Ten- ders Resignation of his Command. — Commo- dore Chauncey promises Marines. — Reserves them for his own Ship. — Squadron sails for Sandusky. — Visit from General Harrison. — Perry goes off Maiden. — Offers Battle. — Anchors in Put-in Bay. — Illness of Perry. — Receives Re-enforcements. — Recovers. — Vis- its Maiden and Sandusky, — Reproachful Let- ter from Secretary. — Perry's Defence . . 169 CHAPTER VIIL Intelligence of the Enemy^s Intention to Sail. — Relative Force of Squadrons. — Perry returns to Put-in Bay. — Last Instructions for Battle, — Enemy appears in Sight, standing for our Squadron. — Perry sails. — Shift of Wind. — Enemy to Leeward. — Clearing for Action. — Hoisting Battle-flag. — Cheers along the Line, — Action commences. — Destructive Fire on the Lawrence in bearing down. — Supported by Scorpion, Ariel, and Caledonia. — Niagara draws to Windward, — Desperate Resistance CONTENTS. XI Page of the Lawrence, — She is reduced to a Wreck, — Perry shifts to the Niagara, — Perils of his Passage. — Sympathy of the Lawrence'' s Crew, — He reaches the Niagara in Safety. — Sur- render of the Lawrence. — Death of Brooks. — The Niagara breaks the Enemy^s Line. — En- gages loth Sides. — British Squadron attempts to Wear. — Detroit and Queen Charlotte get foul. — Terrible raking Fire. — British Sur- render. — Appearance of both Squadrons. — Character of the Victory. — Official Letters, — Burial of Seamen. — Return to Put-in Bay, — Burial of Officers 211 CHAPTER IX. National Consequences of the Victory. — Official Report. — Perplexities of Commodore Perry. — Favourable Notice of Captain Elliott. — Tin- favourable Rumours concerning him. — Perry^s Efforts to suppress them. — Gives him a Cer- tificate. — His Motives. — Informs General Brooks of his Son's Death. — Preparations for transporting the Army to Canada. — An~ ecdote of Perry^s Benevolence. — Removal of the Army to Put-in Bay ; to Middle Sister ; to Maiden. — Ascent of Detroit River. — Perry volunteers as Aid to General Harrison. — Rap' turously received by the Army. — Exciting Pursuit. — Ene7ny overtaken. — Battle of the Thames. — Charge of mounted Keniuckians. — XU CONTENTS. Page Death of Tecumseh. — Capture of the British Army. — Anecdote of Perry^s Horsemanship* — Affords Protection to the Moravian Mis. sionaries, — Benevolence to Afflicted Woman, — Captain Elliotfs Complaints against Perry 266 OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. CHAPTER I. Introduction. — Ancestors of Perry. — Emigration of Edmund Perry. — He settles in Plymouth. — Driv- en away by Religious Persecution. — Removes to Narragansett. — Account of Perry^s Father. — He serves through the Revolutionary War. — Is cap- tured. — Confined on hoard the Jersey. — Is released. — Recaptured. — Escapes. — Conclusion of War. — Becomes Master of a Merchantman. — Mar- ries. — Birth of Oliver Hazard Perry. — Anec- dotes of his Boyhood. — 7^ sent to School. — His various Teachers. — His Family settles in New- port. — Becomes a Pupil of Mr. Eraser. — Suffers from his Irascibility. — Firmness of Mrs. Perry. — He improves in his Studies. — Is taught Naviga- tion. — Proves an apt Scholar. — Forms a taste for Reading. — French Aggressions on our Commerce, — Measures for its Protection. — Creation of a Navy. — Oliver^s Father appointed Post-captain. — Builds the General Greene. — Oliver left in charge of the Family. — Conceives the idea of entering the Navy. — Gives reasons for his choice. Among the noblest of a nation's possessions is the memory of her great men. In the lowest state B 14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. of degradation to which a nation may be reduced by her own degenerate profligacy, or by external causes which she cannot control, the memory of her mighty dead serves to solace her regrets, and to stimulate the noblest of the living to imitate their example ; to vindicate the fame and charac- ter of their country, and, haply, to restore its liber- ties. Greece, in the midst of all the humiliation to which she w^as reduced by her own degeneracy, or by the resistless energy and numbers of barba- rian conquerors, urged on by religious fanaticism, could still exult in the recollection of her past his- tory, despise her conquerors, glory in her national- ity, and find, in the memory of her Leonidas, Epam- inondas, and Alcibiades, inspiration to fire the minds and nerve the arms of a Marco Botzaris and a Canaris. Should America be also fated to know her sea- son of decay, to sink under misfortune, and behold the extinction of her liberties, she may yet exult in the cherished memory of her patriots of other times, and find, in the inspiration of their example, worthy imitators of a Washington, a Frankhn, a Warren, a Decatur, and a Perry. Her sages may well compare, for wisdom and virtue, with th** wisest and most patriotic of other lands. Brief as is her history, and few as happily have been her wai:^, no country has produced heroes of a truer stamp. Among these, he w^hom we have T^??' OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 15 named lingers in the memory, surrounded with all the attributes that can adorn or give lustre to suc- cessful valour : with modesty, kindness, courtesy, chivalrous self-devotion, lively sympathies, and a generous humanity. To place the memory of Perry before his countrymen in a more complete and enduring form, to show him in his real char- acter, to depict his virtues without concealing his faults, is the object of the following narrative. Edmund Perry, the paternal ancestor of Oliver Hazard Perry in the fifth generation, and the first who emigrated to this country, was born in Devonshire, in England, about the year 1630. He was a gentleman of education and of considerable literary attainments. Being an influential member of the Society of Friends, and one of its public speakers, he became the subject of the persecution so rife during the domination of Cromwell, espe- cially against the Quakers, who, tampering with the army and preaching universal peace, seduced the mihtary zealots from their duty, and bade fair thus to put an end to the dominion of the saints. This led to the emigration of Edmund Perry to Plymouth, in Massachusetts, about thirty years subsequent to the foundation of that colony. The persecution, however, which had driven him from England, raged with equal inveteracy in the colony in which he had taken refuge, though founded by those who had fled, like him- 16 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. self, in search of religious liberty. In order to be able to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience, he was compelled to remove far- ther from the haunts of civilized man ; and at length, with others of his persuasion, found a rest- ing-place in South Kingston, on the waters of Narra^ansett Bay, where they form their junction with Long Island Sound and the Atlantic, encir- cling the beautiful promontory which is also called by the name of Narragansett. A more tolerant spirit existed in the colony of Rhode Island than its neighbour of Massachusetts Bay, by the persecuted of which it was chiefly settled. At any rate, there were none but Indians to disturb the emigrant in the possession of an es- tate which had been amicably acquired by pur- chase, and which continued in possession of the family at the birth of the subject of this narrative. The treatment of the Indians in this settlement was kind and conciliatory. Their descendants still continue to exist there in a civilized state ; and it may be here mentioned as a remarkable fact, that one of them fell on Lake Erie on board the Law- rence. Freeman Perry, great-grandson of Edmund Per- ry, and grandfather of Oliver Hazard Perry, was born on the second of February, 1732, and at the age of twenty-four married the daughter of Oliver Hazard, a descendant of one of the original Qua- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 17 ker settlers of Narragansett, whose brother held the station of lieutenant-governor of the colony. OH- ver Hazard was a gentleman of large property, elegant manners, and cultivated tastes. The state of society in Rhode Island in those times not a lit- tle resembled that of Virginia. The cultivation of the soil was then performed by slaves, and com- merce had introduced wealth, with its consequent luxuries and refinements. Freeman Perry was educated to the legal profession, in which he ac- quired distinction, filling, in a creditable manner, various offices of trust, such as member of the co- lonial Assembly, and judge of the court of Common Pleas. The third son of this gentleman, called Chris- topher Raymond, father of the subject of this biog- raphy, was born on the fourth of December, 1761. Notwithstanding his early age when the revolution broke out, he was engaged throughout nearly the whole of the war in fighting the battles of his country, both by sea and land. After serving for a time in a corps of volunteers raised in Narragan- sett, called the Kingston Reds, he entered before the mast in a privateer commanded by a Captain Reed, and, on the termination of the cruise, made a second in the Mifflin, commanded by George Wait Eabcock. In the course of this last cruise he was captured and taken into New-York, where he was confined for three months on board the B2 18 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Jersey prison-ship, subject to many miseries, occa- sioned by the disproportioned numbers that were crowded together in a small space, the loathsome filth in which they existed, the unwholesomeness and insufficiency of the food, and all the studied barbarities by which Britons sought to punish their fellow-subjects of the New World for cherishing the love of freedom, and defending the liberties which were part of their birthright as descendants of Englishmen. Near the Wallabout, in Brooklyn, is a monument, erected over the remains of ten thousand Americans, victims of the systematic cru- elty of British prison-ships. Christopher Raymond Perry was among the small number of those who escaped to recount the horrible story of British captivity on board the Jersey. He came forth, however, the emaciated victim of the contagion which reigned within that abode of horror. But his zeal in behalf of liberty, and his resentment against England, were only quickened into fresh intensity by the treatment which he had received. So soon as his health was restored, he entered on board the U. S. ship Trumbull, commanded by Captain James Nichol- son, and was on board that ship during her memo- rable combat with the Watt, a British letter of marque of greatly superior force. After an action of two hours and a half, during which the Trum- bull had thirty-nine men killed and wounded, the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 1^ English ship almost entirely ceased firing, and gave indications of an intention to surrender. Un- fortunately, at this conjuncture, the topmasts of the Trumbull, which were badly wounded by the en- emy's lofty firing, went over^the side, when the latter, having lost no fewer than ninety-two men in killed and wounded, was happy to escape. This action was considered one of the severest of the Revolution. Subsequently to this cruise, young Perry entered on board a privateer, bound on a cruise on the en- emy's own coast He was, however, again cap- tured, and confined in prison in Ireland during eighteen months, at the end of which time he ef- fected his escape ; and, having passed in a British vessel to the island of St. Thomas in the charac- ter of a British seaman, took passage from thence to Charleston, where he arrived after the conclu- sion of the war in 1783. Perry continued to devote himself to the profes- sion of the sea, and made a voyage to Ireland as mate of a merchantman. Among the passengers on the return voyage to the port of Philadelphia was a lady, born in Ireland, but of Scotch extrac- tion, by the name of Sarah Alexander. The ac- quaintance thus begun on the ocean subsequently ripened into a strong attachment, and a year after, being in October, 1784, Christopher Raymond ha\ing risen to command, though as yet only 20 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. twenty-three years of age, he found himself in a situation to marry ; and, having previously had the fortune to win the consent of Miss Alexander, they were married in Philadelphia. They forth- with removed to South Kingston, where the young and uncommonly handsome couple was received with joyous celebrations by Perry's extensive fam- ily circle, and particularly by his maternal grand- father, the venerable Oliver Hazard, whose cour- teous and graceful demeanour impressed the bride most favourably as to the associates among whom her lot was now cast so far from her home. The young couple became domesticated with Judge Perry, the captain's father, who resided on a farm of near two hundred acres, which had been in possession of his family since the settlement of the country. The old homestead stood at the base of a hill, which commanded an extensive view of the surrounding countr)^, interspersed in many di- rections by picturesque lakes — one of them, called Point Judith Pond, being beautifully dotted by green islands — and bounded, by the irregular wind- ing of the coast, with the waters of Narragansett, separating it from the opposite shores of Rhode Island, while far in the southern distance spread the broad Atlantic. The old postroad between New-York and Boston, which, in the earlier days of the colonies, followed the circuitous hne of the coast, out of the reach of Indian depredations, pass- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 21 ed at a short distance in front of the house ; while in a picturesque and retired nook near an adjoining- wood stood the family burying-ground, within which several generations had already been in- terred. Ere Captain Perry again resumed his profession, making voyages to many lands, the young couple continued for a season in this pleas- ing retirement, to enjoy together the sweets of do- mestic happiness. As the mother's character so sensibly affects that of the children, it may not be amiss here to say that Mrs. Perry was exceedingly intelligent and well-informed, and that, to a con- siderable share of personal attraction and a per- suasive gentleness of demeanour, she added a de- gree of force of mind and energy of character not often found in her own sex, and seldom equalled in ours. Their first child, Oliver Hazard Perry, was born on the twenty-third of August, 1785. His great- grandfather, Ohver Hazard, having died shortly before the birth of this child, and his uncle, Ohver Hazard Perry, being lost at sea on his passage from South Carolina about the same time, the boy was, at the request of his grandmother, named after her father and son thus simultaneously removed. The chief characteristics of Oliver's early years were an uncommon share of beauty, a sweetness and gentleness of disposition which corroborated the expression of his countenance, and a perfect dis- i2 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. regard of danger, amounting to apparent uncon- sciousness. An anecdote illustrative of this pecu- liarity is still preserved in the family. When lit- tle more than two years old, Oliver had strayed into the road in company with an older child, and seated himself in the middle of it, when a horse- man being discovered approaching, his companion jumped up and removed out of the way, calling to Oliver to do the same. He, however, sat still un- til the horseman approached, and drew up imme- diately over him, when, looking up calmly into his face, he lisped to him, " Man ! you will not ride over me, will you ?" The horseman, happening to be a friend of the family, dismounted, and car- ried the boy into the house, where he related the story with great interest, and much the same pride as if it had been his own child. He thought Oli- ver's conduct gave token of a confiding as well as a thoroughly courageous disposition. Another anecdote, indicative of the same courage and of generous sympathy, was frequently related by his mother. When about five years old, he was sitting studying his lesson in the same room in which his father was busy with some accounts and papers. His sister, who was two years young- er than himself, was playing about the floor, and, having found a paper which had fallen, had torn d into pieces, and turned her attention, according to the custom of young ladies of that age, to some OLIVER HAZARD PEKRY. 23 new mischief. Presently the paper was missed, and the two children directed to search for it. Oliver soon found the fragments and handed them to his father ; the delinquency of the little girl was manifest in her shamefaced air. The paper hap- pened to be of importance, and the father, in the irritation of the moment, lifted his hand to inflict some trifling punishment, when Oliver placed him- self between, and, passing one arm round his little sister, raised the other to intercept the blow, say- ing, at the same time, in a firm, yet deprecating and respectful tone, " Oh, papa ! don't strike her !" His mother often spoke of his manner of perform- ing this little act as indescribable; at the same time so protecting and kind towards his sister, and so firm, so earnest, yet so respectful towards his father. Captain Perry was completely disarmed of his resentment, and overcome by the words and manner of the child ; for he was a man of suscep- tible and generous feelings. The little mischief- maker was received into favour ; her affectionate confidence in her brother was not diminished by his conduct on this occasion ; and his parents ever after freely intrusted her, as well as their other children, to his guidance and protection. The anecdote is interesting, as showing that his charac- ter in boyhood and maturer years was consistent with itself, and that the qualities of courage and generosity were as fully displayed within the nar- 24 AMERICAN BIOGRAPH-i. row circle of his secluded home as when under the broad gaze of an admiring world. Soon after this incident, Oliver, having already learned to read under the tuition of his mother, was removed to a school established by one of the neighbours for the benefit of the rising generation. The increasing family and growing cares of Mrs. Perry rendered this relief desirable. The school was a sort of voluntary association, established without fee or gratuity by a benevolent bachelor of the neighbourhood, of considerable acquirements, though more noted for his goodness of heart and childlike simplicity. This old gentleman was as indolent as he was kind-hearted. He had often been importuned to open a school for the education of the children of the neighbourhood, and at length consented to do so on condition that he should be allowed to have his bed in the schoolroom. This being granted, the old gentleman reclined in state among his pupils, being assisted in his instructions, and in such little offices of flagellation as were in- dispensable, by his nephew, the present Judge William Peckham, of South Kingston, by whom the anecdote is related. Young Peckham's dele- gated dignity, however, was attended with this disadvantage, that, being nearest his uncle's bed, whenever the old gentleman felt an impulse to in- flid punishment himself, his nephew, being near- est, asually had the benefit of it. As the school OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 25 was at some distance, Oliver, with several female cousins of his own name, who lived on the ad- joining farm, made their daily pilgrimage togeth- er. His little cousins had no brother, and were therefore glad to accept the protection of Oli- ver, who, though less in years than themselves, so threw himself between them and danger in all ad- ventures on the road as to inspire a confidence in his manliness which was always justified. He seems, indeed, from his earliest youth, to have ex- ercised an influence over those who approached him ; this fact is attested by all the surviving com- panions of his youth. "While his extraordinary beauty attracted attention to his person, it was soon converted into affectionate regard and respect by the graceful amenity of his manners, by a mod- esty which had in it nothing of shamefaced awk- wardness, and by a display of quiet firmness and calm self- composure. The distinction Avhich he subsequently acquired, while it gratified many of the friends of his youth even to tears, excited no astonishment ; it seemed but the realization of those just hopes which his youth had inspired. At Tower Hill, distant four miles from Judge Perry's farm, there was an excellent school, kept by a venerable Scotchman of the name of Kelly ; " old Master Kelly," as he might well be called, as he had already taught three generations of that vicinage, and was now busy in dinning the same C 26 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. instruction into the fourth. Thither Oliver waii despatciied so soon as his age quahfied him for the walk, and his female cousins became again the companions of his daily journeys, and subject to his protection. It is recorded of this worthy and time-honoured pedagogue, that, during the whole of his long servitude at Tower Hill, he had never once been known to lose his temper, but ever pre- served a blessed equanimity, to be envied by all of his arduous and important calling. During Oli- ver's continuance at the school, old Master Kelly was obliged to retire from sheer superannuation, and was succeeded by a Mr. Southworth, from Connecticut. This gentleman is represented to have been also an excellent teacher, and to have possessed a happy faculty of attaching his schol- ars. Both Oliver and his cousins were accustomed afterward to speak of the time they were under his tuition as the happiest of their school-days, and to recount with lively pleasure the recollections of their wayside adventures in their daily rambles. To this early association with his female cousins he was doubtless indebted for his peculiar gentle- ness of manners, and to a preference of female so- ciety to that of his own sex, which characterized him through life. At the end of a year or two Mr. Southworth re- moved from the neighbourhood, and Doctor Perry fortunately procured the services of a Scotch gen- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 27 tleman of education and talents, who had recently- been in the family of the governor, residing with him as tutor to his children. Oliver also had the benefit of his instructions, and became a temporary inmate of his uncle's family. Mr. Bryer proved not only an admirable instructer to the children, but an agreeable and entertaining companion. Unfortunately, at the end of a few months, he gave evidence of a failing which had caused me loss of a considerable fortune and his ruin in his own country, namely, an excessive fondness for the bottle. To be sure, he had the grace to absent himself from home during his periodical fits of intemperance; but, as the education of the chil- dren was thus interrupted, and as he was not ren- dered more clear-headed or more agreeable on his return, it became necessary to relinquish his ser- vices. Meantime, Oliver's father had long since resumed the prosecution of his profession, and made many voyages, as commander and supercargo of mer- chant ships, to Europe, South America, and the East Indies. By these he became in possession of a handsome income. Desiring to secure for his chil- dren, amounting now to four, a better education than South Kingston afforded, and to promote his professional convenience, he established his family in Newport, about the time that the private school at Doctor Perry's was broken ud by the misadven- SS AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. tures of Mr. Bryer. Here Oliver was placed at the school of Mr. Frazer, under whose skilful and judicious tuition he made rapid proficiency in all his studies. The relaxed discipline of the country schools, where, the numbers being small, every- thing was conducted somewhat upon the principle of brotherly love, furnished but an imperfect prep- aration for the sterner rule which the Highland gentleman found it necessary to exercise among his more numerous and heterogeneous disciples at Newport. The early days of Oliver's admission into Mr. Frazer's school were signalized by a very untoward occurrence ; no less a one than his re- ceiving a broken head one day for some trifling and perhaps unconscious misdemeanour, from a heavy ferule hurled by Mr. Frazer in an ungovern- able fit of passion, such as he was often subject to. Seizing his hat, without leave asked or granted, Oliver went immediately home, and told his moth- er he could never enter that school again. Mrs. Perry was a woman of strong feelings, eminently courageous temperament, and command- ing character. She was necessarily indignant at the treatment of her child ; but she was not much edified by Oliver's determinations as to what he would or would not do, nor disposed to yield to them. She did not reply to his decision not to re- turn to Mr. Frazer's school, but quietly bound up his wounded head, and soothed him with expres- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 29 jions of maternal solicitude. Had shei consulted only her resentment, it would have led her, at every hazard, to withdraw her child from the authority of one who had abused it. She wise- ly reflected, however, that Oliver, being an un- usually high-spirited boy, and his father general- ly absent, as he happened to be at that time, if she yielded to his wishes in this instance, he might expect the same indulgence whenever he felt dis- contented with a school from motives less well- founded. This would not only be a disadvantage to him with regard to his studies, but might tend to weaken her own control over him. She there- fore wrote a note to Mr. Frazer, stating, in sub- dued terms, her indignant feelings at the outrage upon her child, coupled with the motives which restrained her from withdrawing him from the school, and concluding by the expression of a hope that she should not have cause to regret the mark of renewed confidence which she thus gave to Mr. Frazer, by again intrusting her son to him. On the following morning, as the usual hour came round, she called to Oliver, as if she had heard nothing of his declaration of the previous day, and told him it was school-time. At the same time, she placed the note for Mr. Frazer into his hand, and told him that she did not think he would receive similar treatment again. The proud boy's Up quivered, and a tear stood in his eye 3 but C2 30 AMEEICAN BIOGRAPHY. the thought of disobeying his mother had never entered his head, nor did it probably ever do so until the day of his death. She lived to rear five sons, all of whom entered the naval service of their country, and whom she fitted to command others by teaching them thus early to obey. Mr. Frazer was conscious of his own culpable violence, and alive to the good sense and magna- nimity of Mrs. Perry's conduct. He devoted him- self unremittingly to Oliver's improvement, became warmly attached to him, and won his attachment in return ; for Oliver, though high-tempered, was a stranger to vindictiveness and cherished resent- ment. Newport was then an eminently commer- cial port. As many of the young men were in- tended for the sea, Mr. Frazer had an evening class for the purpose of teaching mathematics, and their appHcation to navigation and nautical astron- omy. He took a peculiar pleasure in initiating Oliver into these sciences ; and in the intervals be- tween school-hours, and on holydays, would fre- quently walk to the beach with him, where a ho- rizon could be obtained to take astronomic observa- tions, and otherwise render his lessons more prac- tical. Before Oliver left Mr. Frazer's school, the latter was wont to boast that he was the best nav- igator in Rhode Island. In Newport Oliver attracted to himself no less attention and good-will than among the partial OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 31 friends of his childhood in South Kingston. His personal beauty, his modesty, and the mature and gentle gracefulness of his manners, won for him many friends. Among the number was Count Rochambeau, son of the distinguished general of that name, who commanded the French auxiliary army during our revolutionary war. This noble- man, being driven from his country by the terrors of the Revolution, had established himself at New- port, where his father's previous residence prepared for him many friends. Newport offered, moreover, many attractions to a person of refinement. Many of the inhabitants were wealthy and highly edu- cated, and the tone of society was elegant and in* tellectual. Oliver's pleasing manners attracted the attention of the count, and his amiability and worth soon converted the feeling of partiality into a sincere friendship. Notwithstanding the boy's youth, he frequently invited him to dine in com- pany with older friends, and, when he left New- port, presented him with a beautiful little watch as a token of his regard. When Oliver was but eleven years old. Bishop Seabury came to Newport, in the course of an episcopal visitation of the Eastern states, for the purpose of ordaining clergymen and confirming the young. Oliver's parents scarcely considered him old enough to receive and appreciate that sol- emn rite ; but the bishop, having been greatly 32 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. pleased by his appearance and manners, and by the maturity and seriousness which his conversa- tion indicated, requested that he might come for- ward for confirmation. Afterward, when the bish- op came to take leave of Oliver's parents, he laid his hands upon the boy's head, and blessed him in a manner so solemn and emphatic as to make an indelible impression upon all who were present. His mother was greatly touched by the incident, and received the impression that the blessing had been heard and answered, and would follow him through life. Towards the close of the year 1797, Captain Perry, having secured a small competency, retired from his profession, and settled in the village of Westerly, in a remote part of the state. Oliver was now entering his thirteenth year ; his educa- tion was unusually advanced for his age, for he had been a dihgent student at Mr. Frazer's during the last five years ; and an unbounded fondness for books, kept up from the early period when his mother had first taught him to read, had imparted to him an unusual share of general information. Fortunately for the youth of those times, novels were not so abundant nor so universally diffused as now, and the reading of Oliver was confined to Plutarch, Shakspeare, the Spectator, and works of a similar character, suited to instruct and fur nish the mind, and give force to the character. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 33 About this period, our relations with the French repubUc were beginning to assume a hostile char- acter. That ambitious and unprincipled govern- ment having expected to receive active assistance from us in her war against England, under a false construction of the alliance entered into during our war of independence, was provoked by our cau- tious neutrality. Deluded by the friendship of an extravagant and intemperate faction in the United States, who justified all the horrors of the French Revolution, into the belief that the great body of the American people was in their favour, the French sought to involve us in the war as their allies, by infringing our neutrality and complica- ting our relations with England. Citizen Genet, the French representative in the United States, not only undertook to grant commissions and fit out privateers in the United States to cruise against British commerce, but actually succeeded in send- ing some vessels to sea in defiance of our govern- ment. These, moreover, captured British vessels on our own coasts, and even within our navigable waters. Not content with this measure of aggres- sion, insult, and contumely, the French cruisers and privateers soon after began to capture our own merchant vessels. Every attempt to obtain redress from the Frenct government for these aggravated grievances hav- ing failed, Congress so far adopted the recommen- 34 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. dation of the president for an enlarged plan of naval defence as to authorize him, in April, 1798, to purchase, hire, or build twelve ships, of not more than twenty guns each, to be added to the six frigates which then constituted our navy, and three of which only, namely, the United States, the Constitution, and Constellation, were already launched. At the same time, a separate depart- ment of the government was created, to superin- tend the affairs of the navy, which had hitherto been under the control of the war department; and Benjamin Stoddert was subsequently created the first secretary of the navy under the Federal Constitution. Soon after, the president was au- thorized to purchase twelve additional ships, of from eighteen to thirty-two guns, and to instruct the commanders of our ships of .war to capture any French cruisers, whether men-of-war or priva- teers, that might be found upon our coasts, having committed, or being likely, as there might be rea- son to believe, to commit any depredations on our commerce ; also, to recapture any American ves- sels that might have been already seized. Laws were subsequently passed for the capture of French cruisers wherever they might be found, and for the condemnation of the prizes that might thus be •made. Such was the origin of the quasi war with France, more f£imiliarly known as the French dis- turbances. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 35 The prospect of a naval contest with a nation which had so insultingly trampled on our commer- cial rights, and the recollection of his youthful en- terprises on the ocean in the revolutionary war, prompted Captain Perry to seek employment in the marine about to be created. Strong applica- tions in his behalf, from the most influential per- sons in Rhode Island, were forwarded to the pres- ident, and he was at once commissioned a post- captain in the navy. On the ninth day of June, 1798, two days after the date of the commission, instructions were transmitted by Oliver Wolcott, the secretary of the treasury, to Mr. George Cham- plin, of Newport, directing him to procure such a ship as Captain Perry should approve of No suitable ship could be found, and the construction of one was immediately commenced at the town of Warren, near Bristol in Rhode Island, in which neighbourhood ship-timber abounded. Thither Captain Perry at once removed, to attend to the construction of the ship, which it had been deter- mined to name after General Greene, the most dis- tinguished of the sons of Rhode Island. Meantime, Mrs. Perry having accompanied her husband to Warren, Oliver, then not quite thirteen years old, remained in complete charge of the fam- ily, making all the necessary purchases, attending that his sister and younger brothers went regularly to school, keeping his parents constantly advised 36 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. by letter of all that was passing, and conducting the whole affairs of the family with prudence and regularity. The obedience which he received from his younger brothers and from all the house- hold w^as unquestioning and unqualified. With all this early influence over others, Oliver was still, however, a boy, with all the tastes of one, except that he had little propensity to mischief. Among his favourite amusements of this period was sail- mg boats and planks in the Pawcatuck river, which made an elbow quite near the house. Mr. T. S. Taylor, now of South Kingston, was his schoolfellow and playmate in Westerly ; and, in bearing recent testimony to the good temper and kind feelings which characterized Oliver, and ren- dered him a universal favourite, states, that the only occasion on which he ever saw. him angry was in one of their sailing excursions in the shoal water of the Pawcatuck, when the boys were rep- resenting a sea engagement ; and Oliver's raft hap- pening to be run down by that of young Taylor, who was the opposing admiral, Oliver's rage be- came ungovernable, and he was for a moment anxious to resort to any means, however foreign to the prescribed warfare, to recover the lost ad- vantage of the day. Among his habitual play- mates were his next brother Raymond and his cousin, George Perry, who, being a resident of the family and part of his garrison, joined daily in a game of ball before the house, into the sprit of OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 37 which Oliver entered with, all his soul, and with conspicuous activity, to the delight of his sisters, by one of whom the anecdote is related, to show that he had the tastes of his age, and that the con- trol which he so early exercised over others was not owing to any undue assumption of manhood, but to his calmness, gentleness, and habits of self- command. Amid this blending of manly and boyish occu- pations, Oliver was meditating seriously the plan of his future life. He had early imbibed a desire for the military profession, from the conversation of his mother. The friends of this lady, though Protestants and of Scotch descent, had been in- volved in the Irish rebellion. She herself had felt a lively enthusiasm in the cause of liberty, and had listened, '\\dth deep interest, to every account she had heard of battles and skirmishes in the neigh- bourhood. She took a pleasure in recounting to her son the achievements of her countrymen, and always insisted that they were the bravest people in the world. These narratives had fired the mind of Oliver, and created a desire in him to pursue the profession of arms. He had been born almost on the shore of the Atlantic, and with water and ships perpetually in sight. His residence in New« port, too, and the occupations of his father, had brought him much in connexion with ships and seamen, and blended with his inclination for a mil- D 38 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. itary life a desire to make his home upon the sea. When, therefore, hostihties with France became inevitable, and his father received his commission as a post-captain in the navy, and was appointed to the General Greene, the means of gratifying his double tastes for war and for the sea were at once provided. He wrote to his father, asking his leave to enter the navy ; and, being requested to state the motives which influenced him in his choice, he did so in detail and at considerable length. Mr. Thomas Hazard, a relation of Captain Perry, who is still living, happened to be present at Warren when this letter was received. It was handed to him to read; and the good reasons that were given for the choice, and the mature, sensible, and manly terms in which they were expressed, made an impression which is not yet effaced from the mind of the old gentleman. It is much to be re- gretted, that in the various removals and vicissi- tudes of the family, this letter, with almost every other relating to the youth of Perry, has disap- peared. It would be of no little interest to exam- ine how far the motives with which he entered upon his profession were borne out by the results, and to compare his hopes with their after fulfil- ment. We should no doubt find in the comparison a rare example of a cloud castle excelled by the splendour of the real structure, and youthful as- pirations for glory outdone by the reality. OLIVER HAZARD PEREY. 39 CHAPTER n. Oliver enters as a Midshipman on hoard the General Greene. — Cruise to the West Indies. — Return to Newport. — Second Cruise to the West Indies. — Ship ordered to St. Do?ningo. — Co-operation with Toussaint. — Blockade and Capture of Jaquemel. — Cruise round the Island. — Part of Crew taken out by Commodore Talbot. — Ship ordered to the Mississippi. — Rencounter with a British line-of- hattle Ship. — Spirited conduct of Captain Perry, — Return to Newport. — Peace with France. — Re- duction of the Navy. — Captain Perry left out. — Oliver retained. — Tripolitan War. — Early opera- tions. — Oliver embarks in the Adams. — She saibfor the Mediterranean. — Employed in Blockading. — Gives Convoy up the Mediterranean. — Visits Spain and Italy. — Arrives off Tripoli. — Boat Expedition, — Blockade. — Attempted Negotiation. — Squadron returns to Gibraltar. — Perry returns home. — His Occupations and Character, Captain Perry had commenced the building of the General Greene immediately after receiv- ing his commission, but it was not until the spring of the following year that the ship was ready to proceed to sea. She was a small frig- ate, rated at twenty-eight, and mounting probably iO AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. thirty-six guns. The officers were chiefly ap- pointed from Rhode Island, and the selection of them was intrusted by the secretary of the navy to Captain Perry. When, therefore, he had re- ceived Oliver's letter, assigning reasons for his wish to enter the navy, and had determined, with the consent of Mrs. Perry, to accede to it, there was no farther difficulty to be encountered. Oli- ver's name was placed on the hst of those recom- mended to fill the stations of midshipmen on board the General Greene, and in April, 1799, he re- ceived his warrant and orders to report for duty. Bidding adieu to his home and the companions of his childhood, he embarked with his father, and soon after sailed for the island of Cuba. It was in the West India seas that the French cruisers most abounded, and that our commerce suffered most from their depredations. The ship was en- gaged for several weeks in giving convoy to our merchant vessels bound from Havana to the Uni- ted States. The yellow fever having, however, broken out among her crew, compelled Captain Perry to abandon his station in order to check the progress of the disease. He proceeded, accord- ingly, to Newport, and arrived there towards the close of July. On the departure of Captain Perry from home, he had removed his family from Westerly to Tow- er Hill, in order that Mrs. Perry might be within OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 41 /each of the friendly offices of his relations. Thith- er Oliver accompanied his father, and he remained chiefly at home during the period employed in re- fitting the ship and restoring the health of her crew. He was, of course, a person of great con- sequence, on his return from foreign parts, in the eyes of his younger brothers and sisters. They used to go forth betimes in the morning to pick berries for his breakfast, before the dew had been drunk up by the early sun, and followed him in all his rambles with untiring affection, and with a certain respectful deference, which was perhaps now a little enhanced by their awe of his uniform. During his absence he had commenced learning to perform on the flute, an accomplishment in some degree or other universal among midshipmen, but •which he afterward carried to very great perfec- tion. His childish companions were, how^ever, anything but fastidious critics ; and, in their sylvan rambles, the simple melodies which he drew forth appeared to them altogether charming. The health of the crew of the General Greene having been completely restored, she resumed her station off* the Havana early in the autumn, and continued to give convoy to our vessels bound throuo;h the Bahama Channel or into the Gulf of Mexico. The disturbed condition of St. Domingo, and the piracies committed on our commerce by the followers of Rigaud, a mulatto chieftain who D2 42 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. aimed at establishing a rival power independent of Toussaint, occasioned the General Greene to be soon after ordered to that island. She was placed under the orders of Commodore Talbot, who was about to be despatched there in the Constitution, di7id who directed Captain Perry to proceed at once to the station and circumnavigate the island, with a view to the more extensive protection of our commerce. v\^^ The General Greene arrived at Cape Francois j early in October, when Captain Perry received a communication from Mr. Edward Stevens, at that time our consul-general in St. Domingo, informing him of the state of affairs in the island, and point- ing out the line of conduct necessary for the pro- tection of our commerce. In the prosecution of the civil war then raging in the island, between General Toussaint L'Ouverture, who commanded the armies operating under the name of the French Republic, but in reality controlled only by himself, and General Rigaud, the former had signalized himself by a friendly course towards neutral pow- ers, and a studious regard to the laws of hospitality with respect to the merchant vessels visiting the ports within his control. Rigaud, on the contrary, carried on, through his armed barges, a predatory warfare, not merely on the vessels of the island be- longing to the ports under the jurisdiction of Tous- saint, but also on all neutral vessels approaching OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 43 the coast. On this account, it became the policy of neutrals to protect and encourage General Tous- saint, whose upright and honourable character in- spired unbounded confidence, and oppose Rigaud. With this view the American and English consuls joined in granting passports to the cruisers fitted out by Toussaint, which, though wearing the French flag and owning the French allegiance, were exempted from capture, to which other French vessels were subject. The government of the United States had approved of the course adopted by their consul, and Captain Perry was ordered not to capture or molest any of the vessels fitted out by Toussaint for the purpose of defending his coasts against the barges of Rigaud, so long as they should continue to respect the commerce of the United States, but to render what aid he was able in putting down Rigaud. While cruising in the neighbourhood of Cape Tiburon, on the ninth of February, 1800, Captain Perry discovered a number of Rigaud's cruisers an- chored under protection of three forts on the coast. He immediately stood in and anchored under the forts, which, in less than thirty minutes, were si- lenced, with the loss of a number killed on the part of the enemy ; the General Greene having only received a few shots in her hull, and some trifling injury in her rigging. The boats of the General Greene were speedily got out, in readiness 44 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. to take possession of the vessels at anchor, when, a large ship being seen in the offing which had the appearance of a French frigate, it became ne- cessary to get the ship under way, in order to avoid being placed between two fires. Chase was given to the strange sail, which proved to be a captured French vessel in the service of England. Soon after this occurrence. Captain Perry re- ceived an urgent request from General Toussaint that he would proceed with the General Greene off the port of Jaquemel, which he was then be- sieging. As this was the stronghold of Rigaud, from which he despatched his cruisers and into which they brought their prizes, Captain Perry readily complied with the request. He proceeded off the port, and not only so strictly blockaded it as to intercept the entry of supplies and produce a great scarcity, but took part in the active opera- tions of the siege. The fire of the General Greene compelled the enemy at length to evacuate their strongest position, and led to the surrender of the garrison, consisting of five thousand men. The reduction of this place, from which the commerce of the United States had been seriously annoyed, and which was considered at home of great im- portance, was attributed by General Toussaint en- tirely to Captain Perry's co-operation. He return- ed him sincere and repeated thanks for his assist- ance, assured him of the lively gratitude he should OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 45 ever feel to him and to his country, and of his firm determination to extend his friendship and protec- tion, on all occasions, to the citizens of the United States ; a determination which he ever most faith- fully observed. After the fall of Jaquemel, Captain Periy pros- ecuted the cruise which he had been ordered to make round the island of St. Domingo, which ter- minated early in April at Cape Francois, the port from which he had set out. Here he fell in with Commodore Talbot in the Constitution frigate, and was much annoyed by the commodore's taking from him twenty-four of his best men, and sending seventeen invalids to supply their places. Cap- tain Perry made the conduct of the commodore the subject of complaint in his report to the secre- tary of the navy. He argued forcibly against the unfairness of ridding one ship of disease at the ex- pense of another ; and expressed the belief, that the removal of so many of his crew from the ship for which they had entered would have an injuri- ous effect on the recruiting service in Rhode Isl- and. He stated that many of his crew had fami- lies, or were the sons of substantial farmers, whose connexions looked to him for their safe return, and that, should any accident happen to them from their being turned over to another ship, or dis- charged at a distance from their homes, it would not only give ground of complaint against the 46 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. commander, but excite clamour and prejudice against the navy. The fact is interesting, as show- ing, at this early period in the existence of our navy, the want of a higher grade of officers to command in chief, \\dth a fairness which can never be expected from one who is at the same time captain of a particular ship, and also as giving an insight into the composition of our crews. An order had been received from the secretary of the navy for the General Greene to proceed off the mouth of the Mississippi, in order to receive on board General "Wilkinson and family, and trans- port them to a northern port of the United States. By direction of Commodore Talbot, the General Greene now sailed on this service, and arrived off the Balize about the twentieth of April. Af- ter a delay of several weeks, she sailed for New- port on the tenth of May, giving convoy by the way to an American brig bound to Havana. When off that port she fell in with a British line-of-battle ship, which, when near, fired a shot at the mer- chant brig to bring her to. The brig, in obedience to the orders of Captain Perry, paid no regard to the signal from the British ship, but continued her course. As the wind was light, the British cap- tain despatched a boat to board the brig ; but, as the boat approached. Captain Perry fired a shot ahead of her. This brought the boat alongside of the General Greene, and the line-of-battle ship OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 47 at the same time bore down, and, when within hail, her captain demanded why his boat had been fired on. Captain Perry rephed, that it was to prevent her from boarding the American brig, which was under his convoy and protection. The British captain rejoined that it was very strange that one of his majesty's seventy-four gun ships could not board an American merchant brig. Captain Perry replied, "If she were a first-rate ship, she should not do so to the dishonour of my flag!" This memorable answer embraces the whole principle and profession of naval honour. It was worthy of Captain Perry, of his country, and of the future reputation of his son. The foregoing incident would show that the school was a good one in which young Perry re- ceived his first lessons of naval honour. He made rapid progress in the attainment of professional knowledge, improved himself by dihgent reading, and, as opportunity occurred, by intercourse with society ; and, while preserving a dignity of deport- ment beyond his years, by his gentleness and ami- ability v/on the affectionate attachment of all around him. His earhest letter which has been preserved, and the only one of this period extant, is now before the writer. It is brief, sententious, and well expressed ; exhibits a strong attachment to his brothers and sisters, a respectful affection to his mother, to whom it is addressed, and a lively solicitude for her welfare. 