USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania, from its first settlement > Part 19
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gressional term in 1840, he resumed the practice of the law at Erie, to which place he had removed in the year 1837.
In 1851, the Constitution of the State having been so amended as to require the election of judges by the people, Mr. Galbraith was placed in nomination by the Democratic party as their candidate for President Judge of the Sixth Judicial District ; and, although his party was in a very de- cided minority in the district, he was elected by a large major- ity-a marked evidence of the great personal popularity he always enjoyed. He continued to discharge the duties of his new position until his death, which occurred from a stroke of paralysis, on June 15, 1860.
Few men in the State had a wider circle of acquaintance than Judge Galbraith. Of remarkably gentle disposition and winning manners, he had a strong hold upon the popular heart. He was always the friend of the poor.
As a lawyer, he was studious and learned, rather than bril- liant. He was never a fluent speaker, although very successful as an advocate. As a judge, he was distinguished for his thorough knowledge of the law ; but it was more particularly in the administration of criminal justice that he was noted for a humane and discriminating appreciation of his duties. Avoiding the heartless and indiscriminate severity, which appears by many to be regarded as indispensable in the treat- ment of offenders, he always sought to temper justice with mercy, and, if possible, to reform as well as to punish.
It was as a judge of the criminal courts that his attention was drawn to the defects in our present penal system, and some of which he sought to remedy by his project of an Indus- trial Reform School. The charter for this institution was obtained by his efforts, and its list of managers numbered some of the most respected and honored names in the country.
CHAPTER XV.
War declared-Com. Perry-Capt. Dobbins' Correspondence-Com. Chauncey and Mr. Henry Eckford-Mr. Brown-Difficulties in fitting out the fleet -- Gen. Mead-Capt. Perry at Fort George- Five Vessels brought from Buffalo-Provincial Marine Corps- Difficulties in procuring Men-Letters to Com. Chauncey and the Secretary of the Navy-A Providence recognized in the War- Getting the Vessels over the Bar-Com. Barclay at Port Dover- Seven of the Vessels make a Cruise to Long Point-Officers and Men from Lake Ontario-August 12, Com. Perry sails for San- dusky-Interview with Gen. Harrison-Squadron proceeds to Malden-Kentucky Militia-Sickness-Letters from the Secretary -Ohio dispatched to Erie-Strength of the British Force-The American Force-Americans again look in at Malden-Corrected Instructions for the Battle.
IN June, 1812, during the administration of James Madison, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain. The grounds given in the Message were "the impressment of American seamen by the British ; the blockading of the ports of their enemies ; the orders in council ; and a suspicion that the Indians had been instigated to acts of hostility by British agents."
The bill for a declaration of war passed the House of Repre- sentatives by a vote of seventy-nine to forty-nine, and in the Senate by one of nineteen to thirteen. The day after the bill passed the Senate it was signed by the President, and in five days, as it afterward proved, the British orders in council were repealed.
The minority opposed the war on the ground of its being un- necessary and impolitic; that the aggressions of the French had been greater than those of the English; and they entered a solemn protest against the measure. These views had the sympathy of a considerable proportion of the people of the United States, and the war was consequently prose-
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cuted with much less energy and success than it otherwise would have been.
Although hostilities had been meditated a long time, the country was in an imperfect state of preparation, and by land, the first year, the American arms were entirely unsuccessful. In the attempt of government to conquer Upper Canada, Gen. Hull and his army surrendered at Detroit, and Gen. Van Renssalaer met with defeat at Niagara, thus leaving the British in full possession of Lake Erie. Having five armed vessels, they captured the Adams, a brig of 150 tons, and the only armed vessel of the Americans,1 and at any time could strike a fatal blow upon the South Shore settlements.
These disastrous expeditions urged the necessity of a naval force upon the lake to cooperate with Gen. Harrison, who had command of the Northwestern army.
