USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Official report of the centennial celebration of the founding of the city of Cleveland and the settlement of the Western Reserve > Part 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
At the commencement of the action six men had been detailed to the cockpit to assist the surgeon. After the battle had been raging an hour and a half, Perry, with a countenance perfectly calm, and in an ordinary voice as though upon every-day duty, called through the cockpit skylight, "Doctor, send me one of your men." At once one of the surgeon's assistants went on deck to assist in fighting the vessel. In a few minutes the commodore repeated the call, and was obliged to follow it at short inter- vals with others, until the six men were on deck and the surgeon left alone to care for the wounded. Soon after, in the same calm tone, Perry called through the skylight to. know if any of the wounded could pull a rope. At once several of those slightly in- jured crawled upon deck to aid in continuing the battle. The injury to the Lawrence had somewhat opened the planks of the deck, and in several instances small rivulets of blood flowing from those above fell upon those in the cockpit below. 'Every gun but one had been dismounted. Out of his entire effective erew, only fourteen men were left uninjured. With the assistance of the chaplain and the purser, Perry him- self succeeded in loading and firing the last gun. The condition of the Lawrence ren- dered further offensive operations impossible. The approach of the Viagara, at this time practically uninjured, enabled the young commodore to take that momentous step that changed defeat into victory. His passage in an open boat over the bullet-thrashed waters of the lake from the Lawrence to the Viagara at once changed the aspect of the battle. A short conference with her commander, variously reported by different witnesses, ended in Perry at once assuming command of the vessel, and in sending her commander to bring up the small vessels astern. Radically changing her course and signalling the other vessels of his squadron for close action, he directed the Viagara toward the English line. With guns double-shotted he passed between the Queen Charlotte and the Detroit on the one side, and the vessels near the head of the English fleet on the other. At half pistol shot these vessels, which had become partly unmanageable in consequence of their injuries, were raked with terrible effect. In about fifteen minutes after Perry assumed command of the Niagara the Queen Char- lotte surrendered. Her example was soon followed by the larger English vessels. Returning to the Lawrence, upon her blood-stained decks, amid his dead and wounded companions, he received the formal surrender of the English fleet. The English offi- cers picked their way among the dead and wounded to the quarter-deck and offered their swords in token of submission. Perry requested them to retain their side-arms and extended to his captives every consideration. The loss in the English squadron had been 41 killed and 94 wounded, according to Commodore Barclay's report. The first and second in command of each of the English vessels had been killed or disabled. In the American fleet 27 were killed and 96 wounded. Of this number 22 had been killed and 61 wounded on the Lawrence alone, out of her total crew of 101 effective men. A loss of 83 men, over 82 per cent., in killed and wounded, exhibits the terrific
GOVERNOR CHARLES WARREN LIPPITT, OF RHODE ISLAND.
225
PERRY'S VICTORY DAY.
character of the struggle on the flagship. Never before in a naval action, except where the defeated vessel has been sunk with all on board, has the percentage of loss equaled that on the Lawrence. Two of the English vessels, the Little Belt and the Chippeway, sought safety in flight. They were pursued by the Scorpion and the Trippe, captured and brought back to the fleet. Sailing Master Champlin, of the Scorpion, fired the first gun on the American side in opening the action, and in bring- ing to the Little Belt he also fired the last gun. The capture of the English fleet was complete. It was one of the few squadron engagements in which any portion of the navy of the United States had been engaged. It was also the first time an entire En- glish fleet had ever been surrendered. Literally could Perry report, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."
The part taken by the Niagara in this engagement previous to the time that Perry boarded her has given rise to a long discussion. Until Perry trod her decks she had held aloof from the English fleet, and was not in a position to render that hearty and valuable assistance to the Lawrence that could reasonably have been expected from the second in command. The motives that actuated the commander of the Ning- ara cannot be discussed at this time. Shortly before Thermopyla, two Greeks were on leave at Alpeni suffering from a severe complaint of the eyes. Eurytus, foreseeing that a decisive action was about to occur, called for his armor and directed his attend- ant Helot to lead him into the Pass. Joining Leonidas, he became one of the immor- tal three hundred. He laid his enemy close alongside, and was not out of his place. His memory was venerated by his countrymen, and his devotion commanded their admiration. Aristodemus, however, ignoring the example of his comrade, returned home without taking part in the conflict. He was subjected to the scorn and con . tempt of his fellow citizens. Unable to endure his disgrace, at the end of a year he was killed at the battle of Platea in the effort to retrieve his position. The marked difference between the influence of the Niagara in the action before and after Perry took command illustrates his surpassing personal influence upon the conflict. It em- phasizes his words as he left the Lawrence, "If a victory is to be gained, I'll gain it."