48 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. On the arrival of the General Greene at New- port, towards the close of May, orders were re- ceived from the secretary of the navy to pay off the whole of her crew, except such a small num- ber as might be necessary to take care of the ship while she was undergoing repairs. She was or- dered to be prepared for sea with all possible de- spatch ; and Captain Perry was directed to advise the secretary when the ship should be ready to re- ceive her crew, that the necessary orders might be given for recruiting it. The secretary urged Cap- tain Perry to hasten his preparations by the com- plimentary assurance that the services of the Gen- eral Greene had been too important to be dispensed with a moment longer than might be necessary to re-equip her for sea. Soon after, the negotiations for the settlement of our difficulties with France, which had been for some time going on at Paris, assumed an appear- ance of pacific termination. No farther measures were therefore taken to increase our naval force abroad, and the sailing of the General Greene was delayed, with that of other ships about to put to sea. Early in the following year, the treaty which had been agreed upon in Paris was ratified by the Senate of the United States ; and, very soon after, a change of administration hav- ing occurred, which brought Mr. Jefferson into office, on principles opposed to the navy, and to OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 49 expenditures for almost every liberal object con- nected with the permanent welfare of the country, it was determined to reduce the navy nearly to the condition in which our difficulties with France had found it. The cruisers of all rates were reduced m number, by selling the excess, from forty-two to thirteen, and the officers were discharged from the service in even greater proportions. Of forty-two post-captains who had abandoned their pursuits, jmd many of them sacrificed their fortune, to come forward in defence of their country's rights, only nine were retained in the navy. The masters' commandant were dismissed in mass. Captain Perry was among the large majority excluded from the service; and the circumstance was not a little painful to him, though announced by the secretary of the navy in the following terms, as well suited as any other to sooth the annoyance inseparable from such a notification. " The act providing for the peace establishment of the navy of the United States has imposed on the president a painful duty. It directs him to select nine gen- tlemen from among the captains of the navy of the United States, and to permit the remaining commanders to retire from public service with the advance of four months' extra pay. I have deem- ed it a duty, therefore, as early as possible to in- form you, that you will be among those whose ser- vices, however reluctantly, will be dispensed with. E 50 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Permit me to assure you that the president has a just sense of the services rendered by you to your country, and that I am, with sentiments of respect, your most obedient servant." Chance, which presided more at this reduction than judgment or discretion, so willed it that the reduction was much less thorough among the infe- rior classes of officers, and out of nearly three hun- dred and fifty midshipmen, upward of one hundred and fifty were retained to perform duty under the nine remaining captains. Fortunately for the hon- our of the country and the future reputation of its flag, the name of Oliver Perry figured among those of the midshipmen thus retained in the service. Our difficulties with France were scarcely at an end, and our naval establishment reduced, before the unprotected state of our commerce created for us new enemies. In order to procure a suspension of the depredations on our commerce heretofore committed by the Barbary corsairs, our govern- ment had been guilty of the weakness of bribing the various regencies by an annual present of arms and other goods, and in some cases of money. On a recent occasion, the Dey of Algiers had car- ried his insolence so far as to compel the com- mander of the American ship of war which had brought out the tribute to proceed to Constantino- ple with a present which he, in turn, was desirous of making to the sultan. Having thus consented OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 51 to pay tribute to Algiers, and tamely suffered one of our national vessels to be impressed into the service of a barbarian chief, to be employed in the degrading task of carrying tribute to a third pow- er — having also paid tribute to the Bey of Tunis, the Bashaw of Tripoli reasonably enough came to the conclusion that he was entitled to be treated with equal consideration, and determined, at any rate, to resort to similar means of extorting what he conceived to be his due. The custom of ma- king presents and paying tribute had long been acquiesced in by the weak powers of the opposite contment, whose unprotected commerce covered the Mediterranean. The bashaw, after setting forth the various grievances that he had suffered from the United States, and especially the superior value of the presents which had been made to Al- giers and Tunis, at length, towards the close of 1800, formally announced to the American consul, that if he did not receive a present in money from the United States within six months, he would commence hostilities against our commerce. Our recent naval successes in the struggle against France had prepared the country to re- sist this insolent demand, and arrangements were forthwith commenced for refitting and recommis- ^^ aoning our dismantled ships, i^ In the summer of \j 1801, Commodore Dale was despatched to the ' Mediterranean with the President, Philadelphia, 62 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. and Essex frigates, and schooner Enterprise. Com- modore Dale found that the bashaw, in fulfilment of his threat, had, at the expiration of the six months, caused the flagstaff of our consulate to be cut down, the symbol among those piratical re- gencies of a declaration of war. As Commodore Dale's orders restricted him to a defensive course, he confined his operations to blockading the Tri- politan cruisers in their own port, and in neutral ports where they happened to find them ; thus the Tripolitan admiral having been found by the squadron with a ship and brig in the Bay of Gib- raltar, they were there blockaded by a part of the squadron. Only one encounter took place at sea during the cruise of this squadron, and this was most glorious for our arms. It was between the Enterprise, of twelve guns, commanded by Lieu- tenant Sterret, and the Tripoli, a ship of fourteen guns. The action continued for three hours, at, the end of which time fifty of the corsair's crew were either killed or wounded out of eighty which composed her comphment. The president being under the impression that the Constitution did not authorize him, in the prosecution of this defensive warfare, to make captures, had ordered that no vessels should be taken from the enemy, and the ■-. Tripoli was accordingly disarmed and set at lib- ,' erty. -^ Early in 1802 laws were passed by Congress OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 63 empowering the executive to make use of every means of reducing Tripoli to peace. The term of enUstment for seamen was judiciously extended from one to two years, and a more numerous squadron of ships was fitted out, to take the place of the one of which the term of service had now expired. This squadron consisted of the Chesa- peake, Constellation, New-York, Adams, and John Adams frigates, and schooner Enterprise. It was commanded by Commodore Richard V. Morris. On board the Adams, commanded by Captain Hugh G. Campbell, Oliver Perry again embarked as midshipman, after a little more than a year that he had remained detached from active service. The Adams was lying in Newport, which circum- stance probably fixed Oliver's destination to that particular ship, and laid the foundation of a sin- cere and lively friendship towards him on the part of Commodore Campbell, which ended only with the life of that valuable officer, whose name con- tinues in the service to be the object of veneration. The Adams sailed from Newport in June, and arrived at Gibraltar towards the middle of July. Here she fell in with the commodore, who had his flag on board the Chesapeake. The Adams, after having made a short cruise to Malaga with con- voy, was left at Gibraltar to watch the two Tripol- itan vessels in that harbour, and the commodore proceeded up the Mediterranean with the Chesa- £2 54 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. peake, New-York, John Adams, and Enterprise, having a number of merchant vessels under con- voy, intending, after seeing them into the ports to which they were bound, to appear off TripoH and commence his offensive operations. By the time, however, that he had reached Malta, the provis- ions of his squadron were getting short ; and, on sailing for Tripoli, having encountered an adverse gale of many days' duration, he bore up, and, run- ning down for Tunis, touched there and at Algiers, and subsequently reached Gibraltar again towards the close of March. At Gibraltar the commodore shifted his flag from the Chesapeake to the New- York, and the Chesapeake returned to the United States. After so long and wearisome a detention at Gibraltar in blockading the Tripolitan cruiser — re- lieved, however, for Oliver by one redeeming cir- cumstance, his promotion to an acting lieutenancy on his birthday, at the early age of seventeen — the Adams was now, to the great satisfaction of all on board of her, ordered to proceed up the Mediter- ranean with a convoy of ten sail, and subsequent- ly to meet the commodore at Malta, from which place the whole squadron was to go to Tripoli, and active operations against the enemy were forthwith to commence. The ship touched at Malaga, Ali- cant, and Barcelona in Spain, and, after remaining a few days at the latter place, proceeded onward OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. OU with the residue of her convoy to Leghorn and Na- ples. Young Perry seized with avidity the oppor- tunity thus afforded him of seeing something of the cities which the Adams visited; and the indulgence of his captain, to whose partiality he had owed the pleasing circumstance of so agreeable a present on his last birthday, enabled him to make excursions to various interesting points in the neighbourhood of the ports at which they stopped, from which he derived both pleasure and advantage. During the month of May, the squadron, con- sisting of the New-York, John Adams, Adams, and Enterprise, joined company at the rendezvous at Malta, and soon after sailed for Tripoli. In ap- proaching that city, a number of merchant vessels were discovered making for the port, protected by a flotilla of gunboats. The squadron at once gave chase, and succeeded in cutting the vessels off from the port, but not in hindering them from get- ting into another small harbour adjoining to the city. The vessels, being small, were soon unladen and hauled up on the beach, and breastworks were at once thrown up to defend them, the wheat which composed their cargo being used for the purpose. A large stone building adjacent to the Dank was hastily fortified and filled with soldiery. The gunboats, by the aid of their sweeps, had been able to escape along shore, and get within the mole under cover of the batteries. Lieutenant 56 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. David Porter, then first lieutenant of the New- York, volunteered to go in v^ith the boats of the squadron during the night and destroy the vessels on the beach. The commodore, while declining to accept his services for the night, as the darkness would prevent the co-operation of the ships, de- termined to attempt the enterprise on the follow- ing morning. Accordingly, the boats were despatched with a strong force from all the ships. They pulled gal- lantly in under a heavy fire of musketry from the Moors and Arabs stationed behind the breast- works, and imperfectly sustained by the fire of the ships, on account of their distance from the shore. In defiance of the sharp fire of the enemy, our gal- lant seamen landed under their very breastworks, which were so near that the unarmed rabble col- lected behind the combatants assailed our men with stones, and succeeded in firing the vessels on the beach. They then returned to their boats, and pulled out through the midst of the enemy's fire to their ships. Although the vessels were in flames before our men left them, the Tripolitans succeeded in preserving most of them by great exertions. Twelve of our men were either killed or wounded, and the loss of the enemy was supposed to have been more considerable. Lieutenant Porter, who so gallantly led the enterprise, was among the wounded. It is not known that young Perry cer-* OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 57 tainly took part in this daring exploit; but his rank as a young lieutenant on board one of the ships in the squadron, and the heroic spirit which ever characterized him, render it very unlikely that he should have been absent from this scene of danger and of glory. Soon after, an effort was made to destroy the fleet of gunboats which were anchored at the en- trance of the harbour, between the mole and a reef of rocks which formed the western side of the channel. On the morning fixed for the attack, a very light breeze prevailed, and only the John Adams, commanded by Captain J. Rodgers, was able to reach her station and engage the enemy. The gunboats retired from the fire of the John Adams behind the mole, and towards nightfall the ship withdrew into the offing. On the following day the commodore made an effort to arrange our difficulties by means of negotiation ; but, as there had been nothing in the manner in which the war had hitherto been carried on to give these barba- rians a very formidable idea of our naval power, the attempted negotiation was attended with no pa- cific result. Soon after the commodore sailed for Malta, leaving Captain Rodgers in the John Adams to prosecute the blockade, with the aid of Captain Campbell in the Adams, and Lieutenant Isaac Hull in the schooner Enterprise. Towards the close of June the John Adams had an engagement with 58 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. an enemy's ship of twenty-two guns, which had left Tripoli in the night and attempted to escape the blockade ; being discovered by the Enterprise, she was pursued into shoal water by the Enterprise and John Adams, and compelled to anchor near the shore, where parties of cavalry collected for her defence, and the fleet of gunboats also hast- ened from Tripoli to her assistance. After a spir- ited action, the battery of the corsair was silencecl, and her crew jumped overboard and swam ashore. Preparations were making to get the boats out and take possession of the prize, when she blew up. Shortly after this occurrence, the commodore, having received information of hostile operations against our commerce on the part of the Algerines and Tunisians, recalled all the ships from Tripoli and raised the blockade. He collected his squad- ron in Malta, from whence he made a visit to the Italian coast. After visiting Sicily, Naples, and several of the neighbouring ports, the John Adams was despatched with a convoy of American ves- sels down the Mediterranean, while the Adams cruised down on the Barbary side, touching at the various ports. On the reunion of the squadron again at Gibraltar, Commodore Morris found let- ters recalling him from his command, which tem- porarily devolved on Captain Rodgers, who hoisted his flag on board the New-York, in expectation of the speedy arrival of Commodore Edward Preble, OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 59 ■who had been appointed to prosecute the war, and was daily looked for in the Constitution. Captain Campbell replaced Captain Rodgers on board the John Adams, while Commodore Morris proceeded in the Adams to the United States, where he ar- rived towards the close of November, 1803. After an absence of a year and a half, young Perry returned again to his family, which he found established in Newport. He now devoted himself earnestly to the study of mathematics and astronomy, and the general improvement of his mind. His leisure hours were passed in the soci- ety of the intelligent and refined. Those who re- member him at this period represent him as quick and excitable in his temper, but not disposed to unreasonable anger, nof implacable in his resent- ments. He was a faithful and generous friend, and ready to go any length to serve those to whom he was attached. He appeared exceedingly well in conversation, and the value of his judicious and well-timed remarks was enhanced by the modesty and absence of all pretension with which they were expressed. He was fond of the society of ladies, and his good looks and unusually grace- ful demeanour fitted him to appear most advan- tageously in it. To these social qualifications w^ere added a fine taste for music, and an uncom- monly skilful performance on the flute. It is re- marked of him that few young men had so nice a 60 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. sense of honour with regard to female character. He frowned indignantly on any who trifled with the affections of a lady, and his own deportment towards the sex was courteous, circumspect, and deferential. These elegant tastes naturally involved an aver- sion to dissipation generally. The only extrava- gance in which he indulged was occasioned by his fondness for horses, in one of the finest of which that he could meet with when on shore he usually invested his surplus pay. He had, indeed, been accustomed to horses from his childhood, and was a fearless and elegant rider. To this accomplish- ment he added, in our country, the more question- able one of playing an admirable game of bill- iards; but, as he never had any taste for gam- bling, his visits to the billiard-room were attended with no bad results. He is said to have fenced dexterously, and been generally skilful in the use of arms. Such was the character, tastes, and oc- cupations of young Perry as he was verging from youth towards the season of manhood. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 61 CHAPTER m. Prosecution of Tripolitan War under Prehle. — Pe?- ry^s anxiety to take part in it. — Equipment of four Frigates. — Perry ordered to the Constellation. — Joins her at Washington. — Mingles in Society. — Sails for the Mediterranean. — Prehle superseded. — The War loses its chivalrous Character. — Expe- dition of General Eaton. — Its partial Success. — Perry transferred to the Nautilus. — Commodore Rodgers succeeds to the Command. — Concludes Peace. — Visits Tunis.— Confirms the friendship of that Power. — The Nautilus visits Algiers. — A change of Administration in that Regency. — Visit to Gibraltar. — Perry removed to the Constitution. — His Character as an Officer. — Returns home in the Essex. — Description of him by a Shipmate. Perry was not destined to a long enjoyment of the tranquil occupations of his residence in New- port. The command of Commodore Preble in the Mediterranean had been distinguished by a more vigorous system of operations than that of any of his predecessors. The whole period of his pres- ence before Tripoli had been signalized by a series of bombardments and boat-attacks, conceived in the highest spirit of naval enterprise, and executed with a brilliant daring which has never been sur- F f)2 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. passed. The boat-attacks, planned and executed under the eye of Preble, and supported by the guns of the Constitution and the small vessels composing- the little squadron, partook, indeed, of a character of heroism which call to mind the an- cient struggles of Christians and Saracens in those same waters. The hand-to-hand struggling, the hair-breadth escapes, the brilliant self-devotion to succour or to save, all invest this short period of Preble's command with a chivalrous and heroic interest of the highest stamp. It was the fortune of Perry to have been at- tached to the Mediterranean station both immedi ately before and immediately after the command of Commodore Preble. Had he been with him throughout the brilliant period of his service, he would have associated his name earlier than he eventually did with the glory of a Preble, a De- catur, and a Somers ; he would either have cov- ered himself with equal renown, or found, hke some of the heroes of that war, an early grave. Intelligence of the earliest achievements of Com- modore Preble's command had led young Perry to weary of his present professional inactivity, though in itself not destitute for him of pleasure and im- provement. He desired to be again in the Medi- terranean ; and the loss of the Philadelphia, which left the Constitution the only heavy ship befor*^ Tripoli, determined the government, which wg OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 63 more than ever resolved to prosecute this war to a successful issue, to fit out four additional frigates. The President, Congress, Constellation, and Essex were the ships selected, and, as there were only three captains in the service junior to Commodore Preble, it was most unwisely determined to super- sede him in the command. The government might have escaped from the dilemma by making a single additional captain, or it might have de- ducted one ship from the number of its re-enforce- ment, so as to have left Preble in the command. It could not discover that the magic was in the in- dividual. The predecessors of Preble had all the advantage that could be derived from the array of superior numbers. Preble had the true desire of glory; the power of adapting his means to the end; the cool, unbiased judgment, which could weigh the difficulties which presented themselves in his path, and justly estimate the chances of success. The Constellation, one of the ships of the new squadron, was to be commanded by Captain H. G. Campbell. The partiality of Perry's old com- mander and friend readily induced him to procure Perry to be ordered to his ship as one of his lieu- tenants. The ship was fitted out at Washington. This was young Perry's first visit to that part of the country. In the intervals during which his professional duties permitted him to be absent from the ship, he visited, by invitation, several 64 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. families of distinction in the neighbourhood, into which he was received with kindness and hospi- tahty. The inteUigence, urbanity, frankness, and unaf- fected good-nature which he everywhere met with, impressed him most favourably towards the inhab- itants, and from the earnestness with which his so- ciety was sought, the favourable impression was evidently mutual. His youth and uncommon share of good looks, enhanced by his intelligence and modesty, were qualities that would have made him circulate anywhere, and it is not be wondered at that the handsome young officer was no less a favourite with the young ladies of the neighbour- hood than with their discerning sires. His confi- dential letters of this period to his mother inti- mate the belief that, were he disposed to make his fortune by marriage, the chances for success would not be inconsiderable. His youth, however, he considered an objection to his taking upon himself so weighty an obligation. Early in July the Constellation left Washing- ton, and soon after proceeded to the Mediterra- nean. She arrived off Tripoli in September, in company with the President, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore S. Barron. As the Con- stitution remained on the station. Commodore Preble having returned home in the John Adams, which had arrived shortly before as a storeship. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 65 the force under the command of Commodore Bar- ron, consisting of five frigates and five stout brigs, was the most formidable squadron which had ever been united under the command of an American officer. With a single frigate, and a few clumsy and ill-equipped gunboats. Commodore Preble had made repeated attacks on the forts, batteries, and flotilla. With the present force, the master- spirit of Preble, had it been intrusted with a pro- longed command, would have quickly reduced Tripoli to ruins or unconditional submission. No- thing, however, beyond a blockade, which the for- mer force could have equally w^ell effected, was now achieved ; and Perry and other young men, who had come to the Mediterranean with their imaginations fired by the brilliant heroism which had been so recently displayed in the arena which now lay before them, were condemned only to see near at hand the heroes that were left from so many chivalrous encounters decked with the hon- ours that they had won for themselves, to look upon the scenes which they had illustrated and ennobled by their valour, and to admire deeds which they were not permitted to imitate. Subsequently to the arrival of Commodore Bar- ron, some operations against the power of the reigning Bashaw of Tripoli, exceedingly romantic in their character, took place on the land, with which the Constellation is believed to have co-op- F2 66 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. erated. The reigning bashaw did not succeed reg- ularly to the sovereignty, but by usurpation, after having deposed his elder brother. The deposed prince had the good fortune to escape with his life, and, after many wanderings, took refuge in Egypt among the Mamelukes, by whom he was hospitably received. Mr. Eaton, our consul for many years in Tunis, having formerly been an officer in the revolutionary army, conceived the project of making use of the deposed prince to create an insurrectionary army, which should co- operate with our squadron before Tripoli for the overthrow of the reigning bashaw. The govern- ment adopted his plan on his arriving in the Uni- ted States to unfold it, and he was sent out with Commodore Barron, with orders for the latter to aid him in his enterprise. Mr. Eaton was accord- ingly despatched to Alexandria, accompanied by a lieutenant of marines and two midshipmen, who volunteered to take part in this wild expedition. Mr. Eaton lost no time in placing himself in communication with the deposed bashaw. A nu- merous party of adherents of the dethroned prince, refugees from Tripoli, and adventurers of all na- tions, amounting to about five hundred men, was speedily assembled, and Mr. Eaton assumed the command with the title of general. Traversing the desert, their baggage being carried by camels, this singular assemblage arrived, towards the close OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 67 of April, before Dearne, a seaport town within the pachahc of Tripoli. Here the general fell in with the American brig Argus, and schooners Nautilus and Hornet ; and, having received supplies of arms and ammunition, and the vessels having taken their stations so as to aid in battering the town, the forces of General Eaton marched to the assault, and, though resisted from behind the walls first, and subsequently from house to house, by more than threefold numbers, they gallantly made good their way into the town. An army from Tripoli not long after appeared before the walls, and made several desperate attacks in the hope of recovering the stronghold. They were, however, gallantly repulsed by General Eaton ; and the Constellation having opportunely appeared in the harbour at the close of the last attack, the enemy was thrown into consternation, broke up the siege, and aban- doned their camp, w^ith the greater portion of their heavy baggage. About this time, the schooner Nautilus being in want of an officer, young Perry was ordered to her by Captain Campbell as first lieutenant, until the pleasure of the commodore should be known as to the appointment. Flushed with his successes at Dearne, and hav- ing established the lawful pacha in possession of the second province of the pachalic, General Ea- ton now urged Commodore Barron to furnish him 4^ AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. with such supplies and assistance from the squad- ron as he thought would enable him to show him- self before the w^alls of Tripoli with every pros- pect of a speedy termination of the war. The 3ommodore, however, declined lending any more extensive aid than he had hitherto afforded, on the ground that, if the ex-pacha possessed the in- fluence in the regency to which he laid claim, he was already in a situation to recover his authority. Soon after. Commodore Barron retired, on account of his low state of health, from the command of the squadron, which devolved again on Commo- dore J. Rodgers ; and, not long after, a treaty of peace was concluded, in which the claim for trib- ute was abandoned by Tripoli, and ransom paid for the American prisoners remaining in possession of the regency after the exchange had been made for the Tripolitans taken by us during the war. This negotiation brought General Eaton's roman- tic expedition to a close, finding him still at Dearne, where, though he had advanced no far- ther, he had been able to maintain himself against every effort made to dislodge him. On the conclusion of peace with Tripoli, the squadron proceeded to Tunis, the government of which had made some warlike demonstrations, in consequence of our vessels off Tripoli having cap- tured a Tunisian cruiser, which, with two prizes in company, had been detected in an attempt to OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 69 break the blockade. The bey had threatened our consul with war unless the vessels were instantly restored, and had furthermore declared that the arrival of our squadron in his waters would be looked upon by him as a commencement of hos- tilities. This threat did not prevent Commodore Rodgers from appearing off Tunis, where his spir- ited conduct, and the formidable armament, con- sisting in all of thirteen vessels, gunboats included, by which it was enforced, soon brought the bashaw into a more pacific mood. He readily consented to continue at peace on the terms of friendship heretofore existing between the two powers, and so far moderated his demand for the immediate restoration of the prizes as to express a wish to send a minister to Washington, to address his re- quests directly to the president. In this wish he was indulged, and his minister soon after embarked for the United States in the frigate Congress, com- manded by Decatur. At this conjuncture, the Constellation, in which young Perry had come out, returned to the United States. Being desirous of seeing more active ser- vice, and to obtain farther practice in schooner- sailing, he remained on board the Nautilus. This vessel was now despatched to Algiers, where she arrived at the moment of one of those frequent insurrections by which the form of government was wont to be summarily changed in that regen- 10 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. cy. The dey had rendered himself obnoxious both to the people and the soldiery by his extortion and cruelty. These broke out in revolt, and, headed by a captain of one of the cruisers, presented them- selves at the castle, announced to the dey his de- position, and told him to fly immediately to a mosque if he would save his life. The dey went forth for the purpose, attended by his vizier, and both were cut to pieces as they cleared the outer gate of the castle. The heads of his adherents, and those who had grown rich under his favour, fell profusely on every side ; and, at the end of an hour, a new dey was installed, salutes were fired, and all was once more as noiseless and tranquil as despotism could desire. From Algiers the Nautilus proceeded to Gib- raltar, to meet the commodore's despatches and procure supplies. In a letter to his mother from this place, dated in September, 1805, young Per- ry gives the particulars of his recent visit to Al- giers. He also mentions that an army of fifteen thousand Spaniards were encamped before the Rock of Gibraltar. They were speedily to be re- enforced by an equal number of French, when they were to make an attack on the fortress which Napoleon was so anxious to possess. Perry men- tions that the officers of the garrison were very confident in their ability to resist the assailants, and gave it as his opinion that their confidence OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 71 was well founded. He mentions that he had been very kindly noticed by the commodore on the oc- casion of his last visit to the flag-ship, and had been offered orders, on the return of the Nautilus to the rendezvous at Syracuse, either to the eigh- teen-gun brig Siren as first lieutenant, or to the commodore's own ship, the Constitution. His let- ters manifest, as in his younger days, the most af- fectionate interest in his parents and brothers and sisters. His expressions of endearment are more than usually tender, and his eagerness to obtain information as to the welfare of those whom he loved extreme. They manifest, moreover, a tender solicitude, not unsuited to his age, for the welfare of fair friends, concerning whom his mother had failed to give him information. When the Nautilus again fell in with the flag- ship. Perry was ordered by the commodore to the Constitution. The commodore had been attracted by his appearance, manners, and conversation ; and in desiring to have him transferred to his own ship, had felt some anxiety lest the tall boy — for in age and appearance he was little more — should fail to come up to that high standard of seamanship and officer-like bearing which the commodore ever exhibited in himself and required in his officers. His misgivings in this respect were, however, soon set at rest; and he found that young Perry had so well employed his six years of almost un- 72 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. interrupted service, that he was an excellent sea- man, while his manner as an officer was in all respects admirable, calm, gentlemanly, dignified, and self-possessed. He was at this time, as ever after, rigorous in the observance of that etiquette which is one of the most useful barriers against irregularity and insubordination. One of the earliest occasions of his attracting the attention of the commodore was on his ma- king a complaint of a want of observance on board the flag-ship of the customary mode of re- ceiving officers of his grade. This occurred while he was first lieutenant of the Nautilus. It had been the subject of remark, that the lieutenants of the other vessels were not always received with the usual honours, the boatswain's mates' piping the side, the side-boys laying over to hold out the man-ropes, and the lieutenant of the watch at the gangway to receive his equal in grade. The lieu- tenants of the small vessels, whose sense of their dignity is usually in the inverse ratio of the size of their vessel, were not a little shocked at the omission. Young Perry said that the neglect ought to be remedied 3 and, accordingly, on the first occasion of his going on board the flag-ship, finding that the omission took place in his case, and that the complaint was true, stated the cir- cumstance immediately to the commodore, who OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 73 caused the proper honours to be thereafter studi- ously observed. Perry's manner as an officer, and mode of car- rying on duty at this early period, has obtained the highest eulogium that it could receive from one at that time his junior, the late Captain John Orde Creighton, himself so distinguished for his elegant manner of working ship. He was accus- tomed to speak of the effect produced upon him when he first heard young Perry manoeuvring the Constitution as officer of the deck j the admirable skill which he displayed being enhanced by the ease, grace, and dignity of his manner, and the matchless clearness and melody of his voice. The intonations of young Perry remained long after upon his ear, and his whole manner and deport- ment became the object of his emulation. In the course of the cruise in the Constitution, Perry so effectually secured the approbation and kind feelings of Commodore Rodgers, that when, after the satisfactory settlement of our various difficulties with the Barbary powers, that officer prepared, towards the close of the summer of 1806, to return home, and shifted his flag for that purpose to the Essex, he took his young friend with him to that ship, in which he returned to the United States, where he arrived in October. On board the Essex Perry found in Mr. Daniel Mur- ray a brother officer of congenial spirit, with G 74 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. whom he formed a warm and lasting friendship. From this gentleman we are able to obtain the following slight reminiscence of the homeward voyage of the Essex, and of the character and manners of Perry at this period : " My intercourse with him previously had been shght and casual ; although on the same station, we had rarely been thrown together. On examining the dates of our commissions, I found that he ranked me, and he came home second lieutenant of the Essex. Du- ring our passage home, which was a very long one, within a few days of two months, I had great pleasure in cultivating Perry's acquaintance. His fine temper, gentle manners, and manly bearing, soon attracted and attached me to him strongly, and I believe our regard to each other was as sin- cere as it was lasting, having been uninterrupted to his death. I regret that I can lend but little assistance towards a minute narration of the inci- dents of the first few years of his service. There can be no doubt that they were well, and, I should think, unusually well employed ; for his age when in the Essex could not have been much more than twenty-one, and he was then an excellent seaman, an accomplished officer, and a well-bred gentle- man. His subsequent glorious career was just what I had anticipated." OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 75 CHAPTER IV. Perry resumes his Studies at Newport. — Falls in Love. — Is employed in huilding Gunboats. — Is en. gaged to he Married. — Sails for New- York with Flotilla. — Employed in Protection of the Harhour. — Attack of the Leopard on the Chesapeake. — Perry^s Feelings on the occasion. — British Spoli. ations on our Commerce. — Our inalility to pro. tect it. — Perry ordered to huild more Gwiboats. — Appointed to command the Revenge. — Attached to Commodore Rodgers^s Squadron. — Ordered to Washington to refit. — Sails for Charleston. — Cruises on Southern Coast, — Encounter with a British Sloop. — Expects an Engagement. — Pre- pares to hoard. — Pacific Termination. — Returns to Charleston. — Proceeds to New-York. — Receives Instructions from Commodore Rodgers. — Is or. dered to Newport. — Engaged in a Survey of the Sound. — Shipwreck of the Revenge. — Ineffectual efforts to save her. — Crew saved. — Court of In- quiry. — Perry honourahly acquitted. — Furlough- ed. — Married. On the return of young Perry to Newport in the autumn of 1806, he resumed ■with dihgence his mathematical and miscellaneous studies. Having, however, revived his intimacies of former years. 76 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. he was soon drawn into the gayeties of the place, and thus led to make an acquaintance which, for a season, effectually put to flight his mathematical reveries. In January, 1807, at an assembly, he first met the lady who subsequently became his wife — Miss EHzabeth Champhn Mason. She had not yet completed her sixteenth year; was just en* tering life in the first bloom of loveliness, spark- ling with feeling, intelligence, and talent, and gift- ed with a thousand rare qualities of truth, simpli- city, fortitude, and warm-hearted affection, which have steadfastly attended her through many a scene of joy and one of sorrow. The professional employment of young Perry at Newport favoured their frequent meeting, and the acquaintance thus begun soon ripened into love. It was the season of the gunboat and embargo policy, that wretched system of supplying protec- tion to our commerce from foreign spoliation, by annihilating it ; of blockading our own harbours, and defending their egress against our own mer- chant vessels by means of gunboats, suited onty to invite the aggression of belligerants at home by so futile a preparation to resist it, instead of accom- panying our commerce, wherever it had a right to go, by formidable squadrons for its protection. Perry having been appointed to superintend the construction of seventeen gunboats at Newport, was employed for several months in the neigh- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 77 bourhood where he was most desirous of remain- ing. Associated with him in this duty was his in- timate friend and late shipmate in the Constella- tion, Lieutenant Samuel G. Blodgett, with whom, ^ in what concerned his obligations as an officer and the dearest feelings of his heart, he could freely sympathize. It is creditable to young Per- ry, and shows the confidence of the Navy Depart- Tient, based upon the favourable report of his va- ious commanders, that he should have been cho- sen at so early an age to build, equip, and com- mand this large detachment of gunboats; and the circumstance of his being ready in June to proceed \^'ith his force to New-York, shows that, with every private motive to delay, he must have used great energy and despatch in the execution of the ser- yice intrusted to him. Before his departure for New-York he became the pledged and accepted lover of Miss Mason. The detachment of gunboats under the com- mand of Lieutenant Perry was employed, with the rest of the flotilla stationed at New- York, in endeavours to protect the harbour and adjacent ,'aters from the encroachments of the English and French belligerants, especially the former. It was while he was employed in this service that the British filled up the measure of insult and san- guinary outrage of our flag, by the attack of the Chesapeake frigate by the double-decked ship G2 78 AMERICAN BIOGRAPH^ Leopard, which lay at anchor within our own wa- ters in Lynnhaven Bay, waiting for the saihng of the Chesapeake, in order to take from her certain # alleged deserters. While the humane feelings of the country were wounded by the causeless slaugh- ter of a number of Americans, the national sense of honour was stung into keen resentment by the mortifying reflection that no effort had been made to maintain the glory of our flag ere it was lower- ed in dishonour. The feehng with which Perry received the intelhgence of this cold-blooded at- tack is expressed in a letter written soon aftei to\ his father, who was at that time abroad. It ia in- teresting, as showing the feeling with which he en- tered the struggle with England which soon aftei ensued; and his warning for her to " beware !'\ has since proved to be prophetic. .," Yctu must,- ere this, have heard of the outrage committed by the British on our national honour, and feel with us all the indignation that so barbarous and cow- ardly an act must naturally inspire. Thank God ! all parties are now united in the determination to resent so flagrant an insult. There is but one sen- timent pervading the bosom of every American from North to South. The British may laugh, but let them beware ! for never has the public indig- nation been so completely aroused since the glo- rious revolution that made us a nation of freemen. Tbo utmost spirit prevails througfhout the United OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 79 States in preparing for an event which is thought inevitable, and our officers wait with impatience for the signal to be given to w^ipe away the stain which the misconduct of one has cast on our flag." The elder Perry could fully sympathize with this indignation of his son. He had returned to the merchant service, in which he had been for some years employed, either as a master or super- cargo. On a recent voyage in command of an Indiaman, he had been detained by a British cruis- er at the Cape of Good Hope under some one of the vexatious orders in council. A daily visit to the ship of the commanding officer, to plead for the release of his property from unjust detention, called forth almost daily some new indignity, until, outraged on one occasion beyond endurance by some taunt to his country, he knocked down the officer of the deck from whom he had receivec? the insult. From the unpleasant consequences h which this affair involved him, he was released by the interference of an officer of rank, whom, when a soldier of the Kingston Reds, he had assisted in taking prisoner, and whom he had carried behind him on horseback to his father's house, where the prisoner had been hospitably entertained. More recently, Captain Perry had been detained, with other American shipmasters, in Lisbon, where a fresh insult against his country had involved him in a duel with a British officer, in which his anta?- 80 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. onist had been wounded. He could therefore fully sympathize in the indignation expressed by his son, and only regret that his separation from the naval service of his country should prevent him from ta- king part in the struggle which had now become inevitable. The war, which at that time was almost univer- sal among the other maritime nations of the world, had thrown nearly all the carrying trade into the hands of our merchant ships. This exemption from the evils of w^ar, and the immense profit we were deriving from our pacific and neutral position, excited much jealousy on the part of England and France, the two principal belligerants. Impelled by this jealousy, and by the predatory spirit which war invariably engenders ; stimulated, moreover, by the desire of depriving each other of the ad- vantages which they were mutually deriving from our trade, these nations took advantage of its un- ^protected state to pursue towards it a system of legalized spoliation. England had led the way with an order to her cruisers to capture all neutral merchant ships trading to the colonies of a belli- gerant at war with England, wdiich belligerant did not permit such trade to her colonies during peace, "his order was ostensibly intended to distress the French colonies in the West Indies and elsewhere ; its immediate effects fell almost entirely on our commerce. Not long after, she declared the coasts' OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 81 of France, Holland, and Germany, from Brest to the Elbe, in a state of blockade ; and, though such rigorous and effective blockade as is necessary to constitute a legal one was manifestly impossible over an extent of coast, including all its inflexions, of more than eight hundred miles, yet she so far enforced it as to make captures of such vessels as were accidentally detected in approaching these forbidden shores. The French emperor, though still less able to blockade the whole British coast, followed the example of England, and proclaimed it in a state of blockade ; his cruisers and priva- teers actually making captures of neutral vessels on a coast where they only appeared themselves as fugitives, and at the imminent peril of capture. Such a system of warfare, in violation of all the hitherto established rights of neutrals, had a ruin- ous effect upon our trade, and threatened it with absolute annihilation. The improvidence of the government, and the sordid policy which it had pursued towards the navy, left it without the means of convoying our ships with formidable squadrons, and causing our rights to be respected. Even at that late hour for preparation for maritime defence, such ships as we possessed might have been fitted out, and others built, and sent abroad for the protection of our commerce. It was more congenial to the narrow and timid policy of that day to recall our commerce from the ocean, than 82 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. to follow and protect it there. It was in this spirit that the embargo was proclaimed towards the close of 1807, and evils not less ruinous than the spoliations of the belligerants inflicted by ourselves. Instead of sending forth line-of-battle ships and frigates to convoy our merchant ships, it became necessary to have fresh recourse to the panacea of gunboats, and one hundred and eighty-eight ad- ditional boats were ordered to be built, which car- ried the whole number of this class of vessels to two hundred and fifty-seven, whose means of an noyance were directed against our own vessels, to prevent them from departing, and to maintain an effective blockade of our own ports. Lieutenant Perry had so satisfactorily acquitted himself of the duty of constructing and equipping the seventeen gunboats, which he had carried to New-York and continued for a season to command there, that he was now ordered to commence the construction of an additional number, which were forthwith laid down at Westerly, on the Pawcatuck River, which forms the western boundary of Rhode Island, and at the adjacent village of Norwich, in Connecticut. In the construction of these boats he was employed from the beginning of February, 1808, until April, 1809, when, the vessels being completed, their farther equipment was suspended. In the same month he was appointed to succeed Lieutenant Jacob Jones on board the schooner Re- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 83 venge, of fourteen guns, then attached to the squadron under the command of Commodore Rodg- ers, who had his flag on board the Constitution. This squadron, consisting of four frigates, five sloops, and a number of smaller vessels, had been, as an after -thought to the gunboat system, wisely placed in commission, to assist in guarding our neu- trality and protecting the sovereignty of our own coasts. The outrage on the Chesapeake had quick- ened the resentment, while it excited the watch- fulness of our little navy. With the probability of a war with England mingled the reflection that we should have to contend with a formidable foe, to quicken the zeal of our officers in preparing for the struggle, and the chivalrous hope to wipe away the stain on the honour of the profession, which it had received in that ignominious encoun- ter. The flower of our navy was rescued from the gunboat service and its inevitably deteriorating effects, the tendency of which was to destroy the discipline, moral character, and tone of the profes- sion, and collected on board of a few ships of force, under commanders who had been trained at Tripoli, the whole being under the orders of Com- modore Rodgers. Under the watchful guidance of this skilful and intrepid seaman and exactly rigid officer, our navy was brought to a state of discipline, efficiency, and readiness for action which has never been surpassed. If accident subsequent- 84 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ly prevented that consummate commander from encountering an enemy of equal force during the war, the victories that were won by his more for- tunate pupils were not a little owing to the train- ing, discipline, and readiness for service which he had so universally introduced. After cruising during the summer and winter in company with the squadron. Perry was ordered, in April, 1810, to proceed with the Revenge to yVashington, to undergo extensive repairs at the navy-yard of that place. It is recorded in the log-book of the Revenge, that, in passing Mount Vernon in ascending the Potomac, the schooner fired a salute in honour of its former possessor, whose remains still repose there. This has been an honourable custom of our national vessels in passing this consecrated spot ever since we have had a navy ; and though, in the regulations with regard to salutes, no provision is made for one on such an occasion, it is to be hoped that it may never be omitted, and, in order to this object, that it may be legalized by an express regulation. The Revenge, having been put in order for a cruise, sailed from Washington on the twentieth of May, bound to Charleston, in the neighbourhood of which place she was ordered to be employed. Having touched at Norfolk, she proceeded to sea, and arrived safely at her destination, after a bois- terous passage, without other accident or adven- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 85 'lire of note recorded in the log-book than the falling overboard of a man, who, notwithstanding that it blew fresh and the schooner was going free under a press of sail, was recovered. The circum- stance is thus sententiously recorded in the log- book : " At ten, thirty, Johnson Dickson, marine, fell overboard. Rounded to, out boat, brought him safe on board." We shall see in the sequel, and it is at once an evidence of Perry's humane feelings acting to excite and quicken him, and of his skilful seamanship, that he was unusually suc- cessful in his efforts to rescue shipwrecked and drowning men. On the twenty-second of June, the Revenge again put to sea from Charleston, for the purpose of cruising on the neighbouring coast and protect- ing our waters against the encroachments of the J^ritish cruisers that were hovering about the coast, and of the French, should any be encountered. The orders under which he acted were to protect our merchantmen, and those of all other nations within our waters, extending to the distance of a marine league from the coast, from capture or mo- lestation. Any foreign cruiser or privateer at- tempting to molest such merchant vessels was to be captured and sent in for adjudication. Any private armed vessel found hovering within our waters as thus described, with a view of making captures, was to be ordered off, and force used to H 86 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. compel her departure. If such vessel had in- creased her armament in the United States, she was to be sent in for adjudication. Any citizens of the United States found affording aid as pilots, or by furnishing supplies to such vessels hovering on the coast, were to be reported to the nearest United States attorney for prosecution. In the middle of July, while in the neighbour- hood of Cumberland Island on the coast of Geor- gia, the deputy United States marshal arrived on board the Revenge with a warrant from the Uni- ted States district judge for the seizure of a ship then lying in Spanish waters, off Amelia Island, under English colours, and bearing the fictitious name of Angel, though known to be the ship Di- ana, of Wiscasset. It seems that the master of this vessel, by name James Tibbets and by birth an Englishman, had fraudulently retained possession of the ship during several years, refusing to retur* with her to the United States, as the owners had urgently and repeatedly ordered him to do. Per- mission had been obtained from the Spanish gov- ernor of Amelia Island for the American authori- ties to take possession of the Diana, he being con- vinced that she was really an American vessel, be- longing to the individuals in whose behalf she was claimed. The ship was, however, lying under the battery of the British gunbrig Plumper and schoon- er Jupiter, and, as she wore English colours, it was OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 87 presumed that Tibbets had procured from the Eng- lish commander a promise of assistance : a pre- sumption rendered reasonable enough by the fre- quent outrages of every sort committed by British cruisers on our commerce. Lieutenant Perry immediately yielded to the re- quest of the marshal that he would take posses- sion of the Diana, and, having called to his assist- ance three gunboats stationed in the river St. Mary's, so as to reduce the disparity of his force with the English force with which he was likely to have to contend, he proceeded to Amelia Isl- and and took possession of the Diana, carrying her from under the guns of the English cruisers, and anchoring her off Cumberland Island. At the request of the agent, he now placed the sail- ing-master of the Revenge on board of the Diana as master, to prosecute her voyage to Europe, and in a few days stood to sea in company with her, to convoy her off the coast. Before clearing the land, a large sail was discovered bearing down upon them from the southward, and eastward. This was soon ascertained to be a British sloop-of- war. The Revenge was cleared for action so soon as the stranger was made out to be a cruiser. The ship rounded to alongside of the Revenge, and sent an officer on board of her to state that the sloop was H. B. M. ship Goree, Captain Byng, and to request that the commander of the schoon- 88 AMERICAN BIOGEAPHY. er would come on board and explain the character of his vessel. Lieutenant Pern* returned a dis- tinct refusal; and having no idea of being "Leop- ardized" without one blow for the honour of the flag if his reply should proTe displeasing, and having httle hope of resisting in a fair cannonade "with a vessel of double his force, he took a fa- vourable position for boarding at a moment's warning in case of a shot or any show of hostil- ity from the Goree. He was prepared to lead his whole crew over the bulwarks, armed with cut- lasses, pistols, and battleaxes, the instant the two vessels should be in contact, and the suddenness and audacit}- of the assault might well have ren- dered it successful. This is the opinion of the of- ficer from whom the anecdote, which is confirmed by the logbook, was received, William Sinclair, Esq., now a purser in the navy, and who served on board the Revenge as midshipman. He states, "Our crew consisted of about ninet}- good men; and, although the attempt to board might appear desperate, yet it was our belief at the time that, considering the Goree would not expect such an attempt, our gallant commander would have suc- ceeded. His cool self-possession and admirable command of feature inspired every soul with en- thusiastic confidence, and foreshadowed that gal- lant exploit on the lake which has rendered his name immortal." OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 89 Fortunately, the captain of the Goree was a rea- sonable man, and probably saw the impropriety of enforcing what he had asked for; he sent back his boat with a request that an officer might be sent from the Revenge to give the necessary in- formation as to her character; and as this was merely doing what Captain Byng had already done, the request was readily granted, and a boat and officer in like mamier sent from the Revenge to the Goree, to state the character of the Re- venge and the name of her commander: a name which a very few years later would have been a familiar one. The valuable services rendered by Lieutenant Perry in recovering the Diana called for the warmest thanks of those who w^ere interested in her, and the circumstances attending it became known to the country in consequence of the pub- lication by the secretary of the navy of the fol- lowing letter, addressed by the agents of the ship to Lieutenant Perry, with a request that a copy of it might be forwarded to the secretary of the na- vy : " The Diana having arrived at Savannah in safety, and sailed again upon her destined voyage, we avail ourselves of the opportunity to inform you thereof, and to tender to yourself and to the gen- tlemen of the squadron in the river St. Mary's, under your command while there, in behalf of ourselves and the owners of the ship, our w^armest TT 9 90 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. thanks for the zeal and anxiety manifested by you for the honour and prosperity of the American flag. We cannot close this letter of thanks with- out expressing our admiration of the firmness and decision, properly tempered with moderation, evinced by you, when it seemed probable, from the reports in circulation, that a hostile course might have been adopted against the Diana, and of the complete state of preparation in which you con- stantly held yourself to repel any attack upon the sovereignty of the United States." After cruising a short time on the coast of Geor- gia, the Revenge returned to Charleston. This was her place of rendezvous and of refittal while on this station. Charleston was at that time a naval station, and the command vested for many years in Commodore Campbell, Perry's old cap- tain during two cruises to the Mediterranean. The partiality which the old gentleman had always felt for his youthful officer, and which had showed itself in forwarding his promotion to a lieutenant at a very early age, continued still to follow him with acts of kindness. His leisure hours at Charles- ton, in the brief intervals of his cruises, were al- ways pleasantly spent in the society of his old commander and of a numerous circle of friends, with whom his acquaintance dated from this pe- riod, and who watched his future career with no little interest. