USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume I > Part 33
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But the fleet did no further harm and soon sailed away. It was probably a squadron of Commodore Earle's boats, composed of the Royal George, a brig and two or three smaller vessels.12
In 1813, shortly after the Canadian invasion and the attacks on York and Fort George, Sir James Yeo landed at the mouth of the Genesee and seized a quantity of provisions (June 16, 1813). Yeo's own report relates: "I received information that there was a depot of provisions at Genesee River. I accordingly proceeded off that river, landed some seamen and marines of the squadron, and brought off all the provisions found in the government stores ; also a sloop laden with grain for the army." Records show that Yeo's forces landed and remained over night, holding a few citi- zens as hostages, to prevent an alarm, and that they looted the store houses of Frederick Bushnell and George Latta, giving how- ever a receipt for their forced requisition, and then departing at their own convenience.
Colonel Caleb Hopkins, hearing of the threatened invasion of the British naval forces, mustered a force at Hanford's Landing and marched down to Charlotte, but arrived in time only to see the fleet departing and to receive a salute of cannon and mus- ketry, which did no further harm than to spatter along the beach.
12 Hanford's Notes on the Visits of Naval Vessels to the Genesee, p. 5.
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Colonel Hopkins was inspector and collector of the port, and nat- urally interested as a federal official in its defense. His report to the commanding officer of the militia of Ontario County, General Amos Hall, brought the following reply :
Bloomfield, June 16, 1813.
Lt. Col. Caleb Hopkins. Sir: I this moment received your letter by Major Norton advising me of the landing of the enemy from their fleet off the mouth of the Genesee River. Your calling out your regiment was perfectly correct. You will please to collect as many men as appearances will justify until the enemy's vessels leave the mouth of the river. It cannot be expected that they will make much stay. But you will be able to judge of their movements by tomorrow morning. I shall expect you to give me immediate notice if you think more force will be wanted.
Yours respectfully, A. HALL.
Fortunately for the Genesee Country, the British did not send an expedition inland to attack the settlements at Canandaigua and Batavia. As matters stood, the rumble of guns off Ontario's shores caused great apprehension and families moved inland for protection. Development of the whole Genesee Country was re- tarded by the fears of war, and the little settlement that was to become in after years the city of Rochester stood almost still in its growth. But the lake was once more to be the scene of a battle, and there was a running fight between the American Commodore Chauncey and the British squadron. The British had the worst of the encounter but the advantage to the Americans was very slight, for a gale sprang up that made further fighting impossible.
The year 1813 had developed several notable men in both our armies and those of our enemy. Perhaps in all the war there were no more picturesque figures than those of Andrew Jackson, the American, and Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief, who held a British generalship. Winfield Scott and Peter B. Porter had established themselves; Commodore Chauncey had demonstrated his ability, and William Henry Harrison was hailed as a fighter who knew how to cope with both red coat and red man. Another hero was now to inspire his countrymen and perform deeds that will remain undying; this was Oliver Hazard Perry. Let us observe the career of this man, whose presence on Lake Erie did so much to bring the Genesee Country into the circle of fame, detail of the background though it was. Perry was a Rhode Islander commanding a flotilla of gunboats in Newport harbor. Here he trained men in the art of military tactics and naval war-
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fare. It was too tame a life, however, for this energetic young man, who had been refused a chance to take to the sea; he was not discouraged by this lack of opportunity, but immediately made application to Commodore Chauncey for service on the lakes. Chauncey, with a vision almost prophetic, considered the application and then wrote Perry: "You are the very person I want for a service in which you may gain a reputation for your- self and honor for your country."
Amid the great difficulties of early spring travel, Perry had reached Sackett's Harbor, tarrying there to support Chaun- cey in an emergency, and then, on March 16th, striking out for Buffalo, a trip that consumed eight days. Here he inspected the naval base at Black Rock, and on the 26th set out in a sleigh over the frozen lake for Erie, Pennsylvania, arriving there on the 27th. Looking over the situation at Erie, Perry found that two brigs were lying in stocks with their keels only laid, and that there were four gunboats about finished; these had been constructed under the supervision of Noah Brown, a master ship- wright, who had employed a corps of New York ship mechanics. This was reassuring, but Perry was dismayed to find that there was not a single defensive precaution; there were no muskets, no trained militia and no cannon. Though the winter had been pro- pitious for the purpose, no cannon had been transported over the ice from the Buffalo supply base; plainly there was a woeful lack of head work at Erie. This serous defect Perry set about remedying. Before he had been in Erie a day, he had organized a guard from the men of the village; ordered sailing-master Dob- bins to proceed to Buffalo and bring up 40 seamen and a supply of muskets and powder, and if possible, cannon, and he had written the naval agent at Pittsburgh to speed up the coming of a party of shipbuilders recently summoned from Philadelphia.
