On 6 August, Perry ordered a
shakedown cruise of his squadron, now totaling ten after the inclusion of three merchant vessels—, and —that were converted into warships and , which was captured from the British. Lieutenant
Daniel Turner was placed in command of
Niagara for the cruise, as the squadron was still seriously undermanned; Dobbins had even written a letter, directed to Secretary Hamilton, out of desperation back in December 1812. Word arrived on 8 August that
Jesse Elliott was en route to Erie from
Black Rock, New York with 89 men. Elliott was promoted to Master Commandant in July, and was given command of
Niagara after arriving in Erie on 10 August. On 17 August, Perry's squadron anchored off of
Sandusky, Ohio, and dispatched a boat to inform General
William Henry Harrison of their presence. Harrison and his staff met with Perry aboard the ships the next day and agreed to a rendezvous in
Put-in-Bay. In Put-in-Bay, Harrison made available 100 "Kentucky and frontier riflemen" to serve on board as Marines. A British squadron, under the command of Commodore
Robert Heriot Barclay, was based at
Fort Amherstburg, Canada. While Perry's squadron was under construction, Barclay had ordered the construction of , which was to be a match for
Niagara and
Lawrence. Unbeknownst to Perry, supplies in Fort Amherstburg were running out, as his squadron had cut off shipments from
Long Point. Fearing an uprising caused by a shortage of food, Barclay and his squadron set sail as soon as
Detroit was complete.
Battle of Lake Erie 1856 depicting Perry's transfer to
Niagara during the Battle of Lake Erie. On 10 September, both squadrons got underway.
Detroit fired the first shot around noon, while still out of range. Perry formed his ships into a
line of battle, with the larger ships each being assigned a target:
Lawrence to
Detroit,
Niagara to
Queen Charlotte, and
Caledonia to . As the line moved to engage,
Niagara, under the command of Elliott, lagged behind the rest of the American squadron. The cause of the failure of
Niagara to maintain formation is unknown, either deliberate on the part of Elliott, or because it was
becalmed. After a couple of hours, all of the cannons on
Lawrence that were facing the British were out of commission and the brig could no longer be maneuvered. Perry lowered his
battle flag, emblazoned with the last words of Captain
James Lawrence, "Don't Give Up The Ship", and transferred to the still-intact
Niagara via a dinghy. Perry took command of
Niagara and crossed the British line perpendicularly in a tactic called
crossing the "T".
Queen Charlotte, while attempting to prevent
Niagara from breaking through the line, collided with
Detroit and became entangled.
Niagara opened fire with both
broadsides: the
starboard broadside hitting
Queen Charlotte and
Detroit, and the
port into
Lady Prevost. After several broadsides,
Queen Charlotte struck her colours, followed shortly after by
Detroit and the rest of Barclay's squadron. Following the battle,
Niagara assisted in the transporting of Harrison's army to the mouth of the
Detroit River in preparation for an invasion of southwest Ontario. On 25 April 1814, command of
Niagara was transferred to
Arthur Sinclair. After repairs, the squadron—consisting of
Niagara,
Lawrence,
Caledonia,
Scorpion and
Tigress—departed Erie for Detroit. In Detroit, soldiers under the command of Colonel
George Croghan embarked with the squadron, bound for
Mackinac Island. The squadron arrived on 26 July and landed on 4 August. The
battle was ultimately lost, with Croghan being forced to retreat back to his boats. On 13 August, the squadron arrived at the mouth of the
Nottawasaga River where they attacked a
blockhouse owned by the
North West Company (NWC). The NWC blockhouse was destroyed by the British, along with the schooner
HMS Nancy, to prevent the supplies they contained from being captured. After the
Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war, the majority of the surviving ships that participated in the Battle of Lake Erie were disposed of in 1815.
Queen Charlotte,
Detroit, and
Lawrence were sunk for preservation in Misery Bay on Presque Isle, whereas
Niagara was kept afloat and operated as a
receiving ship. It was sunk in 1820 when the naval station at Presque Isle was closed. Benjamin H. Brown of
Rochester, New York bought all four ships in 1825, but sold them in 1836 to George Miles of Erie. Miles raised the ships, planning on using them as
merchant vessels.
Lawrence and
Niagara, not having a large enough
hold and being in poor condition, were allowed to sink again. == Centennial ==