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 91 On the 10th of August the Revenge left Charles- ton for New-York, where she was again attached to the squadron under Commodore Rodgers, en- gaged in the protection of our coast from Cape Henry to the eastern limit of the United States. Here he received a circular from the commodore, enclosing another from the secretary of the navy, which he was ordered to communicate to his offi- cers and crew. " You, like every other patriotic American," it stated, "have observed and deeply felt the injuries and insults heaped on our country by the two great belhgerants of Europe ; and you must also believe that from neither are we to ex- pect liberality or justice, but, on the contrary, that no opportunity will be lost of adding to the out- rages to which for years we have been subjected. Among these stands most conspicuous the inhuman and dastardly attack on our frigate Chesapeake ; an outrage which prostrated the flag of our coun- try, and has imposed on the American people cause of ceaseless mourning. That same spirit which originated and has refused atonement for this act of brutal injustice, exists still with Great Britain, and from France likewise w^e have no reason to expect any regard to our rights. What has been perpetrated may again be attempted. It is there- fore our duty to be prepared and determined, at every hazard, to vindicate the injured honour of our mvy, and revive the drooping spirit of the 92 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. nation. Influenced by these considerations, it is expected that, while you conduct the force under your command consistently with the principle of a strict and upright neutrality, you are to maintain at every cost the dignity of our flag ; and that, of- fering yourself no unjust aggression, you are to submit to none, not even a menace, from a force not materially your superior." As a commentary upon this letter, Commodore Rodgers added the following : " Circumstanced as we are with the two great belligerants of Europe, and particularly England, I should consider the firing of a shot by a vessel of war of either nation at one of our pub- lic vessels, while the colours of her nation are fly- ing on board of her, as a menace of the grossest order, and, in amount, an insult which it would be disgraceful not to resent, by the firing of two shot at least; and that, under similar circumstances, should a shot be fired at one of our vessels, and strike any part of her, it ought to be considered an act of hostility, meriting chastisement to the utmost extent of all your force." The foregoing is chiefly interesting now by showing us the anx- ious preparation with which we went into the war with England, and by rem^ding us, in the contrast with our present position, of all that we have gain- ed from it. Kindly entering into Perry's strong desire to be employed in the neighbourhood of Newport, the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 93 commodore now assigned him the extent of coast between Montauk Point and the south shoal of Nantucket as his cruising ground, with Newport for a rendezvous ; and ordered him to proceed im- mediately to that place. He lost no time in obey- ing the order, and remained during the autumn in and about the harbour, occasionally making a cruise along the coast. The log-book bears evi- dence of a lively attention to whatever could ren- der the vessel efficient and formidable. The train- ing of the crew of the Revenge was not merely confined to the customary exercises of the great guns and small arms, but frequently, when under way, targets were thrown overboard, at which the crew were exercised in firing, exposed to the same swell of the ocean, the influence of which they would probably feel in a real encounter. In the month of December Perry joined the com- modore at New-London, and soon after received a communication from him, stating that, as the ports of New-London and Newport, together with Gar- diner's Bay, possessed great advantages, from the circumstance that, at any season of the year, and with the wind from any quarter of the compass, the dullest sailing vessel could gain at least one of the three, and thus obtain a convenient and safe anchorage, he considered it a matter of much im- portance that a correct survey of the whole should be made, including the intermediate navigation, 94 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. with the bearing of the various headlands, so as to form a single sheet chart of the whole on a large scale, and therefore instructed Perry forthwith to commence the necessary surveys for the comple- tion of so desirable a work. The selection of Perry for this purpose was due to his high standing as a seaman and an officer, and his superior scientific attainments. Pleased with the duty, and flattered by its being assigned to him, as is apparent from his reply to the order of the commodore, he set about the execution of it without loss of time, and repaired at once to Newport, with the survey of which he had been directed to commence his operations. Though the object of the commodore was enlightened and laudable, the season of the year which had been selected for this survey was certainly very unsuit- able. Perry set about it, however, with a good will, and with a perfect indifference to the expo- sure so far as he was himself concerned. The commodore had ordered him to complete the survey of Newport, and return to New-London within a week. But the weather was very se- vere, and the boats were unavoidably occupied in communicating with the shore, and bringing off water and provisions. At the end of the week, little had been done towards the survey ; but Perry determined, in compliance with his orders, to return OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 95 to New-London, and obtain from the commodore an extended term to complete the service. A contrary wind, attended by a thick fog, pre- vented him for several days from sailing. At length, on the eighth of January, 1811, the weath- er cleared off, and he sailed with a light northeast wind from Newport at midnight, in order to have daylight to pass through the Race, as the danger- ous strait between Fisher's Island and Watch Hill is called. Mr. Peter Daggett, a w^ell-known coast- ing and Sound pilot, was on board the Revenge in the character of acting sailing-master and pilot. After the schooner had been under way about an hour, it became once more foggy. Perry asked Daggett if he could take the schooner to New- London in such weather. He replied, without hes- itation, that he could. Perry ordered an anchor to be kept ready for letting go, and told the pilot if he had any doubt, to come to anchor at once. At sdx in the morning the Revenge passed Point Ju- dith in fourteen fathoms. The distance from thence to Watch Hill, the next headland, was estimated by pilots and laid down on the chart as thirty miles on a nearly west course. As the vessel was only going three knots, and the ordinary strength of the flood-tide, wdiich was then setting, was es- timated at two knots, it was computed that at least six hours' of such sailing would be necessary to bring the schooner up with Watch Hill Reef, 96 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. which makes out from the headland of that name. She was, however, on account of the fog, steered a point off shore, or to the south of the usual course. At nine o'clock, Perry being below, heard the leadsmen, there being one in each chains, give ten fathoms as the cast, the previous Casts having been from eleven to fourteen fathoms. He imme- diately went on deck and ordered the helm to starboard ; he found that it was already to star- board, having been put so by order of the pilot. The schooner came rapidly round until she headed south by west; but, as she still shoaled her water to five, three, and at last to two and a half fathoms, which showed that she was embayed by the reef, Perry ordered the anchor to be let go. It was in- stantly let go, and, at the same moment, her stern struck. The anchor checked her bows round so as to enable her to head out clear of the reef, the signal spindle on which was now visible, and a light breeze springing up at the same moment, Perry ordered the sails to be trimmed, and, as the schooner shot ahead, gave the order to cut the cable. She ranged a short distance ahead, when the wind failing, and the swell and flood-tide coming in strong at the same moment, canted her round bows on to the reef. As it was the top of high water, the chances of saving the vessel were very slender. Neverthe- less, the boats were hoisted out and sent to sound, OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 97 and a kedge and hawser carried out in the direc- tion of the deepest water. The hawser being hove well taught, eight of the guns were thrown overboard, and whatever heavy articles could be got at. The water was started, the pumps work- ed incessantly, and hands employed at the same time in baling with buckets, for she had begun to leak badly. Minute guns were fired as signals of distress to bring off assistance ; and, as the schoon- er laboured and thumped heavily. Perry ordered the mainmast to be cut away, and soon after the foremast also. In twenty minutes after the schoon- er struck, she bilged in two places. No hope now remaining of saving the vessel, Perry gave his whole thoughts to the business of saving the crew intrusted to his care. The signal guns had brought several boats from the shore, but the swell rendered it difficult and dangerous to approach the wreck. Nevertheless, the sick were lowered into the boats by carefully watch- ing the swell, and after them the marines and boys, and sent on shore. During the rest of the day, the boats from the shore, with those of the schooner, were busily employed in removing what- ever was of most value. By sunset nearly every- thing moveable, including the sails, rigging, and small arms, was removed. The wind had now come on to blow violently on the reef, and the surf nearly broke over the vessel, which was fast I 98 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. going to pieces ; the cold, moreover, was intense. Under these circumstances, the duty which Perry owed to the officers and men who had remained toihng with him on the wreck throughout the day, rendered it incumbent on him to remove them to a place of safety. They were with difficulty ena- bled to reach the boats by lowering themselves from ropes over the stern, and Perry was himself the last to leave the wreck. On reaching the shore, the crew were mustered and distributed to the various houses for the night. On the following morning, a portion of the wreck, consisting of the deck and bulwarks, waj discovered to have floated off the reef. The launches of the President and Constitution frigates had arrived from New-London during the night, under the charge of Lieutenants Ludlow and Mor- ris, to render assistance. By the aid of these. Perry went off to the wreck and took it in tow, in order to beach it on Fisher's Island. While en- gaged in this effort, it came on to blow heavily from the northeast, attended with sleet and ex- cessive cold. A smack hired by the commodore had arrived, and assisted in towing the wreck. The remainder of the schooner's armament, con sisting of six light carronades, was now taken into the launches. When nearly up with the island, the hawser attached to the wreck parted, and th violence of the sea breaking over the vessel pre OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 99 vented any attempt to approach her to make fast again. The wreck was therefore abandoned, and the smack, with the launches in tow, ran into New- London to take refuge from the storm. As is usual in such cases, a court of inquiry was ordered to take into consideration the circumstan- ces attending the loss of the Revenge, and to make a minute report of all the facts, upon which the secretary of the navy could found a judgment as to the necessity of farther proceedings. This court, which consisted of Captain Hull, and Lieu- tenants Ludlow and Morris, decided that the fault of getting the vessel on shore rested with the pilot alone; that every possible exertion had been made by Lieutenant Perry, first to get his vessel afloat, and then to watch over the preservation and wel- fare of the sick and helpless portion of his crew, and lastly to preserve whatever was most valua^ ble of the vessel's furniture. It was proved that his manner had been unchanged, by the peril and anxiety of his situation ; that his orders had been given in his calm and ordinary tone, and executed with the same cheerfulness and order as on com- mon occasions, and that the most perfect discipline and subordination had been preserved throughout the whole trying scene. It was only from the evi- dence of others that the fact was elicited that he had been himself the last to leave the vessel. In reviewing these circumstances, we will find 100 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. that Perry exhibited in this moment of disaster not a few of the quahties which were afterward dis- played on a more brilhant as well as more fortu- nate field of adventure; the same calmness, the same self-composure, the same indomitable unvv^ill- ingness to yield to the pressure of overpowering circumstances, the same humane sympathy with the suffering ; storms, cold, which so often benumbs the stoutest heart, the perils of rocks and waves, had no power to unman him or bend him from his duty ; and we find him, on the morning after the disaster, returning to the wreck, and clinging to the few remaining planks of the vessel which had been intrusted to him with unyielding tenacity. The impression made upon the secretary of the navy by the evidence adduced before the court of inquiry may be gathered from the following letter, addressed by him to Commodore Rodgers : "Having attentively examined the proceedings of the court, I derive much satisfaction from per- ceiving that it is unnecessary to institute any far- ther proceedings in the case. With respect to Lieutenant Perry, I can only say, that my confi- dence in him has not been in any degree dimin- ished by his conduct on the occasion. The loss of the Revenge appears to be justly chargeable to the pilot. This accident will no doubt present to Lieu- tenant Perry considerations that may be useful to him in future command. An officer, just to him- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 101 »elf and to his country, will not be depressed by- defeat or misfortune, but will be stimulated by cither cause to greater exertions. If there should be any situation in the squadron to which you can appoint Lieutenant Perry that may be consistent with his just pretensions, and not interfere with the rights of others, you will appoint him to it ; if not, he is to be furloughed, waiting the orders of this department." After returning to Newport, Perry made a visit to Washington. He was kindly received by Mr. Paul Hamilton, then secretary of the navy, who had conceived a favourable opinion of him from the circumstances attending his late southern cruise in the Revenge, from his conduct during the disas- ter which had deprived him of his command, and the approving testimony of his various command- ers. The chief object of his visit was to ascertain whether he could remain undisturbed for a year by any call of duty which would withdraw him from Newport. Having been reassured on this subject by receiving a leave of absence for that term, he returned with a light heart to Newport, and on the fifth of the following May he was mar- ried to Miss Mason, after an engagement of four years. An attachment tested by so long a proba- tion, and strengthened by every fresh observation ^ each other's qualities of character and of heart, nromised as fair a share of wedded happiness as 12 102 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ever falls to the lot of mortals. Until death inter- posed to separate the devoted pair, this promise was most amply redeemed. The wedding tour of the young couple consisted in a journey of some length, over various parts of New-England, with which both of them were de- sirous of becoming better acquainted. In the course of the tour they passed a day at Plymouth, in which place Perry took a particular interest, from its having been the residence, for a time, of the first of his ancestors who had emigrated to America. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 103 CHAPTER V. State of our relations with Belligerants. — Napoleon repeals his predatory Decrees. — Continued Hostil- ily of England. — War against our Commerce. — Impressment of our Seamen. — War with England. — Perry applies for Sea-service. — Appointed to command Newport Flotilla. — Zeal with which he enters on the service. — His Discipline. — Style of Correspondence. — Exercise of his Flotilla. — Cap. ture of the Guerriere. — Lieutenant Morris posted, — Dissatisfaction of the Service. — Perry approves of it. — His Conduct towards Mr. Morris. — Loss of Lieutenant Blodgett. — Renewed application for Sea-service. — Offers his Services to Commodore Chaunceyfor the Lakes. — Capture of the Macedo- nian. — Proposed Increase of the Navy. — Suggests the expediency of huilding a Frigate in Rhode Isl- and. — Lieutenant Allen appointed to the Argus. — Perry remonstrates. — Claims the Command. — His Delicacy to Allen. — Perry designated to command on Lake Erie. Meantime, no improvement had taken place in our relations with England. The embargo had been found so ruinous to our commerce, so difficult of enforcement, and so very unpopular, that it had been revoked after a duration of more than a ^.04 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. " year, and a state of non-intercourse with France and England substituted for it. France, having no commerce of her own, suffered greatly more than England from this suspension of trade. On this account, and not from any superior sense of justice. Napoleon was induced so far to relax his predatory spoliations on our commerce as to bring himself within a provision of the non-intercourse act, by which, in case of the repeal, on the part of either of the belligerants, of their offensive meas- ures against our commerce, it was to be suspended. England, under the protection of her numerous fleets, being in the full enjoyment of her customary trade, was less sensibly affected by a non-inter- course with us, though still, even at that time, for her an evil of no trifling magnitude. She contin- ued to persevere in all her offensive measures to- wards us. Her orders in council were conceived not in justice or any recognised usage of nations, but simply in the interest of her commercial jeal- ousy. She destroyed our commerce, not because *t fostered the strength of her enemies and gave hem ability to resist, but because it interfered with le employment of her own shipping, and the ^ains of an illicit traffic which she herself carried on with them. As was said, with no less truth than point, in the president's message in June of 1812, " She carries on a war against the lawful ?^ 'nmerce of a friend, that she may the bett*^^ cai OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 105 ry on a commerce with an enemy ; a commerce polluted by the forgeries and perjuries which are, for the most part, the only passports by which it can succeed." But the most exasperating of her attacks upon us was the perpetual violation of our flag by her cruisers, not only on the great highway of nations, but upon our own coasts and even within our own waters, for the purpose of impressing our native seamen under the plea of their being Englishmen, or the insulting pretext of their having been im- pressed before. In this way hundreds of Ameri- cans w^ere annually torn from under the safeguard of our national banner, compelled to serve on board of British ships, to lose their lives in the cause of their oppressors, or be made instrument- al in taking away the lives of those with whom their country owned no enmity. And this exas- perating system was pursued in a manner the most haughty and insulting. The British navy had been demoralized by the extensive system of plun- der carried on under the orders in council, and a predatory and freebooting spirit had become a pre- vailing characteristic in it ; while the absence of all opposition from the w^eak victims of its injustice had fostered an insolent and overbearing demean- our. The outrage of impressment from on board our merchant vessels, extreme in itself, was almost always accompanied by unmeasured insult 106 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. It was a circumstance of this nature that brought the President frigate -out, on the occasion when, while in search of the Guerriere, she fell in with the Little Belt in the night, and an accidental ren- counter took place, for which the contempt of the English and the well-grounded exasperation of the Americans mutually prepared them. Brit- ish contempt had, however, the greatest share in bringing on the contest, as the Little Belt was the first to fire. She was also, as might have been expected from her vastly inferior force, the great- est sufferer, though beyond all proportion with her relative strength. This rencounter added new in- tensity to the feeling of aversion existing between the two countries ; and Great Britain showing no disposition to do us justice for her past aggressions against the honour of our flag and the sanctity of the persons of our citizens, or to discontinue them for the future, we were compelled at length to adopt the only honourable alternative that remain- ed to us, that of declaring war. This alternative, from which an earlier display of spirit and devel- opment of our vast latent naval power would have saved us, was resorted to in June of 1812. In expectation of this event. Perry had hastened to Washington to endeavour to procure active em- ployment at sea. He was promised the first vacan- cy suited to his rank that should occur, and, in the mean time, was ordered to take command of four OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 107 gunT)oats then laid up at Newport, together with four others, the construction of which he had su- perintended at Norwich and Westerly in 1808 and 1809, immediately previous to his taking command of the Revenge. He had now^ been promoted to the rank of master commandant, and was ap- pointed to the chief command of the flotilla sta- tioned at Newport for the defence of the harbour and adjacent w^aters. He forthwith opened ren- dezvous at Newport and at New-London for re- cruiting the petty officers and seamen. He was ordered by the secretary of the navy to designate suitable persons to command the gunboats, and accordingly selected various officers of the navy and experienced shipmasters, who, on his recom- mendation, were duly appointed, with the rank of acting sailing-master. His connexion with the officers and men of the Newport flotilla is chiefly interesting, as it was continued on a more impor- tant sphere of action. Among the persons em- ployed in this service were midshipman Daniel Turner, acting masters W. V. Taylor and Ste- phen Champlain, and purser Samuel Hambleton — all names advantageously conspicuous in the battle of Lake Erie. Lieutenant S. G. Blodgett, the friend of his earlier professional years, was also associated with him in this command. Sub- sequently, four more gunboats from New-York were added to the Newport flotilla, making the whole 108 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. force under his command twelve gmiboats, mannc by about two hundred officers and men. Two of them were stationed off Stonington, and the re- mainder at and about Newport, to watch the cruis- ers of the enemy, and repel any marauding attack on the villages of the neighbouring coasts. These vessels were generally armed with a single long twenty-four pounder, and had a complement of thirty men, exclusive of the officers The service that could be rendered by such a force was slight, and its purely defensive character rendered it uncongenial to the temper and feelings of Perry. Nevertheless, he devoted himself to the duties of his station as commandant of the flotilla with earnest zeal, and his official correspondence of the time bears evidence of his anxious and un- tiring efforts for the defence of the coast intrusted to his vigilance, and for the annoyance of the ene- my. The tone of his correspondence is respectful, modest, and decided. What he has to say is al- ways expressed briefly and sententiously, and there is nowhere the slightest trace of that professional jealousy or pique which is apt to grow up between officers of the same or of different arms, stationed in the neighbourhood of each other. In the whole mass of his letters to his inferiors — and, as there were twelve vessels under his orders, most of them generally at a distance, they were sufficiently nu- merous — there is not a single harsh, dictatorial, or OLIVETw HAZARD PERRY. 109 wounding expression ; but one contains an ap- proach towards reproof. It is expressed as fol- lows : " I wrote you some days since to repair to this place, with the boats under your command, without loss of time, and am a little surprised to find you have not yet arrived. Should this find you in New-London, you will sail immediately for this, if the w^eather will at all permit." This ab- sence of reproof shows the absence of necessity for it; a state of disciphne that prevented offences rather than occupied itself with punishing them. It proves the extraordinary personal influence that Perry everywhere exerted from his earliest years; something which has been described by those who knew him intimately as winning affection while it repelled familiarity. It also gives evidence of that distinctive faculty of greatness, intuitive per- ception of character, and unerring judgment in the selection of agents to carry out his views. Perry did not make a single bad appointment. Each person who acted under him became his warm and devoted friend, and his friends proved all true men. To the various letters which he constantly received from the minor civil authorities on the extended line of coast under his protection, whose apprehensions rendered them importunate and unreasonable, and sometimes uncivil, he re- plied with uniform calmness, conciliation, and ur- banity. K 110 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. The following letter, much the longest to be found in his correspondence, furnishes a fair spe- cimen of his style of professional communication. It was called forth by an order of the government, issued immediately after the gunboats were equip- ped and manned, and, as it appears from Captain Perry's letter, before the crews had worked out their advance, for the discharge of all but eight of the twenty-four men, exclusive of officers and petty officers, composing the crew of each boat. The motive of this reduction was economy, and it was proposed to trust to the chance of procuring volunteers to supply the place of the discharged seamen. Captain Perry's letter is cogent and to the point ; it shows completely the fallacy of trust- ing to such a resource. It is dated at Newport on the twenty-seventh of July, and is addressed to the secretary of the navy. " Having received an order a few days since to discharge all the crews of the gunboats under my command, except eight men to each, I consider it a duty to inform you of the probable result of that order. From the peculiar situation of this town, a ship may, from the time she is discovered in the offing, be at anchor in this harbour in less than an hour and a half.* The water up the bay is suffi- * In order to discover them even so long as this before their possible arrival, he had constructed a watch-tower on the ex- tremity of Rhode Island, where he kept a look-out party, which OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. Ill cient for vessels of the heaviest draught, and the towns of Providence, Bristol, Warren, Wickford, and Greenwich are without fortifications of any kind. There are very few seamen in this place at present, most of the ships belonging to it being absent. It will therefore be impossible to expect any assistance, or, if any, very trifling, on an emer- gency, from them. But, sir, if volunteers could be procured, the enemy would give us so little time — for no doubt they would take a favourable wind to come in — that it would be impossible to beat up for them, get them on board, and station them before probably the occasion for their servi- ces would be entirely over. . From the circumstance of the gunboats here being for the defence of so many valuable towns, totally defenceless in other respects, and from the singularly exposed situation of this town to the sudden invasion of an enemy I hope, sir, an exception may be made in favour of the boats on this station, and that they may be permitted to retain their full complement of men. I forbear to say anything of the situation of an communicated by signals the appearance of any sail in the offing. He had asked authority of the navy department for the con- struction of this simple and cheap structure at the public ex- pense ; but, having received no answer, the town authorities of Newport, feeling the importance of such a look-out station, ap- propriated the trifling sum that was necessary, and it was com- pleted by the mechanics of the flotilla, and kept by a small de- tachment from it. 112 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. officer who commands a large nominal force, from whom much is expected, and by whom little can be performed." The foregoing letter evinces a lively interest in the welfare of his native state, which fully justifies the affection with which its citizens cherish his memory. It betrays no desire or willingness to acquiesce in an arrangement w^hich w^ould have removed from him in a great measure the respon- sibility which he was under for the protection of the coasts intrusted to his defence. He wished to be armed at all points, and then held responsible for the result. The zeal with which Perry exe- cuted the duties of his command is the more com- mendable, on account of his extreme desire for active employment at sea, which had not only led him to make repeated applications to the navy de- partment, but had induced him in June, just before his appointment to the command of the Newpod flotilla, to make a journey to Washington, and ex- ert all the influence he could bring forward to pro- cure him the command of a sloop-of-war. His own earnest solicitation and that of his friends were, however, powerless to procure him his cov- eted opportunity for distinction. He returned to his uncongenial command, and devoted himself to it faithfully. In the training of his crew to the exercise of great guns and small arms, with the use of the cutlass and pike, he personally took un- OLIVER HAZARD TERRY. 113 wearied pains, as well as in drilling them in the necessary manoeuvres to enable them to act with effect on shore. Occasionally he assembled his gunboats together, and carried them through the various evolutions in the management of fleets, and, often dividing them into adverse squadrons, one under his own orders, the other under Lieu- tenant Blodgett's, would carry on a mimic engage- ment. This was not the kind of engagement for which he w^as at that time sighing, but it was not, perhaps, a useless preparation for one ; and it is nOi*- unlikely that he may thus have acquired a facihty in manoeuvring a number of vessels, or formed some conceptions of advantages to be gained and critical moments to be seized on in the encounter of fleets that were afterward useful to him. When, soon after the war began, the Constitu- tion captured the Guerriere, after a short and brill- iant action, and the country blazed with enthusi- asm from one extremity to the other, Perry w^as more taken up with sharing this enthusiasm than overcome by chagrin at his own present exclusion from any chance of participating in the glory of the victors, and the acclamation with which they were everywhere received. It will be remembered that Lieutenant Charles Morris was promoted after the action two grades, for having well performed his subordinate duties of first lieutenant of the Constitution. It would K2 114 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. have been a proper, suitable, and customary re- ward for his good conduct if he had been made a master commandant, to date from the day of the victory. But it was a manifest violation of pro- priety, and of all that was due to the rights and feelings of the whole grade of masters command- ant, thus to promote over their heads a heutenant who had done his duty faithfully in a purely sub- ordinate character. The greatest injustice, how- ever, which it involved was to the veteran com- mander of the Constitution, under whose orders the victory had been won ; himself a practised seaman and thorough officer, and who has ever been eminently the captain of his own ship. There was no promotion for the chief in com- mand, and the liberality of the country was not equal to creating a new grade in order to promote him, when that new grade was otherwise neces- sary to the prosperity of the service. Instead of promoting him, the absence of promotion was made more sensible by raising his subordinate du- ring the action two grades, and making him, by a single stroke of the pen, his equal. Perry was one of the commanders over whose heads Lieutenant Morris was thus summarily pro- moted. He took a different view of this act from all others of his grade. The chivalrous magna- nimity of his feehngs on this occasion not only led him to acquiesce in Lieutenant Morris's promotion, OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. Hi but even to take a pointed means of showing it Mr. Morris had reached Providence, where he was lying ill of a dangerous \vound he had received during the action, when Perry first heard that he "was to be promoted at once to a post-captaincy. He told his intimate friend, Mr. William S. Rogers, subsequently a purser in the navy, and from whom the anecdote is derived, that this contemplated promotion had occasioned much dissatisfaction among the commanders and lieutenants above Morris. This feeling Perry said he did not share, and proposed to make a visit to Providence in one of the gunboats under his command, in order to express to Morris his own view-s on the subject. Perry went accordingly, and Mr. Rogers accom- panied him, and was present at the interview, which he represents as having been singularly interesting. After inquiring with much solicitude concerning Mr. Morris's health, he cordially con- gratulated him on the briUiant result of his cruise, and told him that his contemplated promotion to a post-captaincy met with his hearty approbation. He hoped that the same reward might attend any future display of gallant conduct ; a hope the more generous and disinterested, that his ow^n more ad- vanced rank would not allow him, in case of like good fortune, to be so largely benefited. The un- assuming and modest deportment of Mr. Morris, who was sensibly struck with this generous effort 116 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. to relieve him from the painful feelings which the opposition of those he was about to supersede had evidently occasioned him in his debilitated state of health, and the frank and chivalrous bearing of Perry, which had in it a consciousness that he too would one day deserve the gratitude of his country if the opportunity were but given to him, rendered the whole scene most striking and im- pressive. Nor did Perry's generous feelings to- wards Mr. Morris end here. When he was sub- sequently promoted to a captaincy and appointed to the Adams, a noble corvette with twenty-eight guns on one deck^ thus rewarded for his past ser- vices and placed in a situation to win more glory, Perry, who was ineffectually seeking for the com- mand of a sea-going vessel of half that force, in- stead of giving way to any envious or ill-natured feelings towards him, took pleasure in rendering him every facility in procuring a crew, allowed the best of his own men to volunteer for the Adams, in order to go where they could be more useful, sent Mr. Daniel Turner to Providence to recruit men for her, and subsequently parted with that favourite officer, in order that he might place himself in the path to distinction. Having induced Captain Morris to receive Mr. Turner on board his ship, he sent him off with a draught of effi- cient seamen, without waiting for the orders which Captain Morris had told him would be speedily OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 117 forwarded. Every officer in the navy will appre- ciate the generous self-denial of Perry's conduct ; it is as rare in the service, and as difficult to imitate as it is every way worthy of admiration. The reader will not fail to contrast it, in the sequel, wath the conduct which, under like circumstances, was observed towards Perry. A most distressing circumstance attended Per- ry's service in command of the flotilla at New- port, in the loss of his excellent and warmly-at- tached friend and shipmate. Lieutenant Blodgett. He had got under way at noon on the twenty- ninth of October, in gunboat number forty-six, to look round outside of the harbour. The wind w^as light from northeast when he started, but it came on to blow heavily w^hen he had reached the open ocean off the mouth of the harbour. He imme- diately hauled his wind, and commenced working back for the mouth of the harbour. The swell setting heavily along the shore, and the tide run- ning ebb, the schooner, which, like most of the gunboats, was dull and sluggish, worked slowly to windward. Still Blodgett did not li'^e to bear up and run into the Sound, which v, as his only alternative. He continued to beat to windward, standing close in to the shore to avoid the tide and prolong the benefit of the long tack. In attempt- ing to tack off the lighthouse on the south point of the island of Connanicut, the schooner missed 118 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. stays ; a second attempt was made to tack her, ■which equally failed ; and a last effort was made to veer her, in the hope that, though very close in, she might still clear the rocks. The schooner paid off a little, when the undertow neutralizing the effect of the helm, she went broadside to against the rocks. The sea now made a complete breach over the vessel. Blodgett at once saw that there was not the slightest hope of saving the ves- sel, and far from a certainty of saving the lives of the crew, for the night had just set in, and the weather was cold. It would depend entirely on the personal exertion of each to get ashore before the vessel should go to pieces, and he accordingly gave the order for each man to provide for his own safety, being determined not to leave the ves- sel himself until every man should gain the shore ; in short, not to be saved himself if one of his crew were lost. He was soon after washed over- board, and his body was never recovered ; nine others, out of eighteen composing the crew, shared the fate of their commander. Perry briefly but feelingly narrated the circumstances to the secre- tary of the navy, and by the same mail communi- cated the mournful intelligence to Blodgett's fa- ther, expressing, in doing so, a melancholy satisfac-. tion in being able to assure him that his son, in the last trying scene of his life, had acted with a firmness and decision most honourable to his mem- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 119 ory. In Blodgett Perry lost an old, a sincere, and a warmly-attached friend, as well as a most use- ful assistant. Had he lived, he would doubtless have accompanied him to Lake Erie as his second in command, and shared the glory of a victory which the presence of an attached, courageous, and true-hearted coadjutor would have rendered of so much easier achievement. Towards the close of November Perry made another effort to procure service which w^ould bring him in contact with the enemy, by using the personal solicitation at Washington of his intimate friend, Mr. W. S. Rogers, w^ho went there for the purpose of settling Perry's accounts during the past five years. He at the same time addressed a letter to the secretary, which is interesting as show- ing his desire for active employment anywhere, and having probably led to his being ordered to the Lakes. It ran as follows : " I have instructed my friend, Mr. W. S. Rogers, to wait on you w^ith a tender of my services for the Lakes. There are fifty or sixty men under my command that are re- markably active and strong, capable of perform- ing any service. In the hope that I should have the honour of commanding them whenever they should meet the enemy, I have taken unwearied pains in preparing them for such an event. I beg therefore, sir, that we may be employed in some way in which we can be serviceable to our coun- 120 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. try." He at the same time made an offer of his services to Commodore I. Chauncey, who had re- cently been appointed to command on the Lakes. In the course of Mr. Rogers's interview with the secretary, some conversation occurred about em- ploying Captain Perry on Lake Erie, to build and organize a squadron, to meet one which the enemy were about preparing on that lake. Nothing def- inite, however, was decided ; and, in a week after Perry's letter was written, the British frigate Ma- cedonian arrived as a prize to the frigate United States, and in charge of his old shipmate and friend, Lieutenant William H. Allen. He received him also with cordial congratulations, lent him every assistance in providing for the comfort of the wounded, and furnished him with thirty men to assist in navigating the ship to New-York. In announcing her arrival at his station, he expressed to the secretary his opinion that she was one of the finest frigates he had ever seen. He had no disposition to disparage the victories of others, though it caused him infinite grief that he was de- nied the opportunity of sharing them. Soon after it w^as decided to increase the navy by four hne-of-battle ships, six large frigates, and six sloops. He thought that commands of a high- er class being thus provided for those of his own grade that were above him, some of the sloops would- be left vacant. He had been so often dis- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 121 appointed, however, that he was not very san- guine ; and, in writing to Captain Morns to an- nounce that he had sent him some men, and to describe the character of one petty officer whom he had sent, whom he thought would make a good gunner, he says to him, "Does the government intend building the ships immediately, or w411 it wait until timber seasons ? I despair of getting to sea very shortly, unless I should be fortunate enough to get the Hornet." In order to nourish the faint chance of employ- ment at sea which grew out of this contemplated advancement of his seniors, and, at the same time, to benefit his native state, to whose interests and welfare he was ever watchfully attentive, he now devoted himself to the task of obtaining accurate information as to the ship-building capabilities of his state. The result of his inquiries he reduced to a tabular form, stating in separate columns the quantity of suitable ship-timber, mines of iron ore, number of smeltiwg forges and trip-hammers, and of ship-carpenters, joiners, rope and sail makers, and all the various descriptions of artisans em- ployed in the construction and equipment of ships. He also mentioned the fact that there was a suffi- ciency of seasoned timber to construct a frigate, and that the mechanics, being unemployed, would work at low wages. ' In January of 1813 he received a serious annoy- L 122 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ance in learning the appointment of Lieutenant Allen, who had recently arrived in charge of the Macedonian, to the command of the brig Argus of twenty guns. This vessel had recently been com- manded by master-commandant Arthur Sinclair, who, on the termination of his cruise, had relin- quished the command of her. Commodore Deca- tur, who was senior officer afloat in New-York •when the Argus arrived, placed Lieutenant Allen on board of her when Captain Sinclair left her, in the hope that he would subsequently be pro- moted and confirmed in the command, which, in fact, proved to be the case. This infringement of his just rights, and violation of the solemn promise made to him at the commencement of the war by the then secretary of the navy, and which was equally binding on the gentleman who had recently succeeded him. Perry felt most sensibly, as is apparent from the following letter to the new secretary of the navy, Mr. William Jones. It is dated on the twenty-ninth of January, 1813. " I am informed by Lieutenant Allen that he has charge of the U. S. brig Argus, by order of Commodore Decatur. Although I have the high^ est opinion of Mr. Allen as an officer, and the warmest regard for him as a friend, yet justice to myself demands that I should solicit this vessel, provided Captain Sinclair is not to resume the command of her. On the first prospect of a dec- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 123 laration of war, I hastened to Washington in the hope of obtaining active employment ; but, unfor- tunately, there was no vacancy. The honourable secretary of the navy, however, promised me the first one that should occur suitable to my rank ; none has occurred until the present. I therefore hope, sir, I may be gratified in being appointed to the Argus, as it is my earnest wish to have an op- portunity of showing my devotion to the cause of my country. Mr. Allen has already had an op- portunity of evincing his gallantry and good con- duct, and is in possession of the admiration and respect of his countrymen." On the same day he wrote to Captain Sinclair, stating the application he had made for the Argus, in the event only of Captain Sinclair's having en- tirely relinquished the command, as, in the contra- ly case, he had no wish whatever to interfere, but considered himself as standing next for the com- mand. He wrote also to Mr. J. B. Howell, then a senator in Congress from Rhode Island, to ex- plain the injustice which would be done to him by the appointment of his junior to the command of the Argus, and to procure his influence in aid of his claim. " Possessing," as he tells this gentle- man, " an ardent desire to meet the enemies of my country, I have earnestly solicited this situation, and beg you will back my application to be era- ployed in a manner more congenial to my feel- 124 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ings." His letter indicates an apprehension that some lingering distrust of him existed at the de- partment with regard to the loss of the Revenge ; for he forwarded a copy of the proceedings of the court of inquiry on the subject to Mr. Howel, with the expression of a hope that its perusal would satisfy him that no blame could attach to him from that unfortunate disaster. It gives pain thus to see Perry stooping to the office of self-\andication. To his friend Allen he frankly stated all that he had done, and forwarded to him a copy of his let- ter to the secretary on the same day that it was written. It is impossible to do otherwise than admire the noble magnanimity of his conduct throughout this transaction. His " ardent desire to meet the enemies of his country" does not al- low him for a moment to forget or disregard what was due to his brother officers ; the injustice which was about to be done to himself quickens his sense of the delicacy that was due to others. He had also indulged the hope of obtaining the command of the Hornet, in expectation of the prob- able promotion of Captain Lawrence, her com- mander ; but, shortly before her return from her successful cruise, during which she had captured the Peacock, the means of distinction had already been provided for Perry. On the first of Febru- ary, 1813, he received a letter from Commodore Chauncey, to whom, in the previous December, he OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 125 had made a tender of his services, stating that he had appUed to the secretary of the navy to have him ordered to the Lakes. The commodore took occasion to pay Perry the following compliment, which plainly indicates that his character was al- ready recognised in the sen/ice, and understood by the commodore. " You are the very person," he writes, " that I want for a particular service, in which you may gain reputation for yourself and honour for your country." This particular service was the command of a naval force to be created on Lake Erie. In a few days he was advised by his friend Rogers that the new secretary of the navy, Mr. Jones, had readily consented to Com- modore Chauncey's request, and decided to order him to Lake Erie, with a detachment of the best men under his command at Newport. He was to build two heavy brigs on the lake to meet the force prepared by the enemy. " You will doubtless," wrote Mr. Rogers, " command in chief. This is the situation Mr. Hamilton mentioned to me tw^o months past, and which, I think, w^ill suit you ex- actly ; you may expect some warm fighting, and, of course, a portion of honour." L2 126 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. CHAPTER VI. Perry ordered to the Lakes. — Sends off Crews of Flotilla. — Visits his Parents. — Goes to Albany. — Joins Commodore Chauncey. — Proceeds to Sack- etfs Harbour. — Rumoured attack from the Enemy, — Perry detained on Lake Ontario. — Ordered to Erie. — His Journey. — Rumour of an Attack on Erie. — Arrival at that Place. — Condition of the Squadron. — Difficulties of Equipment. — Perry vis- its Pittsburgh. — Returns to Erie. — Visits Niag. ara. — Storming of Fort George. — Perry's Account of it. — Perry ordered to Black Rock. — Flotilla manned by Soldiers. — Labour of ascending Rapids, — Arrival at Buffalo. — Passing the British Squad' ron. — Arrival at Erie. — Preparation of the Squad- ron. — Want of Men. — Ordered to co-operate with General Harrison. — Urgent Letters from Govern- ment and the General. — Letter of entreaty to the Commodore for Men. — Invites him to assume the Command on Erie. — Contemplated Attack of the Enemy on Erie.-^Perry receives small Re-enforce- ments. — Determines to sail in pursuit of the Enemy, On the seventeenth of February Captain Perry- received orders from the secretary of the navy to proceed to Sackett's Harbour with all the best men under his command in the flotilla. At that place OLIVER Hf^ZARD PERRY. 12'/ he was to receive farther instructions from Com- modore Chauncey with regard to his future pro- ceedings in command of the force to be created on Lake Erie. So prompt was he to execute these orders, and reach the scene where his friend had held out to him the prospect of hard fighting and an attendant harvest of honour, and so ready was the force under his command to move in any di- rection, that he sent off on that very day, notwith- standing the inclement season of the year, a de- tachment of fifty men and officers, under the com- mand of sailing-master Almy. They were to pro- ceed to Albany by the way of Providence. On the nineteenth he despatched fifty men, under sail- ing-master Champlin, and the remaining fifty on the twenty-first, under sailing-master W. V. Tay- lor. His object in thus dividing them was to in- crease the facility of procuring conveyances for the men and accommodation on the road. On the morning of the twenty-second of Febru- ary, a day of happy omen for the commencement of an American enterprise. Captain Perry deliv- ered up the command of the flotilla to the officer next in rank, and set forward on his journey to Sackett's Harbour. At that season of the year, and at that period in the settlement of the interior of our country, this was a journey of no little hard- ship and fatigue. He crossed the ferry to Narra- gansett in his boat during a violent rain storm, 128 AMERICAN MOGRAPHY. and immediately proceeded to Pawcatuck, and thence to New-London and Lebanon ; his object in following this route being to visit his parents, who resided at the latter place, before his depart- ure on so perilous a service, and from which his return was so uncertain. After passing a few hours with his family, he departed for Hartford in the evening in an open sleigh, taking with him his brother Alexander, then a lad of less than twelve years. The cold was intense, and they suffered severely before their arrival at Hartford, which they only reached at midnight. There Captain Perry got on the mail-route to Albany, and made the rest of the journey in a somewhat more comfortable manner. Commodore Chauncey had come from Lake On- tario to New-York during the winter, and had written to Captain Perry from that place to direct him to repair forthwith to Sackett's Harbour, where he was urgently desirous of seeing him. As the commodore had not yet arrived at Albany, Cap- tain Perry determined to wait for him there, in order to be sooner made acquainted with his wish- es. At the end of three days the commodore ar- rived at Albany. In the afternoon of the same day, being the twenty-eighth of February, Cap- tain Perry set out for Sackett's Harbour, by dkec- tion of the commodore, who started at the same time, and arrived there on the evening of the third OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 129 of March. The same night the alarm gun was fired to announce an attack. Captain Perry has- tened on board the Madison, where he found the crew at their quarters, and everything in good order. The commodore, who had also arrived during the night, made his appearance soon after. The alarm had been occasioned by a sentinel's firing at a person who attempted to pass his post It had been rumoured that an attack would be made on Sackett's Harbour, in order to destroy the squadron and the vessels on the stocks, so as to give the British the command of the lake during the approaching campaign. On this account Com- modore Chauncey detained Captain Perry with him until the sixteenth of March, notwithstanding his extreme desire to be at his post superintending the construction of his squadron. After having once or twice suggested the propriety of his pro- ceeding to his destination, the commodore at length told him that it was possible an attack might be made on the vessels in the harbour, in which case the commodore said he would like to have his as- sistance, and presumed he, Perry, would also wish to be there. This, Perry said, was conclusive. On the sixteenth of March, however, he receiv- ed orders to proceed to Erie, and hasten the equip- ment of the squadron then in process of construc- tion there. On the twenty-fourth he arrived at Buffalo, and, after having:; passed a day in exam- 130 AMEEICAN BIOGRAPHY. ining the navy-yard at Black Rock, then under the command of Lieutenant Pettigru, and made ar- rangements for having stores forwarded to Erie, he set out on the tvv^enty-sixth in a sleigh, on the ice, for Erie. At Cattaraugus, where he passed the night, he learned from the keeper of the hotel in which he lodged that he had recently been on the Canada shore, where particular inquiries had been made as to the vessels to be constructed at Erie, and the force stationed there for their protection. The innkeeper inferred that an attempt would be made by the British to destroy the vessels when the ice should break up. In the evening of the twenty-seventh Perry reached Erie, and immediately called aro^d him the persons engaged in building and equipping the squadron. These were Mr. Noah Brown, of New- York, the master shipwright, and sailing-master Dobbins, who superintended the construction by direction of Commodore Chauncey.