USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania > Part 19
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The bill for a declaration of war passed the House of Representatives 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the Senate it was signed by the President, and in five days, as it afterward proved, the British orders in council were repealed.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 unnecessary 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
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prosecuted with much less energy and success than it other- wise 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 unsuc- cessful. In the attempt of Government to conquer Upper Canada, General Hull and his army surrendered at Detroit, and General 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,* 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 co-operate with General Har- rison, 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. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, to whose judgment and bravery it was mainly to be attrib- uted, with the blessings involved, 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 follow- ing anecdotes of his childhood indicate that his mother was a woman of rare sense and excellence. 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 dis- cipline of the country schools, where, the numbers being small,
* Some years ago, in a letter to a gentleman in Erie, J. F. Cooper claimed the honor of wearing the first navy button on Lake Erie, being a midshipman on the brig Adams, which was not generally commanded by navy officers.
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everything was conducted somewhat upon the principle of brotherly love, furnished but an imperfect preparation for the sterner rule which the Highland gentleman found it necessary to exercise among his more numerous and hetero- geneous disciples at Newport. The early days of Oliver's admission into Mr. Frazier's school were signalized by a very untoward occurrence-no less a one than his receiving a broken head, one day, for some trifling and perhaps uncon- scious misdemeanor, from a heavy ferule hurled by Mr. Fra- zier, 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 com- manding 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 decision not to return to Mr. Frazier's school, but quietly bound up his wounded head, and soothed him with expres- sions of maternal solicitude. Had she consulted only her resentment, it would have led her, at every hazard, to with- draw her child from the authority of one who had abused it. She wisely reflected, however, that Oliver being an unusually high-spirited boy, and his father generally absent, as he hap- pened to be at that time, if she yielded to his wishes in this instance, he might expect the same indulgence whenever he felt discontented 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 sub- dued terms her indignant feelings at the outrage npon 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
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to Mr. Frazier by again intrusting 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 into 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 country, and whom she fitted to command others by teaching them thus early to obey. Mr. Frazier was conscious of his own culpa- ble violence, and alive to the good sense and magnanimity of Mrs. Perry's conduct. He devoted himself unremittingly 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 vindictiveness and cher- ished resentment. Newport was then an eminently commer- cial 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. IIe took a peculiar pleasure in initiating Oliver into these sciences, and in the intervals be- tween school-hours, and on holidays, would frequently 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 re- lated by Mckenzie. "When Oliver was but eleven years old, Bishop Seabury came to Newport, in the course of an episcopal visitation of the Eastern States, for the pur- pose of ordaining clergymen and confirming the young. Oliver's parents scarcely considered him old enough to re-
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ceive and appreciate that solemn rite; but the Bishop hav- ing been greatly pleased by his appearance and manners, and by the maturity and seriousness which his conversation indi- cated, requested that he might come forward for confirma- tion. 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, Captain Perry, having secured a small com- petency, 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 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 astron- omy. During his leisure hours his modesty and amiability, with his fine 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 ele- gant 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 Eliza-
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beth Champlin Mason, of Newport, a lady of extraordinary gifts and loveliness ; and it was said by one who knew Cap- tain Perry intimately, "that he was through life a model of every domestic virtue and grace."
Commodore Rodgers had been his able instructor in sea- manship; 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 commander, in November, 1812, he tendered his services for the lakes, as he had before applied for a post where he might serve his country and distinguish himself. On the 1st of February, 1813, he received a letter from Commodore Chauncey, who had the command of Lakes Erie and Ontario, stating that he had applied to the Secre- tary of the Navy to have him ordered to the lakes; and added, "you are the very person that I want 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- 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 exactly; you may expect some warm fighting, and of course a portion of honor."
On the seventeenth of February, 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 in- structed by Commodore Chauncey with regard to his duties on Lake Erie. The same day Captain Perry sent off a de- tachment of one hundred and fifty men and officers under the command of Sailing-master Almy; on the nineteenth, fifty men under Sailing-master Champlin; and fifty men on the twenty-first, 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 morn- ing of the twenty-second of February he set forward on his
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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 the third of March, having waited three days at Albany for Commodore Chauncey. As an attack was expected at Sackett's Harbor on the squadron and vessels on the stocks, the Commodore detained him there until the sixteenth of March. On his journey to Erie, where he arrived on the twenty-fourth, he remained one day in Buffalo, examining the navy yard at Black Rock, then under command of Lieu- tenant Pettigru. He then made some arrangements to have stores forwarded to Erie, and on the twenty-sixth set out himself in a sleigh upon the ice. At Cattaragus, where he spent the night, the innkeeper informed him that he had recently been on the Canada side, and there had been ques- tioned as to the vessels building at Erie, and the force sta- tioned there, and his opinion was that the British intended to make an attack when the ice should break up. On the evening of the twenty-seventh, Captain Perry arrived at Erie, and immediately acquainted himself with the state of affairs and the progress of the work. Here six months be- fore General David Mead, who commanded the militia, had appointed Mr. Dobbins bearer of dispatches to Washington. Mr. D., with his vessel, had been taken by the British at Hull's surrender, and he was well acquainted with the har- bors, commerce, and inhabitants on the lakes. He received from the Navy Department 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 Commodore Chauncey at Black Rock or Sackett's Har- bor for further instructions. Accordingly on his return he addressed the commanding officer, and in reply received the following :-
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" SIR :-
"Your letter of thirtieth ultimo, directed to Commodore Chauncey or the commanding officer on Lake Erie, I have received, together with its inclosed, a copy of your instruc- tions from the Honorable 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 im- possible to build gunboats at Presqu'ile ; there is not a suffi- cient depth of water on the bar to get them into the Lake. Should there be water, the place is at all times open to the attacks of the enemy, which would be a great annoyance 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 persons who have long navigated the lake, I am under an impression Lake Erie has not a single harbor calculated to fit out a naval expedition, and the only one convenient I am at pres- ent at, which is between Squaw Island and the main, imme- diately 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 im- pressions, when you shall again hear from me.
