USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 15
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About the first of January, 1813, Commodore Chauncey, accompa- nied by Henry Eckford, naval constructor, arrived at Erie on an official visit. They were so well pleased with the character of the work and the progress made that they commended Mr. Dobbins, and, satisfied as well with the advantages offered by Erie, gave instructions to get out timber and prepare for the building of two "sloops of war." While this added greatly to the amount of the work appointed to be done at Erie, it was quite to the liking of Mr. Dobbins, because the decision of the Commodore vindicated his judgment when to the President and liis cabinet Mr. Dobbins had declared Erie to be the most suitable place on the great lakes at which to establish a navy yard and build vessels that should be employed to oppose the British.
Mr. Dobbins (he had ceased to be Capt. Dobbins when he accept- ed the more dignified, because naval, billet of sailing master) was in charge of affairs at Erie when Com. Chauncey or the officers immedi- ately under him were absent, and had even higher warrant than a com-
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mander's orders for exercising his own discretion, for his instructions with reference to building a fleet for Lake Erie were first from the President. When, therefore, he received orders to get ready to build two larger vessels, he first chose the location at which they should be built. For two reasons he decided best not to build them at the new navy yard. In the first place he was not sure there was water enough to launch them, at the mouth of Lee's Run, and secondly, it would be pref- erable to do the work far enough up the bay so that they could not easily be discovered by the enemy, or if it became known they were being built, it would be a much more difficult matter to get at them and the chances of successfully resisting such an attempt would be greater. A place exactly suited to the work in hand was found on a strip of beach, suffi- ciently wide for the purpose, at the mouth of Cascade creek. The spot was about a mile west of the village and the water there was deep. This place was without delay decided upon. In relation to the city of today the shipyard of the sloops of war was directly at the foot of Cas- cade street.
At that time Cascade creek was a stream of rather large volume, ap- proaching in size Mill creek, and flowing through a valley of greater breadth than most of the streams that empty into the bay, was discharged over a stratum of hard shale rock in one of the most beautiful little water falls imaginable, the heighth of the cascade being about ten or twelve feet. The exact location of the cascade was to the east of the lines of railroad that now extend down from the junction. Within recent years the surveyors of the railroad, the better to serve the interests of the road, cut a new channel for the creek so that it skirts the west- ern side of the railroad right of way. This explanation is parentheti- cal and substituted for a foot-note.
Immediately upon selecting a location a large force of men were set at work to get out the material, this being Mr. Dobbin's interpreta- tion of the Commodore's order to prepare for the building of the sloops of war. The material was obtained from the trees then standing in the forest hard by. The best kind of oak timber grew in abundance, and it was easy to select the choicest of stuff. With a sailor's knowledge of what entered into the hull of a ship, not only was care exercised to have the right sort of material for ribs and planking and ceiling, but natural knees and other special parts were carefully selected. And the work was pushed and so much celerity exercised that the keels were ready to be laid and much of the timber was ready when Mr. Noah Brown, master ship builder from New York, with a gang of twenty- five carpenters arrived about the tenth of March. On the fourteenth of March Mr. Dobbins, writing to the Department at Washington, re- ported the keels of the larger vessels ready to lay and the gunboats ready for calking.
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But all the while there was a harrassing care on the mind of Mr. Dobbins. There was the fear of the prowling spy and the secret in- cendiary of the enemy. A need quite as great as the mechanics to for- ward the construction of the vessels was an adequate force to protect and guard. The chief reliance from the beginning had been upon Capt. Thomas Forster and his company of sixty volunteers, supplemented by such of the workmen as could be detailed for guard duty. For a con- siderable period, and during practically all of the winter of 1812-13. Capt. Forster's company constituted the only protection of the town of Erie and the vessels on the stocks.