* He found * Mr. Noah Brown, the venerable builder of our fleet on Erie, after having contributed, by the construction of these and many other vessels of war, to the renown of our navy, and amassed, in the course of long years of prosperous industry, a handsome fortune, finds himself again, by the reverses so com- mon in our country, sent back, in his old age, to the starting- place from which he set out, and may now be seen working as a journeyman in our ship-yards, with a manly cheerfulness and proud independence of disposition which places him above and -leyond the reach of misfortune. More respected by the world OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 131 that the keels of the two twenty-gun brigs were laid, and that two gunboats were nearly planked ; a third was ready also for planking. Captain Per- ry learned, equally to his astonishment and regret, that no arrangements had been made for bringing up such of the guns for the vessels as were to come from Buffalo and Black Rock, and that no orders on the subject had been received from the commodore. This was the more to be lamented, as the ice was already so weak as to render it im- possible to bring them up on it, and the roads were impassable for heavy cannon. No prepara- tion whatever had been made for the defence of these vessels had they been attacked ; there was not a single musket or cartridge in the possession of the officer who had been in charge, or, in fact. in the village ; and nothing would have been eas- ier, nor, as it afterw^ard proved, better worth atten- tion, than for the enemy to have destroyed the vessels. A party of fifty carpenters, which had been sent on from Philadelphia, had not yet ar- rived, though they had been four weeks on their journey. The twenty-five who came on with Mr. Brown had made the journey in a fortnight. Cap- tain Perry provided that very night for the mosr he might have been in his days of prosperity, but never more respectable than now. To this venerable man the writer is in- debted for interesting details as to the construction of the squad- ron on Erie. 132 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. urgent of these wants, by hiring a guard of citi- zens to protect the vessels, which he organized and set on watch. He directed Mr. Dobbins to pro- ceed to Buffalo on the following day, and bring on forty seamen from the navy-yard ; also some mus- kets and cartridges, and, if possible, two twelve- pounders ; and wrote, before going to rest, to the navy-agent in Pittsburgh, to hurry on the missing carpenters the moment they should appear, and to forward a number of articles required by the builder. These deficiencies, and the distance from which they were to be supplied, convey a lively idea of the arduous nature of the undertaking with which Captain Perry had been intrusted ; that of creating a squadron in this remote and thinly-peopled re- gion. Mechanics, seamen, guns, sailcloth, almost everything necessary to the equipment of ships, had to be brought, at that season, a distance of five hundred miles, through a half-settled country, destitute of good roads, and but partially inter- sected by water communication. About one thou- sand pounds of iron was procured from Buffalo. The additional iron necessary for the construction of the vessels and for mounting their batteries was picked up by scraps in the neighbouring smithies, and welded together for the heavy work. Thus the pivot bolts of the carronades were made of three quarters of an inch iron. To perform the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 133 extra quantity of iron-work which the deficiency of large rods and bars occasioned, was attended with great difficulty. Five blacksmiths had been ordered from Philadelphia, and only two came, one of them being only a striker to the other. For- tunately, some blacksmiths were afterward found among the militia capable of doing the common work. Although m our own country, we were, in fact, farther from our resources on the Lakes than the English. To be sure the ocean intervened for them ; but the trouble of crossing it was as no- thing to this laborious and most costly transporta- tion. The power and ambition of England had long since accumulated in the Canadas every mu- nition of war, while our frontier was entirely des- titute of whatever was necessary for the construc- tion or armament of ships. If the contest were now to be repeated, we should enter it with far greater ability to meet and overpower our oppo- nents. While the facilities for the rapid transport- ation of the heaviest commodities have immeasur- ably increased, the development of the popula- tion, wealth, and power of our lake frontier would enable us to procure all the means of naval war- fare on the spot. Ships ready built, and seamen to navigate them, steamers, and all the elements of maritime power, would be found ready for em- ployment. M 134 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. On the evening of the thirtieth of March, sail- ing-master W. V. Taylor arrived from Sacketf s Harbour with twenty officers and men. Captain Perry determined at once to leave Mr. Taylor in charge of the vessels at Erie, and proceed to Pitts- burgh in order to hasten on the carpenters, and procure some necessary stores which had not yet been obtained. He accordingly set out the next day, and arrived at Pittsburgh on the fourth of April. He immediately made arrangements for procuring canvass for the sails of his squadron from Philadelphia ; for an unnecessary delay had been incurred in order to discover whether the can^ vass could not be procured at Pittsburgh. Cap- tain Perry passed two days in visiting the work- shops of the different mechanics employed in work- ing for his squadron, and giving them minute di- rections as to the manner of preparing the articles that had been ordered, and with the manufacture of which they were wholly unacquainted. He also procured from Captain A. R. Woolley, the commissary of ordnance of the army, the loan of four small guns and some muskets for the defence of Erie, in case he should be disappointed in re- ceiving those he had ordered from Buffalo; an^ this gentleman also kindly volunteered to superin- tend the casting of the shot which would be re- quired for the squadron. He subsequently render- ed great assistance in supplying military stores fc OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 136 the fleet, and received the warmest thanks of Per- ry. With regard to the carpenters, he found, to his annoyance, that, while they had passed on to Erie by land, their tools had been sent by water, and would not probably arrive so soon as they. The block-makers from Philadelphia had also got separated from their tools, which had not yet ar- rived. Having urgently impressed on the various persons engaged in supplying articles for the squadron the necessity of having them finished by the first of May, he set out from Pittsburgh on the seventh of April, and reached Erie on the tenth. He found the vessels much advanced in their construction since his departure, but the mus- kets and cartridges which he had ordered from Buffalo had not arrived, as they could not be pro- cured in that place. The forethought which had induced him to procure muskets and cannon at Pittsburgh, as an additional precaution for the de- fence of his vessels while building, was thus fully justified, and, ere long, he was able to prepare such ample means of resistance as to secure to the as- sailants a warm reception should they attempt the destruction of the vessels. At his earnest request, General Mead, the commanding officer in the neighbourhood, caused five hundred militia to be stationed at Erie to assist in its defence. Early in May the three gunboats were launched and equipped for service, and the two brigs, the 136 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. keels of which were but just laid when Captain Perry arrived at Erie towards the close of March, were now nearly planked up, with the prospect of being ready to be launched in the course of three weeks. They were, in fact, launched on the twen- ty-fourth of May. The frames of the vessels were of white and black oak and chestnut, the out- side planking of oak, and the decks of pine. The trees were cut down on the spot, sawed up, and often, on the same day, became part of the ves- sels. The brigs were one hundred and forty-one feet in their greatest length, thirty feet beam; they measured about five hundred tons each, and were pierced for twenty guns. At this conjuncture Captain Perry made a sud- den visit to Lake Ontario. The occasion which called him there, and the circumstances which at- tended his visit, are briefly and sententiously de- scribed in a copy of a letter, probably to his pa- rents, left among his papers. As it is by far the most detailed account he has left of the affairs in which he took part, for he had an almost invinci- ble aversion to the use of his pen, and as the whole document, and the actions which it describes, are strikingly characteristic of the man, we can- not offer a higher gratification to the reader than by transcribing it, or furnish him with a truer idea of the subject of this biography. " On the evening of the twenty-third of May. ^ OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 137 received information, about sunset, that Commo- dore Chauncey would in a day or two arrive at Ni- agara, when an attack would be made on Fort George. He had previously promised me the command of the seamen and marines that mio:ht to land from the fleet. Without hesitation, I deter- mined to join him. I left Erie about dark in a small four-oared open boat. The night w^as squal- ly and very dark. After encountering head winds and many difficulties, I arrived at Buffalo on the evening of the twenty-fourth, refreshed, and re- mained thexe until daylight; I then passed the whole of the British lines in my boat within mus- ket-shot. Passing Strawberry Island, several peo- ple on our side of the river hailed and beckoned me on shore. On landing, they pointed out about forty men on the end of Grand Island, who doubt- less w^ere placed there to intercept boats. In a few moments I should have been in their hands I then proceeded with more caution. As we ar- rived at Schlosser it rained violently. No horse could be procured. I determined to push forward on foot ; walked about two miles and a half, when the rain fell in such torrents I was obliged to take shelter in a house at hand. The sailors whom I had left w^ith the boat, hearing of public horses on the commons, determined to catch one for me. They found an old pacing one which could not run aw^ay, and brought him in, rigged M2 138 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. a rope from the boat into a bridle, and borrowed a saddle without either stirrup, girth, or crupper. Thus accoutred, they pursued me, and found me at the house where I had stopped. The rain ceasing, I mounted ; my legs hung down the sides of the horse, and I was obliged to steady the sad- dle by holding by the mane. In this style I en- tered the camp, it raining again most violently. Colonel Porter being the first to discover me, in- sisted upon my taking his horse, as I had some distance to ride to the other end of the camp, off which the Madison lay. "After innumerable difficulties, I reached the ship on the evening of the twenty-fifth, most un- expectedly to the commodore and all the officers of the squadron, who were assembled to receive orders. The commodore appeared delighted to see me, shook me cordially by the hand, and ob- served that ' no person on earth at that particular time could be more welcome.' This remark he more than once repeated. As soon as we were alone he informed me of all his plans. They were really judicious, and I had nothing to offer in addition. In the morning, the commodore and myself, in the pilot-boat schooner Lady of the Lake, reconnoitred the enemy's batteries with care and attention, and made the necessary ar- rangements for the disposition of the vessels of the squadron. We then called on Geueral Dear- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 139 born, and the commodore urged the necessity of an attack the next morning, to which the general, who appears to place unlimited confidence in the commodore, immediately assented, and issued the general order, which you will find published in the Buffalo Gazette of the seventh of June, signed by Winfield Scott, adjutant-general. The last clause places the landing of the troops under the direc- tion of Commodore Chauncey. The commodore informed General Dearborn, as well as generals Lewis, Boyd, Chandler, and Winder, that this duty would be performed by me. " In the afternoon the commodore asked me to go with him and see the different generals, and ar- range the plan of debarcation. We met them to- gether, when the commodore told them I was ap- pointed to superintend the landing of the troops ; with which they politely expressed their satisfac- tion. I asked the general if he would be so good as to explain how he wanted his men landed ; in fact, to show me his order of battle. I then could arrange the boats so as to place the troops on shore at any given time or place. He said really he had no order of battle more than the general order ; that he had only received that a few hours before, and had made no arrangements. I then endeavoured to show them the manner in which I thought the boats should be formed to land the troops with the most expedition, antJ so as to pre- 140 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. vent loss ; which was, with the advance guard in one line, the boats being separated fifty feet ; each brigade formed in one line, with the same distance between the boats. By this means the fire of the enemy would not have such an effect as if the boats were in close order and in several lines. General Winder, who is their scientific man, had taken it into his head to advance with his brigade formed into three lines; and all the arguments the commodore and I could make use of could not convince him, although he said he would land as I might direct. Finding that they had no plan, that they hardly knew what they were go- ing at, when we had taken leave, I observed to the commodore I did not wish to have anything to do with them, as no credit could be gained ; the boats would be rowed by soldiers, who would know less than their generals, and that their mis- conduct, should any disaster happen, would attach to me. He agreed with me, and said he did not mean to place me in so awkward a situation ; that they might get on shore as they could. I, at the same time, told him I would go in with the ad- vanced guard, and assist Colonel Scott with my advice. Colonel M^Comb, who lives on board the ship with the commodore, and is really a sol- dier, and, at the same time, a modest man, came down from the general's quarters with us. Seeing me smile, he observed, * I see you are amused to OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 141 Bee what system and order our generals observe. I wish to God the commodore commanded the army as well as the navy !' " It was eventually arranged that five hundred seamen and marines should be landed from the vessels, to be under my command, to act with Col- onel M'Comb's regiment. The seamen were only to use the boarding-pike. Thus we had every- thing arranged on our part. At three in the morn- ing we were called. It was calm, with a thick mist. At daylight the commodore directed the schooners to take the stations which had been pre- viously assigned them as soon as possible, and commence a fire upon the enemy's batteries. At the same time, he asked me if I would go on shore, see General Lewis, hurry the embarcation, and bring the general off with me. This I did. I found that many of the troops had not yet got into their boats. General Lewis accompanied me on board the Madison. General Dearborn had gone on board previously. The ship was under way, with a light breeze from the eastward, quite fair for us; a thick mist hangino; over Newark and Fort George, the sun breaking forth in the east, the vessels all under way, the lake covered with several hundred large boats, filled with sol- diers, horses, and artillery, advancing towards the enemy, altogether formed one of the grandest spectacles I ever beheld. The breeze now fresh- 142 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ened a little, which soon brought us opposite the town of Newark. The landing-place fixed upon was about two miles from the town, up the Ni- agara. The commodore, observing some of the schooners taking a wrong position, requested me to go in shore and direct them where to anchor. I immediately jumped into a small boat, and, in passing through the flat boats, I saw Colonel Scott, and told him I would be off to join him and ac- company him on shore. When I got on board the Ontario, I found her situation and the Asp's, and directed them to be got under way and an- chored at a place I pointed out to the commanding officers, where they could enfilade two forts. The enemy had no idea our vessels could come as near the shore as they did, many of them anchoring within half musket-shot. I pulled along the shore within musket-shot, and observed a situation where one of the schooners could act with great effect. I directed her commander to take it. This was so that he could play directly in the rear of the fort. On opening his fire, the consequence was such as I had imagined. The enemy could not stand to load their guns, and were obliged to leave the fort precipitately. I then pulled off to the ship, and, after conversing with the commodore and General Dearborn, and observing to the latter that the boats of the advanced guard were drifting to lee- ward very fast ; that they would, if not ordered OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 143 immediately to pull to windward, fall too far to leeward to be under cover of the schooners, and would take those in the rear still farther to lee- ward, he begged of me to go and get them to windward. I jumped into my boat and pulled for the advanced guard, took Colonel Scott into my boat, and, with much difficulty, we convinced the officers and soldiers of the necessity of keeping more to windward. " As soon as we got them into a proper situa- tion, I pulled ahead for the schooner nearest in shore, and the advanced guard pushed for the shore. On getting alongside of the schooner, the man at the masthead told me the whole British army was rapidly advancing for the point of land- ing. Knowing many of the officers had believed the British would not make a stand, and, as they could not be seen by the boats, being behind a bank, I pulled as quick as possible to give Scott notice, that his men might not be surprised by the opening of the enemy's fire. He was on the right and the schooner on the left. This obliged me to pull the whole length of the line, and, as the boats were in no regular order, I had to pull ahead of one and astern of another. Before I got up to Scott, although within a boat or two, the enemy appeared on the bank and gave us a volley. Nearly the whole of their shot went over our heads. Our troops appeared to be somewhat con- 144 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. fused, firing without order and without aim. I was apprehensive they would kill each other, and hailed them to pull away for the shore, many of their boats having stopped rowing. They soon recovered, and pulled for the shore with great spirit. General Boyd led his brigade on in a very gallant manner, under a very heavy fire, it having suffered more severely than any other. Fortu- nately, the enemy, from apprehension of the fire from the schooners, kept back until our troops were within fifty yards of the shore ; this deceived them, and their fire was thrown over our heads. " I remained encouraging the troops to advance until the first brigade landed, when, observing the schooners did not fire briskly, from the apprehen- sion of injuring our own troops, I went on board the Hamilton, of nine guns, commanded by Lieu- tenant Macpherson, and opened a tremendous fire of grape and canister. About the time I got on board the schooner, our troops had attempted to form on the bank; probably a hundred got up. They were obliged to retreat under the bank, where they were completely sheltered from the effect of the enemy's fire. The enemy could not stand the united effect of the grape and canister from the schooner, and of a well-directed fire from the troops, but broke and fled in great confusion, we plying them with round shot. Our troops then formed on the bank. General Lewis came on OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 145 board the schooner from the ship at this time After waiting a few moments, and observing the disposition of things on shore, he landed. I land- ed at the same time." This document is suited to shed no little lustre on the fame of Perry, and to exhibit his conduct and character in a new and admirable light. It may also serve to show us what kind of generals we are likely again to have, if we abolish our present admirable nursery of officers in the mili- tary academy at West Point, and trust once more to Providence and inspiration in the hour of battle for the necessary insight into military affairs. It will also be observed, that the names of Scott and M'Comb, mentioned by Perry with approbation, became afterward well known to fame. We see from Perry's account, that, availing himself of a promise of Commodore Chauncey to give him the command of the seamen and marines on Lake Ontario in the event of a descent on the enemy's 'territory, and of a moment when his presence at Erie could be dispensed with, he set out, volunta- rily and without an order, at a moment's warning, at the beginning of a dark and squally night, in a small boat, to make, a voyage of near one hun- dred miles over an inland sea subject to violent tempests. Arrived at Buffalo, we find him pursu- ing his adventurous course down the Niagara River, within musket-shot of the enemy's territory, and, N 146 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, after abandoning his boat near the Rapids, pursu- ing his way through the wilderness which skirted the bank, alone, on foot, and during a violent storm. It was thus, when the means of being use- ful were within his reach, that he manifested the " ardent desire to meet the enemies of his coun- try" which he had heretofore urged in his appli- cations for active employment. The facts which he states with regard to his own movements du- ring the attack on Fort George, show conclusively that its capture must have been in no inconsider- able degree owing to liis indefatigable exertions in every quarter, his imperturbable calmness and presence of mind, and quick military perceptions. He seems to have exercised no control over the movements and disembarcation of the troops, as had been originally intended, from a hopelessness of procuring a concert of action on the part of the generals, and an unwillingness to bear the respon- sibility of failure. When, however, he discovered them falling into disorder, and drifting to leeward of the appointed landing-place, he pointed it out to the commanding general, and, forgetting his previous scruples, readily undertook, at his re- quest, to remedy the evil. The ascendancy of a master mind was evident in the ready compUance which his directions met with, and in the way in •which the soldiery rallied to his cries of encour- agement. Invested at once with the authority of OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 147 the general and commodore, and guided by the inspiration of an intuitive military conception, we find him hastily remodelling the order of the boats when in contact with the enemy, stationing anew the vessels where their fire would be most destruct- ive, directing it in person, and flitting from point to point, w^herever the circumstances of the day were critical or danger imminent. Commodore Chauncey, in his official report of the naval oper- ations of the day, did ample justice to the services of Captain Perry, in joining him from Erie and volunteering his services ; acknowledged the great assistance he had received from him in superin- tending the debarcation of the troops, and said of him, in conclusion, that " he was present at every point where he could be useful, under showers of musketry, but fortunately escaped unhurt." The capture of Fort George was attended by important consequences. It led almost immedi- ately to the evacuation, by the British, of their whole frontier on the Niagara. Both banks being now in our possession, we were left in complete control of the navigation of the river. One of the fruits of this advantage was, that Captain Per- y could now remove into Lake Erie five small vessels belonging to the government, which hith- erto had been detained at Black Rock by the enemy's batteries on the Canada snore. He was despatched on this service by Commodore Chaun- 148 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY cey on the twenty-eighth of May, with a party of officers and fifty seamen. The vessels had recent- ly been fitted for service by Mr. Eckford, the na- val constructor on Lake Ontario. One of them was the Caledonia, which Lieutenant Elliott had surprised and taken from the enemy some months before. The others had been purchased by him, in a situation where they could only become of use in the event of the enemy being driven from the opposite shore. This event, which could have been by no means certain, having actually oc- curred. Captain Perry was now able to remove these vessels into Lake Erie. The task, though unopposed by the enemy, was, however, one of no little difficulty. He was obliged to drag the vessels most laboriously against the current of the Niagara, which varied in strength from five to seven knots, by the aid of oxen and the exertions of his seamen, assisted by two hundred soldiers, under the command of captains Brevoort and Young, lent by General Dearborn to assist in de- fending and navigating the vessels to Erie. Having taken on board all the stores in the navy-yard at Black Rock, the vessels were track- ed up the current; a toilsome task, which occu- pied near a fortnight, and of which, in writing to Commodore Chauncey, he pronounced the fatigue " almost incredible." On the evening of the four- teenth of June, he set sail from Buffalo for Erie. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 149 His little squadron consisted of the brig Caledonia, of three long twenty-four's, the schooners Somers, of two long thirty-two's, Tigress and Ohio, of one twenty-four pounder each, and the sloop Trippe, of one long thirty-two. The enemy having sever- al years before commenced the creation of a naval force on Lake Erie, had, at the time, the complete command of the lake, on which it possessed a commissioned force more than six times greater than that with which Captain Perry was about to proceed to Erie in order to join the vessels in pro- cess of equipment there. The British force on the lake was commanded by Captain Finnis, a com- mander in the royal navy, and consisted of the ship Queen Charlotte, of four hundred tons and seventeen guns, the schooner Lady Prevost, of two hundred and thirty tons, mounting thirteen guns, the brig Hunter, of ten guns, the schooners Little Belt, of three guns, and Chippeway, of one gun. To remove our insignificant flotilla from Buffalo to Erie, in the face of such an overpowering force, was a task of difficulty, requiring no little vigil- ance and address. By a skilful display of these qualities, Captain Perry succeeded, though nar- rowly watched, opposed by contrary winds, and suffering from serious indisposition, in getting his vessels past the enemy and safely into the harbour of Erie, off which the enemy have in sight as he N2 150 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. was going in on the evening of the eighteenth.* The British squadron and our flotilla had been in sight together during the day from Chatauque, about twenty miles from Erie ; but the insignifi- cance of our vessels had enabled them to pass un- observed. The business of equipping the squadron now went rapidly forward ; but, as yet. only one hun- dred and ten officers and men had arrived, inclu- ding those brought up by the flotilla. On Perry's arrival at Erie he found a letter from the secretary of the navy, highly compli- mentary of his conduct in the landing at Fort George, and of his exertions in preparing the force on Lake Erie. In reply, while he expressed a becoming sense of the responsibility of his situ- ation, and doubts of his capacity to meet the ex- pectation of the government. Perry assured the secretary of his ardent desire to possess the fa- vourable opinion of the government and of his countrymen, and that no diligence or exertion of which he was capable should be wanting to pro- mote the honour of the service. He informed the secretary that one of the brigs was completely rigged and had her battery mounted, the other would be equally far advanced in a week; the sails of both vessels were nearly completed, and, * Mr. Cooper says Perry did not leave Buffalo until the end of June, OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 151 on the arrival of the shot and anchors from Pitts- burgh, from which they were confidently expected soon, all the vessels would be ready for service in one day after the reception of the crews. From fatigue and exposure in getting his flotilla from Black Rock to Buffalo, and want of rest while passing the enemy on the lake, added to the effects of the climate, Captain Perry now became still more seriously indisposed. Many of his men were in the same condition. Writing to the com- modore on the twenty-seventh of June, he tells him, " from sickness and other causes, we cannot muster more than fifty or sixty men who are of any service to us ; these work almost day and night." Fortunately, Perry soon recovered suffi- ciently to attend to his urgent duties, though his health continued feeble while he remained on the lakes, and his exertions, of course, the more labori- ous. Of the fifty sick at this time, a considerable portion w^ere the wounded and infirm from Black Rock. He considered thirty out of his one hun- dred and ten men not only entirely useless at the time, but likely to continue so. On the tenth of July Captain Perry received a letter from General Dearborn, stating that he had explicit directions from the secretary of war to order the detachment of two hundred soldiers un- der Captain Brevoort, which had been lent to the squadron on Lake Erie, to return to Fort George, 152 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. and requesting that they might be immediately sent to him. At the same time, he kindly offered that Captain Brevoort might remain attached to the squadron, if it were agreeable both to Captain Perry and to himself, as his familiarity with the navigation of Lake Erie and the upper lakes might render him peculiarly useful. Captain Bre- voort had been more than a year employed in navigating the brig Adams, employed by the war department in the transportation of military stores. This vessel had been captured by the British at Detroit, and called by them after the place where she was taken. The detachment was accordingly sent to Buffalo on the following day, under Cap- tain Younge ; and the boats which took the party down were left to bring up the officers and men, now so anxiously expected from Lake Ontario, to man the squadron. Captain Brevoort remained to command the marines of the Niagara. To sup- ply, in some measure, the deficiency occasioned by the withdrawal of the soldiers. Lieutenant J. Brooks, of the marine corps, was occupied in re- cruiting at Erie. He had previously brought on a small detachment recruited by him in Pittsburgh,* and eventually succeeded in enlisting thirty ma- rines. On the twelfth of July Perry received and com- municated to his officers the official news of the capture of the Chesapeake, and the death of her OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 153 lant commander and a number of his officers, together with the customary order to wear mourn- ing. There had been much, however, in the quenchless heroism of Lawrence to sooth the painful feelings and gratify the pride of his coun- trymen. In his dying injunction, " Don't give up the ship," he bequeathed a watchword which was yet to herald them to victory. That his memory Avas not coupled with discouragement was soon after evinced by an order from the navy depart- ment to give his name to one of the brigs ; and that which Perry had fixed on for his own was called the Lawrence. The other was called the Niagara. Only five days after being called upon to relin- quish the two hundred men which constituted the main force of his squadron, he received instruc- tions to co-operate with General Harrison, com- mander-in-chief of the northwestern army, in support of the military movements which he was making for the recovery of the territory of Michi- gan, and the invasion of Upper Canada. This or- der of the secretary's presupposed that the squad- r.on at Lake Erie was ready for active service; and, of course, the issue of the necessary orders on the part of the government for officering and manning the squadron. These had actually been given to Com.modore Chauncey, who commanded on Lake Erie as well as Lake Ontario, and the 154 AMERICAN BIOGR.APHY. necessary officers and men placed at his disposal ; but so absorbed was he in the interest of his im- mediate command, that the officers and men sent to him for distribution throughout the naval force subject to his orders, were retained almost exclu- sively where he was himself present. It seems to have been his intention to detain the crews until the vessels on Lake Erie were ready to sail, in the hope of being able, in the mean time, to overpower the enemy on Lake Ontario, and then repeat the same process in person on Lake Erie. But, inde- pendently of the disadvantage of keeping officers and men strangers to each other and to the vessels in which they were to sail until the moment they were to be engaged, it was expecting almost a miracle that the vessels should be equipped in so short a time by such a small number of men. But, strange as it may seem, by the unremitting zeal and exertions of the youthful commander, desti- tute almost entirely of subordinate officers, such as boatswains and gunners, and attending personally to the minutest details ; and by the unceasing ef- forts of a handful of men, reduced by sickness both in numbers and strength, and sadly over- worked, yet strangers to murmuring and almost without an attempt to desert, the vessels were now rigged, armed, and ready for service. A consid- erable part of the shot had arrived from Pitts- burgh I the anchors, which had not yet been re- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 155 ceived, were confidently expected in a week. On the day that Perry received these orders to co-op- erate with General Harrison, he wrote to Commo- dore Chauncey to communicate them, and ex- pressed his confident assurance that the squadron would be ready, in all other respects, for service so soon as the necessary men could reach him. " I cannot," he says, " express to you the anxiety I feel respecting them." He also stated his great desire to have the services of the oflficers who were to join him, and especially of the commander of the second brig. Having received an intimation that the men would soon be on their way — for he heard very seldom from Commodore Chauncey, and was chief- ly indebted to rumour for a knowledge of his movements — he despatched a sailing-master to Buffalo on the eighteenth of July, with two boats, to be joined to the two which had been sent down with the detachment of troops, and w^ith such others as could be procured, suflficient in number to bring up three hundred and fifty men, which was the number which Captain Perry expected from Lake Ontario to complete his crews. The oflficer was directed to use great vigilance in re- turning with the men, on account of the enemy's squadron, which was almost daily in sight off' Erie, and might be considered as blockading the port ; he was to keep close in shore, and call at 156 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. two designated rendezvous, Chatauque and the Twenty-mile Creek, by the way, in order to re- ceive instructions for his government. About this time we find him informing General Harrison, on the nineteenth of July, that he had at that date one hundred and twenty officers and men fit for duty, and more than fifty on the sick list. On the nineteenth of July Captain Perry re- ceived a second order from the secretary of the iiavy, evidently written under the belief that the squadron was manned, to co-operate with General Harrison. He had also received repeated com- munications from General Harrison with regard to his own critical situation, setting forth the impor- tant relief that the co-operation of the squadron would afford him, and urging the favourableness of the moment to strike a blow at the enemy's squadron before he should launch his new ship, the Detroit, which would turn the balance, and give the enemy a considerable superiority. The enemy had quite recently been strengthened by the arrival of Captain Barclay, a very distinguish- ed officer, who had served under Nelson, and been with him at Trafalgar, to assume the chief com- mand. He had also brought a number of experi- enced officers and a party of prime seamen. Still our squadron was for the moment superior in num- ber of guns, and the vessels being now ready for service, had the crews been at hand, might have OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 157 gone out with a confident hope of capturing the enemy. This hope Captain Perry expressed to the secretary of the navy in reply. He mentioned that the enemy were then off the harbour, and that, the moment a sufficient number of men ar- rived, he would be able to sail, and trusted that the issue of the contest would be favourable. He could only state to the secretary that he had but one hundred and twenty men fit for ser- vice, in addition to fifty sick; and oflfer to Gen- eral Harrison the same reason for his inability to co-operate with him. The situation of Cap- tain Perry, and the bitter mortification which it occasioned him, can be best learned from the fol-» lowing urgent friendly appeal to the feelings of Commodore Chauncey. "DearSir, " The enemy's fleet of six sail are now off the bar of this harbour. What a golden opportunity if we had men ! Their object is no doubt either to blockade or attack us, or to carry provisions and re-enforcements to Maiden. Should it be to attack us, we are ready to meet them. I am con- stantly looking to the eastward ; every mail and every traveller from that quarter is looked to as the harbinger of the glad tidings of our men be- ing on their way. Ilam fully aware how much your time must be occupied with the important O 158 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. concerns of the other lake. Give me men, sir, and I will acquire both for you and myself honour and glory on this lake, or perish in the attempt. Conceive my feelings ; an enemy within striking distance, my vessels ready, and not men enough to man them. Going out with those I now have is out of the question. You would not suffer it were you here. I again ask you to think of my situation ; the enemy in sight, the vessels under my command more than sufficient, and ready to make sail, and yet obliged to bite my fingers wuth vexation for want of men. I know, my dear sir, full well, you will send me the crews for the ves- -sels as soon as possible 5 yet a day appears an age. I hope that the wind or some other cause wdll delay the enemy's return to Maiden until my men arrive, and / will have them.^' Two days after this letter was written, the enemy were becalmed off the harbour. Captain Perry immediately pulled out with three gunboats to endeavour to annoy them. He was only able to exchange a few shots with them, one of which struck the mizzen-mast of the Queen Charlotte, when a breeze springing up, they stood off. On the twenty-third of July Captain Perry received another communication from the secretary of the navy, urging upon him th^ importance of captu- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 159 ring or destroying the enemy's squadron. Captain Perry replied that he was fully aware of the im- portance of this object. That his ships were ready, but that he was without crews. He told the secretary that he could not describe to him the mortification which his situation occasioned him. Had the secretary, who had been so often informed of Captain Perry's deficiencies in this respect, ceased to depend upon the circuitous and reluctant transmission of seamen from Lake Ontario, after they had undergone what was familiarly known as " a Sackett's Harbour examination," he might have sent any number of officers and seamen di- rect from Philadelphia in less time than they could be forwarded from Sackett's Harbour. A little self-dependance, and a determination which would have cost but a moment's reflection and the dash of a pen on the part of the secretary, would have saved all this trouble and delay, and the jeopardy of important national interests. But the history of no country could probably furnish more abun- dant instances of official imbecility and misman- agement than ours. This has ever been most ap- parent in whatever relates to the navy. At length, on the twenty-third of July, Captain Perry received a re-enforcement of seventy men and officers, and immediately wrote in the follow- ing friendly terms to Commodore Chauncey : 160 american biography. " My dear Sir, " I have this moment had the very great pleas- ure of receiving yours by Mr. Champhn, with the seventy men. The enemy are now off this har- bour with the Queen Charlotte, Lady Prevost, Chippeway, Erie, and Friend's Good Will. My vessels are all ready. For God's sake, and yours, and mine, send me men and officers, and I will have them all in a day or two. Commodore Bar- clay keeps just out of the reach of our gunboats. I am not able to ship a single man at this place. I shall try for volunteers for our cruise. Send on the commander, my dear sir, for the Niagara. She is a noble vessel. Woolsey, Brown, or Elliott I should like to see amazingly.* I am very defi- cient in officers of every kind. Send me officers and * Captain Elliott has caused to be inserted in the life of him- self the following passage : " So fully impressed was he (Com- modore Perry) with the belief that Captain Elliott was the very man for the purpose, that he wrote to Commodore Chauncey, * Send me Captain Elliott and one hundred men, and I will en- gage to beat the British.' " No such passage as this exists in the original letter-book of Perry's Lake Erie command, in which all his letters to Commodore Chauncey, official and serai- official, are carefully copied. Captain Elliott was then only a lieutenant, and is written of by Perry as Lieutenant Elliott several weeks later than the date of this letter. Instead of " Send me Captain Elliott and one hundred men, and I will engage to beat the British," which is so unlike Perry's mode of expressing himself, we find only in his correspondence, "Woolsey, Brown, or Elliott I should like to see amazingly." OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 161 men, and honour is within our grasp. The ves- sels are all ready to meet the enemy the moment they are officered and manned. Our sails are bent, provisions on board, and, in fact, everything is ready. Barclay has been bearding me for sev- eral days ; I long to have at him. However anx- ious I am to reap the reward of the labour and anxiety I have had on this station, I shall rejoice, whoever commands, to see this force on the lake, and surely I had rather be commanded by my friend than by any other. Come, then, and the business is decided in a few hours. Barclay shows no disposition to avoid the contest." This was, indeed, a touching appeal to the gen- erosity of Chauncey, which might well have been awakened by that which Perry displayed in ten- dering to him the fruits of his exertions, a triumph prepared by his own unparalleled toils and un- ceasing anxiety. Though Lake Erie was as much within the command of Commodore Chauncey as Lake Ontario, he did not probably like to leave his more extensive command on Lake Ontario, in the presence of an active and ingenious enemy. Otherwise he might easily have repaired to Lake Erie with such a re-enforcement of officers and men as would have secured his triumph on that lake, and subsequently brought back with him the means of obtaining a second triumph on Lake On- oa 162 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. tario. Commodore Chauncey did indeed intend to assume in person the command of the force on Lake Erie, but postponed the time until after he should have first beaten the enemy on Lake On- tario. A consideration of the state of the war on our northern and northwestern frontier at this particu- lar period might well authorize the opinion that Commodore Chauncey would have been justified in taking advantage of Perry's generous offer, con- ceived in the true spirit of patriotism and devotion to the welfare of his country, and repairing to Lake Erie with a sufficient force of officers and men to decide the contest for superiority immedi- ately in our favour. The fate of General Harri- son's army was entirely dependant upon that of our squadron on Lake Erie. The British, being victorious by land and water on our northwestern frontier, would have found themselves at once at the head of our great navigable rivers, in a situa- tion to descend into the heart of our country, and give it over to devastation and all the horrors of savage warfare, from which the territory of Mich- igan was then fatally suffering. Had Commodore • Chauncey left Lake Ontario temporarily, his suc- cessor could have imitated the defensive policy hitherto pursued by the enemy. In the interest of the fame of Perry, we cannot but rejoice that Commodore Chauncey should have declined re- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 163 pairing to Lake Erie. Had he gone, it could scarcely have been better for the country — it •would have been sadly in abatement of the fame of Perry. About this time, a concentration of the enemy's troops about Long Point, which lies opposite to Erie on the Canada shore, at a distance of only thirty miles, and the disappearance of the British squadron in the same direction, led to the belief that an attack on Erie was intended, with a view to the capture or destruction of Perry's squadron before the arrival of his crews, and of the military stores collected at Erie to be embarked on board of the squadron for the use of the northwestern army. Captain Perry called on Major-general Meade of the militia for a re-enforcement of troops, and made every necessary preparation for the reception of the enemy. The officers were all kept on board, and boats rowed guard throughout the night. Great consternation prevailed among the villagers, who hastened to send their families and valuables to the interior. Perry acquainted the secretary of the navy and the commodore with the fact of his being menaced with an attack, and having taken measures to repel it, assuring them that he had no fears for the vessels, even if the en- emy should get possession of the town,- which he considered unlikely. It was subsequently known from Commodore Barclay that an attack had, in 164 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. fact, been at this time contemplated and matured, but failed through the want of a sufficient sus- taining force of troops at the proper moment. On the twenty-seventh of July, Captain Perry received a letter by express from assistant adju- tant-general Holmes, informing him, by order of General Harrison, that the enemy had invested Fort Meigs a second time w^ith a heavy force. He stated that the presence of the enemy's squadron off Erie was considered most unfortunate, unless Captain Perry should be able either to fight or elude it; and that he was directed to recom- mend it, as the general's opinion, that it should be Captain Perry's great object to co-operate imme- diately with the army by sailing up Lake Erie. If this co-operation could be effected, the enemy would be compelled either to retreat precipitately, or suffer the ultimate necessity of surrendering. The adjutant-general concluded his letter as fol- lows : " I feel great pleasure in conveying to you an assurance of the general's perfect conviction that no exertion will be omitted on your part to give the crisis an issue of profit and glory to the arms of our country."* * In Mr. Hambleton's journal the following remark occurs on the twenty-seventh of July. "The first application for men was on the twentieth of May. Had they been furnished, we might have been out several weeks ago, and the necessity of again calling out the militia at this busy season would have been avoided. The command of the two lakes is too extensive for any one man." OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 165 Here was new evidence of the importance at- tached to his early co-operation with the north- western army, and of the responsibiUty which weighed upon him ; new stimulus to his ardent desire to meet the enemy, and new subject for mortification, that, while supposed everywhere to be ready to act, and pressed on all sides to put forth on the lake, he was yet unable to move for want of men. He mentioned to the general, in reply, his inexpressible mortification at his deficien- cy of officers and men ; stated that he had, some days before, sent an express to Commodore Chaun- cey, urging him to send the crews immediately ; and that he had now forwarded him a copy of the general's letter, accompanied by a still more ur- gent request to the same eflfect. His urgent letter to Commodore Chauncey was in the following words; and it is interesting, inasmuch as it drew from the commodore a re- ply which occasioned Perry to request to be re- moved from Lake Erie. " Sir, " I have this moment received by express the enclosed letter from General Harrison. If I had officers and men, and I have no doubt you will send them, I could fight the enemy, and proceed up the lake. But, having no one to command the Niagara, and only one commissioned lieutenant 166 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. and two acting lieutenants, whatever my wishes may be, going out is out of the question. The men that came by Mr. Champhn are a motley set, blacks, soldiers, and boys. I cannot think you saw them after they w^ere selected. I am, how- ever, pleased to see anything in the shape of a On the thirtieth of July he received from Lake Ontario an additional re-enforcement of sixty of- ficers and men. Two days after he opened a rendezvous for landsmen, to serve four months, or until after a decisive battle, at ten dollars a month. He thus carried the total of his force, after landing the confirmed invalids, to about three hundred officers and men, to man two twenty- gun brigs and eight smaller vessels, mounting together fifteen guns, and making an aggregate of fifty-five guns. These men were, moreover, in genera], of the most inferior description, con- stituting the refuse of all that had arrived on Lake Ontario; many of them debilitated by re- cent disease, and more than a fifth of them in- capacitated by fevers and dysentery from any duty. With regard to officers, the above letter to Commodore Chauncey shows how deficient he was. In fact, he stated to the secretary of the navy, in a letter of the thirtieth of July, that he had not sufficient officers of experience even to OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 167 navigate the vessels. Nevertheless, in view of the critical situation of the northwestern army, and of all that was expected from him by those who were unacquainted with his deficiencies ; stimulated by his impatience under the daily " bearding" of Commodore Barclay, who was almost perpetually in sight, with his colours displayed in defiance ; and beginning, perhaps, to have more doubt than he had expressed that Commodore Chauncey would send him the deficient officers and men, he deter- mined to set sail with those that he had, and such volunteers as he could procure from the army, and put all to the issue of a battle, which he was es- pecially anxious should be fought before the ene- my's squadron should be re-enforced by his new and heavy ship the Detroit, which had been launched on the seventeenth of July, and might soon be expected to appear on the lake, and which would give to the enemy a great superiori- ty in tonnage as well as in number of guns. In estimating the hardihood of Perry's determi- nation to fight at once with a squadron but half manned with the worst materials, and these half crews farther reduced by sickness, we must also take into consideration that there could have been but little leisure for exercising the guns or training the boarders, pikemen, sail-trimmers, and firemen to the various duties essential to the offensive and de- fensive operations of a naval engagement. Wlien 168 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. the able-bodied men of the squadron were kepi working incessantly almost by day and night, hu- manity, as well as the duty of preserving them from utter exhaustion, forbade any exertion, however es- ^ sential, not connected with the urgent occupations of the moment. Still opportunity had been found, during the last few days that the squadron remain- ed within the harbour of Erie, to station the crews carefully at quarters, and to give them a general idea of all their duties. During several hours of each of these days the men were exercised thor- oughly at the guns, and Perry went round in per- son to see that each man understood his peculiar duty; that the evolutions for loading and firing were properly performed ; the arrangements per- fect for passing powder without risk or confusion ; and that the tubes, matches, and powder-horns were in readiness for service. The commander who delegates these duties to others, who fails to attend in person to whatever concerns the fighting department of his vessel, may fatally regret his misplaced confidence in the hour of battle. