USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania, from its first settlement > Part 22
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1 An hour after the battle, Com. Perry forwarded by express two letters, one to Gen. Harrison, the other to the Secretary of the Navy, as follows :
" DEAR GENERAL :- We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.
" Yours with great respect and esteem, " O. H. PERRY."
" UNITED STATES BRIG NIAGARA, off the Western Sister, } " Head of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, 4 p. m.
" SIR :- It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop, have this moment surrendered to the force under my command, after a sharp conflict.
" I have the honor to be, sir, " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, "O. H. PERRY.
" The Hon. WILLIAM JONES, Secretary of the Navy."
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rons ; and a silver medal to each commissioned officer either of the army or navy service on board ; a sword to each of the sailing-masters and midshipmen ; and also a medal to tlie nearest male relative of Lieut. John Brooks ; and a sword to the nearest male relative of Midshipmen Henry Laub, John Clark, and Thomas Claxton, Jr., with the expression of the deep regret of Congress for the loss of these gallant men. Three months' pay, exclusive of the common allowance, was voted to all the petty officers, seamen, marines, and infantry, who supported the honor of the American flag under the orders of their gallant commander on that signal occasion.
The British vessels were prized by a board of officers from Lake Ontario, assisted by naval constructor, Henry Eckford, and purchased for $255,000. Of this, Com. Chauncey was en- titled to one twentieth of the whole, being $12,750 ; Captains Perry and Elliot each drew $7,140. As no portion of prize money could be awarded to Capt. Perry for his general com- mand, Congress made a special grant to him of $5,000; $2,295 was the portion of each commander of a gunboat, lieutenant, sailing-master, and captain of marines ; $811 for a midship- man ; $447 a petty officer ; and $209 for each marine and sailor.
CHAPTER XVII.
Blockhouses built in 1813-14 -- State of Society-Buffalo burned -- Alarms at Erie-Capt. Sinclair arrives-Bird and Rankin shot, and Davis hung-Peace-Disposition made of Government Vessels -List of Commanding Officers at Erie from 1818 to 1825-Topog- raphy of Presqu'ile Bay and the Peninsula-Misery Bay-Gen. Bernard and Maj. Totten's Survey-Appropriations made by the State and United States-Changes made by Time and Art since 1813-Rise and Fall of Water in Lake Erie-A Singular Phenome- non.
FOR the better defense of Erie, in the winter of 1813 and 1814, a blockhouse was built on Garrison Hill, and another on the point of the peninsula. (The one on the shore was burned in 1853, an occurrence much regretted by the inhabitants).
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Ten vessels, with their complements of men, were stationed in the harbor, and a large body of militia quartered upon the town. The winter is remembered by the old inhabitants as one of unusual excitement and dissipation. Like the idola- trous Israelites, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Victory and prize money, leisure and lax disci- pline were found to promote anything but peace and good morals. Deaths by dueling, suicide, and mania a potu were not unfrequent. As an instance of the folly of the times, an officer by the name of B-s provided himself with blank challenges in order to be in readiness, if insulted, to demand "the satisfaction of a gentleman." Near the corner of Third and Sassafras streets, a duel took place between Midshipman Senat, who commanded the Porcupine during the action, and Acting-master McDonald, which resulted in the death of the former. The cause of the difficulty, it is said, resolved itself into the number of buttons worn by McDonald. A singular fact is related of McDonald. A few minutes after committing the fatal deed, but before it was known, he addressed an acquaintance with some ordinary inquiry, but was not recog- nized by him excepting by his voice ; and scarcely by that, so unnatural and ghost-like was his countenance. It is almost superfluous to add, that the legal authorities took no notice of such infractions of the law.