The construction of this force was commenced in the autumn of 1812, at Erie, and gained the following year a most brilliant victory. Com. Oliver Hazard Perry, to whose judgment and bravery it was mainly to be attributed, with the blessings in- volved, was a native of Rhode Island, and entered the navy as a midshipman at the age of fourteen-this was on board the General Greene, a frigate of twenty-eight guns, in 1799, his father being in command. His ancestors were of the first respectability, and the following anecdotes of his childhood indicate that his mother was a woman of rare sense and excel- lence. On the removal of the family to Newport, "Oliver was placed at the school of Mr. Frazier, under whose skillful and judicious tuition he made rapid proficiency in all his studies. The relaxed discipline of the country schools, where, the numbers being small, everything was conducted some- what upon the principle of brotherly love, furnished but an im perfect preparation for the sterner rule which the Highland gentleman found it necessary to exercise among his more numerous and heterogeneous disciples at Newport. The early days of Oliver's admission into Mr. Frazier's school were sig- nalized by a very untoward occurrence-no less a one than his
1 Some years ago, in a letter to a gentleman in Erie, J. Fenimore Cooper claimed the honor of wearing the first navy button on Lake Erie, being a midshipman on the brig Adams, which was not generally com- manded by navy officers.
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receiving a broken head, one day, for some trifling, and per- haps unconscious, misdemeanor, from a heavy ferule hurled by Mr. Frazier, in an ungovernable fit of passion, such as he was often subject to. Seizing his hat, without leave asked or granted, Oliver went immediately home, and told his mother he could never enter that school again. Mrs. Perry was a woman of strong feelings, eminently courageous temperament, and commanding character. She was necessarily indignant at the treatment of her child ; but she was not much edified by Oliver's determinations as to what he would or would not do, nor disposed to yield to them. She did not reply to his de- cision not to return to Mr. Frazier's school, but quietly bound up his wounded head, and soothed him with expressions of maternal solicitude. Had she consulted only her resentment, it would have led her, at every hazard, to withdraw her child from the authority of one who had abused it. She wisely re- flected, however, that Oliver being an unusually high-spirited boy, and his father generally absent, as he happened to be at that time, if she yielded to his wishes in this instance, he might expect the same indulgence whenever he felt discon- tented with a school from motives less well founded. This would not only be a disadvantage to him with regard to his studies, but might tend to weaken her control over him, She then wrote a note to Mr. Frazier, stating in subdued terms her indignant feelings at the outrage upon her child, coupled with the motives which restrained her from withdrawing him from the school, and concluding by the expression of a hope that she would not have cause to regret the mark of renewed confidence which she thus gave to Mr. Frazier by again in- trusting her son to him, On the following morning, as the usual hour came around, she called to Oliver as if she had heard nothing of his declaration of the previous day, and told him it was school-time ; at the same time she placed the note for Mr. Frazier in his hand, and told him she did not think he would receive similar treatment again. The proud boy's lip quivered, and a tear stood in his eye, but the thought of disobeying his mother had never entered his head, nor did it probably ever do so until the day of his death. She lived to rear five sons, all of whom entered the naval service of their
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country, and whom she fitted to command others by teaching them thus early to obey. Mr. Frazier was conscious of his own culpable violence, and alive to the good sense and magna- nimity of Mrs. Perry's conduct. He devoted himself unre- mittingly to Oliver's improvement, and became warmly attached to him, and won his attachment in return-for Oliver, though high tempered, was a stranger to vindictive- ness and cherished resentment. Newport was then an emi- nently commercial port. As many of the young men were intended for sea, Mr. Frazier had an evening class for the purpose of teaching mathematics, and their application to navigation and nautical astronomy. He took a peculiar pleasure in initiating Oliver into these sciences, and in the intervals between school hours, and on holidays, would fre- quently walk to the beach with him, where a horizon could be obtained, to take astronomical observations, and otherwise render his lessons more practical. Before Oliver left Mr. Frazier's school, the latter was wont to boast that he was the best navigator in Rhode Island."