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 169 CHAPTER Vn. Mise of Naval Armaments on Erie. — Character of the Lake. — Nature of Harbours.-— Erie well cho- sen for Building our Squadron. — Difficulty of Crossing the Bar. — Judicious Preparations. — Labour of getting the Lawrence over. — Enemy appear off the Harbour. — Disappear. — Our Squadron on the open Lake. — Prepare for Battle. — Sail in Pursuit. — Return to Erie. — Arrival of Re -enforcements. — Letter from Commodore Chaun- cey. — Perry considers it insulting, — Tenders Resignation of his Command. — Commodore Chaun- cey promises Marines. — Reserves them for his oum Ship. — Squadron sails for Sandusky. — Visit from General Harrison. — Perry goes off Maiden. — Offers Battle. — Anchors in Put-in Bay. — Illness of Perry. — Receives Re-enforcements. — Recovers, — Visits Maiden and Sandusky. — Reproachful Letter from Secretary. — Perry's Defence, Lake Erie, about to become the scene of great national events, had hitherto been only navigated by our countrymen in pursuit of commerce. The canoe of the savage or the light bark of the trader had almost alone traversed its hitherto peaceful surface. But now war was to visit it, and the solitudes of nature, as yet accustomed P 170 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. only to reverberate the thunders of Heaven, were to be disturbed by the more terrible engines of hu- man wrath. The American Fur Company had, in recent years, constructed one or two vessels for the purpose of transporting the articles which it trafficked with the Indians for peltries to the head of navigation at the upper lakes, and bringing down its valuable returns. These vessels had a slight armament. The Northwestern Company, on the other side of the lake, had also armed ves- sels of considerable size. More recently, the Brit- ish government had built several vessels, especial- ly intended for cruisers, to give them the command of the lake in the event of a war with the United States. The Queen Charlotte had been built with this view as early as 1808, and some of the small vessels at an earlier period. These vessels were originally manned with provincial seamen, and officered likewise by provincials belonging to a special corps disconnected from the royal navy. They had cruised a good deal on the lake, were familiar with its coasts, and practised in the man- agement of their vessels. In several trifling en- counters, and particularly in annoying General Hull's army while in Canada, this provincial force had exhibited great skill and enterprise. With regard to this new arena of naval war- fare almost in the heart of the wilderness, it may b' well briefly to state that the lake is about two hun OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 171 dred and eighty miles long from the outlet of the Miami to the Falls of Niagara, with a breadth vary- ing from fifteen to sixty miles, and a depth scarce- ly anywhere exceeding twenty fathoms. Its shores are generally sandy or rock-bound, and there- fore dangerous to the navigator. On the northern shore, the extraordinary course of the Thames Riv- er, running nearly parallel to the course of the lake, at no great distance and in the contrary direc- tion to its current, cuts off all the streams, and ac- counts for the almost total absence on that side of inlets and harbours. On the American side the har- bours are more numerous, but all of them have bars except that of Put-in Bay in the Bass Islands, which is accessible for vessels drawing twelve feet. At the mouth of the Sandusky there was a pretty good harbour, but that at Erie was much better. Its comparative proximity, moreover, to the populous portion of Pennsylvania, and especially the great manufacturing town of Pittsburg, between which and the neighbourhood of Erie there was an al- most uninterrupted, though tedious, water commu- nication by the Alleghany and its tributaries, gave it great advantages for the equipment of a naval force. Besides, being situated towards the centre of the lake, which became broad at that point, it rendered the squadron less exposed there to a sur- prise and destruction by the enemy than it would have been at Buffalo, which, in fact, was taken 172 AMEHICAN BIOGRAPHY. and burned in the course of the war. Buffalo, too, at that time had no good harbour, that which now exists there being almost entirely a work of art. Erie, on the contrary, had a beautiful natural har- bour, consisting of a bay, very narrow at the en- trance, but expanding into a spacious sheet of wa- ter within. This bay is formed by a peninsula, extending in the form of a crab's claw in a north- easterly direction along the shore of the lake. From this remarkable point of land, the place had received from the French its previous name of Presquisle. Across the mouth there was a bar, extending lakeward upward of a mile, and vary- ing in depth in the channel from six feet at the shoalest part to ten feet. The shoal, being formed of light sand, was liable to be affected by gales of wind, which occasioned it frequently to vary, and sometimes reduced the depth as low as five and even four feet. This bar, being too shoal for the enemy to cross it with his vessels equipped and armed, had offer- ed great protection to our squadron from attack during its construction and equipment. Now, however, that the squadron was ready to sail, it be- came a serious impediment, inasmuch as it would be indispensable to raise the two brigs bodily at least four feet higher than their usual draught of nine feet, in order to enable them to pass the bar. This, of course, could only be done by the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 173 removal of their armament, and in smooth water; and as it was within the option of the enemy's commander then blockading the port, as it was surely his interest, to attack our squadron at dis- advantage while engaged in crossing the bar, par- tially divested of its armament, and in the per- plexity and embarrassment of laborious efforts un- favourable to defence, Captain Perry surely expect- ed to be engaged by the enemy while in the act of removing his vessels to the open lake. That he did so is evident from the conclusion of a let- ter to the secretary of the navy, dated on the twenty-seventh of July, in which he says, " We are ready to sail the instant officers and men ar- rive ; and, as the enemy appear determined to dispute the passage of the bar with us, the ques- tion as to the command of the lake will soon be decided." The measures adopted by Captain Perry in meet- ing this trying and dangerous emergency were of the most judicious character, and equally credita- ble to his distinguished skill as a seaman, and to his military genius and hardihood. Two large camels, or scows, of sufficient capacity to displace a given quantity of water, and lift the brigs four feet after the removal of their armament, had been previously constructed by Mr. Brown, to lit exactly the shape of the brigs, and, enclosing them at the bow and stern, to meet towards the centre. A P2 174 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. water-battery of three long twelves had also been mounted on the beach, opposite the shoalest part of the bar, to assist in the protection of the ves- sels while in the act of crossing. Meantime, the enemy continued in the offing, displaying his colours, with a commodore's broad pendant at the main of the Queen Charlotte; from which it appears that our opponents, though so far from the scene of action, were not guilty of the absurdity of making their commander on Lake Erie wholly subordinate to the command- er on Lake Ontario. On the second of August Commodore Barclay suddenly withdrew his ves- sels, and stood out of sight in the direction of the Canada shore. They were still absent on the morning of Sunday, the first of August, when the commodore weighed with eight of his squad- ron, and beat down to near the bar in readiness for crossing. About to undertake with such slen- der means an object of so much national import- ance. Perry, who had ever a deep sense of our de- pendance on a controlling and overruling Provi- dence, now invoked protection and aid from the God of battles. A clergyman, whose ministration he had attended on shore, came off by invitation to the Lawrence ; and, the officers of the squadron being assembled, the banner of the cross was rais- ed high above the ensign, and the sacred offices commenced. The man of God plead devoutly for OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 175 the triumph of our just cause ; for our success in wresting the tomahawk and scalping-knife from savage hands, and subduing the ruthless foe who had encouraged and armed them for the slaugh- ter. He then, in an appropriate address, set forth all the motives of humanity, of patriotism, of what depended on them for the rescuing of outraged al- tars and the diffusion of Christianity, and bade them go forth conquering and to conquer. The feelings of all were affected and elevated by the solemn rites, and the contemplative mind of Perry seemed confirmed in its calm and steadfast enthu- siasm. In the afternoon Major-general Mead, of the militia, who had lent all the aid in his power in the defence and equipment of the squadron, visit- ed the Lawrence with his suite, and was received with a salute of fifteen guns. Throughout the day a great concourse of people from the neighbouring country, scarcely any of whom had ever before seen a square-rigged vessel, lined the shore of the lake, filled with astonishment at the strangeness of the spectacle. Early in the morning of Monday the second, Perry ordered five of the small vessels to cross the bar, anchor without it, and clear for action; the sixth, with the Niagara, to anchor one on each side of the channel close within the bar, and spring their broadsides lakeward, in readiness to open on <76 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. the enemy, should they appear, and cover the pas- sage of the Lawrence. The vessels had been tow- ed to the bar, when, to the great annoyance of Captain Perry, he found that the lake was consid- erably below its usual level ; that there was only four feet water on the bar instead of six, and that it would be necessary to lighten even the small vessels to get them over. Still, the smoothness of the lake and the absence of the enemy in- duced him to proceed. While the small vessels were getting over, the guns of the Lawrence, with the exception of one or two to assist in her defence, were hoisted out, with their charges in them, and placed in boats, which were drop- ped astern. The camels were then got along- side, and the w^ater allowed to run into them until their tops were nearly level with the surface. The camels were then lashed together, and solid blocks arranged on top of them, so as to reach the ends of stout spars which had been laid across the Lawrence through her ports, and securely lashed down to the frame of the vessel. This being ar- ranged, the pumps w^ere set at work in the scows, which raised gradually, lifting the brig with them as the water was discharged. In this way the Lawrence was lifted three feet, which, with what she had raised on the removal of her armament, reduced her draught to about four feet. When she got on the shoalest part of the bar, however, it OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, 177 was found that the water had still shoalened, and that it was impossible to force her over, notwith- standing every exertion that could be made by heaving on the cables and anchors which had been carried out. The Lawrence had settled a little from the slacking of the lashings and giving way of one of the spars which passed from camel to camel. If became, therefore, indispensable to sink the camels again, get additional blocks be- tween them and the cross-pieces, and replace the broken one. This expedient was resorted to to- wards nightfall; a few inches diminution of the Lawrence's draught was thus gained, and she was slowly and by main strength hove across the bar in the course of that night and the following day. In this laborious service efficient aid was received from the mihtia of the neighbourhood, under the orders of General David Mead. Daylight of the fourth of August found the Law- rence's crew, with most of those of the other ves- sels, still hard at work. She got fairly afloat at eight o'clock, and her guns were quickly mount- ed, and everything prepared for action. The Ni- agara was got over more easily on the following day ; but was still on the bar when the enemy appeared in the offing, standing in with a leading breeze. Encouraged by their young commander, and excited by his appeals to their pride and pa- triotism, the exhausted seamen rallied to the call, i78 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. and, by unparalleled exertions, the Niagara was in deep water at eleven o'clock. To gain time while engaged in the task of mounting her bat- tery, Perry now gave orders to Lieutenant Pack- ett, of the Ariel, and sailing-master Champlain, of the Scorpion, both their vessels being fast-sailing schooners, to weigh anchor and stand out towards the enemy, and annoy him with their heavy guns at long shot. These officers obeyed instantly, and dashed directly at the enemy, and opened a fire on him in the most gallant manner. Meantime the Lawrence remained at anchor, and the people being at quarters, commenced exercising the guns, when it became apparent that they were not yet to be called on to use them in earnest. It does not appear to have been Commodore Bar- clay's intention to take advantage of the critical situation of our squadron in crossing the bar to bring on an engagement, as Captain Perry had expected. If it had been, he would hardly have been turned from his purpose by this slight, though well-timed and well-executed demonstration, nor yet by the judicious and admirable disposition which Captain Perry had made to cover the in- evitable weakness of his position while crossing the bar. His motive for neglecting this favour- able opportunity for attack was doubtless the cer- tainty which he felt that in a fortnight he should have the co-operation of his heavy ship the De- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 179 troit, which would give him, in every respect, a decided superiority. Whatever may have been his motives, and they were no doubt worthy of a brave man, after a short cannonade with the two schooners, he bore up w'ith his squadron, and stood across the lake in the durection of Long Point.* In the midst of these anxious operations. Cap- tain Perry had received another urgent letter from General Harrison, inviting the early co-operation of his squadron. He instantly replied to it in the following w^ords : " I have had the honour to re- ceive your letter of the twenty-eighth of July this morning, and hasten, in reply, to inform you that I have succeeded in getting one of the sloops-of-war over the bar. The other will probably be over to- day or to-morrow\ The enemy is now standing for us with five sail. We have seven over the bar ; * Perry was subsequently consulied by the navy department as to the practicabib'ty of deepening the bar of Erie, and gave his opinion in favour of it. The project has since been success- fully effected by sinking piers on each side of the channel so as to narrow it ; and the action of the wind in driving in the water has, with the aid of a dredging machine, so far removed the sand-bar as to deepen the channel to nine feet. The gov- ernment has, moreover, recently shown an enlightened sense of the value of this port, for commercial as well as for warlike pur- poses, by cutting through the tongue of the peninsula at the western extremity of the bay, so as to make a passage in that direction for vessels bound up the lake, which might otherwise remain wind-bound when the wind was fair to make their pas- sage if without the harbour. 180 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. all small, however, except the Lawrence. I am ot opinion that in two days the naval superiority will be decided on this lake. Should we be successful, I shall sail for the head of the lake immediately to co-operate with you, and hope that our joint efforts will be productive of honour and advantage to our country. The squadron is not much more than half manned ; but, as I see no prospect of receiving re- enforcements, I have determined to commence my operations. I have requested Captain Richard- son* to despatch an express to you the moment the issue of our contest with the enemy is known. My anxiety to join you is very great, and, had seamen been sent to me in time, I should now, in all probabiHty, have been at the head of the lake, acting in conjunction with you." In a postscript he adds, " Thank God, the other sloop-of-war is over. I shall be after the enemy, who is now making off, in a few hours. I shall be with you shortly." During the remainder of the fifth of August and the whole of the following night, the crews of the different vessels were busily engaged in getting on board and distributing a few necessary stores, re- ceiving volunteers from the mihtia, and preparing * Deputy-commissary of ordnance of the northwestern army. He had been sent to Erie to receive some ordnance stores to be embarked in the squadron for the use of the army. While get- ting the vessels over the bar he commanded the battery on the beach. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. l8l the vessels for sailing and for battle. At three o'clock in the morning of the sixth, the signal was made for the squadron to weigh anchor, and at four the vessels were all under sail, standing for Long Point, the direction in which the enemy had been last seen. The earnest desire of Perry to meet the enemy may be judged from his indefati- gable and unceasing efforts to get his vessels over the bar, to prepare them for battle, and go in pur- suit of the enemy. His ardour was warmly shared by his officers and men. From daylight on the second to the fourth of August, Perry, though in weak health, had not closed his eyes, and not an officer or man in that squadron had enjoyed a mo- ment's rest, except such as could be snatched upon deck. During the search for the enemy the ves- sels were cleared for action, and there could have been little opportunity for repose. After an inef- fectual pursuit of twenty-four hours, the enemy having, as it afterward proved, proceeded to Mai- den, at the head of the lake, tho. squadron returned to its anchorage off Erie, having barely been able to fetch that place. Had the wind favoured, the commodore intended to have followed the enemy to the head of the lake.* * The following is the list of the vessels and their command- ers on this cruise : Lawrence, Captain Perry ; Niagara, Lieu- tenant D. Turner ; brig Caledonia, commanded by Purser H. Magrath ; pilot-boat schooner Ariel, Lieutenant L Packett ; Q 182 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. The seventh and eighth of August were em- ployed in fining up with provisions, and receiv- ing the mihtary stores for the army of General Harrison. It was the intention of Captain Perry to have put to sea on the evening of the eighth, on his way up the lake ; but in the course of the day he received an express from Lieutenant Elliott, dated at Cattaraugus, sixty miles lower down the lake, informing Captain Perry that he had reached that place on his way to join the squadron and take the command of the Niagara, together with two acting Heutenants, eight midshipmen, a mas- ter-mate, a clerk, and eighty-nine men, making a re-enforcement of one hundred and two souls in all.* schooners Scorpion, Sailing-master S. Champlain ; Somers, Sailing-master Almy ; Tigress, Master's Mate A. Macdonald; Porcupine, Midshipman George Senat. The Amelia, Ohio, and Trippe were left behind for want of crews. * Mr. Cooper says, p. 359, there were eleven officers and one hundred men. There were only eighty-nine men. -On the pre- vious page he says, that Commodore Chauncey, soon after the third of July, felt himself strong enough to send one hundred and thirty men, with the necessary officers, to the upper lakes. There were eight officers and only one hundred and twenty-two men. Thus, in both instances, the number of men sent by Commodore Chauncey to Captain Perry is overstated by Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper misdates the appearance of the English squadron o& the bar and the sailing of ours. These events took place on the fifth and sixth of August respectively, instead of the fourth and fifth, as stated by him. He subsequently states that the American squadron sailed from Erie for Sandusky on OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 183 This pleasing announcement is thus noticed in Mr. Hambleton's journal, and is interesting as giv- ing a lively picture of the position and feelings of Perry. " Went on shore and transacted a variety of business; paid off the volunteers, so that we have none but the four months' men who signed articles. Captain Perry has just received a letter from General Harrison, informing him of the rais- ing of the siege of Camp Meigs, and of the unsuc- cessful attack on the fort at Sandusky, command- ed by Lieutenant Craughan. The prisoners taken there state that the new^ ship Detroit was launched at Maiden on the seventeenth of last month. Cap- tain Perry and I dined on shore. After dinner, being alone, we had a long conversation on the state of our affairs. He confessed that he was now much at a loss what to do. While he feels the danger of delay, he is not insensible to the hazard of encountering an enemy without due preparation. His officers are few and inexperi- enced, and we are short of seamen. His repeated and urgent requests for men having been treated with the most mortifying neglect, he declines ma- uhe eighteenth of August, when it sailed on the twelfth. He states previously that " it was near the end of June" before Perry sailed from Buffalo for Erie with the five small vessels, whereas he sailed from Buflfalo on the fourteenth, and arrived at Erie on the eighteenth of June. These errors are corrected, as dates are considered material in history. 184 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. king another. While thus engaged, a midshipman, Mr. J. B. Montgomery, entered and handed him a letter. It was from Lieutenant Elhott, on his way to join him with several officers and eighty-nine seamen. He was electrified by this news, and, as soon as we were alone, declared he had not been so happy since his arrival." The commodore immediately repaired on board the Lawrence, and despatched the Ariel to run the coast down tow^ards Cattaraugus, and bring up Lieutenant Elliott and his party. They arrived on the tenth of August, and the men proved to be of a very superior character to those which had been hitherto sent; their arrival and their superior character being both in no small degree attributable to the more urgent request of Cap- tain Perry, and his complaints as to the character of those that were sent, which, though producing irritation in the mind of Commodore Chauncey, had also been attended with this salutary result. The men brought up by Lieutenant Elliott are represented, indeed, as having been " prime men," the first draught of that character which had yet been received on Lake Erie. This officer, who, soon after, received his commission as a master- commandant, derived the chief benefit from this valuable accession of seamen. The crew of the Lawrence being more nearly complete in num- bers, though she had a large number of sick, than OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 185 that of the Niagara, the greater part of the new- draught was taken on board of the Niagara. Sail- ing-master Taylor, of the Lawrence, happened to be on board of that vessel when Lieutenant El- lictt took command of her, and remarked that, as the men arrived alongside of her. Lieutenant El- liott called from the boats the men previously designated for the different stations of importance on board of his vessel. He thus assumed to him- self a right of selection among the men, whose rel- ative merits were well known to him, and the residue, after being thus gleaned by him, was dis- tributed among the other vessels. This induced Mr. Taylor, who, being a thorough seaman him- self, was well calculated to appreciate the value of seamanship in others, and who was personally interested in seeing a fair share of good men on board the vessel to which he belonged, to remark to his commander, that the different vessels of the squadron were very unequally manned, in conse- quence of so great a proportion of the effective men being engrossed by the Niagara. With the same magnanimity which he had used on a former occasion towards Captain Morris — a magnanimity most unusual in the service, and w^hich strongly contrasted with the course which Commodore Chauncey had pursued towards him — Captain Per- ry took no notice of the discourtesy shown to him, as the commanding officer, in this unauthorized Q2 186 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. selection, and no steps to equalize the effective force of the vessel under his command, which was to bear the brunt and burden of the day in his country's battle, with that of his junior officer. This acceptable re-enforcement of effective mfen, due, in no inconsiderable degree, to the urgent re- monstrances of Captain Perry, was accompanied by a letter, which betrayed great irritation on the part of the commodore, and was well suited to irritate and wound the person to whom it was ad- dressed. It was dated on board the Pike, off Bur- lington Bay, on the thirteenth of July ; and, in- stead of being directed, as was the custom of the commodore, " to Captain Perry, senior naval offi- cer at Lake Erie," it was simply, " commanding the U. S. brig Lawrence." It ran as follows: "Sir, " I have been duly honoured with your letters of the twenty-third and twenty-sixth ultimo, and notice your anxiety for men and officers. I am equally anxious to furnish you, and no time shall be lost in sending officers and men to you, as soon as the public service w^ill allow me to send them from this lake. I regret that you are not pleased with the men sent you by Messrs. Champlin and Forrest ; for, to my knowledge, a part of them are not surpassed by any seamen we have in the fleet ; and I have yet to learn that the colour of the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 187 skin, or the cut and trimmings of the coat, can affect a man's qualifications or usefulness. I have nearly fifty blacks on board of this ship, and many of them are among my best men ; and those people you call soldiers have been to sea from two to seventeen years, and I presume that you will find them as good and useful as any men on board of your vessel, at least if I can judge by comparison, for those which we have on board of this ship are attentive and obedient, and, as far as I can judge, many of them excellent seamen ; at any rate, the men sent to Lake Erie have been selected with a view of sending a fair proportion of petty officers and seamen, and I presume, upon examination, it wull be found that they are equal to those upon this lake. " I have received several letters from the secre- tary of the navy, urging the necessity of the naval force upon Lake Erie acting immediately. You Avill therefore, as soon as you receive a sufficient number of men, commence your operations against the enemy, and, as soon as possible, co-operate with the array under General Harrison. As you have assured the secretary that you should con- ceive yourself equal or superior to the enemy with a force in men so much less than I had deemed necessary, there will be a great deal expected from you by your country, and I trust they will not be disappointed in the high expectations form- 188 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ed of your gallantry and judgment. I will barely make an observation, which was impressed upon my mind by an old soldier, that is, ' Never despise your enemy.' I was mortified to see, by your let- ters to the secretary, extracts and copies of which have been forwarded to me, that you complain that the distance was so great between Sackett's Harbour and Erie that you could not get instruc- tions from me in time to execute with any ad- vantage to the service, thereby intimating the ne- cessity of a separate command. Would it not have been as well to have made the complaint to me instead of the secretary ? " My confidence in your zeal and abilities is un- diminished, and I sincerely hope that your success may equal your utmost wishes. I shall despatch to you some ofl^icers and seamen and farther in- structions on my return to Niagara, where I hope to be the day after to-morrow." It will be seen that the commodore does not dis- tinctly assert that the men sent to Lake Erie were equal to those whom he had retained. He only presumes that, upon examination, they will be found to be equal. A part of them, he says, to his knowledge, were not surpassed by any seamen in his fleet. The commodore could not have haz- arded an unqualified assertion. All the officers on Lake Erie unite in pronouncing the men sent to OLIVER HAZARD PERRT. 18^ that lake by Commodore Chauncey as having been the most wretched selection that could have been made; while it is equally notorious in the service, notwithstanding what Mr. Cooper says in exculpation of Commodore Chauncey, as to the generally inferior character of the seamen on all the lakes, that there were on Lake Ontario a large proportion of as good seamen as ever trod a ship's deck; the genuine long queues abounded there. Commodore Chauncey, a thorough seaman him- self, had a passion for the collection about him of all the most finished specimens of the true man-of- war's-men that could be found ; and, unfortunate- ly, the gratification of this taste was brought into collision with the obligations of duty, as well as the sense of magnanimity which rendered it in- cumbent upon him to send to a junior officer a full and fair share of seamen for the execution of. an important trust, and to send them in season. The consciousness that he had not done this, led him to receive with greater irritation Captain Perry's let- ter of complaint, and prompted the irony and sar- casm of his reply. The following extract from Mr. Hambleton's journal is amply confirmatory of what we have said with regard to the detention on I^ake Ontario. Several officers who served on Lake Ontario con- firm the account of the extraordinary number of men, exactly double what were necessary, whom 190 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. the commodore had continued to crowd together on board the Pike. " Several weeks ago, the sec- retary of the navy informed Captain Perry that a sufficient number for both lakes had been forward- ed. This is true 3 but, unfortunately, they were all sent to Lake Ontario, where our portion was detained without necessity. For instance, the Pike, with a single deck and twenty-six guns, had four hundred men, most of them prime sea- men, mustering in all four hundred and seventy ; and even now he has not sent a single officer of rank or experience except Captain Elliott."* With the feeling of an old officer addressiil^ his inferior in rank and age, the commodore may have thought that the commendatory phrase which closed his letter would have quahfied the bitter- ness of his rebuke ; but the patience and amiabil- it)» of Perry was coupled with extreme sensitive- ness to whatever aifected his honour. On the very day that he received the commodore's letter, he enclosed a copy of it to the secretary of the navy, earnestly requesting that he might be removed from his present station. Mr. Cooper has incor- rectly placed Captain Perry's application for remo- * Yet we find Mr, Cooper, whose sympathy perpetually over- flows for the commodore, lamenting that " this draught greatly deranged the crew of the Pike, her men requiring to be station- ed anew after it had been made." The only difficulty in sta- tioning them would be to keep tiiem out of each other's way. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 191 val from his command on the ground of his " com- plainmg of the quahty of the crews of the ves- sels which he commanded." If this statement were^to remain uncorrected, it would leave an impression upon the public mind suited to dimin- ish the w^ell-earned fame of Perry ; an impression, indeed, which it is the general tendency of all that Mr. Cooper has written with regard to him to produce. But for this circumstance, the dif- ficulty which took place between Commodore Chauncey and Captain Perry would not have been here adverted to, as it did not prevent them fronWubsequently resuming their friendship. Cap- tain Perry's letter will show the real grounds of his request to be removed from under Commodore Chauncey's command, and the unfounded charac- ter of Mr. Cooper's allegation. It is dated on board the Lawrence, at Erie, on the tenth of August. "Sir, " I am under the disagreeable necessity of re- questing a removal from this station. The en- closed copy of a letter from Commodore Chaun- cey will, I am satisfied, convince you that I can- not serv^e longer under an officer who has been so totally regardless of my feelings. The men spoken of by Commodore Chauncey are those mentioned in the roll I did myself the honour to send you. 192 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. They may, sir, be as good as are on the other lake; but, if so, that squadron must be poorly manned indeed. In the requisition for men sent by your order, I made a note, saying I shoul(Pcon- sider myself equal or superior to the enemy with a smaller number of men. What then might have been considered certain, may, from lapse of time, be deemed problematical.* " The commodore insinuates that I have taken measures to obtain a separate command. I beg leave to ask you, sir, if anything in any of my letters to you could be construed into such a mean- ing. On my return to thi& place in June last, I wrote you that the Queen Charlotte and Lady Pre- vost were off this harbour, and if they remained a few days I might possibly be able to intercept their return to Maiden. I had no orders to act ; and the only way of obtaining them in time was to write to you, sir, as the communication be- tween Commodore Chauncey and myself occupied considerably upward of a month. In my request, I meant this as a reason for applying to you on the emergency instead of to the commodore. " I have been on this station upward of five * He had since heard of the arrival of Commodore Barclay with a re-enforcement of officers and men, and of the launch- ing of the heavy ship Detroit, which, when fitted for service, would give the enemy a decided superiority. His great anxiety had been to get out before the equipment of that ship. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 193 months, and during that time have submitted cheerfully and with pleasure to fatigue and anx- iety hitherto unknown to me in the service. I have had a very responsible situation, without an officer, except one sailing-master, of the least ex- perience. However seriously I have felt my situ- ation, not a murmur has escaped me. The critical state of General Harrison was such that I took upon myself the very great responsibility of going out with the few young officers you had been pleased to send me, with the few seamen I had, and as many volunteers as I could muster from the mili- tia. I did not shrink from this responsibility ; but, sir, at that very moment I surely did not antici- pate the receipt of a letter in every line of which is insult. Under all these circumstances, I beg most respectfully and most earnestly that I may be immediately removed from this station. I am wining to forego that reward which I have con- sidered for two months past almost within my grasp. If, sir, I have rendered my country any service in the equipment of this squadron, I beg it may be considered an inducement to grant my re- quest. I shall proceed with the squadron, and whatever is in my power shall be done to promote the interest and honour of the service." The reader may thus see for himself that Cap- tain Perry's application for removal from his cora- R 194 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. mand was made upon the specific ground that he was unwilling to serve under an officer who had been totally regardless of his feelings, by address- ing to him a letter which he conceived to be in- sulting in every line, and not in any measure or degree on account of " the quality of the crews of the vessels he commanded," as is incorrectly al- leged by Mr. Cooper. In going out with only three hundred officers and men, and a few militia volun- teers hastily collected, on his own responsibility and without orders to act, he manifested his willing- ness to meet the enemy, whatever might be " the quality of the crews of the vessels he command- ed," as he subsequently did his ability to triumph signally with the same materials. Lieutenant ElHott was at the same time the bearer of a second letter from Commodore Chaun- cey, dated off Niagara on the third of August, in which he expressed the hope that the one hundred officers and men accompanying Lieutenant Elliott, together with such assistance as Captain Perry might be able to get from the army, would place him so nearly upon a footing with the enemy as to enable him to go out and offer battle, and open, if possible, an immediate intercourse with General Harrison. Commodore Chauncey also expressed his disappointment at not being able to send Cap- tain Perry any marines, as he had expected to have done. He stated that, as Captain Wain- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 195 wright, who had been announced as about to ar- rive with a detachment, had not reached Sackett's Harbour before the commodore sailed, he was un- able to send them at that time without distressing his own ship ; but, as soon as he should return to Sackett's Harbour, he promised to send fifty ma- rines to Captain Perry. Ten days after making this promise, the commodore, while on his way to Sackett's Harbour, met with the schooner Lady of the Lake, which, by his order, was transporting the promised detachment of marines to Niagara, to be thence forwarded to Lake Erie. Commo- dore Chauncey now took these marines, which he had promised to Captain Perry, and which would have been so valuable to him, on board of his own vessels. The reason assigned by Mr. Cooper for this unjust appropriation was, that Commodore Chauncey had recently lost one hundred and fifty men by the foundering of two of his vessels, and the capture of two others by the enemy in action, on the night of the tenth of August. Yet, three or four days after Commodore Chauncey deemed it necessary to strengthen himself with this feeble re-enforcement to his large force, but which would have been of so much importance to the smaller force of Captain Perry, we find the commodore, in the absence of two of his cruisers, the Fair American and Asp, offering battle to the whole British squadron off the False Ducks. If the com- 196 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. modore considered himself a match for the British squadron without two of his cruisers, with still more confidence might he have gone into action with those two vessels, and without the fifty ma- rines withheld from Lake Erie, where their pres- ence was so essential. As for the substitution of either militiamen or newly-levied regular troops for marines, it is needless to say how ill the former could supply the place of the latter. Marines, from the long-continued habit of serving on ship- board, are as much at home there as seamen, and are of essential use in the discharge of every or- dinary duty. In battle, whether stationed at the great guns, to the exercise of which they are trained in all well-disciplined ships, as, indeed, they should be while in barracks, or using their own appropriate arms, they have ever shown the most devoted courage. These circumstances add to the injustice which Coinmodore Chauncey did to Captain Perry in withholding from him his due quota of marines, under a pretext which is wholly insufficient. It would be unfair to Commodore Chauncey not to state, that the injustice done by him to Captain Perry, in withholding a sufficient number of good men, has been practised not un- frequently by our old commanders, though, per- haps, in less critical circumstances. Deprived of the distinction of higher grades as a just reward of faithful services, and accustomed yearly to see OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 197 their juniors take rank beside them, they chng with pertinacity to every admitted attribute of their superior station, and use their authority in a narrow spirit, and with reference chiefly to them- selves. The subjects of injustice themselves, they are not a little prone to exercise injustice towards others. The creation of a higher grade, while it would incalculably promote the discipline and best interests of the service, would impart a magnanim- ity to our old commanders in their relations with their inferiors, which they are at present but little in the habit of practising. It may be as well here to state, that the difficul- ty growing out of Commodore Chauncey's harsh letter of the thirtieth of July was closed, so far as these two officers were concerned, by the follow- ing reply of Commodore Chauncey to Captain Per- ry's letter, announcing his having requested to be withdrawn from Lake Erie. It is inserted in jus- tice to Commodore Chauncey, as being alike cred- itable to his good sense and good feehng. The letter is dated at Sackett's Harbour on the tvjen- ty-seventh of August. " I have received your letter of the eleventh in- stant, wherein you inform me that you had en- closed a copy of my letter of the thhtieth of July to the honourable the secretary of the navy, with R2 198 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. a request that you might be immediately removed from Lake Erie. I regret your determination for various reasons; the first and most important is, that the public service would suffer from a change, and your removal might in some degree defeat the objects of the campaign. Although I con- ceive that you have treated me with less candour than I was entitled to, considering the warm in- terest that I have always taken in your behalf, yet my confidence in your zeal and ability has been undiminished, and I should really regret that any circumstance should remove you from your present command before you have accomplished the ob- jects for which you were sent to Erie ; and I trust that you will give the subject all the consideration that its importance requires before you make up your mind definitively. You ought also to consider that the first duty of an oflficer is to sacrifice all personal feelings to his public duties." The volunteers from the militia which Captain Perry had taken on board to go in pursuit of the enemy had only been for that single cruise. He was unable to procure any permanent volunteers to perform the duty of marines during the cruising season. With his small force, a few short of four hundred oflfiicers and men, he sailed on the twelfth of August from Erie, to proceed up the lake and place himself in co-operation with the northwestern OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 199 army, the headquarters of which were then at Sen- eca, on the banks of the Sandusky. The order of saiUng estabhshed by Perry for his squadron was in a double column ; the Lawrence, Porcupine, Cale- donia, Ohio, and Ariel being on the right, and the Niagara, Trippe, Tigress, Somers, and Scorpion on the left, in the order respectively in which they are named. It will be seen that he had now add- ed the Ohio and Trippe to his squadron, under the command respectively of Sailing-master D. Dob- bin and Lieutenant J. E. Smith. There was also an established line of battle in one line, with the* Ariel and Scorpion, the two fastest of the small vessels, stationed on the opposite side from the en- emy, and near the commodore, in a situation to support any part of the line that might require it. In a subsequent order, the Scorpion was brought into the line, and the distance between the vessels was fixed at a half cable's length. Finally, there was an order of attack, in which a particular an- tagonist in the British squadron was assigned to each vessel of ours, which was intended to facili- tate the business of remodelling the line of battle, if necessary, according to the arrangement of the enemy's squadron when it should be fallen in with, and to fix in the mind of each commander his spe- cial adversary. In this order of attack Perry had reserved to himself the privilege of fighting the largest of the enemy's ships, and had accordingly 200 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. placed the Lawrence opposite the Detroit in the di- agram, and the Niagara, in Hke manner, opposite the second British ship, the Queen Charlotte. Pro- vision was made, in case of a separation of our ves- sels and an accidental rencounter in the night, to prevent a collision under the impression of their be- ing enemies, that our vessels should hoist one light and hail, the vessel to windward should answer first "Jones," to which the leewardmost would answer " Madison." The additional order was subse- quently issued, that, in the event of the enemy's approaching our squadron to attack it \OTle at anchor, the signal of two consecutive musket-shots from the Lawrence would be a signal for the ves- sels to cut their cables and make sail, beginning with the leewardmost, and form astern of the Law- rence, which would show a light ; three consecu- tive musket-shots would be the signal to weigh in the same succession. The orders were all well conceived to promote concerted action and pre- vent surprise, and indicated judgment and fore- thought. On the sixteenth the squadron arrived off Cun- ningham's Island, near the head of the lake, with- out having seen the enemy. It was blowing fresh at the time, which prevented it from taking a berth close in with Sandusky Bar, as Perry had intended, in order to disembark the military stores for the army, and communicate with General Harrison. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 201 On the following day, one of the enemy's small cruisers having hove in sight, probably to recon- noitre, the squadron gave chase and was nearly up with her, when, night coming on, she disap^ peared among the group of the Sisters. The squadron now anchored off Sandusk}^, and General Harrison came on board the Lawrence on the nineteenth of August, in the evening, accom- panied by Generals Cass and M* Arthur, Colonel Gaines, Major Croghan, with the whole of his nu- merous staff, and twenty-six chiefs of the Shawnee, Wyandot, and Delaware Indians; among whom were three highly influential ones, Crane, Black Hoof, and Captain Tommy by name. The object of the general in bringing the Indians was, that they might inform their friends then with the en- emy of our force, with the hope of detaching them. They .were, of course, filled with wonder at the spectacle of our " big canoes." On the morning of the twentieth, a salute was fired in honour of the general's visit. Perry learned from him that he was not ready to advance, and determined, in the interim, to go in pursuit of the enemy's squadron and offer it battle. The general and commodore spent the day in reconnoitring Put-in Bay, to the advantages of which the general had first called his attention. After concerting their plans for the removal of the army to this point, when it should be all assembled previously to invading Canada, 202 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. the general returned on the twenty-first to his camp. Perry proceeded on the twenty-third to Put-in Bay, and on the twenty-fifth stood for Mai- den, and discovered the British squadron at anchor within Bar Point. It had not yet been re-en- forced by the new ship Detroit, which they could not discern. The wind blew fresh at the time ; and, as the Bay of Maiden can only be approached and left again with a leading breeze, when the wind is from southwest or northeast. Captain Per- ry thought it unsafe to run the risk of getting em- bayed, in which event he Avould be much exposed to lose some of his dullest sailers. On this ac- count, and in consequence of being attacked with bilious remittent fever, a disease which was very prevalent in the squadron, and which was attend- ed with almost immediate prostration of strength, he took his squadron into Put-in Bay. This is a snug harbour, formed by the group of Bass Islands. It opens towards the Canada shore in the direction of Maiden, overlooks the passage into the upper and lower lakes, and offers an admirable point for protecting the adjacent coasts of Ohio, and the out- lets of the numberless streams which here disem- bogue into Lake Erie. Soon after Perry's attack, his disease, owing doubtless to the strength of his constitution, assumed a very malignant character. The surgeon of the Lawrence was seriously ill, as •A^ere the chaplain, Mr. T. Breese, and Alexander OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 203 VeTTy, the commodore's brother. The assistant surgeon. Dr. U. Parsons, himself out of health, was obhged to prescribe for the commodore, and all the sick of the Lawrence and of the small vessels. He resorted at once, in the commodore's case, to strong remedial measures, and applied a blister to the back of his neck. On the twenty-eighth of Au- gust Dr. Parsons himself became affected with the prevailing fever. Though so ill as to be incapa- ble of walking, with a humane self-devotion most honourable to him, he continued to attend at the bedsides of the sick, to which he was carried, and to prescribe for them, not only on board of the Lawrence, but on board the small vessels, being lifted for the purpose on board of them in his cot, and the sick brought on deck for his prescription. On the thirty -first of August, while lying in Put-in Bay, Perry received from General Harrison a re-enforcement of near one hundred men, which, after deducting a few deaths, and others left on shore as useless at Erie, carried the total of his muster-roll to four hundred and ninety souls. Some of the men who had been selected from General M' Arthur's brigade were lake or river boatmen, and were received as seamen. The ma- jority, however, were intended to perform duty as marines in the squadron, in consequence of the dis- appointment in receiving the expected guard from Ontario. The men detailed for this service were 204 AMERICAN BIOGKAPHY. chiefly taken from the Kentucky mihtia and from the twenty-eighth regiment of infantry, which had recently joined the army from Kentucky, where it had been entirely raised. The whole party, offi- cers and men included, were volunteers, led by a spirit of adventure to embark in an enterprise so different from the previous habits of their life. Few of them had ever seen a vessel before they were marched to the mouth of the Sandusky, and their astonishment and curiosity when they got on board were irrepressible. They climbed to the masthead ; dove to the bottom of the hold ; passed, without stopping or understanding any distinction, from the sick bay to the captain's cabin, express- ing their admiration as they went in awkward but rapturous terms. These Kentuckians were dressed in their favourite fringed linsey-woolsey hunting- shirts and drawers, and were themselves equally an object of curiosity to the officers and seamen, few of whom had ever seen any of these hardy borderers. Perry, for a time, was amused with the rest ; but began, ere long, to fear that his extraor- dinary marines would lend but little assistance in their appropriate office of sustaining the discipline and etiquette* of the squadron. Soon after their arrival, he briefly stated to the non-commissioned officer in command of that portion of the detach- ment which had been detailed for his own ves- sel, the nature of the duties that would be required OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 205 of them, and the line of conduct they would be required to preserve. The officer then mustered his men on deck, and informed them that they had been kindly indulged by Commodore Perry with an opportunity of gratifying their curiosity by seeing the ship, in doing which they had been permitted to violate the rules and disci- pline of the sea-service without rebuke. They must now come to order, and submit themselves to the usual discipline of marines, confine themselves to their proper places, and attend to their appro- priate duties, which were forthwith explained to them. The stout Kentuckians took the admoni- tion in good part ; they carefully conformed to all that was required of them, were of essential use in manning the squadron, and replacing the ma- rines and seamen which Commodore Chauncey had withheld; and their association with Perry was, to such of them as survived to tell the tale of their adventures, a special and enduring source of gratification. His complement thus completed as to numbers, this valuable interval of repose was profitably em- ployed, by Perry's orders, in teaching his ill-as- sorted crews their duty, and training them in the various evolutions preparatory to battle. After a week's confinement to his berth, Perry became convalescent, and found himself sufficient- ly well on the first of September to be upon deck. S 206 AMERICAN BIOGRAPKy. On that day he got his squadron once more in mo- tion and stood off Maiden. As the weather was settled and the wind favourable for standing in and out of the bay, Captain Perry ran very close in, and continued off the harbour the whole day with his colours set. He found their new ship, the Detroit, rigged and anchored with the rest of their squadron at the mouth of the harbour, under cover of a battery on the mainland, flanked by ^ second on an island opposite. His anticipations of the enemy's obtaining a superior force by the equipment of this ship, which he had studied to prevent by appearing on the lake and striking a blow while his force was yet superior to that of the enemy, being thus defeated by the delay of Commodore Chauncey in sending the crews for his vessels, it only remained for him to try the issue of a battle, of which the chances were now rendered so much against him. This purpose he was still no less firmly bent on effecting. It ap- pears, moreover, that he already meditated an at- tack on the enemy under the guns of his batteries, should he be unsuccessful in drawing him out, in concert with an attack from General Harrison by land. As the enemy showed no disposition at this time to accept the offer of battle thus made to him, on equal terms, in the open lake, Perry, after care- fully reconnoitring his position, bore up for San^ OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 207 dusky on the second of September, in order to communicate with General Harrison with regard to embarking his army for an attack on Maiden. Captain Perry was of opinion that he could em- bark twenty-five hundred or three thousand men ; but they would so encumber his decks as to de- stroy the use of the great guns. He called the general's attention to a small island, known as the Middle Sister, distant about fifteen miles from Maiden, which he thought would offer an excel- lent rendezvous the day previous to an attack. This suggestion was subsequently adopted. A most deeply mortifying circumstance attend- ed Captain Perry's return to Sandusky. He found there two separate letters from the secretary of the navy, dated on the eighteenth of August. One of them was in reply to his application for re- moval from the command of Lake Erie. It was an exceedingly temperate and judicious letter, in which, while he was informed that the interests of the public service did not admit of a change of commanders under existing circumstances, his pa- triotism and sense of duty were powerfully appealed to as motives for inducing him to allay his feel- ings of discontent, to avoid recrimination, and persevere in the zealous and honourable path of duty which he had hitherto pursued with so much credit to himself and advantage to his country. The secretary concluded his letter with the follow- 208 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ing admirable sentimentj so well suited to influ- ence a generous temper : " It is the duty of an officer, and in none does his character shine more conspicuous, to sacrifice all personal motives and feelings when in collision with the public good. This sacrifice you are called upon to make ; and I calculate with confi- dence upon your efforts to restore and preserve harmony, and to concentrate the vigorous exer- tions of all in carrying into effect the great ob- jects of your enterprise." The soothing and complimentary effects of this letter were, however, accompanied by a very bitter antidote in another letter from the same function- ary of the same date, which, without once advert- ing to the subject of the difficulty with Commo- dore Chauncey, or the tendered resignation of the Lake Erie command, was filled throughout with reproof and animadversion, expressed occasionally in a tone sufficiently bitter and taunting. It com- menced thus abruptly : " A draught has been drawn upon me for four thousand two hundred and seventy-eight dollars for lead ballast. This appears to me extraordi- nary; for, admitting there was no pig-iron, yet, as you are on a fresh-water lake, and require no OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 209 room for water, and but little for provisions and stores for a short cruise, stone, properly stowed and levelled, would have answered every purpose. I presume, if neither pig-iron nor lead could have been procured, that the object would not have been frustrated on that account. • I make great allowances for the remote situation and want of local resources, but the expenditures have beec o-reat indeed. " I observe Mr. Magrath, a purser, in comman(? of one of the vessels. You have several officers, highly spoken of by their late commanders, who are now commissioned lieutenants. Two of them, Messrs. Yarnall and Packett, have brought valu- able prizes across the Atlantic. You have com- plained very much, and it appears to me rather unreasonably, of the want of officers. Those you have have seen considerable service, from which they are regularly entitled to the situations they now hold, and Mr. Magrath cannot command to the prejudice of the lieutenants. You surely do not expect the frigates to be stripped of the senior lieutenants in order to furnish you with what you are pleased to consider experienced officers. " I regret to observe, by a letter from General Harrison, received yesterday at the department of war, that he appears to be under the impression that you are destitute of qualified officers, and that your crews are composed of anything but seamen. S2 210 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. If he has received the impression from you, I deem it extremely improper 3 and I am mortified that the idea has considerable currency. If the fact was really so, its existence was not to be made a mat- ter of public notoriety, to imbolden the enemy and depress the confidence of the oflficers and men in their own powers. If you were yourself con- vinced of the fact, it was a proper ground of re- monstrance to this department, and would ever have been a justification on your part in declining to meet the enemy until a remedy should have been applied." There seems to be something disingenuous in the mode adopted by the secretary to get rid of the main diflficulty with regard to Captain Perry's objections to Commodore Chauncey's letter, by counselling conciliation and appealing to his pa- triotism, and yet, on the same day, returning upon him with sevenfold acrimony in connexion with the same diflriculties ; holding him, moreover, re- sponsible for the very deficiency of officers and men of which he had such just reason to complain, and for the tendency of this notorious deficiency to depress his own men and imbolden the enemy. Instructed to co-operate with General Harrison, and constantly urged by him to join company, how could he avoid stating to him the causes of his inability to comply? His sneer at the ex- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 211 travagance of Captain Perry's pretensions, and at the absurdity of stripping the frigates of their se- nior lieutenants in order to furnish him with what he w^as pleased to consider experienced officers, was no less futile and ridiculous than it was in- sulting. On the day that Captain Perry received this harsh rebuke, he wrote a temperate and re- spectful reply, amply vindicating himself from the charges thus brought against him. It was in the following words : " I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the eighteenth ultimo, and am sorry to observe that my conduct in several par- ticulars is disapproved by the department. No doubt I have fallen into many errors, but I beg leave to assure you that I have used my best ex- ertions to forward the views of the department in the equipment of the vessels on this lake with the least possible expense and delay. If I have failed, I hope the failure will be attributed to anything but a want of zeal for the service and a proper at- tention to the important interests committed to my care. On ascertaining that pig-iron could not be had, and being informed that lead would at any time command cost at Erie, I did not hesitate to order it, the runs in the vessels being so low as not to admit a sufficient quantity of stone ballast. The expenditures on this station have no doubt 212 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. amounted to a large sum ; but I am well convinced, when critically examined, it will be found to have been necessary. I have not authorized the pur- chase of a single article but what I deemed abso- lutely necessary, and I have paid the strictest at- tention to economy in every particular. " I was aware, at the time I appointed Mr. Ma- grath, that it was irregular, but I was fully con- vinced that it was the best arrangement that I could make. I knew him to be an experienced sea-officer, and that his appointment did not inter- fere with the wishes of the other officers.* Mr. Packett, then acting lieutenant, by his own appli- cation had command of the Ariel, and Mr. Yar- nall, made acting lieutenant by myself, was the second officer of this vessel. Neither of them would have preferred the command of the Cale- donia to the situation he held. " I am sorry that my application for experienced officers should have been considered unreasonable. Mr. Yarnall and Mr. Packett are certainly fine young men, and will make valuable officers. But two sloops of war and nine other vessels required a much greater number of officers than I had, and, as I conceived, of more experience. If I have been too urgent in this particular, I hope the ar- dent desire I had to have under my command a * Mr. Magrath had originally been a sea-officer in the navy senior to Perry. He had resigned, as an old lie.itenant, in 1809. 0LI7ER HAZARD PERRY. 213 force adequate to the object in view, will serve as my apology. " Heretofore I have considered myself fortunate in having but little said in the public prints re- specting my force. So far from gi^'ing currency to the opinion that is said to prevail, I have en- deavoured, as much as possible, to conceal my weakness. But in a village like Erie it must at all times be impossible to conceal the numbers or nature of such a force, but particularly when there were several thousand militia in the place, all eager to know the exact state of affairs, and as eager to communicate to their correspondents the result of their inquiries. The commanders of the vessels were personally known to the inhabitants; and it was easy for any printer to procure a list for pub- lication, without applying to me or any officer under my command. The list published was with- out my knowledge. Nor will it be thought strange that General Harrison should have had a tolerably correct idea of the nature of the force at Erie, when it is known that one of his officers was sta- tioned there for several weeks before the squadron sailed. I have the honour to enclose you extracts of my letters to him on the subject, which I hope will not be thought improper when our relative situation is considered. I have this day placed Lieutenant Turner in command of the Caledonia." ^14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. With regard to the imputed extravagance of the expenditures, it may be farther remarked, that the expenses of the construction of the Erie squadron fell far below those of vessels of equal size on Lake Ontario ; and, farthermore, that Perry had, of his own free-will, relinquished the financial agency for the lake, which would have proved a source of considerable profit to him, from the belief that it would interfere with his more important obliga- tions. It is truly painful thus to see Perry reduced to the necessity of defending himself The fulness of the defence shows, however, the absurd and simulated character of the charges. Henceforth other cares than those of self-vindication remain for him, and the ingenuity of the censorious secre- tary is tasked to devise commendatory phrases in- stead of detecting imaginary faults. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 215 CHAPTER VIE. TnteIHgence of the Enemy^s Intention to Sail. — Rela- tive Force of Squadrons. — Perry returns to Put- in Bay. — Last Instructions for Battle. — Enemy appears in Sight, standing for our Squadron. — Perry sails. — Shift of Wind. — Enemy to Leeioard. — Clearing for Action. — Hoisting Battle -flag. — Cheers along the Line. — Action commences. — De- structive Fire on the Lawrence in hearing down, — Supported by Scorpion, Ariel, and Caledonia. — Niagara draws to Windward. — Desperate Re- sistance of the Lawrence. — She is reduced to a Wreck. — Perry shifts to the Niagara. — Perils of his Passage. — Sympathy of the Lawrence's Crew, — He reaches the Niagara in Safety. — Surrender of the Lawrence. — Death of Brooks. — The Niagara hreaks the Enemy^s Line. — Engages loth Sides. — British Squadron attempts to Wear. — Detroit and Queen Charlotte get foul. — Terrible raking Fire. — British Surrender. — Appearance of both Squad- rons. — Character of the Victory. — Official Letters. — Burial of Seamen. — Return to Put-in Bay. — Burial of Officers. On the fourth of September Captain Perry de- spatched the Ohio to Erie for provisions and stores, with directions to hasten back, as her services would probably be required in a week. On the 216 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. fifth, our squadron still continuing in Sandusky Bay, three citizens arrived from Maiden, who communicated to Captain Perry that the British army under General Proctor being short of pro- visions, it had been determined that the squadron should sail to engage ours, and endeavour to open a communication with Long Point, so as to draw the necessary supplies from the depot at that place. Captain Perry now also received more accurate information than he had yet obtained as to the force of the enemy's squadron. From the information he then obtained, with what was af- terward learned of the squadron, we will now state that it coqgisted of the new and very strongly- built ship Detroit, of five hundred tons and nine- teen guns, all long except two twenty-four pound carronades ; of the ship Queen Charlotte, of four hundred tons and seventeen guns, three of them be- ing long guns, the Detroit and Queen Charlotte having each one of the long guns on a pivot; of the schooner Lady Prevost, of two hundred and thirty tons and thirteen guns, three being long guns ; of the brig Hunter, of one hundred and eighty tons and ten guns; of the sloop Little Belt, of one hundred tons and three guns, two long twelves and one long eighteen ; and of the schooner Chip- peway, of one hundred tons, mounting one long eighteen ; making in all sixty-three guns, thirty- five of which were long. The squadron was com- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 217 manded by Captain Robert Heriot Barclay, a vet- eran officer, who had served with distinction in many of those na\ al engagements which had ren- dered the name and flag of England so terrible on the ocean, and who had been with Nelson at Traf- algar, and been desperately wounded in that ever- memorable seafight ; more recently, as first lieu- tenant of a frigate, he had lost an arm in action with the French. He was a skilful seaman, and an officer of approved courage. He was second- ed by a brave and experienced officer in Captain Finnis, with others of honourable standing in their profession. He had, within a day or two, received a draught of fifty men from the Dover troop-ship, then lying at Quebec, and his crews now consist- ed of one hundred and fifty men from the royal navy, as admitted in the finding of the court-mar- tial on Commodore Barclay, with, according to James's statement, eighty Canadian sailors, and two hundred and forty soldiers from the forty-first regiment of the line and the reghnent of New- foundland Rangers, chiefly from the former ; ma- king together, by their own account, an aggregate of four hundred and seventy seamen and soldiers, to whom are to be added thirty-two officers known to have been in the squadron, making in all five hundred and two souls.* * That we have not overstated the British force will be seen from the following. Prisoners taken in battle and landed at T 218 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Of our vessels, mounting in all fifty-four guns, only the Lawrence and Niagara, each of five hun- Camp Portage, as by the official list, containing their names and rank, 308 ; killed and wounded in the battle by the British ac- count, which we will assume to be correct, though we believe it to be underrated, and that, in the confusion of capture, and death of commanders and seconds in command, every person thrown overboard was duly accounted for, 135 ; provincial officers known to have been paroled by Commodore Perry, on account of hav- ing families at Maiden, 3 certainly; medical officers detained on board the Detroit and Queen Charlotte to cure their sick and wounded, 3 ; sea or army lieutenant paroled by Perry, and sent to Erie in the Lawrence after the action to confer with the British commissary of prisoners, 1 ; making altogether 450 ; which, with 52 which we will suppose unaccounted for and left with the wounded to go to Erie as too ill for a march of several hundred miles, will make 502. We thus, at any rate, know cer- tainly that there were 450 men in health on board the British squadron when it went into action. Our numbers by the mus- ter-roll amounted to 490, of which 116 were sick on the morn- ing of the action. Say that 16 of these sick Americans came on deck and took part in the battle, it would leave us with but 390 to 450 of the British. Yet James, in his British Naval His- tory, tells us, p. 250, vol. 6, " By adding 80 Canadians and 240 soldiers from the Newfoundland and 41st regiments to the 50 British seamen, the crew of Commodore Barclay's squadron is made to amount to 345." It should be observed, that he had previously stated that Captain Barclay himself brought with him 19 seamen, and had mentioned the arrival of the draught from the Dover, known to amount to 50 seamen. Before the arrival of Barclay, and before the building of the Detroit, the rest of the squadron, mounting 44 guns, was cruising under Captain Finnis. Will any one believe that these vessels, mounting 44 guns, were only manned by 80 Canadians,, even if the finding of the court-martial did not enable us to ascertain the contrary 1 It OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 219 dred tons, could be considered men-of-war. The others were exceedingly frail, and without bul- warks. They were chiefly armed with long guns. The brigs mounted each twenty guns, eighteen thirty-two pound carronades and two long twelves They constituted the main dependance of the squad- ron, and could only be eflfective against an enemy chiefly armed with long guns by coming at once must be remembered that Mr. James is aided by a captain in the royal navy, who, as such, is supposed to be a mathematician, and yet endorses the arithmetic of Mr. James. In the Edinburgh Review of 1840, this arithmetic is again endorsed by a Scotch- man, also probably a naval captain, who reproduces the figures and draws arguments from them without stopping to correct them. If the error had been the other way, we should have no right to complain. As it is, we think the passage worthy of correction, or the misstatement of being made more congruous. Another gross delusion practised by the historian and endorsed by the reviewer, who claims for it Mr. Cooper's sanction be- cause he has not contradicted it, is in assigning to our squadron a great superiority of metal, because the weight of shot thrown by our ships at a broadside was greatly superior to theirs. This superiority grew out of the fact of their having no fewer than 35 long guns, while we had only 15. Now the weight of long ^•uns is to carronades of equal calibre more than in the propor- tion of three to one. How, then, could they hope to exceed us as 35 to 15 in number of long guns, and yet equal us in weight >f shot at a broadside 1 These naval gentlemen must have known full well that the advantage was on their side while making their misstatements. They also knew that the cir- cumstances under which the battle was fought gave to the British the full benefit of their substitution of length of gun for calibre. 220 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. to close action. The second in command of the American squadron was Captain J. D. Elhott, who had recently superseded Lieutenant D. Tur- ner in the command of the Niagara, on the eve of saihng from Erie. The other officers were very young men, of little experience though of great promise, and sailing-masters taken from the mer- chant service, chiefly selected by Captain Perry from among his fellow-townsmen, and all of whom did great credit to his selection, and proved most worthy of his confidence. The whole force in offi- cers and men of our squadron amounted to four hun- dred and ninety; of these, one hundred and sixteen were on the sick-lists of the different vessels on the morning of the action, seventy-eight cases being of bilious fever. There were a greater number of so-called seamen among them than in the British squadron, but they were such as remained from the draus^hts sent to Lake Ontario after the best materials had been selected. They were of all colours and climes, reduced in numbers and emaciated by disease. The Kentucky volunteers were stout fellows, it is true, with gallant spirits, but utter strangers to ships, and unaccustomed to discipline. Those who have been accustomed to look upon the picked soldiers of a British regiment will readily believe that the soldiers embarked in the British squadron were not less stout than the Kentuckians. They had been trained to subordi- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 22] aation by years of service, while their voyages to every clime whither the ambition of England car- ries her triumphant arms had made them familiar with the ocean, and at home on shipboard. The physical force, like the force in ships and number of guns, was greatly in favour of the English. A consideration of the intelligence thus obtained as to the enemy's superiority did not check Captain Per- ry's oft-repeated desire to meet him. It was not in his nature to neglect the advice of Commodore Chauncey, however tauntingly given, however well suited to increase his responsibility in the event of failure, '* Never despise your enemy !" But, if he did not despise his enemy, he had yet a just sense of his own resources, a proper confidence in himself. He shared, in a degree in no respect inferior, the feeling which made all things possi- ble to Nelson, which impelled Paul Jones to en- terprises of such seeming hardihood. On the receipt of this intelligence of Barclay's preparations to encounter him. Perry set sail from Sandusky on the sixth of September, and, after re- connoitring the enemy off Maiden, and observing that he was still at his moorings, returned to Put- in Bay, which offered so many facilities for watch- ing his movements. Here the last preparations were made for battle, the last instructions given to regulate the conduct of the subordinate command- ers. The commanders of the various vessels, being T2 222 AMERICAN BIOGEAPHY. summoned by signal on board the Lawrence, were each furnished with Perry's corrected instructions for their government ; and he farther explained to them verbally his views with regard to whatever contingency might occur. He now produced a battle-flag, which he had caused to be privately prepared by Mr. Hambleton before leaving Erie, and the hoisting of which to the main royal mast of the Lawrence was to be his signal for action : a blue flag, bearing, in large white letters, " Don't give up the ship !" the dying words of the hero whose name she bore. When about to withdraw, he stated to them his intention to bring the enemy from the first to close quarters, in order not to lose by the short range of his carronades ; and the last emphatic injunction with which he dismissed them was, that he could not, in case of diflficulty, advise them better than in the words of Lord Nelson, " If you lay your enemy close alongside, you cannot be out of your place !" Every preparation had thus been made to meet the enemy, and the young commander had done all that depended upon him to secure a triumph for his country. The crew were all well station- ed, had become thoroughly practised at the guns, and felt something of the confidence which famil- iarity with the weapons they were to use inspires. The sickness, however, had extended itself through- out the fleet, and operated as a great discourage- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 223 ' ment. On the eighth, all the medical officers were ill but Dr. Parsons, who, though but half recover- ed, had returned to duty. He was obliged to be carried twice through the rain, which continued the whole day, to see the surgeon and the other sick of the Niagara. By Dr. Parsons's advice, the Avater used by the crews was boiled ; it being thought that the prevaihng dysentery, and per- haps the fever, were caused by the use of the lake water. The British commander, who had shown a chivalrous spirit throughout, did not long keep his antagonist in suspense. At sunrise on the morning of the tenth of September, the British squadron was discovered from the masthead of the Lawrence, on the northwestern board, standing to- wards Put-in Bay, in which our squadron was ly- ing. Barclay's object was evidently attack, not an uninterrupted passage to Long Point, which he could certainly have had ; and if batde was only an alternative with him, to be risked in ex- tremity when it could no longer be avoided, he could have risked it on his return with supplies for the army, if it could no longer be avoided. Barclay, choosing his time, might have sailed out along the Canada shore to the northward of all the islands in the night, and got well to the eastward down the lake before Perry's look-out ves- sels, which he kept off the Sister Islands, could 224 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. have advised him of the enemy being out. But he bore gallantly down to engage, choosing his time so as to have a long day before him, coming more than half way towards his enemy, and of- fering him battle on his own coast. This fact is interesting, as setting completely at rest the pretension to any inferiority of force on the part of the British, never set up by Barclay or his of- ficers at the time, and only since produced by dis- ingenuous and unfaithful historians, endeavour- ing systematically to account, by an alleged su- periority of force, for a victory that, at any rate in this instance, was effected by superior gunnery, and the extraordinary mental resources of the vic- torious commander. The fact of the British squadron being in sight of the masthead was at once reported to Perry by Lieutenant Dulany Forrest, the officer of the deck on board the Lawrence. He ordered the signal made " under way to get !" In a few minutes the whole squadron was under sail, beating out of the harbour against a light breeze from southwest, and with the boats ahead to tow. Snake Island and some other islands of the Bass group interposed between our squadron and the enemy. By beating round to windward of these islands, our squadron would have had a lead- ing breeze to run down upon the enemy, and, con- sequently, the weather-gauge in the approaching OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 225 battle. With this view the squadron had com- menced beating out. The wind, however, was very unsteady, and, as not unfrequently happens on such occasions, it headed the squadron off al- most every time it crossed the channel and was obliged to tack. . Several hours had passed in this way. It was near ten o'clock, when Captain Per- ry, now become impatient, addressed his sailing- master, Mr. Taylor, who was working the Law- rence, and asked his opinion as to the probable time that would still be required to weather the islands. When Mr. Taylor's reply confirmed the opinion he had himself formed of the probable delay that this evolution would occasion. Perry told the master he would wear ship, and run to leeward of the islands. Mr. Taylor remarked that they would then have to engage the enemy from to leeward. Captain Perry replied, " I don't care, to windward or to leeward, they shall fight to-day !" The signal was accordingly made to wear ship ; but, before the evolution was perform- ed, the wind shifted suddenly to southeast, and en- abled the squadron to clear the islands and keep the weather-gauge. The anecdote is illustrative of Perry's fixed determination to fight. With an ar- mament composed ^hiefly of carronades, in sur- rendering the weather-gauge to a squadron having a preponderance of long guns, he gave up the ability, in a great measure, to choose the distance ^c.. 226 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. at which he would fight the enemy, which, with such relative armaments, was an advantage of no slight importance. Still he was aware that, with an enemy so gallantly seeking an encounter, the lee-gauge had also its advantages. It would have enabled him, while the enemy was bearing down, to rake him for a period more or less long, according to the strength of the breeze, with his whole broadsides, while the enemy would only be able to assail him from his bow-chasers ; it would have enabled him, moreover, to form his squadron in a compact line, so essential to such a mixed force, and await the necessarily more disordered attack of the enemy. The lee-gauge, too, would have afforded great facility for relieving disabled vessels, by permitting them to drop under cover of the Hne, or might have enabled the whole squad- ron, if worsted in a first encounter, to run to lee- ward, form a fresh line of battle, and engage a second time with increased chances of success. At ten o'clock the Lawrence was cleared for action, shot collected in the racks and in circular grummets of rope, pistols and cutlasses brought by the boarders to quarters, preventer braces rove, matches lit, and the decks wet and sanded, to pre- vent the explosion of scattering powder, and cre- ate a secure foothold amid the approaching car- nage. At this hour the enemy, having lost all hope of obtaining the weather -gauge by manoeu- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 227 vring, and observing our squadron coming out, hove to in line of battle on the larboard tack, with the heads of his vessels to the southward and west- ward. The wind continued light from southeast, enabling the vessels to advance at the rate of near three knots an hour ; the weather was serene, and the lake perfectly still. There had been a slight rain in the morning ; but, with the shift of wind, the clouds had blown away, and the day assumed all the splendour of our early autumn. The Brit- ish vessels were freshly painted and in high condi- tion : being hove to in close order, with the morn- ing sun shining upon their broadsides, and their red ensigns gently unfolding to the breeze, they made a very gallant appearance as our squadron bore down to engage them, with the wind on the larboard quar- ter. It was now discovered that Barclay had form- ed his line with the Chippeway, of one long eigh- teen on a pivot, in the van ; the Detroit, of nineteen guns, second in the line ; the Hunter, of ten guns, third ; the Queen Charlotte, of seventeen guns, fourth ; the Lady Prevost, of thirteen guns, fifth ; and the Little Belt, of three guns, sixth. Captain Perry now remodelled his line of battle, so as to bring his heaviest vessels opposite to their desig- nated antagonists. Claiming /or himself the most formidable antagonist, he passed ahead of the Ni- agara so as to encounter the Detroit, and stationed the Scorpion, of two long guns, ahead, and the- Ari- 228 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. el, of four short twelves, on his weather bow, where, with her light battery, and having, like the other small vessels, no bulwarks, she might be partially under cover. The Caledonia, of three long twen- ty-fours, came next, to encounter the Hunter ; the Niagara next, so as to be opposite her designated antagonist, the Queen Charlotte ; and the Somers, of two long thirty-twos, the Porcupine, of one long thirty-two, Tigress, of one long twenty-four, and frippe, of one long thirty-two, in succession to- wards the rear, to encounter the Lady Prevost and Little Belt. The line being formed, Perry now bore up for the enemy, distant at ten o'clock about six miles* He now produced the lettered burgee which, at the last assembly of his commanders to receive their instructions, he had exhibited as the concerted signal for battle. Having unfurled it, he mounted on a gun-slide, and, calling his crew about him, thus briefly addressed them : " My brave lads! this flag contains the last words of Captain Lawrence ! Shall I hoist it ?" " Ay ! ay ! sir !" resounded from every voice in the ship, and the flag was briskly swayed to the main royal masthead of the Lawrence. The encouragement * Mr. Cooper and Mr. Burgess say nine miles. This cannot be correct. Our squadron was sailing at the rate of two, or, at the most, two and ^ hftlf or three knots ; and the action be- gan at a quarter before twelve, at the distance of a mile and a half. The British squadron, though hove to, must have had a headway and drift together of half a knot. O-uIVER HAZARD PERRY. 229 ;jf these few brief words, and, still more, the mild and cheerful smile with which they were uttered ; the habitual expression of his countenance, which gave such a winning fascination to his manners, imparted a rare spirit and alacrity to the crew ; they responded to their young and beloved com- mander's appeal with three hearty and enthusi- astic cheers, which, as the battle-flag unfolded and became visible to the crews of the other vessels, were responded to enthusiastically throughout the line. In this moment of heroic excitement, all the sick that were capable of motion came on deck to ^ offer their feeble services in defence of their coun- try j not a little excited thereto by the reflection that their young commander, reduced, like them- selves, by a wasting disease, and hardly recovered, was standing bravely at his post. As the ordinary mealtime was certain to find them engaged, the noonday grog was now served, Biid the bread-bags freely resorted to ; after which all repaired once more to their quarters. Perry now went round the deck carefully examining his battery gun by gun, to see that everything was in ample order, stopping at each and exchanging words with the captain. For all he had some pleasant joke, some expression of encouragement. Seeing some of the Constitution's, he said to them, " Well, boys ! are you ready ?" " All ready, your honour !" was the brief reply, with a general touch U 230 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. of the hat or the handkerchief which some of the old salts had substituted for their more cumbrous trucks. " But I need not say anything to you," he added ; " you know how to beat those fellows." Passing on, he exclaimed, with a smile of recog- nition, " Ah ! here are the Newport boys ! they will do their duty, I warrant !"* A dead silence of an hour and a half succeed- ed, during which our squadron continued slowly to approach the enemy, steering for the head of his line on a course forming about half a right angle with it, the headmost vessels under easy sail, the others with everything set. Every preparation for battle had been long since made. The inter- val of inactivity, so trying to the warrior, was passed in silence, or in low and brief requests, among officers and men, to render to each other, in case of death, some office of friendship, the survi- ver to take charge of the effects of the deceased^ or to break to his relations the news of their be- * What would he have given at this moment for all the "Newport boys" who had accompanied him to Ontario, and more than half of whom had been detained there ; those " New- port boys" of whom he had written to the secretary, when of- fering his services for the lakes, " There are fifty or sixty men under my command that are remarkably active and strong, capa- ble of performing any service. In the hope that I should have the honour of commanding them whenever they should meet the enemy, I have taken unwearied pains in preparing them for such an event. I beg, therefore, sir, that we may be employed in some way in which we can be serviceable to our country." OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 231 reavement. Perry gave Mr. Hambleton, who stood near him in charge of the after guns, direc- tions how to act with regard to his private affairs in the event of his death. He leaded his pubUc papers in readiness to be thrown overboard, and destroyed his private ones. " It appeared," says Mr. Hambleton, " to go hard with him to part with his wife's letters. After giving them a hasty reading, he tore them to ribands, observing that, let what would happen, the enemy should not read them, and closed by remarking, ' this is the most important day of my life.' " The suspense, though long, had its end. Sud- denly a bugle w^as heard to sound on board the Detroit, the signal for loud and concerted cheers throughout the British squadron. Soon after, be- ing a quarter before meridian, the enemy's flag ship Detroit, then distant about a mile and a half, commenced the action by firing a single shot at the Lawrence, which did not take effect. Signal was now made for each vessel to engage her op- ponent, as designated in previous orders. At this time the Ariel, Scorpion, LawTence, Caledonia, and Niagara were all in their respective stations, in the order they are named, distant from each oftier about half a cable's length. The other ves- sels, not sailing quite so well, were a little out of their stations astern. In addition to the inferiority of our force, we had a serious disadvantage from 232 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. its being broken up into greater numbers. The line of battle prescribed half a cable's length for the distance of the vessels from each other, the least, probably, that could have been adopted. Hence, having three more vessels than the enemy, our line necessarily overspread his not less than one thousand feet. Thus, besides all the other disad- vantages of the inferior size of our vessels, the en- emy could bring to bear upon them a heavier bat- tery in a smaller space, and thus, being stronger at any given point, had a greater superiority even than his nominal one. The second shot from a long gun of the De- troit, five minutes later than the first, took effect on the Lawrence as she fanned down towards the enemy, passing through both bulwarks, when fire was also opened from the long guns of all the British squadron, which, as they lay drawn up in line of battle, did not materially differ in distance from the Lawrence and the two schooners on her weather bow. At five minutes before meridian, the Lawrence, beginning to suffer considerably from the enemy's fire, returned it from her long twelve pounder, when the schooners on the weath- er bow, being ordered by trumpet to commence the action, and the Caledonia and Niagara astern, likewise opened their fire with their long guns. The sternmost vessels soon after opened also, but at too great a distance to do much injury. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 233 Owing to the superiority of the enemy in long guns — the entire armament of the Detroit, with the exception of,two carronades, being of this de- scription — this cannonade was greatly to the disad- vantage of the Lawrence, against which the Brit- ish fire was chiefly directed. In order to hasten the moment when his carronades would take ef- fect, and enable him to return more fully the fire of the enemy. Perry now made all sail again, and ordered the word to be passed by trumpet for the vessels astern to close up and take their stations. The order was responded to and transmitted along the line by Captain Elliott, of the Niagara, whose vessel was stationed next but one astern of the Lawrence, and was therefore, at the commence- ment of the action, quite near the commodore, and in a position to accompany him in closing with the enemy. The Niagara did not, however, make sail with the Lawrence, and accompany her down into close action, but continued at long shots, using only her long twelve-pounder. Meantime, the Lawrence fanned slowly down towards the enemy, suffering terribly. At merid- ian, supposing himself within range of the car- ronades, he luffed up and fired the first division on the starboard side. Discovering that his shot did not tell, he bore away again, and continued steadily to approach the enemy until a quarter past meridian, when he opened his whole starboard U2 234 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. broadside, and still continued to approach until within about three hundred and fifty yards, when he hauled up on a course parallel to that of the enemy, and opened a rapid and most destructive fire on the Detroit. So steady had been the ap- proach of the Lawrence in bearing down, and so unwavering the purpose of her commander, that the enemy had apprehended an intention to board. Captain Perry's only object had been to get the en- emy within effective reach of his carronades, who hitherto had derived great advantage from his superiority in long guns ; and a half hour of al- most unresisted cannonade upon the Lawrence, from twenty long guns which the British squadron showed on one side in battery, caused great car- nage and destruction on board of her. Neverthe- less, the action was now commenced from her with spirit and effect ; and, notwithstanding the over- powering odds with which she was assailed, the whole battery of the enemy, amounting, in all, to thirty-four guns,* being almost entirely directed against her, she continued to assail the enemy with steady and unwavering effort. In this un- equal contest she was nobly vSustained by the Scor- pion and Ariel on her weather bow, which, being but slightly noticed by the enemy or injured by his shot, were enabled to direct their fire upon him * The enemy had a pivot-gun in each of the large vessels as well as the small. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 235 with sure aim and without interruption. The commander of the Caledonia, animated by the same gallant spirit and sense of duty, followed the Lawrence into close action, and closed with her antagonist, the Hunter; but the Niagara, which, when the battle began, had been within hail of the Lawrence, did not follow her down towards the enemy's line so as to encounter her antagonist, the Queen Charlotte. She had not made sail when the Lawrence did ; but got em- barrassed with the Caledonia, Instead of passing astern and to leeward of her to close with the Queen Charlotte, which was next to the Hunter. Captain Elliott hailed the Caledonia, and ordered Lieutenant D. Turner to bear up and make room for him to pass. Though this officer was in the station assigned to him astern of the Lawrence, and pressing down to engage his antagonist, the brig Hunter, yet he obeyed the order of his supe- rior, without stopping to inquire whether that su- perior, as a subordinate like himself, had a right to give an order involving a change in the order of battle. Lieutenant Turner at once put his helm up, and made room for the Niagara by bearing down towards the enemy. Captain Elliott did not, however, follow in the Niagara, but sheered to windward, and, by braihng up his jib and back- ing his main topsail, balanced the efforts of his sails so as to keep his vessel stationary, and pre- 236 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. vent her approac-hing the enemy. The Niagara did not, therefore, approach the enemy's Hne near enough to use her carronades, but remained at long shots, firing only her long twelve-pounder, doing little injury, and receiving less fi:om casual shots aimed at the Lawrence and Caledonia, of which she was partially under cover. At half past twelve, the Queen Charlotte, find- ing that she could not, with her light guns, engage her expected antagonist, the Niagara, on account of her distance off, filled her main topsail, and, passing the Hunter, closed up astern of the Detroit, and opened her fire at closer quarters upon the Lawrence. In this unequal contest, the Lawrence continued to struggle desperately against such over- powering numbers. The first division of the star- board guns was directed against the Detroit, and the second against the Queen Charlotte, with an occasional shot from her after gun at the Hunter, which lay on her quarter, and with which the Caledonia continued to sustain a hot though un- equal engagement. The Scorpion and Ariel, from their stations on the weather bow of the Law- rence, made every effort that their inconsiderable force allowed. The Niagara had taken a station, as we have seen, which prevented her from firing, except with her long gun, on the sternmost of the enemy's vessels. The small vessels at the rear of our own line were too remote to do more than OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 237 keep up a distant cannonade with the nearest ves- sels of the enemy. Overwhelming as was the superiority of the force directed against the Lawrence, being in the ratio of thirty-four guns to her ten in battery, she continued, with the aid of the Scorpion, Ariel, and Caledonia, to sustain the contest for more than two hours, her fire being kept up with uninterrupted spirit, so long as her guns continued mounted and in order. Never was the advantage of thorough training at the guns more exemplified than in the case of the Lawrence. The surgeon remarks that he could discover no perceptible difference in the rapidity of the firing of the guns over his head du- ring the action; throughout, the actual firing seem- ed as rapid as in exercise before the battle. By this time, however, her rigging had been much shot away, and was hanging down or towing overboard, sails torn to pieces, spars wounded and falling upon deck, braces and bowlines cut, so as to render it im- possible to trim the yards or keep the vessel un- der control. Such was the condition of the vessel aloft ; on deck the destruction was even more ter- rible. One by one the guns were dismounted, until only one remained that could be fired ; the bulwarks were so entirely beaten in that the ene- my's round shot passed completely through. The slaughter was dreadful, beyond anything recorded in naval history. Of one hundred well men who 238 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. had gone into action, twenty-two were killed and sixty-one wounded. The killed were hastily re- moved out of the way of the guns, and the wound- ed passed below" and crowded together on the berth-deck. It was impossible for Doctor Parsons, the assistant surgeon of the Lawrence, the only medical officer who was in health to perform duty in the squadron, to attend to such a press of wound- ed ', bleeding arteries were hastily secured, shat- tered limbs supported by splints, and those that were nearly severed by cannon-balls hastily re- moved. Owing to the shallowness of these ves- sels, the wounded w^ere necessarily all above the water-line, and exposed to be again struck by can- non-balls passing through the vessel's side ; thus, midshipman Laub, while moving away from the surgeon, with a tourniquet on his arm, to resume his duties upon deck, was struck by a cannon-ball, which traversed his chest; and a Narraganset In- dian, named Charles Poughigh, was killed in like manner by a cannon-ball after his leg had been taken offi Perry had a favourite spaniel on board the Lawrence, which had been left in a state-room below to be out of the way. The confinement, the noise, and the groans of the wounded, terrified the poor animal, and at each discharge it growled and barked with affected rage, or howled most piteously. In the course of the action, a shot OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 239 through which the dog immediately thrust its head, yelping terribly for release. Its strange manoeu- vres were too much for the gravity even of the suf- fering wounded, and some of them broke forth into loud and intemperate laughter. Meantime Perry continued to keep up a fire from his single remain- ing carronade, though to man it he was obliged to send repeated requests to the surgeon to spare him another hand from those engaged in removing the wounded, until the last had been taken. It is re- corded by the surgeon, that when these messages arrived, several of the wounded crawled upon deck to lend a feeble aid at the guns. At length the commander's own personal aid, with that of the purser, Mr. Hambleton, and chaplain, Mr. Breese, was necessary to fire this sole remaining gun, and it, too, was at last disabled. The conduct of Perry throughout this trying scene was such as to inspire the most unbounded confidence in his followers, and to sustain through- out their courage and enthusiasm. Free from ir- ritation and undue excitability, the necessary or- ders were given with precision, and obeyed with steady alacrity. Undismayed amid the surround- ing carnage, calm, collected, and even cheerful, his eye became the rallying-point to which those of his followers reverted after each new disaster, and received from its electric flash a kindred en- couragement. After the fearful havoc which 240 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. would occasionally be made among a gun's crew by a single round shot, or a stand of grape or canister, the survivers would for a moment turn to Perry, exchange a glance with him, and step into the places of their comrades. Those that lay weltering on the deck, some in the agony of ex- piring nature, would contrive to get their faces towards him, and, fixing their eye upon his, seem to seek, as an only reward for that life's blood which was ebbing away in the cause of their country, an assurance that they had done their duty. They seemed to die cheerfully in the con- sciousness that, if they had fallen, his more impor- tant life was still spared to secure the triumph of their country. The humane heart of the commander could not yield to the painful feelings which this spectacle, under other circumstances, would have rendered overpowering. The animating sense of the re- sponsibility that weighed upon him, and confi- dence in his own resources, enabled him to main- tain his cheerfulness. In the hottest of the fight, Yarnall, the first lieutenant, came to Perry, and told him that the ofl[icers in the first division under his command were all killed or disabled. Yar- nall had received a wound in the forehead and another in the neck, from which the blood flowed profusely over his face and person, while his nose, which had been struck by a splinter, was swollen OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 241 to a most portentous size. Perry, after expressing some good-humoured astonishment at his tragi- comical appearance, sent him the required aid; but soon after he returned with the same com- plaint of a destruction of his officers, to which he repKed, " You must endeavour to make out by yourself; I have no more to furnish you." In ad- dition to the other oddities of Yarnall's appear- ance, some of the hammocks were struck in the nettings, and the contents of the mattresses, chiefly stuffed with the down of flag-tops or cat-tails, were distributed in the air, having much the ap- pearance of falling snow. This substance, light- ing on Yarnall's face and adhering to the blood, gave it, as Dr. Parsons describes it, the appear- ance of a huge owl. When he went below at the close of the action, even the wounded were moved to merriment by his ludicrous appearance, and one of them exclaimed, " The devil is come for his own." Another incident is characteristic of the calm cheerfulness of Perry and of his officers. Dulany Forrest, the second lieutenant, was standing im- mediately beside Perry, attending to his division, when a grape-shot struck him in the breast, and he fell upon the deck. Perry raised him up, and, observing no appearance- of injury — for the shot had spent its force — uttered some cheering assu- rance to Forrest that he could not be hurt. The X 242 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. lieutenant, who had only been stunned, presently became conscious; and, pulling out the shot, which had lodged in the bosom of his waistcoat, put it quietly in his pocket, replying, " No, sir, I am not hurt, but this is my shot !" Several cases occurred, during this scene of carnage, in which men were shot down while in the act of speaking to the commander. One of these was that of a captain of a gun, which was somewhat out of order, whom Perry had approached to offer assistance. The sailor, who was a noble-looking fellow, being one of the " Constitution's," was in the act of drawing himself up, with a fine, sailor-like air, tc fire, when a twenty-four pound shot passed througl his body, and he fell without a groan at the feet of his commander. Another incident no less painfully illustrates the carnage which occurred on the deck of the Law- rence, and the destruction by which her command- er was so closely surrounded. The command of the marines of the Lawrence was intrusted to Lieutenant John Brooks, a gay, amiable, and in- telligent young officer, whose numerous good qual- ities were enhanced in their effects by the rarest personal beauty. He was addressing Perry with a smile, and in an animated tone, with regard to the battle, when a cannon ball struck him in the thigh, shattering him in the most horrible manner, and carrying him to the other side of the deck OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 243 The sudden torment of his wound wrung from him piercing cries. He implored his commander to re- Keve him from pain too great for endurance by shooting him dead. Perry ordei*ed some of the marines to take him below. Ere this could be ef- fected, a mulatto boy, only twelve years old, who was Brooks's servant, came with a cartridge to a neighbouring gun, and, seeing Brooks down, threw himself on the deck with frantic cries, exclaiming that his master was killed. When Brooks was ta- ken below, he returned sobbing to his duty. One occurrence for a moment during the action disturb- ed the settled equanimity of Perry. He beheld his young brother, then but twelve years old, who had already, during the action, received two mus- ket balls through his hat, and had his clothes torn by splinters, suddenly struck down at his side by a hammock torn from the nettings by a cannon ball. Fortunately, the shot itself had missed him. He was only stunned ; and, in a few moments, his anxious brother had the satisfaction of seeing him return to his duty. At length, about half past two, when the last gun of the Lawrence had become disabled and un- fit for farther use — when, of all his crew. Captain Perry could only find throughout his vessel eigh- teen persons, besides his little brother and him- self, undisabled by wounds — it became evident to him that he must have recourse to other means 244 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. within his command in order to win the battle. Repeatedly during the engagement, Mr. Taylor, whose duty as sailing-master placed him beside the commander, to manoeuvre the Lawrence under his orders, had asked Perry if he observed the conduct of the Niagara, which was lying far to windward, out of reach of the Queen Charlotte, her antagonist, and the very different conduct of the little Caledonia, which had so gallantly borne down to relieve the Lawrence from the enemy's fire. Similar remarks were made among them- selves by the officers and crew. The wounded, as they went below, and were asked for news of how the day was going, each had the same tale to relate of the Niagara keeping aloof and faihng to relieve the Lawrence from the fire of the Queen Charlotte. As, then, the last gun of the Lawrence became useless, and the ship, now an unmanage- able wreck, was beginning to drop astern, Captain Perry was looking round., as the smoke cleared away, to estimate the real condition of his resour- ces, when Lieutenant Forrest again called his at- tention to the strange manoeuvres of the Niagara, at this time on the larboard beam of the Lawrence, directly opposite to the enemy, while the Caledonia was passing the starboard beam between the Law- rence and the enemy. " That brig," said Forrest, " will not help us ; see how he keeps off; he will not come to close action." " Pll fetch him up," OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 245 was the commodore's reply ; and he immediately ordered his boat. He remarked that the Niajrara o did not appear to be much injured, and that the American flag should not be hauled down from over his head on that day. Giving Mr. Yarnall command of the Lawrence, Perry stepped down the larboard gangway into his boat, telling his of- ficers, as he shoved off, with the prophetic confi- dence of a hero conscious of his pow'ers, " If a vic- tory is to be gained, I'll gain it !" At half past two, when Perry left the Lawrence, the Niagara w^as passing her weather or larboard beam at the distance of nearly half a mile. The breeze had freshened, her main topsail was filled, and she was passing the British squadron rap- idly. Elated with the prospect of getting on board of this fresh vessel, and trying his prowess upon the host of enemies, whose efficiency his pre- vious desperate resistance had essentially diminish- ed, he w-ent off in gallant style and full of ardour from the Lawrence, standing erect in his boat, and urging his crew to give way cheerily. The ene- my, observing this movement, quickly penetrated his design ; and apprehending the consequences of the Niagara, then entirely fresh, passing under the immediate command of the superior officer, who had fought the Lawrence with such skill and ob- stinacy against the whole British squadron for more than two hours and a half, they immediate]} X2 246 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. directed a fire of great guns and musketry at his boat, and exerted all their energies to destroy it. Several of the oars were splintered, the boat was traversed by musket balls, and the crew cov- ered with spray from the round shot and grape that were striking the water on every side. Per- ry, unconscious or unmindful of the danger, con- tinued to stand erect, until his brave crew im- plored him not to expose himself; and, losing for a moment their sense of subordination in sympa- thy for his danger and anxiety for the perilled glory of their country, threatened to lay upon tlieir oar unless he sat down. Thus entreated, he yield- ed to their wishes; and they gave way with a hearty good-will. The breeze had now freshened, and the Niagara, having set her foresail, was ranging rapidly past the enemy, in a direction which would soon have carried her entirely out of the action. With all the exertions of the boat's crew, nearly fifteen minutes were passed in reach- ing the Niagara. By none of the squadron was this critical move- ment so anxiously watched as by the fourteen brave fellows who alone remained unhurt of the officers and crew of the Lawrence ; the life of their beloved commander, tenfold endeared to them by their recent observance of his heroism ; the fate of the day ; the glory of their country ; and their own condition as prisoners or victors, OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 247 all dependant on that life, wrought their feelings to the most intense and painful sympathy. Pow- erless to do anything for their own protection or for the farther annoyance of the enemy, they clustered along the weather bulwarks of the Law- rence, and watched each dip of the oars that were carrying Perry along at a rate which seemed slow to their impatience : each ball that seemed des- tined to destroy him would have been more wel- come to themselves. But he moved on unscathed, as amid the wreck of the Lawrence. And now they see him cross the gangway of the Niagara, and their joy bursts forth in enthusiastic cheers. The feelino^s of the few survivers and wounded of the Lawrence were thus relieved from a pain- ful solicitude amounting to agony. They felt that all was now safe, and that they had not fought, nor their less fortunate shipmates bled and died in vain. While this crisis had absorbed them, the brig, with her colours still flying, had continued to be a principal object for the enemy's fire. It became the duty of Lieutenant Yarnall, as com- mander, to spare the farther destruction of the brave fellows intrusted to him, and the frightful slaughter of the wounded below. He had a brief consultation with the second lieutenant, Dulany Forrest, and Sailing-master W. V. Taylor, and, with their concurrence, determined to surrender. It may be here remarked that all three of these .148 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. officers were wounded, though continuing at their posts. The colours were therefore hauled down. Their descent was greeted by cheers from all the British vessels, the crews of which appeared ex- ultingly on their weather bulwarks, waving tri- umphant defiance at their enemies. But the hope was delusive. The first act was over, and its close had imparted to the British an unsubstantial en- couragement ; the second was to terminate in a catastrophe not less brilliant than they might have anticipated, but far different. On the berth-deck of the Lawrence, the explanation of the British cheers by the surrender of their vessel had filled the hearts of the wounded, with which the deck was literally covered, with the deepest despond- ency. The assistance of the humane and indefat- igable young surgeon was rejected, and scarcely any exclamations met his ear but " Sink the ship ! Let us all sink together !" Such is the desire to conquer, such the heroism of Americans, when trained and inspired by a hero. It was in the midst of this despondency that the chivalrous young Brooks, whose life-blood had been fast ebbing away, breathed forth a spirit worthy of the fair temple in which it was enshrined. Mr. Sam- uel Hambleton, purser of the Lawrence, who had preferred a post of danger on deck to the usual station of his grade in charge of passing powder below, had received a severe wound in the shoul- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 249 der, by which it was completely shattered, while working by the side of his noble commander, like a common sailor, at the last gun. For want of space in the wardroom, Hambleton was laid on the same mattress x^-ith Brooks, face to face w^th his dying messmate and friend. The in- tense suffering which had impelled him, in the first moment of being struck, to ask for death at the hand of his commander, had passed away, and he lay calmly expecting his end. Never before had Hambleton been so much impressed with his surpassing beauty. While the fever from his wound had imparted a surprising lustre to his ordinarily radiant countenance, its expression gave the idea of a spirit sublimated by approaching re- lease from the burden of mortality. The glory of his country, the welfare of his friends — feelings worthy of angels — were still uppermost in his thoughts. He inquired, with earnest solicitude, how the battle went, and as to the fate of Perry. The Lawrence had surrendered; but Perry had reached the Niagara, to bring her up to take her share in the battle, which, earlier taken, might have spared so many lives. Brooks briefly directed the disposition of his affairs, the messages to be sent to his father and friends, and commended his faith- ful mulatto boy to their protection and kindness. While he was yet speaking in a failing tone, Ilam- bleton's attention was diverted by favourable news 850 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. from deck, and the tumultuous excitement of joy which it occasioned among the wounded. When he turned to communicate it to Brooks, his spirit had departed. But the enemy had other employment than to take possession of the surrendered Lawrence. As Perry reached the deck of the Niagara, he was met at the gangway by Captain EUiott, who " in- quired how the day was going. Captain Perry replied, badly : that he had lost almost all of his men, and that his ship was a wreck ; and asked what the gunboats were doing so far astern. Cap- tain Elliott offered to go and bring them up j and, Captain Perry consenting, he sprung into the boat and went off on that duty."