December 30, 1813, Capt. Isaac Barnes, of the militia near Buffalo, communicated to the commander at Erie the alarm- ing intelligence that the British had that morning landed three thousand regulars, militia, and Indians, at Black Rock, and forced Maj .- Gen. Hall's company of militia to retreat to Buffalo, and afterward to surrender as prisoners of war. The village and large vessels at Black Rock had been consumed- the enemy had advanced eight or ten miles up Lake Erie destroying everything as they passed, and purposed burning the vessels at Erie. Full liberty was given the Indians to plunder in order to encourage them in the nefarious business. Capt. Barnes requested of Capt. Elliot men, arms, and ammu- nition, the communication being interrupted eastward by the Indians. Upon this Capt. Elliot, January 10, informed Gen. Mead that the Indians were collecting a great number of sleighs
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and sleds, and as soon as the ice would admit, expected to make an attack upon Erie-that the force of the British amounted to three thousand, and the one at Erie to but two thousand. Immediately the whole of the first brigade of Gen. Mead's division was ordered into service, and proceeded to Erie, which increased the force to four thousand. The boldness of the British at this time was owing to the removal of troops from Fort George, which left the frontier partially unpro- tected. False alarms were frequent in Erie during the winter as to the progress of the enemy, and more than once the whole village was astir at midnight packing goods and furni- ture for a hasty departure-assurances of safety and protection from the commanding officer having no effect. The parades of the militia at such times, in their begged, borrowed, or in- herited uniforms, were occasions of special gratification to the young, and those fond of the ludicrous, the first brigade being mostly in the hands of substitutes, These were often of the lowest class, untaught and unteachable in manners and disci- pline. North and west of where the First Presbyterian church now stands, the ground was covered with log huts erected for a regiment of regular troops, and was familiarly known as Stumptown ; most of the huts were afterward destroyed by fire-one of the largest, however, for many years served as a meeting-house. Among officers and men the all- absorbing topic was the share of honor or otherwise Capt. Elliot was entitled to in the battle of September 10. The sailors of the Lawrence and Niagara were never expected to meet peaceably. The following scene was often enacted : an "Elliot " champion would maintain that the wind was light and they could not get up; the " Lawrence man " would allude to "the main-top sail to the mast, and the jib brailed up," and immediately a trial of muscle would ensue, and blood flow unless prevented by the by-standers. In the spring Capt. Elliot left for Lake Ontario, and Com. Sinclair came on to Erie in April, In the fall three men were executed for desertion-Bird and Rankin, marines, were shot, and Davis, a seaman, hung to the yard-arm of the Niagara, Bird belonged to a volunteer company from Bellefonte. The com- pany occupied a small blockhouse at the Cascade-being unac-
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customed to military discipline they were impatient and restive under orders, and mutinied by shutting themselves up and refusing admission to others. Lieut. Brooks, of the marines, being much in need of men before the battle, these men were told that their offense would be overlooked provided they would enlist with him. Bird being a man of some standing was made sergeant, and placed in charge of a storehouse at the mouth of Mill Creek, and deserted from thence. He was found guilty by a court-martial, the President approved the sentence, and as it was thought on the frontier such an offense could not be overlooked, it was carried out with all its hor- rors.1
When the war in Europe ceased, that of the United States with Great Britain, as a branch, naturally fell to the ground, and a treaty of peace was concluded and signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814. The following disposition was made of the government vessels on Lake Erie: The Lawrence was repaired, and after making a cruise to Lake Huron was sunk in Misery Bay for her better preservation. Two years ago her stern was elevated and a portion secured for memorials. The Niagara lies under water near the Lawrence. The Caledonia was sold in 1815, called the General Wayne, and finally broken up at Erie. In 1814 the Ohio and Somers were cut out by the British at Fort Erie ; the Scorpion and Tigress were taken the same year on Lake Huron ; the Little Belt and Trippe were destroyed when Buffalo was burned ; the Ariel went ashore and was wrecked in Buffalo Bay, and the Porcupine was transferred to the revenue department. The Detroit was sunk in Misery Bay, near the Lawrence (sailors say she would float off, and in spite of their efforts would keep at a respectable distance) ; she was, in 1835, raised, and rigged a bark, by Capt. George Miles, and navigated the lake some years ; lastly, she was sent over Niagara Falls for a spectacle, and probably a speculation, too, on the part of the hotel keepers. The Queen Charlotte was sunk in Misery Bay, and afterward fitted out for
1 The execution of Bird and the other deserters at Erie in 1814, constituted the romance of the war among children and the lower classes. A ballad on the theme, of not less than twenty verses, in the " gory" style, rehearsed or rather screeched by a servant girl with a doleful countenance, made a decided impression on a group of children.