It might be inquired, why the haste? The reason is appar- ent to the student of contemporaneous events. If America was to hold back the British advance and control the upper lakes, it must be done by acquiring the naval ascendancy on Lake Erie. The lack of that supremacy had led to the defeat of Hull and Winchester, had placed the upper lakes and the principal ports in the hands of the British and hampered the operations of Harrison. To transport material by land was almost impossible,
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
on account of the condition of the roads through the wilderness; yet, to succeed, the naval base at Erie must have ropes, cordage, canvas, hardware, powder, weapons and a vast quantity of stores. Perry accomplished what seemed the impossible, and, within two months, witnessed the launching of the two gunboats and two brigs, each 110 feet in length, of 500 tons and pierced for 24 guns which were ready for business twenty days later. At sunset, as he looked at these new boats, an express came stating that Fort George was being attacked jointly by Chauncey and Dearborn. Anxious to participate, Perry ordered out a four- oared boat and rowed against wind and sea, arriving the next day at Buffalo, where, on the evening of the 25th, he joined Chauncey. The commodore hailed him with delight, sought his advice upon some of the pressing problems, and received his counsel with great satisfaction. In the engagements that fol- lowed Perry was present at every point where his help might be needed, and the showers of bullets that he constantly faced neither awed nor harmed him. The defeat of the British meant that Perry could take out the boats that the British batteries had previously bottled up in port. He began at once to arrange for the removal of the captured Caledonia. After an incredible amount of effort, and facing great dangers, Perry brought his flotilla safely into Erie harbor just as Finnis, a British com- mander, with a squadron several times the size of Perry's hove into sight.
By the 10th of July the vessels were finished and ready for crews, but, though Perry had urged his commander to send men, there were scarcely enough to outfit one of the brigs, and the men who were destined for him were coming, not directly from Philadelphia, but through Sackett's Harbor, where Chauncey was under the temptation of sifting out the best for his own diffi- cult position. The British fleet, commanded by Barclay, the vet- eran of many fights, rode off Erie Harbor on July 20th. Perry was compelled to look on and chafe under the restraint. "Give me men," he wrote his superior at Sackett's Harbor, "and I will acquire honor and glory both for you and myself or perish in the attempt! Think of my situation : the enemy within striking dis- tance, my vessels ready, and I obliged to bite my fingers with vexation, for want of men. I know you will send them as soon
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
as possible, yet a day appears an age." It might seem that Perry was anxious for self glory, but such is far from the case. He saw a situation that promised great possibilities and knew that with proper support he could command it; yet, he was willing that anyone else should do this if he would. He invited Chauncey to come with supplies and men and gain the victory and the honor; he gloried in the elevation over himself of a subordinate lieutenant, and in every way showed that he was a man and a patriot.
Bottled up in Erie Harbor were Perry's boats, unable to sail over the bar into the open lake, but when, on August first, the enemy's squadron sailed out of sight, Perry by an ingenious sys- tem of lifts and "camels" drew his vessels over the bar. Each had been stripped of stores and cannon to relieve the weight, and when they had settled into deeper water these supplies had to be put aboard and the ships set to rights. A sudden return of the enemy would have worked serious havoc, and its success might mean a postponement of American supremacy on Lake Erie.
The men for whose coming Perry was marking time with such desperate impatience turned out to be boys, negroes and sol- diers, and of these he must build up a conquering naval outfit. These were the men who manned his boats four days later. Not to be denied, now that he was free from restraint, Perry put after the enemy and chased him into the harbor at Malden, returning later to ride at anchor off his own base. There is con- siderable variance in the several available accounts as to the num- bers of the respective forces. Theodore Roosevelt, who made an exhaustive study of the figures, presents the following table in his "Naval War of 1812":
AMERICAN FORCES UNDER PERRY ยท
Name
Rig
Tons
Crew
Fit for Duty
Broadside poundage
Armament
Lawrence
brig
480
136
105
300
2 long 12's [18 short 32's
2 long 12's
Niagara
brig
480
155
127
300
(18 short 32's
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Caledonia
brig
180
53
80
1 short 32 2 long 24's
Ariel
schooner
112
36
48
1 long 32
Scorpion
do
86
35
64
1 short 32
long 2
Somers
do
94
30
184
56
1 short 32
Porcupine
do
83
25
32
1 long 32
Tigress
do
96
27
37
1 long 32
Trippe
sloop
60
35
24
1 long 24
9 vessels
1671
532
416
936 pounds of shot.