* Perry's first order on board the Niagara was to back the main topsail, and stop her from run- ning out of the action ; his next, to brail up the main trysail, put the helm up, and bear down before the wind, with squared yards, for the en- emy, altering the course from that which Cap- tain Elliott had been steering a whole right an- * The above account of the interview betw^een Captain Perry and Captahi Elliott is taken from Mr. Hambleton's journal, as related to him by Perry on the evening of the battle. The reader will see in the sequel how differently the interview is de- scribed by Captain Elliott. Perry also told Mr. Hambleton in the evening that he " found the Niagara in perfect fighting or- der, uninjured in her hull or crew. ' From that moment,' said he, * I was confident of victory.' " OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 251 gle ; at the same time, he set top-gallant-sails, and hove out the signal for close action. As the an- swering pendants were displayed along the line, the order was greeted by hearty cheers, evincive of the admiration awakened throughout the squad- ron by the hardy manoeuvre of the Niagara, and of renewed confidence of victory. By great ef- forts, Lieutenant Holdup Stevens, who had been astern of the line in the Trippe, soon closed up to the assistance of the Caledonia, and the re- maining vessels approached rapidly, to take a more active part in the battle, under the influ- ence of the increasing breeze. The helm had been put up on board the Niag- ara, sail made, and the signal for close action hove out at forty-five minutes after two, the instant af- ter Perry had boarded her. With the increased breeze, seven or eight minutes sufficed to traverse the distance of more than half a mile which still separated the Niagara from the enemy. As the enemy beheld her coming boldly down, re- serving her fire until it coukl be delivered with terrible effect, they poured theirs in upon her in a raking position, and the Detroit made an effort to weai' in order to present her starboard broadside to the Niagara, several of the larboard guns being disabled. As this evolution commenced on board the Detrojt, the Queen Charlotte was running up under her lee. The evolution of wearing, which 252 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. should properly have commenced with the stern- most and leewardmost vessel, not havinof been imitated with sufficient quickness by the Queen, the consequence was, that the latter ran her bow- sprit and head booms into the mizzen rigging of the Detroit, and the two British ships got foul of each other, and continued in this unfortunate pre- dicament, when the Niagara, having shortened sail to check her velocity, passed slowly under the bows of the Detroit, within half pistol-shot, and poured into both vessels, as they lay entangled, a deadly and awfully destructive fire of grape and canister ; the larboard guns, which were likewise manned, were directed with equally murderous effect into the sterns of the Lady Prevost, which had passed to the head of the line, and the Little Belt ; the marines, at the same time, cleared their decks of every one to be seen above the rails. The piercing shrieks of the mortally wounded on every side showed how terrific had been the car- nage. Passing under the lee of the two British ships, which had now got clear, but were but shghtly separated, Captain Perry, brought by the wind on the starboard tack, with his head to the northward and eastward, and backing the Niag- ara's main topsail to deaden her headway, contin- ued to pour his starboard broadside into the Queen Charlotte and the Hunter, which lay astern of her. Some of his shots passed through the Queen Char- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 253 lotte's ports into the Detroit. At this juncture the small vessels also came into close action to wind- ward, and poured in a destructive lire of grape and canister ; their shot and that of the Niagara, whenever it missed its mark, passing the enemy, and taking effect reciprocally on our own vessels. All resistance now ceased : an officer appear- ed on the taffrail of the Queen, to signify that she had struck ; and her example was immediately followed by the Detroit. Both vessels struck in about seven minutes after the Niagara opened this most destructive fire, and about fifteen minutes after Perry took command of h^r. The Hunter struck at the same time, as did the Lady Prevost, w^hich lay to leeward under the guns of the Ni- agara. The battle had begun on the part of the enemy at a quarter before meridian ; at three the Queen Charlotte and Detroit surrendered, and all resist- ance was at an end. As the cannonade ceased and the smoke blew over, the two squadrons, now owning one master, were found completely min- gled. The shattered Lawrence, whose condition sufficiently attested where had been the brunt and burden of the day, lay to windward, a tattered and helpless WTCck, with the flag of liberty once more flying over her ; the Niagara, with the signal for close action still set, lay close under the lee of the Detroit, Queen Charlotte, and Hunter j the Cale- Y 254 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. donia, Scorpion, and Trippe, which had gallantly followed the Niagara through the enemy's line, had taken a position to leeward very favourable for preventing the enemy's escape. As the smoke passed to leeward, the Chippeway and Little Belt were discovered bearing up towards Maiden un- der a press of sail. The Scorpion and Trippe went immediately in pursuit, and, after a few shots, compelled them to surrender. And now began the proud yet melancholy task of taking possession of the enemy's ships. On boarding the Detroit, the officer sent from the Ni- agara found her in a condition only less pitiable than the Lawrence had been left in by Perry ; her gaft and mizzen topmast hanging over the taffi^ail and quarter ; her masts and yards badly wounded ; all her braces shot away, not a single stay stand- ing forward, and her stout oak bulwarks very much shattered. Many of the thirty-two pound shots were sticking in her side : they had been fired from the carronades before the Lawrence had got to close quarters. On deck the destruc- tion and carnage had been terrible : many of the guns were dismounted, and the deck was strewed with the killed and wounded, and slippery with blood. The deck was found nearly deserted of officers and men, and in charge of the second lieutenant, Mr. Inglis, the first lieutenant hav- ing been killed towards the middle of the ac- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 255 tion, and Commodore Barclay ha\ing been most dangerously wounded somewhat earlier by a grape shot in the thigh. This heroic officer, after hav- ing been carried below and placed in the hands of the surgeon, made use of the first moment of returning consciousness to cause himself to be again borne upon deck. When the Niagara bore down and dehvered her raking fire, he received a second grape shot in the right shoulder, which, entering below the joint, broke the blade to pie- ces, and left a large and dreadful wound. It is said that when, towards the close of the action, a message was sent down to this heroic officer that the day was lost, he caused himself to be carried once more on deck, to convince himself that far- ther resistance was impossible and w^ould be un- avaihng. The other British vessels were found to be also much cut to pieces, especially the Queen Char- lotte, w^hich had lost her brave commander. Cap- tain Finnis, very early in the action; her first lieutenant had been soon after mortally wounded, and the loss of life on board of her was very se- vere ; she was also much cut to pieces both in hull and spars. The other vessels suffered in like proportion ; the Lady Prevost had both her com- mander and first lieutenant wounded, and, besides other extensive injury, was become unmanageable from the loss of her rudder ; Lieutenants Bignal^ 256 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. commanding the Hunter, and Campbell, the Cliip- peway, were also wounded ; thus leaving only the commander of the Little Belt fit for duty at the close of the action. Indeed, in the official ac- count of Commodore Barclay, it is stated that ev- ery commander, and every officer second in com- mand, was disabled. The total of killed and wounded rendered by Commodore Barclay in his official report were forty-one Idlled, including three officers, and ninety-four wounded, nine of whom were officers. The returns, on account of the con- dition of the commanders and their seconds in com- mand, could not have been very complete, and the numbers of killed and wounded are believed to have been greater. The killed of the British squadron were thrown overboard as they fell, with the exception of the officers. The feeling which the spectacle of these prizes awakened in the minds of the victors had in it as much of sorrow as of exultation. The ruined and tattered condition of that squadron, w^hich, three short hours before, had presented itself in such proud array, beginning the action, and hurl- ing death and defiance at those who, with inferior force, had ventured to brave the power of Eng- land ; and, still more, the spectacle of bloodshed and agony which they everywhere presented with- in, after the excitement of battle was over, could not but overwhelm the mind with gloom, and OLIVER HAZARP PERRY. 257 make way once more for the indulgence of those humane sympathies which had been smothered in the strife of conflict. Nor did our own ships fail to exhibit scenes well suited to harrow the feel- ings ; the Lawrence especially presented an aw- ful spectacle. As has been already stated, twen- ty-tw^o of her crew were killed and sixty-one wounded, making an aggregate of slaughter which is believed never to have been surpassed in any modern naval combat, unless where the conquered vessel has sunk with her whole crew. The Niag- ara lost two killed and twenty-three wounded ; all but two of the wounded having been struck after Captain Perry took command of her, as stated by the surgeon who attended them. Three were wounded on board of the Caledonia ; two on board the Somers; one killed and three wound- ed on board the Ariel ; two killed on board the Scorpion ; and two wounded on board the Trippe ; making an aggregate in the whole squadron of twenty-seven killed and ninety-six wounded. Among our killed we had to mourn the loss of Lieutenant John Brooks and Midshipman Laub on board the Lawrence ; and of Midshipman John Clark on board the Scorpion. Lieutenants Yar- nall and Forrest, Sailing-master Taylor, Purser Hambleton, Midshipmen Swartout and Claxton, and Mr. Stone, carpenter, were wounded on board the Lawrence, and Lieutenant Edwards and Mid- Y2 258 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. shipman Cummings were wounded on board the Niagara. Two of the schooners, the Tigress and Porcupine, had no casualties whatever; and, as the Trippe and Somers had each but two wound- ed, it shows that, notwithstanding the great efforts made by their commanders to close up, they were unable to take an important part in the battle un- til just before the enemy struck. The Trippe, though originally the last in the hne, from her superior sailing, and the great exertions of her commander. Lieutenant Holdup Stevens, was the first of the four sternmost vessels to get into close action. From the enemy's awaiting the attack in a compact line of battle, his vessels were all equally available from the first ; and, accordingly, the destruction on board of them, from their want of bulwarks, was more severe than in his heavy vessels. Hence, in addition to the actual inferi- ority of our force, the disparity was farther in- creased during the action by its being fought by the whole of the British force, and only a part of ours. The splendour of this victory dazzles the ima- gination. It was gained by a portion of an infe- rior squadron over another every way superior, and throughout the action concentrated in its force. It was gained, more eminently than any other naval victory, by the exertions of one indi- vidual, a young man of twenty-seven, who had OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 259 never beheld a naval engagement. He had dashed boldly into action with the Lawrence, counting upon the support of those immediately around him, and trusting that the rear of his line would soon be able to close up to his support. Deserted by the Niagara, which was to have, encountered the second of the enemy's ships, and sustained only by the Caledonia, the Ariel, and the Scorpion, we find him resisting for more than two hours the whole of the British squadron. Finding, at length, his vessel cut to pieces, his guns dismounted, means of resistance destroyed, and nearly the whole of his brave crew lying dead or wounded around him, instead of yielding the day, after having done everything that depended upon him to win it, and leaving the responsibility of defeat to the com- mander of the Niagara, he thought only of using the means that remained to him still to secure a victory. Passing from the Lawrence under the enemy's fire ; saved from death, as if miraculously, by the protecting genius of his country, he reached the Niagara, and, by an evolution unsurpassed for genius and hardihood, bore down upon the enemy, and dashed with his fresh and uninjured vessel through the enemy's line. It was thus that the battle of Erie was won, not merely by the genius and inspiration, but eminently by the exertions of one man. Nelson was indeed a splendid hero, the subject, in no slight degree, of Perry's admiration. 260 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. But it may with ti-uth be said, that no one of his many briUiant victories was opposed by so many difficulties, or effected by so many resources of ge- nius. They were usually effected by single com- bined movements in execution of previously-con- certed plans. Nelson would go into action at the head of his line, be gallantly supported by his sub- ordinate chiefs, and the steady display of British courage and superior skill would give him the victory. In Perry's victory, the original intention of engaging the enemy in line, vessel to vessel, as designated in previous orders, had failed, from the Niagara keeping back and abstaining from the encounter of her proper antagonist, which was thus left free to aid in overpowering the Law- rence. In suffering destruction, she had fought with desperate obstinacy, and dealt many and for- midable blows to her numerous assailants. Over- come at last and abandoned to her fate. Perry made a new arrangement of his remaining re- sources, and snatched from the enemy a victory which he had already claimed with exulting cheers for his own. Nelson had triumphed over French- men and Spaniards; Perry was called upon to meet the conquerors of these, led, moreover, by a veteran formed in the school of Nelson, and bearing upon his person the marks of Nelson's greatest victory. The battle of Trafalgar was won by the whole British fleet over a part of that of OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 261 the allies ; the battle of Lake Erie was won over the whole British squadron by only a part of ours. Let us now follow the movements of Perry subse- quent to the victory. After the enemy's colours had been hauled down, and provision had been made for officering and manning the prizes, confining the prisoners, securing the wounded masts, stopping shot-holes, and the combined squadron had been hauled by the wind on the starboard tack, he re- tired to the cabin to communicate briefly to Gen- eral Harrison intelligence of an event which w^as to admit of the immediate advance of his army, and rescue our territory from the savage warfare which the surrender of Hull's army and subsequent disasters had entailed on it. The letter which he wrote, though short, was ample, since it expressed all that was necessary to be known. "Dear General, " We have met the enemy, and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. Yours, with very great respect and es- teem, "0. H. Perry." He also wrote the following letter to the secre- tary of the navy, which was forwarded, by the same express. 262 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. "U. S. brig Niagara, off the westernmost Sister, head of Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813., 4 P.M. "Sir, "It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop, have this moment surrendered to the force under my command, after a sharp conflict " I have the honour to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, " 0. H. Perry." Nothing can be more beautifully conspicuous or more characteristic than the blended modesty and piety of this celebrated letter, written without de- liberation, in the moment* of victory, and in the midst of abundant occupation. In ascribing the victory to the Almighty gift, he was not using a simple form of speech, which would appear grace- fully and flatter the strongly religious feelings of the country, but giving vent to a spontaneous im- pulse of his heart. He keeps all allusion to him- self out of sight : self is nowhere referred to, ex- cept when he unavoidably characterizes the squad- ron as being under his command, and the simple words " a sharp conflict" alone convey any idea of the desperate struggle in which bis own cour- age and genius had been so ascendant. OLIVFR HAZARD PERRY. 263 Havmg despatched these letters by express, he made signal to anchor, for the greater facility of providing for the comfort of the wounded, the se- curity of the prisoners, and the general reorgani- zation of the squadron. Soon after, he visited the Ariel, and despatched Sailing-master Brownell to take charge of the Somers, to which he subse- quently ordered seventy prisoners to be removed from the large vessels. Forty of them were ironed or confined below; the remainder were arranged within the circle of the long gun, in a sitting pos- ture, while the crew remained under arms during the night, forming bulwarks across the deck, and ready to fire at the least indication of a disposition to rise. Having completed some other arrange- ments for the safe keeping of the prisoners in oth- er vessels. Perry returned to the Lawrence, to be again among his brave shipmates, and to do what he was able for their succour. It was proper also that he should receive in his own ship the surrender of the prizes by their commanders, and that the brave fellows who had done most to win the victory should behold the proud but mournful ceremony by which it was completed. From Doctor Par- sons, to whom the writer has been indebted for valuable aid in every stage of his undertaking, he has the following brief yet impressive description of Perry's return to the Lawrence : " It was a time of conflicting emotions when the commodore re- 264 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. turned to the ship. The battle was won ; he was safe. But the deck was sHppery with blood and brains, and strewed with the bodies of twent}^ of- ficers and men, some of whom had sat at table with us at our last meal, and the ship resounded everywhere with the groans of the wounded. Those of us who w^ere spared and able to walk, approached him as he came over the ship's side, but the salutation was a silent one on both sides : not a word could find utterance." Perry, at the request of his officers, had hither- to worn a uniform round jacket ; he now resumed his undress uniform, and, standing on the after- part of the deck, received the officers of the dif- ferent captured vessels as they came to tender the surrender of their vessels and their own submis- sion as prisoners. At the head of them was an officer of the forty-first regiment, who acted as marine officer on board the Detroit, and was charged by Commodore Barclay with the delivery of his sword ; he was in full dress. When they had approached, picking their way among the wreck and carnage of the deck, they held their swords with the hilts towards Perry, and tendered them to his acceptance. With a dignified and sol- emn air, the most remote possible from any betrayal of exultation, and in a low tone of voice, he request- ed them to retain their side-arms ; inquired with deep concern for Commodore Barclay and the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 265 wounded officers, tendering to them every comfort his ship afforded, and expressing his regret that he had not a spare medical officer to send to them. As it was impossible to reserve all the killed of the Lawrence for bmial on shore, the seamen were buried at nightfall alongside, the able-bodied of the crew, so much less numerous than the killed, being assembled around to perform the last sad offices. The burial-service of the Church of Eng- land was read over them by the chaplain, Mr. Breese, and they were committed to the deep. These painful duties, the eventful occupations of the day, the condition of the vessel, and the unin- terrupted groans of the wounded and dying, gave a melancholy tone to the conversation of the com- mander and his few officers assembled together on the quarter-deck. To be among the very few spared from death and mutilation, the chances of which he had encountered on that day in so many ways, called for no little gratitude from Perry. His little brother, only twelve years old, though he had received several musket-balls through his dress, had met with no injury, and was now do- smg in his hammock. An allusion to these facts awakened the same sense of a controlling Provi- dence, which, in beginning his report, had led him to ascribe the victory to the pleasure of the Al- mighty. "I believe," he said, "that my wife's prayers have saved me." Z AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Perry now retired to his cot, less, perhaps, to sleep than to dwell on the proud yet painful events of the day ; to think of that loved one, to the interposition of whose prayers he attributed his preservation through so many perils, and with whom the victory which he had won would admit of his speedy reunion, and of the children for whom he had that day founded the honourable inheritance of an illustrious name. If the fatigues and exertions of a day thus spent claimed for him the respite of sleep, the toils, the perplexities, the heroism of the preceding hours must have min- gled with and disturbed his slumbers, and made him live over again the anxieties of that desperate struo^ocle. On the following morning the commodore re- moved to the Ariel, having determined, as the Lawrence was completely disabled for all farther service, to make her an hospital ship, and despatch her with our wounded to Erie. His extreme soli- citude, however, brought him back to the Law- rence in the course of the day to inquire into the condition of his wounded shipmates, and encour- age them under the operations which many of them were obliged to undergo. Dr. Parsons, as- sistant-surgeon of the Lawrence, was the only sur- gical officer of the three belonging to the vessels who was in a condition to perform duty in a squad- ron having ninety-six wounded, and a still greater OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 267 number ill with fevers and dysentery. His pres- ence on board of the Lawrence, where most of the womids had occurred, was a fortunate circum- stance. He had removed a few limbs nearly sev- ered by cannon balls during the action, and con- fined his attention to the sufficiently-engrossing task of securing bleeding arteries. During the night of the tenth his attention was almost con- stantly required in administering opiates and cor- dials, and arresting renewed bleeding among the wounded. At daylight on the following morning he had his first patient on the table for amputa- tion, and by eleven o'clock had completed all the amputations. It is mentioned by this gentleman that the greatest impatieiMJe existed among this class of wounded to meet the operation, and the only way of satisfying the candidates for the loss of an arm or a leg was to take them in the order in which they had been wounded. At ten o'clock in the evening a few of the more slightly wounded still remained unattended to, when the surgeon was obliged to desist, from inability longer to sus- tain himself in a stooping position, and from mere physical exhaustion. The remaining wounded of the Lawrence, with the wounded of the rest of the squadron, were only seen on the following day. It is conclusive as to the rare skill of Doc- tor Parsons, and his humane attentions to the wounded, that out of the whole ninety-six, only 268 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. three died ; one of these was midshipman Thomas Claxton, a young officer of merit and great prom- ise. This extraordinary success must have been chiefly owing to the skill and watchful attention of the young surgeon, though he modestly attrib- utes it to " their being abundantly supplied with fresh provisions, to a pure atmosphere under an awning upon deck, to the cheerful state of mind occasioned by victory, and to the devoted atten- tion of the commodore to every want." In the course of this day Perry visited Commo- dore Barclay on board of the Detroit, and from that visit, so tragically ushered in, began a warm and enduring friendship. Every comfort that Per- ry could procure for his wounded prisoner was freely placed at his disposal. He became respon- sible for a considerable sum of money required by Barclay for his own use and that of his officers ; and, at Barclay's request, also advanced money to the army officers employed in his squadron. Some difficulties had occurred at that period with regard to the treatment of prisoners between the two na- tions, owing to some alleged cruelties against our captured countrymen. Still, in order to relieve the mind of Barclay while suffering from his wounds, and under a conviction that nothing but a return to his country could restore him, Perry pledged himself that he should be paroled ; and wrote with such urgency to the secretary of the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 269 navy and the commissary of prisoners in Barclay's behalf, making his request as a personal favour to himself, the only one that he had to ask, that it was eventually obtained. While Perry was on board the Detroit on his visit to Barclay, two strange beings were brought to him, who had been found in the depths of the hold, where they had remained without food since the action. They proved to be Indian chiefs, lu- dicrously clad in sailor's clothes, in which they ap- peared very ill at their ease. With others of their nation, they had been embarked in the British squadron to act in the tops as sharp-shooters. These savages, who had the reputation of braves in their tribe, and who would probably have suffered scalp- mg or met death with composure, surrounded with every torture that barbarity like their own could devise, were completely unnerved, when the battle became warm, by the crash and destruction around them. Panic-struck by the unaccustomed perils to which they were exposed, they fled with pre- cipitation to the lowest part of the hold, whence they were drawn forth more dead than alive. When brought before Perry, they expected no- thing short of torture and scalping ; but were no less relieved than astonished when, after a few good-humoured words, he directed them to be fed and made comfortable. Soon after he sent them on shore, furnished, at their desire, with a particu- Z2 270 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. lar request to General Harrison that they might be carefully protected from our friendly Indians. At nine o'clock on the morning of the eleventh, the two squadrons weighed anchor and stood to- wards Put-in Bay, where they arrived after a sail of two hours. The burial of the officers who had fallen in battle took place on the morning of the twelfth. The day was serene, and the lake un- ruffled by a breeze. The boats, with their crews neatly dressed, and their colours half-masted, con- veyed the bodies to the shore, keeping time, with a measured stroke, to the mournful death-dirge. The procession formed, as it reached the shore, ac- cording to rank, in reversed order. The youngest of the killed was borne first, then the lowest in rank of the other squadron, and so on alternately, an American and a British corpse, the body of Captain Finnis coming last. As the corpses moved on, the officers fell into procession, two Americans and two English, according to rank reversed. Perry himself closing the procession. As the mournful pageant advanced, keeping time to the measured cadence of a dead march from the drums and fifes of both squadrons, minute guns, fired alternately from each, offered the appropri- ate tribute of respect to the remains of the de- parted. At length the procession reached the spot, near the margin of the lake, where the graves had been OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 271 prepared for the reception of the dead. The fu- neral service was read over them, and they were lowered into the earth in the order in which they had been borne. Volleys of musketry over the graves closed the mournful ceremony. The re- flections with which a man of eminently humane feelings, of serious and contemplative mind like Perry, must have gazed upon such a scene, could have been of no ordinary character. The same expression of melancholy and regret at the loss of shipmates and valued friends, pervading alike the countenances of the conquerors and the con- quered; identity of physiognomy marking them for descendants of the same race ; the same lan- guage, in its noblest form — the funeral-service of the Church of England — sounding in their ears with equal familiarity, as if to contradict the en- mity which the lifeless bodies at their feet too painfully attested. Did his eye wander beyond, it took in the peaceful surface of the lake and the shattered vessels of either squadron, from which came alternately the melancholy boom of the min- ute gun. As the young commander returned to his boat, exultation, if it found any existence in his bosom at such a moment, must have blended itself with many contending emotions. 272 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. CHAPTER IX. National Consequences of the Victory. — Official Re- port. — Perplexities of Commodore Perry. — Fa- vourable Notice of Captain Elliott. — Unfavourahle Rumours concerning him. — Perry^s Efforts to sup- press them. — Gives him a Certificate. — His Mo- tives. — Informs General Brooks of his Stints Death. — Preparations for transporting the Army to Canada, — Anecdote of Perry^s Benevolence,-— ■ Removal of the Army to Put-in Bay ; to Middle Sister ; to Malden.-^Ascent of Detroit River. — Perry volunteers as Aid to General Harrison. — Rapturously received hy the Army. — Exciting Pur- suit. — Enemy overtaken. — Battle of the Thames, — Charge of mounted Kentuckians. — Death of Te-" cumseh. — Capture of the British Army. — Anecdote of Perry^s Horsemanship. — Affords Protection to the Moravian Missionaries. — Benevolence to Af- flicted Woman. — Captain Elliott's Complaints against Perry. The important consequences of the victory on Lake Erie might well justify the pious exclama- tion in which Perry announced it to the secretary of the navy : " It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a signal victory over their enemies." While a defeat OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 273 would have given to the enemy the command of all the lakes, by enabUng him to concentrate his forces in succession on Lakes Ontario and Cham- plain, and thus laid our whole frontier open to his incursions, victory, on the contrary, on this lake involved remotely the possibility of triumph on all the others, while it led immediately to the evacu- ation of Detroit, and the release of the whole ter- ritory of Michigan from the occupation of the British army, and from the horrors of the firebrand and scalping-knife which its allies had rendered but too familiar there. The heroism of Perry, w^hile restoring to us all that Hull's incapacity had lost, wiped away the stigma of his inglorious surrender, and left a fund of encouragement to give impulse to our arms. The blow, followed up with vigour, not only facilitated the immediate overthrow of the British power in Upper Canada and on all the lakes, but left us without limits to the extension of our conquests. One of the first and most important consequences that must neces- sarily follow it was the advancement of General Harrison's army into the enemy's territory. In order to transport the army to Maiden, where the main body of the British army then lay, and which it was designed to get possession of before ascend- ing the lake towards Detroit, Perry made haste to prepare the Niagara, and the light vessels of both squadrons, for immediate service ; he removed the 274 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. whole of our wounded to the Lawrence, and the whole of the British wounded to the Detroit and the Queen Charlotte. The last two vessels were snugly moored in the inner bay for their greater security. The thirteenth of September was ushered in by a violent gale from the southwest, which created a heavy sea in the bay. This was too distressing to the shattered masts of the Detroit, notwith- standing the efforts which had been made to se- cure them. They fell with a violent crash on the decks, and rendered the wreck and desolation complete. The disaster had been foreseen, and the prize crew had placed themselves in safety. The main and mizzen masts of the Queen Char- lotte fell in like manner. In the course of this day Perry found leisure to draw up and despatch a detailed report of the battle to the secretary of the navy, together with statements of the relative forces of the two squad- rons, and of our killed and wounded. This re- port is admirable for the modesty which every- where pervaded it, so far as he was himself con- cerned ; merely confining himself, with regard to his own movements, to a simple relation of the most important facts ; and evincing his desire to make all under his orders appear advantageously. To this desire was owing the notice which he took of Captain Elliott, which, without being very eu- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 275 logistic, was suited, on the whole, to prevent con- veying any unfavourable impression of his conduct He stated that, " at half past two, the wind spring- ing up. Captain Elliott was enabled to bring his vessel, the Niagara, gallantly into close action. I immediately went on board of her, when he an- ticipated my wish by volunteering to bring the schooners, which had been kept astern by the lightness of the wind, into close action." He leaves to Captain Elliott the benefit of the infer- ence that, more than two hours after the Lawrence had been in close action, he actually did what he was enabled to do ; which, by the concurrent tes- timony of the officers of the squadron, except a few of those of the Niagara, he never did. After commending the various officers of the squadron who had distinguished themselves, he thus closed with a notice of Captain Elliott, of whom he could not avoid speaking without necessarily implying misconduct. " Of Captain Elliott, already so well known to the government, it would be almost su- perfluous to speak ; in this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and judgment ; and, since the close of the action, has given me the most able and essential assistance." This report was seen by Captain Elliott, to whom, as second in com- mand, this courtesy might, under ordinary circum- stances, be considered due. When he had read it, Perry askp*^ him if it was a correct statement ; 276 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Captain Elliott assented ; but, after a little time and a reperusal, he did not like the manner in which Perry spoke of the Niagara, and asked him if he could not alter it. Perry said he would take time to reflect, and, if he could alter it with pro- priety, he would do so. Failing in obtaining more favourable mention of himself — for Perry was con- vinced, upon reflection, that he had already said too much for him — Captain Elliott procured some al- terations to be made in the report relating to oth- ers. At his suggestion, some laudatory remarks were inserted as to the conduct of Acting-mas- ter Nelson Webster ; and, in consequence of his attributing misconduct to the commanders of the small vessels which he had gone to the rear of the line to bring up. Perry omitted all men- tion of their commanders. This omission he sub- sequently regretted, as he was afterward led to believe that they had failed in no exertion to close up, especially Lieutenant Holdup Stevens, the commander of the Trippe, who, as he ascertained from Lieutenant Turner and others, had brought his vessel into action with special gallantry. This omission gave great pain to the relations of Mr. Stevens, and produced anxious letters from them to Captain Perry, which he was happy in being able to answer most satisfactorily by placing Lieu- tenant Stevens in a true and meritorious light. C-aptain Elliott's attempt thus to destroy Lieu- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 277 tenant Stevens can only be accounted for by an inveterate dislike, and appears to be in some way connected with the removal of this officer a few days before from the Niagara, of which he was previously first lieutenant. Of the conduct du- ring the action of this gentleman's successor, Lieu- tenant J. E. Smith, who had exchanged with Mr Stevens, Captain Elliott also spoke to Captain Perry in the most disparaging terms ; but the lat- ter, having observed that Mr. Smith did his duty while the Niagara was in a far more critical posi- tion than during the time of Captain Elliott's be- ing on board of her, noticed his conduct with ap- probation.* It thus appears, that while Perry was torturing his ingenuity to keep honestly out of view the palpable misconduct of Captain Elliott, * Yet Captain Elliott subsequently procured from this offi- cer, whom he had thus endeavoured to destroy, a commenda- tory certificate, and made him instrumental in publishing it. To the remark of Mr. Cooper, *' It is now believed that the omission of the names of the commanders of the gun vessels astern was accidental," Mr. Hambleton appends the following note : " It was not. They were omitted in consequence of the unfavourable report of Captain Elliott, who said they were not making the best of their way up." The name of Mr. Hamble- ton, whose conduct throughout the battle was so gallant and meritorious, is omitted by Mr. Cooper among the list of wound- ed officers. Aa 278 AMERICAN BIOGEAPHY. he, on the contrary, was endeavouring to ruin his inferiors. As the happiness of Captain Perry was after- ward imbittered by the annoyances which grew out of a controversy forced upon him by Captain ElHott, as to his share in this victory, and as una- voidable notice must be taken of it hereafter, it is necessary to trace the origin of the difficulty. Cap- tain Elliott appears to have arrived on Lake Erie with a feeling of jealousy towards Captain Perry, an exaggerated idea of the distinction conferred upon him by the capture of the Detroit and Cale- donia, and a feeling that injustice had been done to him in not conferring on him the chief com- mand of the squadron on Lake Erie. While, therefore, Perry was happy to receive an officer of greater experience than those who had hitherto been sent to him, and was disposed to welcome him cordially, Captain Elliott, on the contrary, joined the command with a feeling of jealousy to- wards his superior, and a disposition to be insubor- dinate. Very soon after he joined the squadron, he had a difficulty with a commander of one of the smaller vessels about receiving a seaman, which that officer scrupled to deliver without a written order, when, instead of reporting the circumstan- ces as they had occurred to their commander, he thus dictatorially addressed him. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 279 U. S. brig Niagara, August 19, 1813. "Sir, " I hereby require of you the arrest of Sailing- master Thomas C. Almy, who has committed a breach of the first clause of the fourteenth article for the better government of the Navy of the Uni- ted States. " Respectfully, I have the honour to be, " Jesse D. Elliott, Lieut. " Captain 0. H. Perry." Captain Perry seems to have taken no offence at this insubordinate and disrespectful requisition, by which his inferior undertook to deprive him of the power of exercising any judgment as to ques- tions of discipline arising among his officers, and to decide at once as to an alleged offence and the degree of punishment to be awarded to it. He so far yielded, however, to Captain Elliott's demand, as to arrest the officer in question ; he subsequently adjusted the difficulty, and took measures, by the issue of a general order, to prevent its recurrence. His conduct in this and in other matters evin- ced towards Captain Elliott a spirit of forbearance and conciliation. This spirit, added to an eminent- ly humane and generous feeHng, continued to an- imate him towards this officer in the very peculiar situation in which he found himself after the battle. During the battle, and immediately after it, the 280 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. extraordinary conduct of Captain Elliott, in failing to follow his chief into close action, to seek out his designated opponent, and to reheve the Law- rence from her unequal contest with the whole British squadron, had been the subject of univer- sal remark, and of the severest animadversion. The opinion was general in the squadron that Cap- tain Elliott had either been actuated by cowardice, or by a treacherous desire to see the Lawrence overpowered and her commander slain, that he might take his station, and, by winning the victo- ry, become the hero of the day.* As, however, the chances of victory were almost annihilated by the destruction of the Lawrence, the last supposi- tion met with little belief. These reports were not unknown to Captain Perry, though he discour- aged their circulation. He had been perplexed during the action by the unaccountable manoeuvres of the Niagara, when he observed them himself, or when his attention was called to them by oth- ers ; but he was unwilling to believe in the exist- ence of such motives as were generally ascribed to Captain Elliott. He felt a generous indisposi- tion to permit the fall of a young officer, then high in the public favour, whom he had the power of saving ; and, even putting the worst construction on the conduct of Captain Elliott, he was unwilling that the enemy should know that * See affidavits at the end of the work. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 281 the second in command in our squadron had fail- ed in his duty. In expressing his doubts on this subject to his intimate friend, Mr. Hambleton, while in the act of drawing up his report, he quo- ted to him, with approbation, the declaration of an English admiral, " It is better to screen a cow- ard than to let the enemy know there is one in the fleet." Influenced by this motive of national and profes- sional pride, and the generous and humane desire of saving a young officer from irretrievable ruin and disgrace, Perry noticed the conduct of Elliott not only without reprobation, but in the qualified terms of praise that we have quoted. The difficulty and doubt under which he laboured are evident on a careful perusal of his report. Nor was this all that he did : through Lieutenant Turner and Mr. Ham- bleton he intimated his desire to the officers of his own ship, and of the squadron generally, that they should abstain, both in their letters and in conver- sation, from all remarks on the conduct of Captain Elliott. He said, that whatever might have been the appearances during the action, he was unwill- ing, after its happy result, to ruin an officer of rank and favourable standing. The American flag, he remarked, had gained honour enough on that day to permit its being shared by all who had served under it. In consequence of this statement of the wishes of their beloved commander, the officers Aa2 282 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. suppressed the letters which they had written to their friends, describing the battle and stigmatizing the conduct of Captain Elhott. Hearing, more- over, subsequently, that reports of his having failed to do his duty prevailed throughout General Harri- son's army, Perry spoke to Lieutenant Turner on the subject, expressing the regret which these re- ports caused him, and his desire that they might be silenced. He requested Lieutenant Turner to visit the camp, and do all that he could with propriety to counteract them. Sharing the noble generosity of his commander, Mr. Turner complied with this request on the following morning. Such were the magnanimous motives which led Perry, after a long mental conflict between justice on the one side, and humane feelings and patriotic pride on the other, to convey, in his official report, a fa- vourable impression of Captain Elliott's conduct during the battle, and otherwise to exert himself, with benevolent solicitude, to screen him from ex- posure and reprobation. Captain Elliott was necessarily not long in dis- covering the unfavourable impression made by his conduct during the battle. He had taken to his bed less from sickness than chagrin, as stated by the surgeon, Dr. Parsons, who was obliged to abandon the urgent claims of the wounded to visit Captain Elliott, and who had not yet been able to attend to one of the really sick. On this OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 283 occasion Captain Elliott spoke disparagingly to Dr. Parsons of his own surgeon, Dr. Barton j said he was good for nothing ; that he had attempted to amputate an arm during the battle, but the man died before it closed. Dr. Parsons told him that Dr. Barton was sick, but would soon be better, and able to discharge his duty faithfully.* Perry soon after visited Captain Elliott, and found him in this condition, and was moved by his declaration that he had lost the fairest opportunity of distinguishing himself that man ever had, to make every effort to relieve him.f When, there- fore, he soon after received from Captain Elliott a request that he would state what had been his conduct during the battle, influenced by the same generous motives, he replied to him in terms of ap- probation, which he subsequently lived to repent. Captain Elliott's letter was in the following words, copied from the original in the writer's possession. "U. S. ship Niagara, Sept. 19, 1813. "Dear Sir, "My brother, who has this evening arrived from the interior of the country, has mentioned to me a report that appeared to be in general circula- tion, that, in the late action with the British fleet, * Captain Elliott subsequently procured from this gentleman a favourable certificate. t See, in the sequel, Perry's letter of the 18th June, 1818. ■184 AMEPwICAN BIOGRAPHY. my vessel betrayed a want of conduct in bringing into action, and that your vessel was sacrificed in consequence of a want of exertion on my part in- dividually. I will thank you if immediately you will, with candour, name to me my exertions, and that of my officers and crew. " Yours respectfully, " Jesse D. Elliott.