After the conflict the two fleets anchored in Put-in-Bay. The control of the lake definitely passed to the Americans. They at once assumed the offensive. A portion of Harrison's army immediately marched on Detroit. The balance were transported by water to the neighborhood of Malden. General Proctor was obliged to abandon Malden and retreat. Tecumseh, unable to comprehend the situation, in forcible lan- guage expressed his dissatisfaction with the action of the English commander. The retreat was hurried forward with the utmost precipitation. Harrison recaptured De- troit and the whole territory of Michigan. The pursuit of Proctor and the Indians was pushed with all possible celerity.
Leaving his squadron in command of his subordinates, Perry volunteered as an aid to General Harrison. He rendered valuable assistance to the commanding gen- eral, and took a prominent part in the battle of the Thames. "While passing from the right of the front line to the left wing, Perry's horse," according to Mckenzie, "plunged into a deep slough near the swamp, and sank nearly to the breast. In an in- stant Perry vaulted over the horse's head to the dry ground. The horse extricated himself 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 march, 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. The circumstance was witnessed by the Kentuckians, who were approaching the ene- my at a charging pace, and who cheered the brave sailor as he passed them."
Few victories have had more important results. The defeat of Proctor at the battle of the Thames followed, as well as the death of Tecumseh, that in a measure retrieved the disaster at the River Raisin. The Indian alliance at once collapsed. The frontier was no longer subject to the savage atrocities that had disgraced the war. Canada north of Lake Erie was conquered. The Northwest Territory was se- cured to the United States. This region now occupied by Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and including those portions of New York and Pennsylvania bordering on Lake Erie, now supports.a population of about seventeen millions of people. One-quarter, therefore, of the present population of 'the United States have found homes in that territory secured by Perry and his companions. It has developed such cities as Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo, Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Panl. It teems with agricultural and mining enterprises, with manufactures and with commerce. The lakes upon which it borders furnish means of transportation second only to the ocean. Great ships ply between busy cities that line the borders of these inland seas. An interior commerce has developed far beyond the wildest anticipa-
1
-
-
-
226
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.
tions of eighty years ago. In either of those great steamships the product of Cleve- land industry, the North Land and the North West, the combined fleets that fought.' the battle of Lake Erie could be stowed away, and still leave room for a thousand tons more. The gross tonnage of each of these steamships is 4,244 tons. The com- bined tonnage of the American and the English fleets at the battle of Lake Erie was 3, 131 tons.
This celebration of "Perry's Victory" uses a term that denotes the unusual influ- ence a single individual exerted upon the conflict. Pre-eminently was the victory upon Lake Erie due to the personal efforts of Commodore Perry. To fight the flagship to a wreck, to be able in such scenes, and in circumstances so unusual, to transfer his flag to another portion of the fleet, to use his remaining resources so effectively as to turn probable defeat into one of the most remarkable victories of his age, establishes his reputation as a naval commander. The inestimable services of Admiral Suffren on the coast of India exerted a commanding influence upon naval affairs in these waters, and secured the commendation of France. Even his English opponents after the war united in recognizing his combinations. The services of Nelson at the Nile, at Trafal- gar, and particularly at Cape St. Vincent, have been remembered by a grateful coun- try, and his position as a naval hero recognized by the civilized world. Farragut, in taking the lead of his somewhat disordered line at Mobile and by his passage of Forts St. Philip and Jackson, has placed his name among the great admirals of the world. Naval history does not furnish, however, another instance to equal the overwhelming influence of Perry's services on Lake Erie. The fateful passage from the wreck of the Lawrence to the uninjured Niagara appeals as forcefully to the student of naval history as to the popular comprehension of Perry's part in the battle. That gallant act calls to mind another deed, inspired by similar motives but of an entirely different character, where an illustrious son of Ohio gained undying renown :
" The first that the general saw were the groups Of stragglers, and then the retreating troups; What was done? What to do? A glance told him both. Then striking his spurs with a terrible oath, He dashed down the line, 'mid a storm of huzzas, And the wave of retreat checked its course there, because The sight of the master compelled it to pause. With foam and with dust the black charger was gray ; By the flash of his eye, and the red nostril's play, He seem'd to the whole great army to say:
' I have brought you Sheridan all the way From Winchester down to save the day.'"