Another interesting circumstance of Perry's youth is related by Mckenzie. "When Oliver was but eleven years old, Bishop Seabury came to Newport, in the course of an episco- pal visitation of the Eastern States, for the purpose of ordain- ing clergymen and confirming the young. Oliver's parents scarcely considered him old enough to receive and appreciate that solemn rite; but the Bishop having been greatly pleased by his appearance and manners, and by the maturity and seriousness which his conversation indicated, requested that he might come forward for confirmation. Afterward, when the Bishop came to take leave of Oliver's parents, he laid his hand upon the boy's head and blessed him in a manner so solemn and emphatic as to make an indelible impression upon all who were present. His mother was greatly touched by the incident, and received the impression that the blessing had been heard and answered, and would follow him through life. Toward the close of the year 1797, Capt. Perry, having secured a small competency, retired from his profession and settled in the village of Westerly, in a remote part of the State. Oliver was now entering his thirteenth year, his education unusually
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advanced for his age-for he had been a diligent student at Mr. Frazier's during the last five years-and an unbounded fondness for books, kept up from the early period when his mother had first taught him to read, had imparted to him an unusual share of general information. Fortunately for the youth of those times, novels were not so abundant nor so universally diffused as now, and the reading of Oliver was confined to Plutarch, Shakspeare, the Spectator, and works of a similar character, suited to instruct and furnish the mind and give force to his character." In after-life he was an earnest student, particularly of mathematics and astronomy. During his leisure hours his modesty and amiability, with his fiue personal appearance and conversational talents, made him a favorite in intelligent and refined society. Though of a quick and excitable temperament, he was not disposed to be unreasonable or implacable. He was an elegant and fearless rider, possessed a fine musical talent, and added to these the more questionable accomplishment of playing an admirable game of billiards, but without the taste for gambling too often accompanying it.
At the age of twenty-two he was married to Miss Elizabeth Champlin Mason, of Newport, a lady of extraordinary gifts and loveliness ; and it was said by one who knew Capt. Perry intimately, "that he was through life a model of every do- mestic virtue and grace."
Com. Rodgers had been his able instructor in seamanship ; and previous to his command on Lake Erie, although then but twenty-seven years of age, he had been in charge of a flotilla of gunboats at Newport. Having the rank of com- mander, in November, 1812, he tendered his services for the lakes, as he had before applied for a post where he might serve his country aud distinguish himself. On February 1, 1813, he received a letter from Com. Chauncey, who had the command of Lakes Erie and Ontario, stating that he had applied to the Secretary of the Navy to have him ordered to the lakes ; and added, "you are the very person that I waut for a particular service, in which you may gain reputation for yourself and honor for your country." A few days after, he also had the pleasure of hearing from his friend, Com. Rodgers, in Wash-
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ington, that the new Secretary, Mr. Jones, had decided to order him to Lake Erie ; and "you will, doubtless," he adds, "command in chief; the situation, I think, will suit you ex- actly ; you may expect some warm fighting, and, of course, a portion of honor."
On February 17, he received orders to proceed to Sackett's Harbor with all the best men in the flotilla under his command, where he would be further instructed by Com. Chauncey with regard to his duties on Lake Erie. The same day Capt. Perry sent off a detachment of one hundred and fifty men and officers under the command of Sailing-master Almy ; on the 19th, fifty men under Sailing-master Champlin ; and fifty men on the 21st, under Sailing-master Taylor. His object in thus dividing the men was that they might the better procure conveyances and accommodations on the road. On the morning of February 22, he set forward on his mission, visiting his parents by the way, and taking with him his brother Alexander, a midshipman, then but twelve years of age. He arrived at Sackett's Harbor the evening of March 3, having waited three days at Albany for Com. Chauncey. As an attack was expected at Sackett's Harbor on the squadron and vessels on the stocks, the Commodore detained him there until March 16. On his journey to Erie (where he arrived on the 24th), he remained one day in Buffalo, examining the navy yard at Black Rock, then under command of Lieut. Pettigru. He then made some arrangements to have stores forwarded to Erie, and on the 26th set out himself in a sleigh upon the ice. At Cattaraugus, where he spent the night, the innkeeper informed him that he had recently been on the Canada side, and there had been questioned as to the vessels building at Erie, and the force stationed there, and his opinion was that the British intended to make an. attack when the ice should break up. On the evening of the 27th, Capt. Perry arrived at Erie, and immediately acquainted himself with the state of affairs and the progress of the work. Here six months before, Gen. David Mead, who commanded the militia, had appointed Mr. Daniel Dobbins bearer of dispatches to Washington. Mr. Dobbins, with his vessel, had been taken by the British at Hull's surrender, and his experience
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on the lakes gave him an acquaintance with its harbors, com- merce, and inhabitants. He received from the Navy Depart- meut the appointment of sailing-master, and was ordered to repair immediately to Erie and commence building the fleet, with instructions to draw upon the Department for funds to meet the expense, and to report to Com. Chauncey at Black Rock or Sackett's Harbor for further instructions. Accord- ingly, on his return he addressed the commanding officer, and in reply received the following :
"SIR :-
" BUFFALO, OCT. 2, 1812.