* " An immediate answer is desired. " Captain O. H. Perry, Eriel." * In reference to this letter, Captain Perry, long after, wrote Captain Elliott : " Your letter to me, of which you once furnished a false copy for publication, and which you now represent as making a de- mand upon me, was merely an introduction to mine," That the reader may discover the truth of the charge, the let- ter subsequently published by Captain Elliott at Erie, and quite recently reproduced in his autobiography, if that title can be given to a work written under his auspices and containing his opinions, is subjoined. "Sir, " I am informed a report has been circulated by some mali- cious persons, prejudicial to my vessel when engaged with the enemy's fleet. I will thank you if you will, with candour, state to me the conduct of myself, officers, and crew. "Respectfully, your obedient servant, "Jesse D. Elliott. •' Captain Perry." On a comparison of the real, original letter written by Captain Elliott, as given in the text, with this letter, published in the Erie Sentinel a month and a half afterward, and reproduced in the Life of Commodore Elliott, the reader will perceive that the whole tone of the letter is changed, from an urgent friendly ap- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 285 Captain Elliott's letter was probably dated on the eighteenth, which is endorsed on the back of it, instead of the nineteenth ; the date is indistinctly written, and appears to have been altered from the seventeenth to the nineteenth. Captain Perry's reply was as follows. "U. S. schooner Ariel, Put-in Bay, Sept. 19, 1813. "Dear Sir, " I received your note last evening after I had peal to a peremptory demand. The "Dear Sir" is reduced to plain " Sir ;" and, to make the contrast stronger, Commodore Per- ry is made to begin with a " My dear Sir," instead of with the same conventional expression of friendly intercourse used by Captain Elliott. The effect of these changes is to give an exacting tone to the letter of Captain Elliott, and a decidedly deprecating one to that of Commodore Perry. The letter, which was the offspring of an ill-judged and ill-requited benevolence, is made to assume the guise of an extorted concession. Some other alterations were also made in Commodore Perry's letter, to give greater force to his ex- pressions, but of little importance when compared with those made in Captain Elliott's own prefatory note. It was desirable to keep out of view the important fact that reports unfavourable to the conduct of Captain Elliott in the battle of the tenth of Septem- ber were already in extensive circulation ; hence the motive for changing the introduction of the letter, from " My brother, who has this eveninig arrived from the interior of the country, has mentioned to me a report that appeared to be in general circu- lation," to " I am informed a report has been circulated by some malicious persons." This substantiation of the charge against Captain Elliott of furnishing " a false copy for publication" of an important letter, will simplify the afler discussion of the difficul- ties between these two officers, and assist the reader in the in- telligence of their respective claims to honourable consideration. '286 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. turned in, or I should have answered it immedi- ately. I am indignant that any report should be in circulation prejudicial to your character, as re- spects the action of the tenth instant. It affords me pleasure that I have it in my power to assure you, that the conduct of yourself, officers, and crew was such as to meet my warmest approbation. And I consider the circumstance of your volunteer- ing and bringing the smaller vessels to close action as contributing largely to our victory. I shall ever believe it a premeditated plan of the enemy to disable our commanding vessel, by bringing all their force to bear upon her ; and I am satisfied, had they not pursued this course, the engagement would not have lasted thirty minutes. I have no doubt, if the Charlotte had not made sail and engaged the Lawrence, the Niagara would have taken her in twenty minutes. "Respectfully, &c., «0. H. Perry. " Captain Jesse D. Elliott, U. S. ship Niagara." The motives which prompted Perry to write this letter were the same that influenced him in making out his official report, and in requesting his officers to abstain, in their letters and in con- versation, from writing or saying anything to the disadvantage of Captain Elliott. That Perry made a great mistake in writing this letter, and even OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 287 committed a great fault, cannot be denied. Hav- ing, however, gone so far in his official report, it was natural that he should go on, thouo-h the w^armth of his expressions must be condemned. Before the days of Rodney and Nelson, miscon- duct, growing chiefly, perhaps, out of defective tactics, was far from uncommon in the British navy ; yet the circumstance of Admiral Hawke having, in his official report, boldly accused one of his captains of neglect of duty in the general engagement with the French fleet under M. de I'Etendiere in 1747, is mentioned by naval histo- rians as distinguishing that report from almost every other on similar occasions. It is due to Per- ry, that what he himself said to his most intimate friend, Mr. Hambleton, in palliation of his mistake, when the person for whose benefit it had been committed had given him cause for repentance, should be placed before the reader. " It was a matter of great doubt, when I began to reflect upon Captain Elliott's conduct, to what to attrib- ute his keeping so long out of the action. It was difficult to believe that a man, who, as I then thought, had, in a former instance, behaved brave- ly, could act otherwise in a subsequent action. I did not then know enough of human nature to be- lieve that any one could be so base as to be guilty of the motive which some ascribed to him, name- 288 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHl. ly, a determination to sacrifice me by keeping his vessel out of action. " On the evening of the action I was elated with our success, which had relieved me from a load of responsibility, and from a situation, stand- ing as I did with the government, almost desper- ate. At such a moment there was not a person in the world whose feelings I would have hurt. On showing Captain Elliott the rough draught of my official letter, when I asked him if it was a correct statement, he assented ; but, after a Uttle time, did not like the manner in which I spoke of the Niagara, and asked me if I could not alter it. I told him I thought not, but would take time to reflect, and, if I could with propriety, would do so. Upon reflection, I was sensible I had already said and done too much. Subsequently I became in- volved in his snares ; and, on his writing me a note, of which he has published only a part, I was silly enough to write him in reply the foolish letter of the nineteenth of September, because I thought it necessary to persevere in endeavouring to save him. This undoubtedly reflects on my head, but surely not on my heart. I was wilUng enough to share with him and others the fame I had ac- quired. Although, my friend, I never have arro- gated to myself superior judgment — on the con- trary, am aware of my weakness in being very credulous — ^yet I was certainly as capable of deci- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 289 ding, after reflection, on events that occurred under my own eyes as any other in the squadron, and the opinions of others had nothing to do with mine as respects Captain ElHott. Although my want of judgment may cause regret to my friends, yet no one can reflect on the goodness of my heart and the correctness of my principles." On the same day that Perry wrote his unfortu- nate letter in behalf of Captain Elliott, the Law- rence weighed anchor for Erie with the sick and wounded of the American squadron. Captain Perry went on board of her as she was sailing out of the harbour, to take leave of his brave ship- mates, and to see if anything farther could be done for their comfort. He had already taken every possible pains to procure whatever refresh- ments the neighbourhood of Sandusky afforded for his own and the British w^ounded, and placed his own private stores at the disposal of the sur- geon of the Lawrence, by whom they were freely used. Before leaving the Lawrence, Perry, true to his generous w^ish to save the reputation of Cap- tain Elliott, requested Mr. Hambleton to desire the wounded officers, on their landing, to avoid any remarks or conversation with regard to the misconduct of the Niagara while under the com- mand of Captain Elliott, and asked him particu- larly to caution Lieutenant Forrest, who was to proceed to Washington on the proud errand of de- Bb 290 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. livering the captured colours of the enemy, to ab- stain from any discussion of the subject. The generous effort made by Perry to exhibit the conduct of Captain Elliott in a light not ob- viously unfavourable in his official report ; the let- ter which, in the same spirit, he wrote at Captain Elliott's request, to relieve the anxiety and distress of mind under which he was suffering, and his earnest efforts to influence the officers under his command in behalf of Captain Elliott's reputa- tion, would doubtless have attained their object, and left that gentleman in possession of an envia- ble reputation, had he been satisfied to allow the whole matter to remain in the position in which it was thus left ; but the efforts which should have awakened the keenest sense of gratitude on the part of Captain Elliott, in the language of an ac- curate observer, " appear to have planted in his bosom the most implacable hatred." It will be seen, in the sequel, that this was not long in exhib- iting itself. Before resuming the course of our narrative, we will here refer to another matter of a painful na- ture, though connected with an exhibition of feel- ings suited to awaken admiration instead of dis- gust. By the Lawrence Captain Perry forwarded to General Brooks, of Medford, Massachusetts, the following feeling announcement of the death of his noble son: OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 291 " It is with heartfelt pain I am under the neces- sity of communicating to you the irreparable loss which you and our country have sustained in the death of your gallant and worthy son, Lieutenant John Brooks, who fell in the action with the Brit- ish squadron at the head of Lake Erie, on the tenth instant, while nobly animating his men to their duty. His friend, Mr. Hambleton, who is severely wounded, will write you the moment he is able. I sympathize with you most deeply." Ere this letter could reach the bereaved parent, he had addressed Perry on the same subject. It is a characteristic specimen of the noble patriotism which animated those who won our independence with their blood ; of a devotion, wiUing not mere- ly to sacrifice life in our country's cause, but to acquiesce, with at least outward cheerfulness, in the sacrifice of the life of a son. The veteran's letter ran as follows : " After oflfering you my most cordial congrat- ulations on your late splendid victory over a su- perior British force, which must rank your name high on the roll of naval conquerors, permit me to mention my son. Lieutenant Brooks, who fell on board the Lawrence during that memorable conflict. Not being acquainted with any indi- vidual in your fleet to whom I could apply for 292 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. information respecting my son, I have taken the liberty of addressing myself for that purpose to you. Should you have a few moments at your command, it would be laying me under lasting obligation to inform me of the most prominent circumstances as to the time and manner of his fall. It would be also gratifying to me to know what disposition has been made of his ef- fects, and whether his arms of different kinds have been disposed of or are retained. If the latter, it would be peculiarly grateful to me to be in pos- session of his best sword and sash ; the former as a relic, the latter on account of its being the sash I wore through the whole of the American Revo- lution. If compliance with this request should be proper and practicable, perhaps a safe conveyance to Boston may offer ; otherwise I have to request they may be forwarded to my son, Alexander S. Brooks, who is a captain in the Third Regiment of Artillery, and is now stationed at Fort George. " The citizens of Boston are taking measures to evince, in some measure, the sense they entertain of your distinguished merit ; and, should you visit our capital, no one will greet you with more cor- diality than, sir, your most obedient servant, " John Brooks." In this touching letter, worthy of the best days of the republic, the grief of a father for the loss of OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 293 a favourite son, who was the admired and beloved of all beholders, gives way to the pride and exul- tation of the patriot. That other son of whom he speaks has since been numbered among the vic- tims of the Florida war. Captain Perry had lost no time in organizing the vessels of both squadrons still fit for active service for the transportation of the army under General Harrison to the opposite shore. On the fifteenth and sixteenth of September he had land- ed all his prisoners, with the exception of the sick and wounded, at Camp Portage, at the outlet of the river of that name in Sandusky Bay, whence they were to be marched to ChiUcothe. A list of these prisoners by name, to the number of three hundred and eight, is in possession of the writer. Having thus disposed of the sound portion of his prisoners, and hastily reorganized his combined squadron. Captain Perry placed the small vessels at the disposal of General Harrison, for the re- moval of his army from Portage River and Fort Meigs to Bass Island, preparatory to a descent upon Canada. He proceeded in person in the Ariel to Portage River, to receive General Harrison with his staff, and convey him to Put-in Bay. A little incident which occurred on this passage, illustra- tive of the amiable feelings of Perry, and of his generous sympathy with the sick or suffering, is related by Major Chambers, of Kentucky, then Bb2 294 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. one of General Harrison's aiddecamps. About twenty or thirty soldiers, composing the remnant of a gallant company of young Virginians, who had joined the army the year before under the name of the Petersburg Volunteers, and who had been reduced by battle and disease to their pres- ent number, had accompanied General Harrison on board the Ariel. On the passage to Put-in Bay, supper was served in the cabin, and, after the commodore and his numerous guests had partaken of it, they resumed their seats on deck to enjoy the evening air. Major Chambers was conversing with Lieutenant Packett, who commanded the Ariel, when one of the young Virginians, whom a spirit of adventure had led to abandon a life of ease for the hard- ships of the camp, and who was just recovering from severe illness, approached Major Chambers, whom he knew, and asked, in an under tone, if it would be possible for him to obtain a cup of coffee from the cabin, saying that his stomach rejected the cold and coarse food to which the army had necessarily been confined. Being a stranger to Perry, Major Chambers felt reluctant to trouble him with such a request, and therefore explained it to Mr. Packett. He hesitated to say anything, and the subject was dropped. But Perry, who ■was sitting near, had overheard the remark, and quietly given directions to his steward. In half OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 295 an hour Major Chambers had the gratification of seeing the whole of the young Virginians seated round an excellent supper in the cabin, and the warm-hearted host attending to them in person. Perry had heard the character and gallantry of the little band assigned as the reason for taking them on board the Ariel, that they might be under the eye of the general, and kindly rebuked Major Chambers for having hesitated to explain what accident alone had revealed to him — the longing of these poor fellows for a cup of hot coffee. "This little incident," says Major Chambers, " indicated to my satisfaction the character of the man, and would alone have made a lasting im- pression ; but it was not permitted to stand alone in the catalogue of proofs that he was as gener- ous and kind as he was brave. I visited the cabin of the Detroit in his company, and witnessed the kindness of his manner and his generous solicitude for the comfort of his wounded prisoner, the gal- lant Captain Barclay. I subsequently accompa- nied him on board of the Lawrence, on the morn- ing she sailed with the wounded seamen for Erie 5 and I was inexpressibly gratified with the feeling he manifested towards the poor fellows, the anxi- ety he showed for their comfort, and the evident pleasure they derived from his attention to them. Mcmy, very many little incidents occurred in the course of our brief intercourse to prove that my 296 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. first impressions of his character were well-found- ed j his uniform kindness and sympathy towards every sufferer from disease, disaster, or other caus- es daily occurring in the army, was remarked by all who had the happiness of associating with him." The army, amounting to four thousand five hundred men, was at length assembled at Bass Island, on the evening of the twenty-second. The size of the vessels prevented the embarcation of all the troops at once. In consequence. Cap- tain Perry had suggested to General Harrison, be- fore the battle with the British squadron — for a de- scent upon Canada had already been determined on, to take place so soon as Governor Shelby should arrive with the mass of the Kentucky mili- tia — to rendezvous with the troops at the Middle Sister, an island distant twelve miles from Mai- den, and then take advantage of favourable weather to move the whole army simultaneously by means of the squadron and boats. This meas- ure was now adopted ; and, on the twenty-third, the operation of transporting the army to the Mid- dle Sister was commenced, and, notwithstanding interruptions from bad weather, was successfully completed on the twenty-sixth. On that day, Captain Perry, accompanied by General Harrison, who had his headquarters on board the Ariel, re- connoitred the harbour of Maiden and the adja- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 297- cent shores. As the result of their investigation, the general fixed upon a point about three miles to the eastward of the town of Maiden, or Am- herstburg, as it is called by the English. The next day being appointed for landing, should the weather continue favourable, the general orders of debarcation, of march, and of battle were im- mediately drawn up under the direction of the general, signed by Colonel E. P. Gaines, the adju- tant-general, on board the Ariel, and made known to the army on her return to the Middle Sister, to- gether with the following brief words of encour- agement and humane caution. " The general en- treats his brave troops to remember that they are the sons of sires whose fame is immortal ; that they are to fight for the rights of their insulted country, while their opponents combat for the un- just pretensions of a master. Kentuckians ! re- member the River Raisin ! but remember it only while the victory is suspended. The revenge of a soldier cannot be gratified upon a fallen enemy !" At three o'clock on the morning of the twenty- seventh, the weather proving mild, the army was all embarked into the boats or taken on board the squadron. This service being effected at nine o'clock, the squadron weighed, and stood towards the designated point of debarcation. At two o'clock the vessels anchored in line of battle, about a mile and a half to the eastward of Bar 298 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Point, and at the distance of a quarter of a mile from the shore, with springs on their cables, in readiness to cover the debarcation of the troops. At forty-five minutes after two, all that could be contained in the boats were landed on the beach simultaneously, and in admirable order. There was no enemy to oppose them. Information was soon obtained, and communicated to Captain Per- ry, that the enemy had evacuated Maiden, and re- tired in the direction of Sandwich, up the left bank of the Detroit. The squadron immediately weighed, stood into the harbour, and anchored off the town, where the rest of the troops were landed at five o'clock, soon after the main body had marched in. On taking possession of the town, it was discovered that the enemy had de- stroyed the fort, barracks, navy yard, and pubhc stores. The evacuation of Amherstburg by General Proctor may have been rendered inevitable by the want of provisions to stand a siege. He had at his disposal three thousand Indians, which, with seven hundred regular troops and the mihtia of the district, made him nearly equal in numbers to our army. He had, moreover, the advantage of position. The Indians were exceedingly anxious to fight, and two thirds of them abandoned his army when he commenced his retreat. The brave and eloquent Tecumseh, with about a thousand OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 299 followers, though strongly opposed to retreating, the impolicy and disgrace of which he powerfully set forth, still remained. In the harangue in which he attempted to dissuade the British gener- al from his inglorious, and, as it proved, disastrous determination, he certainly took some very extra- ordinary and undutiful liberties. "Listen, Fa- ther !" said he ; " opr fleet has gone out. We know they have fought ; w^e have heard the great guns, but know nothing of what has happened to our Father with one arm. Our fleet has gone one way, and we are very much astonished to see our Father tying up everything, and preparing to run away the other, without letting his red children know what his intentions are. You always told us that you would never draw your foot oflf British ground ; but now. Father, we see that yau are drawing back, and we are sorry to see our Father doing so without seeing the enemy. We must com- pare our Father's conduct to a fat animal that car- ries its tail upon its back, but, when affrighted, it drops it between its legs and runs otf. We wish to remain here and fight the enemy, should he appear. If he conquers us, we will then re- treat with our Father." No time was lost in following the retreating enemy. Our army marched up the left bank of the Detroit, while the squadron sailed up the river, transporting the heavy baggage and provisions of 300 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. the troops. The army took possession of Sand- wich on the twenty-ninth. Here General Harri- son learned from deserters that the British army, consisting of seven hundred regular troops and a thousand Indians, had taken post on the right bank of the river Thames, at Dalson's, about fif- ty-six miles from Sandwich. It was stated that General Proctor intended to fortify himself in that position, and await an attack. If defeated, he could continue his retreat up the banks of the Thames, in the direction of Lake Ontario, near which it has its source. At Sandwich, deputa- tions were received from the Ottawas, Chippe- ways, Wyandots, Miamis, and a band of hostile Delawares, all of which had abandoned the ene- my's army, and now offered to make peace and co-operate against their former friends. On the same day General Harrison embarked with General M' Arthur's brigade, seven hundred strong, in the squadron, and proceeded with Cap- tain Perry to take possession of Detroit. There were about a thousand Indians lurking in the neighbourhood of the town, but they fled with- out resistance on the approach of the squadron. Soon after, they gave in their submission to Gen- eral M^ Arthur, and agreed to " take hold of the same tomahawk, and strike all who were the ene- mies of the United States, whether British or In- dians." General Harrison now issued a procla- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 301 mation, announcing the expulsion of the enemy from ]\Iichigan, and re-establishing the civil gov- ernment as it existed before the subjugation of the territory. This being completed, he returned to Sandwich in the Ariel. In the mean time, the mounted Kentuckians of Colonel Johnson's regi- ment had reached Detroit and crossed to Sand- wich, and, ^^^th them, the horses belonging to the staff and field officers of the army. On the thirtieth of September, having received information that some small vessels of the enemy were escaping up Lake St. Clair, towards the Thames, with the baggage and artillery of Proc- tor's army. Captain Perry despatched Captain El- liott with the Niagara, Lady Prevost, now com- manded by Lieutenant Turner, Scorpion, and Ti- gress up the Detroit into Lake St. Clair, to pur^e them. He soon after followed with the Ariel and Caledonia, the latter now commanded by Lieuten- ant Holdup Stevens. On the second of October he appeared off the mouth of the Thames, where he joined the vessels which he had detached in pursuit of the enemy's baggage ; they had been un- able to overtake the escaping vessels before they entered the river. On the morning of the third of October, our army having reached the neighbourhood of the Thames to the number of thirty-five hundred men, General Cass's brigade having been left at Sand- Cc 302 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. wich, though he himself accompanied the com- mander-in-chief in the character of aiddecamp, Captain Perry now ordered Captain Elliott, with the Scorpion, Tigress, and Porcupine, to enter the river, they being the only vessels that could cross the bar at its mouth, and proceed up it with a large number of boats conveying the baggage of the army. The schooners held themselves in readi- ness to protect the passage of the army over the Thames or its tributaries, should opposition be of- fered. There were four streams crossing the route of the army in its pursuit of the enemy, which were deep and muddy, and not fordable except at points remote from their outlets into the Thames. All of these had bridges over them. Through the great neglect of the enemy, the bridge over the first stream, which the army reached on the night of the second of October, was found entire. On the morning of the third, the general, having push- ed forward at the head of Colonel R. M. Johnson's regiment of mounted Kentuckians, fortunately cap- tured a lieutenant of dragoons and eleven privates belonging to the enemy, who were engaged in de- stroying the second bridge. From the prisoners the general learned that the enemy had no certair information of his advance. The third bridge, having only been partially destroyed, probably to leave a passage for the dragoons who were to complete its destruction, when over, was soon re- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 303 paired by our array, which passed over and en- camped four miles below Dalson's, at which point it had been supposed that the enemy would have been found intrenched and disposed to offer battle. In this neighbourhood the river Thames assumed a different character. Its channel grew narrow, with a more rapid current, and the banks steep, lofty, and wooded, so as to expose the decks of the vessels to the Indian sharp-shooters, while their artillery would be of no service should they at- tempt to accompany the army farther. The gen- eral agreed, on consultation with Captain Perry, that it would be inexpedient to carry the ves- sels higher, and that they should be left, with the boats and heavy baggage, at this point, with a guard of infantry to assist in their protection. By this time Perry had become so excited with the pursuit that he could not consent to remain in- active with his vessels ; leaving them, therefore, in charge of Captain Elliott, he tendered his services to General Harrison as an aiddecamp. They were gladly accepted ; and, by the kindness of a brother volunteer aid, Major John Chambers, who dismounted his servant in order to be able to offer him a horse, he was mounted, and ready to set forward with the army. The volunteers from the army who had served in the squadron, and passed alive and unwoundcd through the action of the tenth of September, had long since returned 304 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. to the ranks, and spread among their comrades the most glowing accounts of Perry's heroism and hu- manity. Most of the soldiers, too, had seen some- thing of him for themselves in the course of the various transportations of the army to Put-in Bay, the Middle Sister, and to Maiden. He had been able, by his conciliatory treatment, to do away the prevailing idea of a constitutional dislike between the sailors and soldiers, and to keep them in a good humour with each other, notwithstanding their crowded condition while on board the ves- sels, being often so close together that they were unable to sit down. To his exertions and those of the general it was owing that such perfect har- mony existed between the two corps. On this ac- count, and owing to the admiration excited by Perry's recent victory, aided by his commanding person and the grace of his horsemanship, which was a subject of universal remark, he was raptu- rously received throughout the army, and followed by animating cheers. On the march Perry found abundant amusement in the odd ways and sayings of the Kentucky mi- litia. The exercise and rapid motion, after a con- finement of some weeks on shipboard, oppressed with responsibility and anxious cares, exhilarated him greatly. He entered with sportsmanlike zeal into the excitement of the rapid pursuit, and of the hourly increasing evidences that it would result OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 305 in overtaking the enemy, and compelling him to fight or surrender; boats were taken and their crews made prisoners, and the hostile Indians made frequent efforts to check the advance of our troops, skirmishing with the videttes, and picking off our men across the river. A volley thus fired on one of our advanced parties attracted the atten- tion of Perry and Major Chambers, who rode at speed in the direction of the report, to see what it mio-ht be. A party of Indians had fired at one of our advanced guards, and, being concealed in the high grass, our men did not return the fire, but drew off from the bank of the river to avoid it. Having reached the point immediately opposite where the savages were lurking, Perry suddenly reined up, and exclaimed to his companion, " See that sneaking rascal crawling in the grass over there !" pointing, at the same time, to an Indian who was in the act of taking shelter behind a tree, from which he could fire securely. At this mo- ment a large Indian of the Shawnee tribe, in our service, and known as " Big Anderson," who had concealed himself below the river bank to get a shot, rose up suddenly, and, waving his hand au- thoritatively, cried out, " Go way, fool ! he shoot." Perry and his companion took the courteous hint and rode off with whole skins, laughing heartily. A march of eight miles from the encampment of the previous night brought the army to Chat- Cc2 306 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. ham, where another tributary of the Thames was to be crossed. The bridge here was effectually destroyed, and a party of several hundred Indians were drawn up on the opposite bank to dispute the passage of our troops. General Harrison, believ- ing the whole British force to be at hand, drew up his army in order of battle, and brought up his ar- tillery to cover the party detailed to repair the bridge. The Indians, for it proved to be only a skirmishing party, soon after fell back, and our army passed over. Near the bridge, a house, stored with arms, was found in flames, which were fortunately extinguished. Farther on, a vessel, loaded with arms and ammunition, was found on fire. Four miles beyond, two other vessels were found on fire ; also a large distillery, filled with a large amount of- ordnance and other valuable stores. The flames had proceeded too far to save them. Two twenty-four pounders, with their car- riages, were, however, found, and a large quantity of shot and shells. Information was here obtained that the enemy w^ere still on the right bank of the river, and only a few miles ahead. It was there- fore probable that they would be overtaken and brought to action on the following day. The ar- my halted for the night, the picquets were station- ed, and soldiers and officers bivouacked together in the field, under the canopy of heaven, for there were no tents. Perry and his friend Major Cham- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 307 bers, after making such a meal as the providence of the servant of the latter had reserved, shared the same bed of prairie grass, with their horses picqueted near them, in readiness to mount at a moment's warning. The pursuit was renewed at an early hour on the morning of the fifth. Their march now lay through a fine agricultural country, dotted with frequent and well-cultivated farms, surrounded by abundant orchards, of which the fruit was then ripe. The peaceful inhabitants, harassed and ter- rified by the passage of two armies, had abandon- ed their dwellings. The general took care that, at any rate, they should not suffer from their ene- mies, and rigorously forbade the slightest depreda- tions. In a short time after the renewal of the march, two gunboats and a number of batteaux, ascending the river with provisions and military stores, were overtaken and captured. At nine o'clock the army reached Arnold's ]VIills, at which point was the only ford within some distance at which the army could be conveniently crossed, so as to reach the right bank up which the enemy was retreating. Even here the water was too deep for the infantry to wade without great incon- venience. The mounted men hesitated to take the footmen behind them on their tired horses, and they were about to be left to wade or get over as they could, in a few canoes and batteaux which 308 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. had been captured in the neighbourhood, when, as is stated by Major Chambers, Perry rode into the crowd at the ford, and, ordering a footman to jump up behind him, dashed into the stream, call- ing to the mounted men to take up the footmen and follow him. Some other officers of the staff who were near Perry immediately imitated his ex- ample ; and, in a very short time, the whole army was on the opposite shore, in a condition to pur- sue its march, without the inconvenience to the foot soldiers of wet clothing. Eight miles above the ford the army passed a farm where part of the British troops had bivou- acked on the previous night. From one of the enemy's wagoners overtaken at this point, infor- mation was obtained that General Proctor had pass- ed the previous night at the Moravian town, an Indian village under the patronage of the Mora- vians, about four miles farther up the Thames. It was also ascertained that Proctor, being now un- able to escape without fighting, had halted his army a mile and a half in front of the Moravian town, and disposed it in order of battle. In fact. Colonel R. M. Johnson, who rode in the van at the head of his mounted Kentuckians, soon after sent word to General Harrison that his progress was arrested by the enemy's army formed across our line of march. The general now drew up his troops in order of battle. The ground occupied OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 309 by the Lneiiiy, and the whole space over which the road passed for nearly four miles below him, consisted of a narrow strip of land from two to three hundred yards wide, having the river on one side and an impenetrable, morass on the other. It was covered throughout with a heavy growth of timber, chiefly beechwood, but was almost entire- ly free from underbrush. Across this narrow neck of land Proctor had drawn up his army, to the number of about seventeen hundred men, having his right in the morass, covered by the whole body of his Indians, under Tecumseh, amounting to a thousand warriors, and his left on the river, sup- ported by six pieces of artillery. The position thus taken by General Proctor manifested great judgment, inasmuch as the morass on one flank, and the river on the other, effectually prevented them from being turned ; while our army, though more numerous, could only oppose a hne of equal extent. In fact, though the number of our troops in the field amounted to more than three thousand, only one hundred and twenty of which were regu- lars, our number actually engaged, on account of the want of space to form them, scarcely exceeded that of the enemy. General Harrison speedily formed his line of battle, assisted by his acting adjutant Captain But- ler, by General Cass, who had volunteered his ser- vices as an aid, and by Perry. It had been in- 310 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. tended that the mounted riflemen from Kentucky should meet the Indians, with whom they were ac- customed to fight in their own pecuhar manner, and upon whom they were desirous to revenge the mas- sacre of so many of their brothers and relations at the Miami and the Raisin. The thickness of the wood and the swampiness of the ground on the en- emy's right, where lay the morass, would have ren- dered a body of horse unserviceable in that quarter, and subjected it to certain destruction. There was no time to dismount it, and, in the emergency of the moment, the general hastily conceived the idea of a sudden charge of this mounted corps upon the British centre, composed of infantry. Long famil- iarity with our western backwoodsmen had made General Harrison aware of the dexterity with which they ride through the forests in pursuit of game, without being in the least incommoded by their rifles. He reasoned, too, as it subsequently appeared judiciously, that the enemy would be un- prepared for so novel a charge. He immediately ordered the advance of the whole army ; the cen- tre and right were to break through the enemy's line, if possible, and overpower them at once; while the left was to await the attack of the In- dians, when in contact with them. The army was put in motion, and Colonel Johnson charged at the head of his mounted Kentuckians in gallant style. At the first fire received from the enemy's OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 3H line, the horses in front took fright and recoiled ; a second volley was poured in by the enemy, when, getting in motion, the mounted men broke through the opposite line, and in a moment decided the contest, dispersing the enemy, bearing down all resistance, and compelling him to surrender. At the same moment, the small party of regulars ad- vancing on the right, and some friendly Indians coming up under cover of the bank of the river, got possession of the enemy's artillery. Meantime, the hostile Indians on the left maintained the con- test from the morass, and under cover of the trees, in n more obstinate manner. For a moment they made an impression on our front line of infantry ; when Governor Shelby, who commanded at that point, and who, as General Harrison wTote, " at the age of sixty-six preserved all the vigour of youth, the ardent zeal which distinguished him in the revolutionary war, and the undaunted bravery which he manifested at King's Mountain," brought up a regiment which checked the onset of the In- dians. Colonel Johnson, too, having now borne down all opposition in front, wheeled with a part of his regiment, and, gaining the rear of the In- dians, caused them to retreat with great slaughter. In the course of this last onset Colonel Johnson came personally in contact with Tecumseh. Both the white and the Indian warriors were already bleeding from many wounds received earlier in 312 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. the battle. Colonel Johnson, whose heroism had carried him wherever the danger was most immi- nent, had already received no fewer than five wounds. Tecumseh was in the act of launching his tomahawk with deadly aim at Colonel John- son, when the latter, quicker in his movements or better seconded by his weapon, brought him to the ground with a pistol-shot. Resistance was now at an end, and with it ceased the effusion of blood. There was no deliberate murder and scalping by our friendly Indians ; and the heroic Kentuckians, who had been stigmatized by the British as worse than savages, and many of whom mourned a relation or a friend cut off in cold blood at the Miami or the Raisin, responded nobly to the merciful caution of the general, " The revenge of a soldier cannot be gratified on a fallen enemy." The fruits of this victory were complete. While our loss in killed and wounded amounted to but twenty-nine, that of the enemy was ascertained to be at least thirty-four British, in addition to thirty- three Indians found dead on the field of battle. Six hundred and twenty-six regular troops, inclu- ding soldiers and officers, were made prisoners. Proctor, accompanied by forty dragoons and a few mounted Indians, escaped the hot pursuit which was kept up for him by the superior speed of his horses. An immense amount of mihtary stores OLIVER HAZARD VERRY. 313 was either taken or destroyed by the enemy in his retreat. Among the most valuable of the spoils was a train of his brass cannons, three of which were revolutionary trophies, taken at York- town and Saratoga, and surrendered by General Hull at Detroit. Among the more precious fruits of the victory were the separation of the sav- age allies of England from her cause, and the re- lief of om- frontier frgm the horrors by which it had been so long desolated. Captain Perry acted an important part during the battle as aid of the general. In his official report. General Harrison took occasion to state, that his " gallant friend, Commodore Perry," had accompanied him at the head of his army, and as- sisted him in forming his line of battle ; " the ap- pearance of the brave commodore," added he, "cheered and animated every breast." Perry's was not merely an honorary office during the battle, but he strove to make it an active one j and his services were freely used by the general. A little incident, illustrative of his activity as an aidde- camp, and of his extraordinary skill as a horse- man, is mentioned by Major Chambers. This gentleman states that, from the moment he joined the army, his splendid horsemanship had attracted great attention. He rode a powerful and spirited black horse v^ith a white face, which served to distinguish the rider as far as he could be seen. Dd 314 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. The horse became very much excited in the bat- tle, and on one occasion, when Perry had been despatched with an order from the general, and was passing from the right of the front line to the left wing of the army, he plunged into one of the deep sloughs which abounded in the direction of the swamp, and sunk nearly to the breast. In an instant Perry pressed his hands on the pommel of the saddle, and sprang over the horse's head to the dry ground. Relieved from the weight of his rider, the horse instantly extricated himself by a powerful effort, and, snorting as he trod the solid ground again, bounded forward at the speed he had held before the accident. Perry clutched the animal's mane as he released himself from the marsh, and vaulted into the saddle without in the slightest degree checking the speed of the beast, or touching bridle or stirrup until he was fairly seated. Major Chambers, who witnessed this feat, was astonished and pleased at it ; and the Ken- tuckians, who were approaching the enemy at a charging pace, cheered the brave sailor as he passed them. The private misery which attended the battle of the Thames, as that of Lake Erie, and doubt- less all other battles whether by sea or land, gave scope again for the indulgence of those benevo- lent and humane feelings which were ever upper- most in the breast of Perry. The Moravian town OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 315 was a settlement of Christianized Indians, under the patronage of the missionaries of the excellent and benevolent Moravian sect. During the occu- pation of the village by our army, Perry was able to render essential services to the missionaries. Of the nature of these services we have no other means of judging than by the following interesting letter, found among his correspondence. It is da- ted at Bethlehem, and signed by Mr. John G. Cu- now, on behalf of the missionaries. " HoNOtJRED AND DeAR SiR, "The directors of the Society of the United Brethren, commonly called Moravians, residing at this place, have been informed by the Reverend Mr. Schnall, late one of our missionaries in Upper Canada, of the friendly offices and generous pro- tection which you have had the goodness to afford to our missionaries Avhen the settlement of oui* Christian Indians on Thames River was taken pos- session of by the army of the United States under General Harrison. " Impressed with the most lively sense of grat- itude for the numerous proofs of your benevolent disposition towards our missionaries when in dis- tress and danger, the directors beg leave to pre- sent to you their sincerest and most cordial ac- knowledgments. May the Lord, whose servants you have taken pleasure to protect, be your shield 316 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. and your exceeding great reward, have you in his holy keeping, and bless you in life, in death, and throughout eternity." We are indebted for the following additional anecdote of Perry's amiable anxiety to allay the calamities of war, to the accidental discovery by Mr. Chambers of a good deed which was meant only for the eye of the All-seeing. From the of- ficial letter of General Harrison, it appears that this gentleman went in pursuit of General Proctor with a small party of officers and mounted riflemen amounting only to seven. During the pursuit. General Harrison states that they made many pris- oners. They also overtook a large straggling party of women and children, composing the families of the soldiers of the Forty-first Regiment, which had been long stationed at Fort Maiden. These had followed the army in its retreat up the Detroit and Thames, and had remained at the Moravian town within hearing of the battle. On seeing the gen- eral escaping at speed through the village with a handful of followers, they too fled in great alarm. At the head of this woe-worn group, who rent the air with sobs and lamentations as they struggled onward, was an interesting and modest young woman, with a pair of twin babies, one of which she carried on each hip. Mr. Cham- bers checked his horse, and reassured the affright- OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 317 ed women, telling them they had nothing to fear either from the Americans or their friendly In- dians ; and succeeded in prevailing upon them to return to the village. He ordered a half-breed squaw, who was among the fugitives, to carry one of the twins of the young woman, and then turn- ed to continue the pursuit with his comrades. On the following morning. Major Chambers having duty at the Moravian town. Perry olFered to accompany him. On reaching the town, the first object that attracted his attention was the woman with twins standing in the doorway of one of the deserted Indian cabins. After some conver- sation with the woman, and some words of en- couragement as to the fate of her husband, and having requested her to remain where she was un- til his return. Chambers related to Perry the cir- cumstances under which he had found her the day before, struggling to save her little ones from the apprehended danger of being butchered by the American Indians, or, as she thought, more savage Kentuckians. The two aiddecamps separated in the village. When Major Chambers had de- spatched the business on which he had been sent, he went to look for the woman and twins, in or- der to make some benevolent provision lor their comfort. But they were no longer in the cabin. On his return towards the camp, he found them in a cart driven by a Canadian Frenchman. Upon Dd2 318 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. accosting the woman, she at once told him that his companion had hired the man to take her home to Amherstburg, a distance of more than a hundred miles. " May God bless and prosper him," said she ; " he is the kindest and most gen- erous gentleman in the world, and has been an angel of mercy to me and my poor babes. See," said she, extending her hand, "he has not only paid this man to take us home, but has given me all this money to buy clothes for these dear little ones, now that their poor father is a prisoner and going to be sent away into the States." Mr. Chambers represents her gratitude at such unex- pected benevolence from an enemy as affecting her even to tears. In order that she might know to whom she was indebted, he mentioned to her that the gentleman who had befriended her was the American Commodore Perry ; and she seemed to wonder the more that the character which re- cent events had led her to associate with ideas only of terror, should have appeared to her in such an aspect of gentleness and mercy. While Perry was thus assisting to consummate on the land the triumph which he had so glorious- ly begun afloat, and delivering himself up, after victory, to the indulgence of his overflowing be- nevolence, the heart of Captain Elliott was a prey to envy and rancorous hatred of his magnanimous commander. We have seen that on the fourth of OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 3l|. October, the day preceding the battle of the Thames, by agreement between General Harri- son and Perry, the three gunboats, Scorpion, Tigress, and Porcupine, had been left with the boats containing the baggage and a guard of infantry, to await the farther movements of the army, at a point where the river, becoming nar- rower, and the banks steep and thickly wooded, rendered the advance of the vessels perilous by exposing their decks to the fire of the enemy, and preventing them from the use of their artillery. Captain Elliott had been left in the command of these vessels. Instead, however, of remaining at the post assigned him, fulfilling its duties, whether important or unimportant, like a faithful ofl^ccr, he continued to follow the army up the river, and, in fact, ascended to within three miles of the battle- ground, where he took possession of the vessels laden with valuable stores, which had been cap- tured shortly before by the army. Captain El- liott thereby not only committed the great military fault of disobeying the orders of his superior, without the occurrence of any circumstance not contemplated by that superior, or other assignable motive than caprice and waywardness, but he ex- posed his own vessels to destruction without the means of resistance, the baggage to possible cap- ture from a marauding band of Indians, and, in case of the defeat of the army, broke up those 320 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. « precautionary measures of the commanding gener- al and commodore, by which the retiring army would have found, at a given point, a force sta- tioned to cover its retreat, and the means of re- embarcation. While engaged in this act of disobedience, the mind of Captain Elliott was possessed by notions of fancied wrongs from Perry, thus far studiously concealed from the latter, disappointed hopes for fame, and venomous efforts to disparage the too generous chief who had rescued him from repro- bation. During this cruise up the Thames, Cap- tain Elliott lived on board the Scorpion, com- manded by sailing-master, now commander, Ste- phen Champlin, from whom the foregoing infor- mation with regard to the removal of the vessels from the point where they were ordered to remain has been received. To this officer he commenced the wonted story of his complaints, coupled with abuse of Perry, and commendations of himself as the hero of the day. Still, in this very conver- sation, he stated that " in the action he was so far from the enemy that he only fired his twelve- pounders during two hours and' a half." The reason he assigned was, that " he had no signal from the commodore to change his situation."* He stated that " the officers and men of the Law- * This admission of Captain Elliott is substantially read- mitted in his biography, page 57. OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 321 rence, including Commodore Perry, were by no means entitled to prize-money ;" and still farther, that " the other officers and men of the squadron were even entitled to prize-money for her, she be- ing a recaptured vessel." Scorning this vain at- tempt to appeal to his cupidity and tamper with his loyalty, coming, as it did, from an officer so much his superior in rank, and having for its ob- ject to depreciate the fair and well-earned fame of their common commander, Mr. Champlin indig- nantly rejected the idea of disparaging the mo- mentous share which the Lawrence had in the \-ictory, because, through her abandonment by the Niagara, she had been compelled temporarily to strike her colours. Mr. Champlin replied with some warmth, that he knew not who was entitled to prize-money for the victory if the commodore was not. For himself, he would scorn to receive a cent if Commodore Perry was not a sharer. Irritated by this manly opposition, Captain Elliott gave way to extreme irritation, and unwarily ex- pressed a sentiment which may serve as a clew to the mystery of his whole conduct during the bat- tle. After complaining of the commodore's in- justice to him in his account of the battle, he told Mr. Champlin that " he only regretted that he had not sacrificed the fleet when it was in his power to have done so," Thus at one time we find Captain Elliott com- 322 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. plaining to Mr. Champlin " that in the action he was so far from the enemy that he only fired his twelve-pounders during two hours and a half," and assigning as a reason for this " that he had no signal from the commodore to change his sta- tion," when the commodore had assigned him a station alongside the Queen Charlotte, told him that his object was close action, and shown him the way into it with the Lawrence ; at another, claiming credit for having altered the order of battle on his own responsibility, and justifying himself on the grounds of his " being the second in command, the only captain in the squadron ex- cept Commodore Perry, and commanding a ship of equal force with the flag-ship," and therefore " the only officer that would venture upon such an expedient."* These opinions may aid in explain- ing Captain Elliott's motives of action in his con- nexion with Perry. Happily, they are such opin- ions as are not likely to find favour in the navy. Few right-minded officers will deny, that the fact of Captain Elliott's being the second in command, instead of conferring immunity for disobedience, imposed the duty of being first to set an example of subordination. * Biographical Notice of Commodore J. D. Elliott, page 184. END OF VOL. I. LRBN?7