The determination to succeed, the readiness to grasp a sudden and unexpected situation, the ability to apply the necessary remedy, and the unusual personal magnet- ism, were the same in Sheridan as in Perry.
It would be indeed a narrow view to assume that Perry's unaided efforts obtained the victory at Lake Erie. Generally he was seconded in the most gallant and effective manner by his officers and men. No commander ever received more devoted support than was rendered by the crew of the Lawrence. Yarnall. Brooks, Forst,-none could be braver or more faithful to their duty. Rhode Island cannot forget her heroes. She remembers with pardonable pride the part taken in the battle by her sons. Forty-seven of the fifty-four guns in the American squadron were commanded by Rhode Islanders in the battle. Perry, Turner, Champlin, Brownell and Almy com- manding vessels, Parsons, Breese, Dunham, Taylor and young Alexander Perry brave- ly performing their several duties, not forgetting the hardy sailors that came with them from the coast, indicate the important part that the men from Narragansett Bay bore m the conflict. The momentous result of this victory, so largely due to the efforts of her sons, constitutes Rhode Island's gift to the West and to the Northwest in the war of 1812, and equal that she rendered the South during the Revolution in the person of General Nathaniel Greene.
At the opening of the Erie Canal, the cannon of Perry's fleet and those that they had captured were located along the line of the waterway at intervals of about ten miles. As the first boats entered the canal at Buffalo, the first of these cannon was fired. As the sound reached the second, it conveyed it to the third. Gun responded to gun, until in an hour and twenty minutes the fact of the opening of the canal at
---
227
PERRY'S VICTORY DAY.
Buffalo was announced to the citizens of New York. The cannon that had gained for America the control of the lakes, and those they had conquered, celebrated the com- pletion of an adjunct to these inland seas that connected them directly with the ocean by a route entirely within the limits of the United States.
The monument that stands in yonder Park and the circumstances of to-day exhibit the gratitude of Ohio for the services of Rhode Island's son. The inestimable gifts of a similar nature that this great State has made to the nation,-Grant, Sherman, Sheri- dan,-indicate. that Ohio can sympathize with Rhode Island in the veneration enter- tained for the character and the services of Perry.
No city can be great without inspiring the patriotism of its citizens. Civic pride, as history often tells, has been the motive underlying many noble deeds. The present Centennial has furnished the occasion for the exercise of similar qualities. The gift of Rockefeller Park proves that the welfare of Cleveland and pride in her prosperity and success are dear to her citizens. The $600,000 required to secure the land for the new park represents a vast amount of stored-up human energy. It equals the labor of one thousand men for one year. That such a gift is possible from a single individual ex- hibits the wonderful results to be derived from intelligent effort in the great re- public.
The monuments that ornament the Forest City evidence the generosity of her citizens. In their mute magnificence they deny that republics are ungrateful. Cleave- land, Perry, Garfield and, by that noble tribute in the Public Square, the heroes of the Civil War have all been fittingly remembered.