BRITISH FORCES UNDER BARCLAY
Name
Rig
Tons
Crer
Broadside poundage
Armament
1 long 18
2 long 24's
6 long 12's
Detroit
ship
490
150
138
8 long 9's
1 short 24
1 short 18
1 long 12
Queen Charlotte
ship
400
126
189
i
2 long 9's
14 short 24's
1 long
9
Lady Prevost
schooner
230
86
75
2 long
6's
10 short 12's
4 long
6's
Hunter
brig
180
45
30
long
4's
2 short 12's
Chippewa
schooner
70
15
9
1 long
9
Little Belt
sloop
90
18
18
2 long
6's
6 vessels
1460
440
459 pounds of shot.
These figures show that the Americans could throw 936 pounds in one broadside, with a long gun advantage over the
long 2's
1 long
2
4 long 12's
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
British of three to two. The British long gun broadside was only 195 pounds, though at short range blank fire, 459 pounds of ball could be thrown into the American fleet. Thus stood the fleets off Put-in-Bay on the morning of September 10th, 1813, Perry stationed in his flagship Lawrence, and Barclay in the Detroit. Though Perry was just recovering from an attack of fever and a general depression, due to many humiliating circum- stances, he hailed the appearance of the foe as the crowning opportunity of his life. At first the Niagara had the lead, but, seeing that the Detroit commanded by Barclay led the British line, Perry altered the disposition of his ships to conform to the enemy's course, the Lawrence taking the lead followed by Elliott and the Niagara.
The British squadron hove to in close formation, with bows to the south and westward, ready for the attack. Barclay, fresh from the Napoleonic wars, and after fighting under Nelson at Trafalgar, led in the Detroit, supported by the gunboat Chippewa. The British had 180 seasoned men from the Royal navy, together with 80 Canadian sailors. Perry's recruits were supplemented by about one hundred backwoodsmen (who had some experience in river boating), furnished by his friend Harrison, who had come up to Erie a few days before, so that not more than one quarter of Perry's men were regular seamen. This did not daunt him, however, and he strung out his ships to the attack, unfurl- ing from the masthead Lawrence's famous exhortation "Dont Give Up the Ship." Our troops cheered, but soon other cheers came from the British fleet, followed by a 24-pound shot from the Detroit at a distance of one and a half miles. Barclay's course was to fight at long distance, but Perry had planned otherwise, and, at a suitable moment, the latter sought to close at short range. Though repeatedly struck and suffering severely, Perry closed in on the Detroit, moving out from his protecting ships and facing the enemy alone, the fire directed at him being three times as great as his return. The Scorpion and the Ariel soon appeared in support, not much affected by the fire, which was concen- trated on the flagship. At noon Perry luffed and tried the effect of his starboard battery, but it had little apparent effect, and he bore off, then creeping nearer for another attack, until he reached a position about 500 yards from the Detroit.
The Niagara, under Elliott, was expected to engage the
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
British Queen Charlotte, but failed to carry out the manoeuver. Elliott seemed to be doing his utmost to embarrass Perry, for whom it was thought he had a secret dislike. It has been said that his earlier successes on Lake Erie had given him hopes of becoming commander of the fleet, and now that Perry had it, he was secretly envious. Whatever the fact in this regard may have been, Elliott failed conspicuously to obey orders. Supported only by the two schooners at his beam and the long shots of the Caledonia, Perry encountered a greatly superior force. The car- nage of American ships was awful, and with the depletion of officers and nurses, the wounded were left to their own sufferings.
