War Of 1812 - Lake Erie Battle

The war between the United States Navy and the Royal Navy of Great Britain began shortly after the declaration of war. The Royal Navy was considerably larger than the United States Navy, but the number of ships they had on the western coast was limited. To their arsenal, the United States Navy consisted of three large frigates which each boasted 66 guns. Of these guns were 30, 24-pounders below deck, 20 carronades on deck, and smaller guns scattered throughout (Casebook). There were also four normal frigates of 48 guns, nine corvettes and brigs each consisting of twelve to 28 gu

On August 19, 1812 the American Navy boasted another victory when the USS Constitution captured the HMS Guerriere (Napoleonic Guide). The Constitution had been en route from Boston and was sailing 200 miles east of Halifax when the lookout called down and spotted masts on the horizon. The Guerriere, a 38 gun British frigate captained by James Richard Dacres, had been en route to Halifax when they spotted the Constitution. It was around 3:30 p.m. that the Guerriere backed the topsails and spun around waiting for the Constitution (Gruppe 83). Captain Dacres remarked to Captain William B. Orne that “the ship is boring down rather too boldly to be an American”, and “ the better he behaves, the more honor we shall gain by taking him (Gruppe 84).” This was a remark that would come back to haunt Captain Dacres and his crew on the Guerriere. Around 6:00 p.m. the Guerriere was within 50 yards of the Constitution and it was firing relentlessly, collapsing sails and creating great holes in the ship. Three times the First Lieutenant of the Constitution, Charles Morris, asked Captain Hull if they could fire back, and three times the Captain answered “No, not yet sir (Gruppe 84).” Captain Hall was preparing to give the Guerriere an ultimate blow. When the two ships were less than 25 yards apart Captain Hall had the Constitution move broadside when he gave the order to fire with every gun that the ship had. The effect of this broadside was tremendous to the Guerriere and it left the entire side nearly crushed in. This battle was the first frigate action of the War of 1812, and it left the United States Navy with a victory in 40 minutes that only a handful of Britain’s enemies could do in 100 years.

ns, and somewhere around 100 smaller gunboats (Pivka 132). The United States Navy also enjoyed better gunnery than that of the Royal Navy due to heavier, faster, and stronger built ships. Scattered along the eastern seaboard of the American coast were seven ships for the Royal Navy. At their disposal they had one ship of the line and six frigates (Pivka 133). However, the American Navy was outnumbered in the total number of cannons, 27, 800 to 442, and in the number of men available from 151, 572 Britain’s to 5, 025 Americans (Gruppe 77).

The task of defeating the Royal Navy, on the Great Lakes, was left to Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry and his fleet of nine ships. Commandant Perry’s flagship, the Lawrence, had the words “Don’t give up the ship”, inscribed on his battle flag due to the slaying of his mentor James Lawrence (Dillon 98). Earlier, Commodore Robert H. Barclay had the American fleet pinned down outside of Presque Isle Bay when the Lawrence and the Niagra were crossing a Sand Barge. The ships were not armed, but Barclay knew he could not contend with the two ships so he did not attempt to engage (Elting 96). The Royal Navy had been in control of Lake Erie and they were anchored 10 miles north of Put-in-Bay. The Royal Navy had less ships with six, but they outnumbered the American Navy in guns from 63 to 54. The two flagships in the American flotilla were the Lawrence, and the Niagra Captained by Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliot. The two navies met on September 10, 1813. During the action the Niagra was held out of the fight due to some light winds, which left the Lawrence to fend for herself along with the smaller ships (Gruppe 146). Elliot and the Niagra crew had been planned to engage the enemies flagship, but do to the circumstances they had to watch as the Lawrence and the other ships went by (Skaggs Altoff 122). The Lawrence was so badly damaged that Commandant Perry left, and moved his flag to the undamaged Niagra. After nearly three hours of fighting the Americ

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