" Your letter of the thirteenth ultimo, directed to Com. Chauncey or the commanding officer on Lake Erie, I have received, together with its inclosed, a copy of your instructions from the Houorable the Secretary of the Navy, each of which, together with a copy of this letter, I have inclosed to him for his consideration. It appears to me utterly impossible to build gunboats at Presqu'ile ; there is not a sufficient depth of water on the bar to get them iuto the lake. Should there be water, the place is at all times open to the attacks of the enemy, and in all probability when ready for action will ulti- mately fall into the hands of the enemy, which would be a great anuoyance to our force building and repairing at that place. From a slight acquaintance I have with our side of the lake, and with what information I have obtained from per- sons who have long navigated the lake, I am under an im- pression that Lake Erie has not a single harbor calculated to fit out a naval expeditiou, and the ouly one convenient I am at present at, which is between Squaw Island and the main, immediately in the mouth of Niagara River. I have no further communication to make on the subject. Probably in a few days I shall be in possession of Commodore Chauncey's impressions, when you shall again hear from me.
" With esteem, yours respectfully, "J. D. ELLIOT. Capt. Dobbius replied as follows :
"Mr. Daniel Dobbins."
" DEAR SIR :- "ERIE, Oct. 11, 1812.
"Yours of the second instant is received. In regard to the
Dance Dobbins
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idea entertained by you that this place is not a suitable one to build gunboats at, allow me to differ with you. There is a sufficiency of water on the bar to let them into the lake, but not a sufficiency to let any heavy armed vessel of the enemy into the bay to destroy them. The bay is large and spacious, and completely land-locked, except at the entrance. I have made my arrangements in accordance with my own con- victions, for the purpose of procuring the timber and other materials for their construction. I believe I have as perfect a knowledge of this lake as any other man on it, and I believe you would agree with me, were you here, that this is the place for a naval station.
" I remain, very respectfully, etc., " DANIEL DOBBINS, " Sailing-master U. S. N. "To Lieut. J. D. Elliot, U. S. N., Black Rock."
The letter of Lieut. Elliot was the only information Mr. Dobbins could get from that quarter ; not being satisfied with this, he hastened to Black Rock, where he found Lieut. Angus in command, and as he had not heard from Com. Chauncey, or from any other quarter, of the building of gunboats at Erie, he expressed himself at a loss what course to pursue. Capt. Dobbins, however, employed Ebenezer Crosby as master carpenter, which Lieut. Angus sanctioned, and returned to Erie determined to urge forward the work with such house- carpenters as he could procure.1
1 Extract of a letter from Capt. Dobbins to the Secretary of the Navy: " ERIE, PA., Dec. 12, 1812.
"SIR :-
" I have expected workmen, or orders to employ them, but have received none, owing, in all probability, to the Commodore [Chauncey] not coming on [to Black Rock] as was expected. I have, however, gone on with the work, and at this time have two of the boats on the stocks, and will engage to have them all ready by the time the ice is out of the lake if required.
"Their dimensions are 50 feet keel, 17 feet beam, and 5 feet hold, and I think will be fast sailers. If it is desired that I should proceed with the work, please authorize me to draw upon the Department, as I have already expended a considerable sum over the $2,000 already drawn, the vouchers of which expenditure I will forward by the next mail. I have found a mer- chant [R. S. Reed] in this place who will advance money on drafts. I have negotiated those already received with him, and have continued to draw, as I feel satisfied the Department do not wish the work to stop. It appears the Commodore [Chauncey] has been so engaged on the lower lake as to have taken all his attention ; but the ice will soon lock him, as it has the harbor at this place, which forms a complete barrier against the enemy this winter. I have not been able to make contracts for the construction, in ac-
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Early in January Com. Chauncey and Mr. Henry Eckford, his principal carpenter, came on and inspected and approved the work, and gave instructions to get out timber for two sloops of war. Mr. Noah Brown, a master shipwright from New York, came on early in March with twenty-five carpenters.