Commodore Perry arrived at Erie March 27, 1813, and at once assumed command. He established his headquarters at the Buehler house, on the corner of Third and French streets .. The defenseless con- dition of the town and vessels at once claimed his attention and he imme- diately sent for General Mead who called out a sufficient military force for a guard, and in a short time a thousand militia were in camp, ulti- mately reinforced by several hundred volunteers from the interior of the State. They were encamped on a tract of ground from which the timber had been cut to supply material for the shipbuilding operations at the yard below, and which was then and for years afterward known as Stumptown. It was located on Peach street and west to the side of the ravine, from the brow of the bluff southward.
While there was plenty of material of one kind at hand, though crude, in the standing timber, there was a plentiful lack of other things, most notably iron. All the stores in the village were ransacked and everything convertible found its way into the smith's forges to be ham- mered out into bolts and spikes and nails. But the stock was soon ex- hausted and Pittsburg was drawn upon. Nor was there a sufficient force of workmen. Perry wrote to the Secretary of the Navy, and carpenters and blacksmiths were ordered on from Philadelphia. Mr. Dobbins was dispatched to Black Rock for seamen and such arms and ordnance as he could transport, and on March 30, Sailing Master Tay- ler arrived with twenty officers and seamen from Sackett's Harbor, Perry was not idle a minute, nor did he overlook a single item of detail. He made a trip to Pittsburg where he made arrangements to have can- vas for the sails, cables, anchors and other supplies sent on from Phila- delphia, and also succeeded in obtaining four small field pieces of ar- tillery and a quantity of muskets besides engaging the service of Capt. Wooley to supervise the casting of carronades and shot. Returning to Erie about the tenth of April, in conjunction with Gen. Mead he had a redoubt thrown up on the elevated point where the land light- house stands, another on Garrison hill, and another on the bluff in Stumptown overlooking the navy-yard.
Meanwhile he was busily engaged getting together the armament of his ships. During his absence at Pittsburg it had been possible to
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get from Buffalo only a single 12-pounder gun because of the floods. Mr. Dobbins had charge of transporting the ordnance from the station at Conjaquade creek, below Black Rock, and found it to be an exceed- ingly difficult task, difficult in the overland passage, and perilous after navigation opened, alike from the storms and the menacing enemy. But at last the greater part of the guns, including a number of 32-pound- ers, weighing 3,600 pounds each (great guns in those days), were safe- ly got through to Erie.
On the twenty-third of May, Perry took his departure for Buffa- lo, accompanied by Mr. Dobbins, his errand being to bring up from Black Rock the vessels that had there been converted into ships of war, and which were to serve as part of his squadron. Com. Chauncey was engaged at the time in preparations for a sortie upon Fort George, and offered Perry the command of the seamen and marines that might land. The young commander eagerly accepted, and in the capture of that post on May 27 bore a conspicuous part.
The fall of Fort George was a fortunate circumstance, as it vastly aided Perry's present enterprise which was to get the vessels he had come for up the river and into the lake. The British had for the time being retired from the Niagara. The work of getting the vessels out began on May 28, but it was not until June 13 that they were above the rapids and ready for the trip up the lake to Erie. The flotilla con- sisted of : Brig Caledonia (prize), armament two long 24-pounders and one long 12-pounder ; schooner Somers (formerly the Catherine), two long 18-pounders; sloop Trippe (formerly the Contractor) one long 24-pounder ; schooner Ohio, one long 24-pounder ; schooner Amelia, one long 24-pounder. Perry assumed command of the Caledonia, and Mr. Dobbins was in command of the Ohio, and on the 16th of June got away for Erie. While the flotilla was anchored at Dunkirk on the way up it was learned that the British fleet, on the watch for it, was at the same time anchored off Twenty-mile creek, half-way between Dun- kirk and Erie. The enemy was eluded, however, and on June 19, the vessels had crossed the bar and were safely anchored at Erie.