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the lake trade ; the Lady Prevost was sold to a Canada mer- chant in 1815.
In 1820 an order was received to reduce the naval station at this place to a master commandant, one lieutenant, one purser, one surgeon, one surgeon's mate, one captain's clerk, one boatswain, one gunner, one carpenter, one armorer, one purser's steward, five able seamen, five ordinary seamen. The naval station at Erie was not completely broken up until 1825, when the public property was disposed of by auction. The following is a list of the commanding officers from 1813 : Captains O. H. Perry, Jesse D. Elliot, Arthur Sinclair, Daniel S. Dexter (who died in 1818, leaving Lieut. George Pearce the senior officer), David Deacon, and George Budd.
Here it may not be out of place to give something of the topography of Presqu'ile Bay, and the changes made by time and art since 1812. The extreme length of the bay is about five miles, and nearly two in breadth, with an area of from six to eight miles, and is formed by a peninsula which ex- tends in a northeasterly direction, being much in the form of a crab's claw. In some places the peninsula is three-fourths of a mile in width, and susceptible of cultivation, but a larger part is sand, and covered with a low growth of timber, the wild grape, and cranberry. The neck or west side in 1812 was two or three hundred feet in width ; afterward the action of the waves and increased height of the water submerged it for the distance of half a mile. By an appropriation of govern- ment a passage eight feet in depth was made through this neck, so that vessels detained in the harbor by head winds might depart, and a saving of distance to steamboats be made of from four to six miles. This channel is again filled with sand, which is wearing way on the northwest side, At the east end of the peninsula sand has been and is accumulating, and just within is Misery Bay, a convenient shelter for vessels in a storm. This name was given it by Lieut, Holdup in 1814, from the comfortless condition of the vessels at the time -- the weather being gloomy and the stock of falsely so-called good cheer exhausted. The depth of water in Presqu'ile Bay averages eighteen feet ; at the entrance, the bar or sandbank under water has been removed, and the channel there is now
1
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about fourteen feet deep. Immediately after the war the opinion of Com. Perry was asked by the Navy Department on the subject of removing the bar, and his reply was favorable to the project.1 In 1824 Gen. Bernard and Maj. Totten sur- veyed the harbor, and in their report we find the following interesting item : "The basin of Presqu'ile is situated so far above the commencement of the falls into Lake Ontario, and in so wide a part of Lake Erie that the current produced by the escape of water at the falls is here insensible-the only current here observable being entirely owing to the easterly or westerly winds. These latter currents have, however, sometimes con- siderable rapidity, and a curious fact appears in relation to the effect of these lake currents upon the waters of the basin, viz., that a strong current sets into the basin in direct opposition to the westerly winds when they blow hard, and conversely, a strong current sets out of the basin in direct opposition to violent easterly winds : or, in other words, the current out of or into the basin runs in a direct opposition both to the set of the lake's current and the direction of the winds, whether easterly or westerly.
. "It is important to account for this before proceeding fur- ther, and in doing so we refer to the sketch herewith to make the matter more intelligible. We must first suppose the surface of the lake and of the basin to be of the same level, as will always be the case after a few days of calm weather, and represent the level by 0° 0' 00"" and 0'". An easterly wind then setting in drives a part of the water of the easterly halt of the lake into the western, raising the surface at 0'' and 0''', and lowering it at 0' ; as the surface descends at 0' the water in the basin must also descend by running out against the wind, there being no issue at the west end of the basin.
"In like manner when a westerly wind heaps the water at 0' above the surface in the basin, it must rise in the basin by running in against the wind, there being no entrance at the west end. As the winds abate, the waters gradually take a level common to both lake and basin, but not the same as
1 In 1822 the State appointed a committee composed of Thomas Forster, G. Sanford, and George Moore, to survey the Bay of Presqu'ile; to ascertain the depth of water in the bay, on the bar, and the anchoring ground out- side of the bar.