The progress that has been made during the past hundred years is but the basis for still greater advances in the years to come. Distance, as it was understood at the foundation of the Forest City, has practically been annihilated by the steamship, the telegraph, the railroad and the telephone. The development of manufactures secures to the most humble facilities unknown one hundred years ago. The skill, enterprise and energy that have developed the United States will shortly push the surplus prod- ucts from its fields of agriculture, from its mines of iron, coal and precious minerals, and from the ever increasing products of manufacturing, into the markets of the world. To protect the efforts of those engaged in such enterprises, to secure their peaceful consideration in distant parts of the earth, it is necessary to follow them by means that will secure respect for the flag. No State has received greater benefit from the sea power than Ohio, although situated several hundred miles from the ocean. Her people should not rest until there floats upon the deep, fashioned by American de- signers and constructed of American material by American workmen, a mighty battle- ship bearing the name and reputation of Ohio, -a ship that shall keep the sea in any storm and proudly bear aloft the flag that floated over the Constitution when, to the thunder of her guns, the red emblem of England was lowered on the Guerriere ; a ship that possibly some brave and patriotic son of this commonwealth may, in the just cause of the great Republic, guide to a victory as marked for his personal influence as that of Perry or of Sheridan.
. At the conclusion of Governor Lippitt's address, Mr. Day, in har- mony with suggestions made by Governor Bushnell, offered the follow- ing resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
Resolved, By the citizens of Ohio and Rhode Island in mass meeting assembled, this roth day of September, 1896, that the Congress of the United States and the General Assembly of the State of Ohio be and they are hereby urgently petitioned to make an appropriation sufficient to erect on Put-in-Bay Island an appropriate memorial over the long-neglected graves of the patriotic American soldiers and sailors of the battle of Lake Erie; that the members of Congress from Ohio be respectfully requested to use their best endeavors to secure this end; and that the presiding officer of this meet- ing appoint at his early convenience a committee to see that the spirit of this resolu- tion be carried out.
Mr. Frederick Boyd Stevenson, the poet of the day, was next intro- duced, and read the following patriotic ode, especially dedicated to the occasion :
!
٠١٠٠٠
gli ai
228
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE CITY. OF CLEVELAND.
THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE.
The sparkling waters at Put-in-Bay
Are resting in placid peace to-day,
But the silv'ry sheen of the ebbing flood
Was once stained red with our grandsires' blood; And the dells and dales on the wooded shore
Sent back the wild echo of cannons' mad roar, While the drifting spars, and the shattered hulls,
Formed a resting place for the white-winged gulls.
In one grave, near the beach at Put-in-Bay, Our friends and our foes were laid away.
It is three and four-score years ago That Oliver Perry met the foe ;
And the deeds of brav'ry done that day Cast a halo of glory around Put-in-Bay.
It was there that our fearless boys in blue Fought for their freedom, and won it, too- Wrested victory out of defeat-
And captured the ships of the English fleet. * *
*
It was ten o'clock, and the shot was stowed; The cannons were primed and the linstock glowed;
Cutlass and pike were full in view, And the firm, set lips of the half-clad crew,
With the decks that were strewn with the sifted sand, Told plainly enough that grim Death was at hand.
Many a man who was there that day, Stopped for a moment to silently pray,
Softly pressed at the hand of a friend,
And sent the home-message for fear of the end. Oliver Perry, with face all aglow; Anxiously watched for a sight of the foe, While the gunners but waited the word of command, Or .the order to fire by a wave of the hand.
A sail! ho, a sail! to the northward appeared. "Shall we fight?" cried the Captain; the crew loudly cheered ; And, springing on gunnel, with banner unfurled, Ile gave them the signal that sped 'round the world. Ah, the war-ery of Lawerence forever will thrill Through the hearts of the brave, and the patriot instill With the love of his freedom, the faith of his sire In that land where the poor with the rich may aspire To a manhood that's equal, and shines over all The kingdoms and empires that totter and fall. "Don't give up the Ship!" was the legend it bore, And the shout that went up echoed back from the shore.
A white puff of smoke, then a half second more Came the dull, rumbling growl of a British gun's roar,
T
£
229
PERRY'S VICTORY DAY.
While the ball, with a ricochet over the lake, Seemed pursued by the fury-lashed foam in its wake. Far out to the leeward the death-missile plowed, And was met by a shout both defiant and loud; While, still to the taunt of the pert English jack, The colors of Lawrence a challenge sent back.
The long Toms of England belched forth sheets of flame, And the shots o'er the water so rapidly came That they pierced through the bulwarks and shattered the rail, And swept by the decks like a storm of lead hail.
Eagerly Perry sailed to the fray, For he fought the fight of his life that day. Ahead of all others-leading the fleet- ·Onward he pushed, never thought of defeat; Emptied both broadsides, time and again, Now here, and now there, giving cheer to his men.