In a letter from Mr. Dobbins to the Secretary of the Navy, dated March 14, we find the following: "The keels of the two brigs are ready to lay ; the gunboats are ready for caulk- ing. Although everything looks encouraging, yet I have my fears of the secret incendiary as well as the prowling spy of the enemy, and that in a moment our labor may be destroyed. I find I cannot raise any volunteers to guard the vessels, but have made arrangements with the carpenters in the yard to stand guard until I hear from you. Mr. Brown joins me in my opinion in regard to the danger, and the course I intend to pursue to secure a guard for the vessels." This guard, with a well-armed volunteer company of sixty citizens, commanded by Col. Thomas Forster, constituted for some time the only protection of the town and vessels.
Capt. Perry immediately on his arrival dispatched Mr. Dobbins to Buffalo for seamen and muskets, and, if possible, two 12-pounders. After a most perilous and fatiguing expe- dition, Mr. Dobbins returned with one 12-pounder (having left Buffalo with three), four chests of arms, ammunition, etc. The difficulty of creating a squadron where most of the sup- plies must come from the seashore-the cordage, cannon, pow- der and balls-at an inclement season, through a half-settled country, with miserable roads, can scarcely be conceived.
cordance with the wish of the Department, as the people in this country are poor and would fail to comply. I have made individual contracts with each workman. The iron I procure at Pittsburg, which comes high, as the roads are bad and transportation expensive.
" Please send me instructions at your earliest convenience.
" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, etc., " DANIEL DOBBINS,
"Sailing-master U. S. N. "Hon. Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy."
It still being urged at the Department that Black Rock was a more suit- able place for a naval station than Erie, Capt. Dobbins addressed a letter to the Secretary on the subject, dated December 19, 1812, from which the following is an extract: " In regard to the vessels cut down and lying in an unfinished state at Black Rock, there can be but little confidence placed in their safety. The yard is within reach of the batteries of the enemy, and if finished the vessels would be cut to pieces with their shot in passing up the rapids into the lake."
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On the evening of the 30th of March, Sailing-master W. V. Taylor arrived from Sackett's Harbor with twenty officers and men, and the next day Capt. Perry left for Pittsburg to pro- cure necessary stores, and to hasten, if possible, the coming of the expected carpenters. He arrived there on the 4th of April, and made arrangements to procure from Philadelphia canvas for the sails of the squadron, and also passed two days in visiting the different shops of the mechanics employed in working for his vessels. Many of the articles they had never before manufactured, and in such cases minute directions were required. Capt. A. K. Woolley rendered him great assistance in supplying necessary stores by loaning him 'four small guns and some muskets, and in superintending the casting of the shot. The carpenters, he found, had passed on to Erie, but their tools were yet to come, and the blockmakers were equally unfortunate. Having impressed upon the manufacturers the necessity of all being completed by the first of May, he de- parted on the 7th of April, and reached Erie on the 10th. In his absence he found the work had progressed rapidly.
At Capt. Perry's earnest request, Gen. Mead had stationed five hundred militia at Erie, so that a defense could be set up in case the British attempted the destruction of the vessels. Two of the gunboats, the Porcupine and Tigress, were launched the 15th of April, and were soon equipped for ser- vice. The Scorpion had been lengthened twelve feet by Mr. Eckford's order, and was not launched until the first of May. All were built at the mouth of Lee's Run, near the foot of Sassafras Street-afterward known as the "Navy Yard "- the government having rented the ground for a term of years and erected there a storehouse, hospital, and other buildings. The two brigs that were laid down shortly before Com. Perry's arrival were launched about the 24th of May. The Lawrence and Niagara were built and rigged precisely alike.1 Their frames were of white and black oak, and the decks of pine. They were each 110 feet in length, and 260 tons burden ; were pierced for 20 guns, and carried 132 officers and men. These, with the pilot boat schooner Ariel, were
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