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before ; for, the supply being nearly equable at all times, with westerly winds more is forced out of the lake over the falls, and with easterly winds less passes that way than when the surface is at a mean elevation. The basin has, therefore, higher to rise immediately after an easterly wind than it was depressed by it, and lower to fall after a westerly wind than it was elevated by that wind. But the return of the lake to its level is slow and gradual, the elevation and depression of the waters at its ends is sudden and violent, and amounts often to several feet. It is to this latter operation that we are to look for producing any considerable effect." They then proceed to recommend a plan carried out soon after, that of increasing the current by closing the whole mouth of the basin with the exception of a passage two hundred feet in width. By means of sinking piles and removing the sand between them with a dredging machine, as well as by the frequent passage of ves- sels, the object has been effected.
The different appropriations for the improvement of the harbor have been as follows : By the State, in' 1822, $10,000 ; by the United States, in 1824, $30,000; in 1828, $6,223 ; in 1831, $1,700 ; in 1832, $4,500 ; in 1833, $6,000 ; in 1834, $20,000 ; in 1835, $5,000 ; in 1836, $15,000 ; in 1844, $40,000 ; in 1852, $30,000 ; for a steam dredge, $20,000.
About 1813 there was a fine drive on the beach from State Street to the Cascade, where there is not now even a footpath. Toward the middle of the day this was often overflowed, giving rise to the opinion entertained by Com. Perry and others that the lake was affected by tides. The year of the battle the water was unusually high, not only in the lake, but in the Allegheny and French Creek, and it was remarked by those well qualified to judge, that without this fortunate cir- cumstance, this extraordinary rise, the squadron could not have been built, as it would have been impossible to transport the ordnance and necessary equipments over land, such was the state of the roads leading from Pittsburg.
In 1808 the water in Lake Erie was lower than it had ever before been known ; in 1838 it was four and a half feet above the water-mark of 1808. Some pine trees, killed by the inun- dation, were found by their rings to be over one hundred
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years old, and from this it was inferred that the water had not been at so great a height for a century. In 1858 it was ob- served at the Buffalo lighthouse that for some years a gradual progressive rise of water had taken place, and the same year at Lake Ontario the water was higher than it had been for forty years. At Toledo the water gauged from two to six feet higher than in 1834. During the years 1815, 1816, and 1817, which were cold and wet seasons, the water was high ; in 1818 it was higher still, but not equal to 1837-38. The summer of 1818 was very hot, and the evaporation reduced the height of the lake two feet, when the fall was gradual for several sea- sons. From 1822 to 1828 it remained without change.
Some have supposed that there exists a regular and period- ical rise and fall of the waters of the lake once in seven years ; but facts do not seem to favor this supposition. Previous to 1838 there had been six or seven uncommonly wet seasons, with heavy falls of snow, and this fact, together with the sub- sidence of the waters after extremely warm and dry seasons, would seem plainly to indicate the cause.
A singular phenomenon has sometimes been observed near the shore, which is the sudden rise and fall of water in par- ticular localities without any apparent cause. May 30, 1823, a little after sunset, while the weather was fine and the lake calm, at the mouth of Otter and of Kettle Creek, being twenty miles apart in Canada, the water rose with astonishing rapidity and without the least warning-at the former place nine feet, and the latter seven. In both cases, after three swells, the lake seemed to have spent its force, and gradually subsided. The same effect was observed at different places along the shore ; but the high steep banks did not admit of the same observation.
Two other cases of this kind were witnessed and described by a revenue officer ; one at Cunningham Creek, Ohio, in 1826, which, in the space of five minutes, overflowed a bank fifteen feet in height, doing much damage. The other observed by him, was in 1830, at Grand River, Ohio, at three o'clock, p. m. There was an unusual waving of the water and a tre- mendous sea. The revenue cutter Rush, lying at the wharf, let go her anchor, and the current was so strong she drifted
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with both anchors ahead, and would have been ashore but for the man placed at the helm. The top of the pier when built was about five feet above the water, but so deeply was it sub- merged at this time, from appearance, a vessel drawing eight feet of water would have gone over it.
At the mouth of Sixteen Mile Creek, Erie County, Mr. Thomas Crawford witnessed a similar phenomenon about 1820.
Others have mentioned the same periodical flux and reflux on Lake Ontario, recurring at intervals of a few minutes, and ascribed it "to springs at the bottom of the lake, and the shock of rivers discharging into it."