More than four-fifths of the effective officers and men aboard the Lawrence were killed or wounded, and her fire grew less and less. She had damaged the enemy badly, but now she lay a battered hulk, her last gun fired by Perry himself. Soon all was silent on the Lawrence; no more guns spoke and the only sounds were the shrieks of the wounded. Elliott, believing her commander slain, now put forward in the Niagara, ordering Lieutenant Turner of the Caledonia to bear up and make way for him. Turner immediately made sail for the enemy's line in the most daring manner, using his batteries effectively. Elliott, under a freshening wind now passed to the windward of the Caledonia, leaving the Lawrence between himself and the enemy's fire, when, by all the rules of naval warfare, he should have passed between the crippled ship and the foe. His only concern for his commander's ship was, to send a boat manned by a few brave men to get a quantity of 12-shot for his own depleted stock. Perry at once took in the situation, and, leaving the Lawrence in the hands of Yarnall, he set forth in a small boat ordering his men to row with all speed to the Niagara. The Lawrence was left with but 14 men, only 9 of whom were seamen. These men watched the progress of Perry in his tiny open boat, observing the concentrated fire of cannon, carronade and musketry upon their brave leader. A full broadside passed over him, but des- tiny had not yet decreed that Perry should fall.
The flag of the Lawrence was lowered and the enemy cheered ; it was a cheer that both squadrons heard. In a moment Perry went up the ladder of the Niagara, where he found a fresh crew. Elliott was dumbfounded when Perry came aboard; manifestly
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
he had hoped that the command had fallen upon himself through the death of his superior. Elliott's first question, arising from his guilty confusion, was, "What is the result aboard your brig?" His own eyes might have supplied the answer. "Cut all to pieces," answered Perry, noticing the course of the Niagara and seeing that it was absolutely wrong. Elliott, ill at ease, noting Perry's guarded criticism of the gunboat's support, offered to go after them in a boat. "Do so," was Perry's laconic reply, and the junior commander went off on an errand that any non- commissioned officer might have performed. Perry now hoisted his flag and the signal for close action. The men of the squad- ron began to cheer, the more so when they saw the Niagara alter her course and make directly for the enemy. Closing in on the British line Perry shortened sail and poured a well aimed broad- side into the sides of the Lady Prevost, already disabled by the loss of a rudder. With his other side he poured another broad- side into the Detroit and the Queen Charlotte, both of which ves- sels had fouled when Barclay turned to meet the coming of the Niagara. Perry now ordered his marines to clear the deck of the Lady Prevost, but her survivors, shrieking from the horrors of the raking fire which had been poured upon them, fled below, leaving their commander, wounded in the head, and staring in a dazed way. Perry, always merciful, ordered fire suspended, giv- ing attention to his foe on the other side. The Caledonia, Trippe and Somers now closed in, the latter having on board Elliott, who had boarded her after an ineffectual shouting of the com- mand that Perry's signal plainly had shown.
The fire of the smaller boats did considerable damage, and the commander of the Queen Charlotte, finding his ship exposed to a raking fire ahead and astern, struck her colors. The Detroit with her masts shot away was helpless with a shattered hull. At about three o'clock Barclay hailed the Americans stating that he had surrendered; next to yield were the Hunter and the Lady Prevost. The Chippewa and the Little Belt endeavored to escape but were overtaken by Champlin in the Scorpion and Holdup Stevens in the Trippe. The roar of cannon ceased, and only the groans of the wounded and the splashing oars of scurrying small boats were to be heard; our men boarded the enemy's ships and, when the surrender was complete, Perry sat down to report thus to his military superior, General Harrison :
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
"Dear General-We have met the enemy, and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." The final act of submission was received on the deck of the Lawrence, where Perry gave the prisoners every consideration and bade the offi- cers retain their side arms. Barclay the next day, with both arms shot away, one having been previously lost in the French war, tottered between Perry and Harrison, as they walked to the landing place at Put-in-Bay.
Those who write of Perry justly praise his victory. It was largely a personal one in which his enthusiasm and courage were imparted to his men. For the first time in history a British fleet had been taken by an equal force in open conflict. The great northwest was redeemed and Harrison and his Kentucky rifle- men and "hunting shirts" might now hold the region unchal- lenged. Perry's men fought bravely, and, whether officers, mili- tiamen, negroes, seamen or youth with no experience in battle, all maintained the remarkable morale which Perry's example instilled. The British casualties in this battle were 41 killed, 94 wounded; the American loss was 27 killed and 96 wounded, that on the Lawrence being 22 killed and 61 wounded. About 20 more men were wounded in the assault made by Perry in the Niagara. The dead, other than the officers, were buried the night of the battle, being sewn in their hammocks, weighted with shot, and tenderly dropped into the waters of the lake, the officers were buried along the margin of the bay the next day. Perry in his report gave full credit to his officers and men, and even to Cap- tain Elliott. This magnanimity was characteristic of him, whose message, "WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE OURS," will ring forever in the hearts of his grateful country- men.