A few days later the whole of Perry's fleet, that was before the end of the season to so signally distinguish itself, was afloat in Presque Isle bay. Capt. Dobbins's gunboats (for he was Captain when he pro- posed them to the President and his cabinet) were launched the end of April. They were the schooners Ariel and Scorpion, 63 tons each ; and the sloops Porcupine and Tigress, 52 tons each. The Lawrence, named by the Navy Department in honor of Capt. James Lawrence who fell while in command of the Chesapeake, was launched on June 25, and the Niagara on the 4th of July. Compared with the war ships of the present time, Perry's vessels were mere toys. The two."Sloops of War," the principal ships of his fleet were in extreme length 110 feet ; 30 feet beam, and 9 feet hold, and were pierced for twenty guns, with
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two stern ports. Both were built after the same model. Mr. Brown, the master builder, gave the ships the shallow depth of hold in order to have a good heighth of "quarters" or bulwarks and at the same time avoid showing a high side above the water, as well as to secure a light draft. It is the tradition that Mr. Brown said to one of the workmen who was particular in finishing his job: "We want no extras-plain work is all that is required. They will only be wanted for one battle. If we win that is all that is wanted of them; if the enemy is victorious, the work is good enough to be captured."
The work of fitting and arming progressed now with rapidity, but Perry had before him the most difficult of all problems to solve, namely, the manning of the fleet. His dependence was upon Commodore Chaun- cey, but from him he got practically no assistance. He endeavored to obtain soldiers who, if they could not be converted into sailors might serve as marines, but no sooner did a detail reach Erie than they were immediately ordered away again. He endeavored to enlist landsmen, but without success. From time to time a detachment would arrive but when the ships were fully ready to sail, on July 25, they were only partially officered and manned. From the Department at Washington and Gen. Harrison, in command of the army at the western end of the lake, he had frequent letters urging a prompt forward movement, but it would have been suicidal to have proceeded as he was. To fur- ther aggravate the situation the British fleet repeatedly appeared in the offing and at one time made so bold as to approach and send their compliments, to which the gunboats, running down to the entrance, re- plied. Men were sent from New York by way of Sackett's Harbor, but did not reach Erie. By August 1st Perry had succeeded in enlist- ing about 100 landsmen from among the troops and his chief marine officer Lieut. John Brooks. had enlisted about forty as marines. These enlistments, with what had been received from time to time made a total of about 300 men, enough, Perry concluded to cope with the ene- my before they got the Detroit, their new ship, out.
On Sunday, August first. the squadron was moved down to the en- trance and early in the morning of Monday preparations were made to get the large vessels over the bar and out into the lake. Placing all the other vessels in a position of defence, the Lawrence was kedged down to the bar. Her armament was removed and placed on the beach and rolled up on timbers, and everything that could be done to lighten her was done. The "camels" were got alongside. These camels, an invention of Mr. Brown, were oblong decked scows, provided with valved openings in the bottom. When the camels were laid alongside the valves were opened, permitting the scows to sink until the decks were at about the level of the water. Heavy timbers were thrust through the portholes of the ship, projecting over the camels. These were blocked in place, and then the valves were closed and the water pumped out of
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the camels. Thus the vessel was lifted and floated over into the deep water outside. Then without delay her guns were got aboard and she was again in trim. The same method was pursued with the Niagara, and on August 5, the entire fleet was outside and in readiness for the work for which it had been called into existence.
Commodore Perry has achieved deserved renown for the splendid victory he won from the British fleet on Lake Erie. Quite as important was the service he rendered before his ships crossed the harbor bar, service that called upon him for the best of his energies; for patience under all sorts of discouragements and trials, even to enduring the censure of the Department at Washington for delay that he strove hard to prevent but was powerless to avoid; for tireless industry that never considered the time or the season when work was to be done; for loyal zeal that was an inspiration to everyone with whom he came in con- tact, and to whom he was known; for his splendid example of honesty and uprightness; for his spirit of optimism that was communicated to everyone associated in the work. Services such as have been mentioned are overlooked when rewards of merit are distributed, but without them in getting forward the preliminary work there would have been no victory on the Tenth of September.
Vol. I-9
CHAPTER XV .- THE NON-COMBATANTS.
THE WOMEN WORKED WIIILE THE MEN FOUGHT .- THE PANIC OF SOME .- COM. PERRY'S BATTLE FLAG.