Unaided he battled with six against one, For the enemy's ships had trained ev'ry gun To fire on the Lawrence, and that little craft Was raked with a whirlwind of shot, fore and aft. Huge jagged holes had been rent in her sides, With her sails cut to shreds, a mere wanton to tides, Her spars hanging shattered and useless-a wreck- Heaped up with the dead and the carnage on deck. Still fighting, still cheering, those brave lads in blue Were a handful of men from a once noble crew. The sick and the dying crawled up from below, And begged for the priv'lege of facing the foe. One lad from old Newport, with ashen-white face, Pleaded hard at the pumps to be given a place, " That a strong man, " said he, "may be sent to the guns, And fire the last shot till the enemy runs. " And after the battle they found him at rest, With a ball from a British gun fast in his breast. Ah, a nation can never be sparing of praise To the memory of heroes like brave Wilson, Mays.
It was half-past two when the Lawrence lay With her spars and her rigging shot away; With her decks and her hold filled with dying and dead, And slipp'ry and wet with the blood that was shed; Her guns dismounted in shapeless heap- Some silenced forever beneath the deep. Of the twenty that shone in the morning so bright, When the flagship gallantly sailed to the fight, But one remained and in deep-toned bay Still snarl'd at the British, and thunder'd away; While the purser, and even the chaplain, too, With Oliver Perry served as crew, And manfully fired with precision and skill, As cool and serene as if working at drill.
.
230
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.
Anxiously Perry look'd over the rail,
And far to the windward caught sight of a sail, The Niagara, a stanch little craft, held away, And seemed disinclined to take part in the fray; But Perry, as quick as a flash, manned a gig, And sturdily pulled to take charge of the brig. Wrapped in the ensign, "Don't give up the ship,"
Swiftly he sped on his perilous trip. Standing erect, just abaft of the prow, With the stamp of the hero encircling his brow, While the shot of the enemy clattered and fell, Like a shower of hot brimstone from nethermost hell. Still he dashed through the foam and the light dancing spray, Till he boarded the boat that in idleness lay. As he mounted the side-ah, 'twas music to hear The lads from the flagship unite in a cheer.
Meanwhile, the Lawrence, dismantled and torn- Of her sails and her shrouds and her armament shorn, With the shot from the English still sweeping her deck, Adding horror and havoc and death to the wreck ; While her remnant of men to the trunnions still clung, And the requiem for dying in cock-pit was sung- To save those who lived from the fate of the dead- Dropped her colors-and then, o'er the waters there sped A shout from the British, that froze in the heart Of each lad on the Lawrence who'd taken a part In the battle, and some turned their faces away And cried, "Let us die, for our foes win the day."
But out in the offing a ship hove in sight, And stealthily glided like phantom or sprite; With all canvas flying she dashed to the scene, And, bent by stiff breeze, seemed with joy to careen. Ah, the tars who had cheered from the enemy's fleet, Turned their pæans of triumph to wails of defeat, For Perry, who pushed to the thick of the fray, Fought the fight of his life with the British that day. Down on their squadron with fury he bore, And broke through their lines 'midst the cannons' hoarse roar .. The Detroit tried to wear, but got fouled on the lee With the Charlotte, and, ere the doomed ships could get free, The Niagara swept by the side of the two, And with grapeshot and canister riddled them through; While a broadside to larboard, that got into play On the ship Lady Prevost, wrought death and dismay; And marines, with their guns that seemed never to fail, Cleared the decks of the British of all above rail. Perry passed to the lee, came about, and sailed back To finish his work on the opposite tack,
And his guns on the Charlotte and Hunter let go With such havoe that quickly he silenced the foe.
231
PERRY'S VICTORY DAY.
Then his other small boats that had been out of reach, Now joined in the battle and entered the breach ;
With sharp shot and grape from their short carronades, On the enemy's ships they made merciless raids.
As the smoke from the deck of the Queen Charlotte cleared,
An officer's form on the taffrail appeared, And he waved a white flag to denote their defeat, And was followed at once by the rest of the fleet- All except Little Belt and the Chippewa's crew,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.