Within nineteen days after Perry's victory on Lake Erie the territorial government was restored to Michigan. General Har- rison acted swiftly to follow up the British, now in an unsettled state of purpose. He moved his troops on to Canada and landed them near Malden; he had expected an armed resistance, but, to his surprise, he saw a line of women, maids and matrons, at the entrance to the town of Amherstburg, seeking the protection of the Americans. General Proctor, who had been in command of the fort at Amherstburg, would not stand his ground, and his
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
plan of battle was so weak that General Tecumseh, the Indian chief, looked him squarely in the eyes and then turned away with the exclamation, "You are Proctor; I am Tecumseh!" Proctor fled, burning his forts and supplies and putting his fatigued troops on reduced rations. The Americans kept up their pursuit and on the 27th entered and repossessed Detroit, restoring the territorial government on the 29th. Harrison kept up his pur- suit, and, on October 4th, caught up with the enemy's rear and captured nearly all his stores. Proctor was now unable to retreat further, and, pressed so hotly, found battle inevitable. He took his ground at the Moravian village on the Thames, where he threw up protecting works and awaited the onslought. He had 2,000 men, including 1,200 to 1,400 Indians under Tecumseh. Harrison had 3,000 Kentucky and Ohio marksmen.
Proctor's position was well chosen, but after a fierce battle, in which the British were completely routed, the Indians alone held their ground. Tecumseh, brave soldier as he was, urged them to an effective resistence, but they were finally repulsed by the aged Governor Shelby, of Kentucky, and his redoubtable marksmen. The brave Johnson, dashing into the thick of the fight, is said to have shot Tecumseh. Without their leader, the Indians soon gave way and the battle of the Thames was won. Seventeen Americans were killed and 30 wounded; the British losses were 19 killed, 50 wounded, 600 prisoners; the Indian loss was 120 men, who were found dead upon the field. The Ameri- cans were gladdened in their victory, too, by recapturing several historic cannons, taken at Saratoga and York from the British and retaken by them when Hull surrendered at Detroit. Harri- son treated the prisoners and wounded with great humanity, al- though the recollection of the British massacres at Raisin River was vivid and provocative of revenge. In the negotiations that followed, the Indian Confederacy sought and pledged peace with the United States.
While the waters of Lake Erie had been the scene of military and naval action, Lake Ontario had not been quiet. Chauncey, from his Sackett's Harbor rendezvous, had eagerly awaited a contest with Sir James Yeo. On August 10th or 12th, he had an opportunity to engage in a running fight with the British fleet, in the waters of the western end of the lake, but, a heavy gale coming up, he was under the necessity of seeking shelter up the
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HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
mouth of the Genesee, the nearest safe harbor; the gale continu- ing, he made for his home port at Sackett's Harbor, where he took aboard provisions for five weeks. On the 16th Chauncey was off the mouth of the Niagara, sighting the enemy. A storm again prevented any contest and Chauncey once more put for Genesee harbor, running in and anchoring, but anchor was soon weighed, and the squadron under shortened sail ran down the lake. Chauncey's fleet at this time embraced the following boats : Pike, 28, Madison, 24, Oneida, 16, Tompkins, 9, Conquest, 6, On- tario, 6, Pert, 1, Lady of the Lake 1, in all, 2 ships, 1 brig and 5 schooners. The day after Perry's victory, Chauncey found the enemy becalmed off the mouth of the Genesee, and our boats get -; ting into a breeze sailed within gunshot, before the enemy were able to move out under sail. Chauncey's heavier ships had their schooners in tow and this prevented a swift attack. As it was the Pike fired several broadsides and did some damage, receiving in turn a good hulling. The fight continued for three hours, when the British flotilla escaped into Amherst Bay, where our fleet could not follow it, owing to ignorance of the treacherous shoals; the British had four casualties and the Americans none. The accounts of the commanders of each squadron will be found of considerable historical interest.
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