A waterspout was witnessed at Cleveland, October, 1841. It was apparently the size of a large haystack, hollow and inverted. The wind had been blowing a strong current from the northeast, and suddenly changed to the west.
A few years before, three waterspouts occurred at the same moment, twenty-five miles west of Cleveland ; ordinarily they may be said to be of rare occurrence on inland seas.
A whirlwind visited Conneaut, September, 1839, and the effects were felt both on sea and land. The waters were lifted forty or fifty feet, a barn unroofed near the shore, and much other damage sustained.
The Conneaut Reporter, 1859, has an article to this effect : "That the water of Lake Erie was never higher. Many acres of land that had borne crops were totally submerged, and Mr. J. Gilbert had had more than thirty acres of land destroyed by the encroachments of the water the last thirty years. The complaint was general along the lake shore, and many causes assigned : some believed it to be the back-water caused by the Black Rock dam, on the Niagara River, and petitions were circulated, asking of the Legislatures of Ohio and Penn- sylvania the passage of memorial to Congress for an appro- priation to pay the expense of a survey of Niagara River to determine the matter."
A survey of the lakes is now (1861) progressing slowly but steadily. An appropriation of $125,000 has been granted for carrying on the work.
The report drawn up by Capt. George G. Meade exhibits the
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following summary of the year's work : " A recapitulation of the operations in the office and the field exhibits the projec- tion of twenty-nine manuscript sheets of hydrography, topog- raphy, and water levels ; the reduction of four charts for engravings ; the drawing of one chart for the lighthouse board ; the publication of two charts ; the reduction and tabu- lation of 140 monthly sheets of meteorological observations, together with numerous other computations, astronomical, and geotic ; the survey of 303 miles of lake shore, covering 313 square miles of minute topography and hydrography ; the ex- ecution of two triangulations, extending over 2,200 square miles ; the sounding in deep water of 4,300 miles of lines ; the determination of the latitudes of three, and the longitudes of four points ; the observation of the magnetic elements at nine points ; and finally, the continuation of the meteorological water-level observations over the whole lake region."
The water-level and meteorological observations on Lakes Erie and Ontario, though in an imperfect state, sum up as follows : That the lakes are sensibly and rapidly affected by winds and storms, depressing the water from the side whence it blows, and raising it on the opposite side ; that, independent of wind fluctuations, a change of level arises from rains and draining of watersheds and from discharges arising from evaporation and the flow through their outlets; that, as a general rule, these last fluctuations occur annually, the high stage being in summer, and the low in winter; that these annual fluctuations vary in degree from year to year, being the effect of various causes, and the extreme range as yet re- ported between the highest and lowest waters has amounted to five feet five inches.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Geology, from Prof. Rogers-Character of Soil-Calcareous Marl- Bog Ore-Petroleum-Mineral Waters-R. Andrew's Account of Sink-hole-The Devil's Backbone and Nose-Botanizing.
A SURVEY of the State was commenced by H. D. Rogers, State Geologist, in the year 1836,, in consequence of an act of
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the Legislature passed the same year. The law directed that an annual report be made by him to the Legislature of the progress of the work, with the various areas occupied by the different geological formations represented on the State map, and on the completion of the work a full account to be pre- pared of the Geology and Mineralogy of the State. On the organization of the survey, it was estimated that it would occupy at least ten years ; appropriations being withheld after the sixth year, Mr. Rogers for three years pursued his ex- plorations, and prepared his final report at his own expense ; this was, however, afterward repaid.
In 1851 the Legislature adopted and provided measures and means to revise the field-work, in consequence of the rapid development of the mining districts, and for the publication of the reports, with the accompanying maps, etc. In 1858 the final report was published at an expense of $16,000, Mr. Rogers retaining the copyright and presenting 1,000 copies of the work to the State.
In 1836 the sum of $6,400 was appropriated to the work : $2,000 for the salary of the principal ; $1,200 for each of the as- sistants ; $1,000 for the chemist; and $1,000 for incidental ex- penses, should they occur.
In 1837 two other assistants were appointed, and $3,600 added to the future annual appropriation. In 1838 $6,000 was appropriated, and in 1841 $10,200, for the purpose of completing the mineralogical and geological survey of the State. Of this, $4,000 was lost by the want of proper management in its publi- cation.
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