Erie at the time of the building of Com. Perry's fleet was a strag- gling little village of about five hundred inhabitants. This statement applies only to the permanent residents. The town, begun on the west bank of Mill creek, had gradually spread westward, occupying the ground in a sort of tentative way to the edge of the next ravine. That was located a short distance west of French street, and the lower end is visible to this day. All the streets from Parade to French had been located. They were part of the survey of 1795, made by Irvine and Ellicott. but the town of Erie was not a built-up place; only an un- pretentious little community of scattered houses. 'It had no definite boundaries, though French street was, generally speaking, its western limit. There were houses farther west. Capt. William Lee lived in a house at about the foot of Peach street and it was from the Captain that the little run in the gully hard by got its name. At the foot of State street General John Kelso had built a house in which he lived There is a Kelso house standing there to this day.
Now this little community was a community of peace, and, like every other peaceful little place, had a fear and horror of war. In Erie it began to be acute when rumors of the attack and capture of other posts found their way in from the outside, and when at length soldiers began to arrive, and, later the ships of the enemy paid occasional visits, panic seized upon many and not a few fled from what had come to be re- garded as imminent peril. Even the family of the General were among the fugitives, feeling sure of safety from British cannon only when they had found asylum at Reed's tavern in Waterford.
Among the settlers, however, there were not a few possessed of Spartan courage : who bravely determined to hold their ground until there was actual evidence of trouble. Some even went farther than that. There were families that spared the head of the house for the garrison at Erie, while the women staid at home to look after the farm, and be- sides, to render whatever assistance was within their power. Nor were the women unincumbered in this work. In the woods families grew up, and on many farms that boasted only a few acres of clearing in the forest
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there were troops of little ones, children of tender years, left alone with the mother to care for the farm and themselves, while the father was doing duty as a soldier at Erie. Stories of these days and of situations such as referred to have come down to the present, and I was so fortu- nate as to meet an aged lady who could relate a story of that stirring time. Mrs. Dowler, of Maple street, tells a tale of what occurred when her mother was a little girl.
Her mother, Mrs. Chandler Munn, well known to what remains of our older inhabitants, when a child, lived with her parents on a farm a short distance out on the Buffalo road. It was on the road then newly opened from Wesleyville westward. Mrs. Munn was then but a little girl, but the events of the time made a deep impression upon her mind. When the necessity arose, her father broached the subject to his wife. They needed him at Erie. Their home was in danger from the enemy and it was his duty to go and repel an attack if it should be made. And would she consent that he take up arms and be a soldier in defense of their honie ? Yes : she consented. Cheerfully as circumstances would permit, she bade him go.
But then the thought of the situation his wife and family would be left in came up and he considered and debated it first with himself and then with his wife. Isolated as she was, with no telling what danger might menace, and with their brood of little ones, what could she do? There was only one recourse that suggested itself to his mind. They must pack up and go over to Waterford. He proposed this to his wife. She promptly declined it. No. He must shoulder his rifle and join the meagre force at Erie. She would remain. If there was danger from the British she would have sufficient warning, and it would then be time to retreat. And so the father went down to the fort.
She was a prudent woman and full of true heroism. Left alone, she neither repined nor lived in idleness. Her first course was, with a generalship worthy a seasoned campaigner, to organize her little force and prepare for whatever emergency should arise. The older of the children were schooled upon the duty each was to perform in case there should be a sudden flitting necessary. Then the wagon was placed ready for immediate use, and care was taken to know it was always in order. The oxen were not permitted to stray-they were kept where at a min- ute's notice they could be yoked into the wagon. Carefully, as the com- mander of a garrison might with the troops under his command, the mother drilled her little flock.
Meanwhile the father was doing duty at the fort. It stood on Gar- rison Hill, now a part of the Soldiers' Home grounds. There was a mere handful of men and they were principally raw recruits from the village and the country round about. They had come from near by and farther. Some were from Meadville and places at a considerable distance ; more were from near by. They were few in number, but they
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were of the right stuff. They were the brave pioneers who had set out to clear up and build a country. Used to the hardships of the wilderness ; made expert in the use of their rifles by a life that called them not infre- quently to battle with wild beasts; schooled in courage and self-reliance, though few in numbers they still formed a force of no contemptible strength.
One day a British ship appeared in the offing. She was reconnoiter- ing the shore. From the fort .it could be seen that she was making close observations, undoubtedly to determine how large a force the Americans had. The commander of the fort decided to aid them in their computa- tions. He marched his men out in companies and battalions ; then count- termarched, and repeated the manoeuvre in such a fashion as to make it appear that he had a large force at command. Down the hill and back again each company as it disappeared behind the fort, wheeling to re- peat the manoeuvre, it seemed as though there might be a thousand men in garrison at Erie. After an hour or two the vessel hauled her yards and bore away up the lake. The scheme of the astute commander had been effective, for the British did not return. The soldier's service at Erie was not one of great peril. neither was it one of hardship, and realiz- ing the condition of the fort, he thought of his loved ones back in the wilderness as yet in safety.
Meanwhile the daily rounds at the farm went on, each remembering the duty demanded should an emergency arise. One day a wayfarer, carrying his rifle over his shoulder, stopped at the clearing. He was bound for Erie to take service for the American cause. Could he be served with food and drink? Cheerfully the request was granted. Then ensued the natural conversation, concerning the situation of affairs. Like most of the recruits, he carried his own rifle, that being part of what was volun- teered in his country's behalf. It transpired in course of the conversa- tion that the new recruit confessed he was not supplied with all the am- munition necessary. He had no bullets. At once the mother rose to the occasion. She could supply the want. Taking her best pewter platter she proceeded to melt it, and, in a little hand-mould, cast a supply of bullets which the new recruit packed away in his pouch and took his departure for the fort to join the modest little garrison.
Steadily time was passing. Spring was moving into summer. For their living the family on the farm had to depend upon what the farm would produce. The land must be tilled, the crops planted and properly attended to and the business of the little establishment looked after. With the father gone the force was short-handed, and the outlook by no means serene. Had he been at home and working even to the extent of his ability the struggle would have been hard. How much more difficult was it, therefore, with none but the wife and family to perform the labors of the field. How very much more difficult was it with the added cares and apprehensions incident to the conditions that prevailed,
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demanding that time should always be given to keeping everything in readiness for the dread emergency. All the while, as the work in the fields or about the house, or in attendance upon the stock was kept up, ears were constantly alert for the sound of booming guns that should announce that the bombardment of the American garrison by the British had begun.
For all the people were alive to the situation. They knew that the Americans were entirely destitute of anything like a naval force. Out in the country, as well as at the garrison, it was known that the hope of the Americans was anchored upon the fleet of vessels then being built on the shores of Presque Isle bay. They were also aware of the fact that the British knew of their situation and were making preparations to strengthen their maritime force; and they believd the British purposed an early attack upon the little town. The beginning of that attack was the signal for the yoking of the oxen, the hasty packing of the household valuables and the toilsomie journey along the wretched roads through the woods across the hills to a place of safety at Waterford.
Work was steadily progressing on the American ships, and as they neared completion another difficulty presented itself in addition to the many that had been encountered in the work. It had been a task of the gravest proportions to build a war fleet in the wilderness so far from a source of supplies. Nothing that entered into the construction of ships was available in sufficient quantity save only the timber, and that ex- isted only in the standing trees. Grim determination, however, had pre- vailed, and at last when the summer was about half over the ships were launched, and progress was being rapidly made toward their equipment. But the principle need was yet unsupplied. Men were neces- sary. The energetic young commander was driven almost to despair by his inability to secure an adequate force, and strenuous efforts were put forth. Recruits of every sort were welcomed, lands- men as well as sailors. Slowly these came in. More than one stopped at the little farm house as they tramped towards Erie, and more of the family pewter was moulded into bullets to provide the defenders with the necessary ammunition with which to make their defense effective.
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