" With esteem, yours respectfully,
"J. D. ELLIOT. " Mr. DANIEL DOBBINS."
Captain Dobbins replied as follows :-
"DEAR SIR :-
"Yours of the second instant is received. In regard to the 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
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convictions, 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."
O
Danul Dobbins
The letter of Lieutenant Elliot was the only information Mr. Dobbins could get from that quarter; not being satis- fied with this he hastened to Black Rock, where he found Lieutenant Angus in command, and as he had not heard from Commodore Chauncey, or from any other quarter, of the building of gunboats at Erie, he expressed himself at a loss what course to pursue. Captain Dobbins, however, employed Ebenezer Crosby as master carpenter, which Lieu-
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tenant Angus sanctioned, and returned to Erie determined to urge forward the work with such house-carpenters as he could procure .*
* Extract of a letter from Captain Dobbins to the Secretary of the Navy.
"ERIE, Pa., December 12th, 1812. "SIR :-
"I have expected workmen, or orders to employ them, but have received none, owing, in all probability, to the Commodore (Chaun- cey) not coming on (to Black Rock) as was expected. I have, how- ever, 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 pro- ceed with the work, please authorize me to draw upon the Depart- ment, as I have already expended a considerable sum over the $2000 already drawn, the vouchers of which expenditure I will forward by the next mail. I have found a merchant (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 con- tracts for the construction, in accordance with the wish of the De- partment, 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. "Hou. PAUL HAMILTON, Secretary of the Navy."
It still being urged at the Department that Black Rock was a more suitable place for a naval station than Erie, Captain Dobbins ad- dressed 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,
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Early in January Commodore 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 ship- wright 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 fourteenth, we find the following: "The keels of the two brigs are ready to lay; the gunboats are ready for caulking. Although everything looks encourag- ing, 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 volun- teers 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 Colonel Thomas Forster, constituted, for some time, the only protection of the town and vessels.
Captain 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 ex- pedition, Mr. D. 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, cannons, powder and balls-at an inclement season, through a half- settled country, with miserable roads, can scarcely be con- ceived.
On the evening of the thirtieth of March, Sailing-master
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 ves- sels would be cut to pieces with their shot in passing up the rapids into the lake."
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W. V. Taylor arrived from Sackett's Harbor with twenty offi- cers and men, and the next day Captain Perry left for Pitts- burg to procure necessary stores, and to hasten, if possible, the coming of the expected carpenters. He arrived there on the fourth 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. Captain A. K. Woolley rendered him great assistance in supplying neces- sary stores by loaning him four small guns and some muskets, and in superintending the casting of the shot. The carpen- ters, 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 departed on the seventh of April, and reached Erie on the tenth. In his absence he found the work had progressed rapidly.
At Captain Perry's earnest request, General 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 fifteenth of April, and were soon equipped for service. The Scorpion had been lengthened twelve feet by Mr. Eckford's order, and was not launched until the first of May. These were built at the mouth of Lee's Run-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 be- fore Commodore Perry's arrival were launched about the twenty-fourth of May. The Lawrence and Niagara were built and rigged precisely alike .* Their frames were of
* The Lawrence was the better sailer. Commodore Sinclair, a year or two after the battle, suggested alterations in the Niagara which much improved it.
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white and black oak, and the decks of pine. They were 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 built at the Cascade, about one mile west of the town, where there was a good depth of water.
On the twenty-third of May, Captain Perry suddenly took his departure for Lake Ontario, and was absent until the seventeenth of June. Captain Perry was promised the . command of the seamen and marines that might land when an attack was made on Fort George, and accordingly when he heard that Commodore Chauncey expected to be at Niagara in a day or two, and the attack be made, joined him immediately. Captain Perry left Erie in a four-oared boat at evening, and after a journey full of discomforts and perils, rendered valuable service by superintending the em- barkation of the troops. Commodore Chauncey, in his official report, mentioned that " Captain Perry was present at every point where he could be useful, under showers of musketry, but fortunately escaped unhurt." The capture of Fort George led to the evacuation by the British of the whole Niagara frontier, and Captain Perry was enabled to return with five small vessels of the government which had been detained in Seajaguady Creek, back of Squaw Island, by the enemy's batteries on the Canada shore. One of the vessels, the Caledonia, 3 guns, 85 tons, Lieutenant Elliot had surprised and taken from the enemy; the Somers, 2 guns, 65 tons, formerly the Catharine; the Trippe, 1 gun, 63 tons, formerly the Contractor; the Ohio, 1 gun, 62 tons; and the Amelia, formerly the General Wilkison, built at Detroit, 1802, 1 gun, 72 tons, had been pur- chased and fitted for service by Mr. Eckford .* On the twenty-eighth of May, the laborious work of dragging
* The Amelia was condemned, on examination, immediately after the vessels reached Erie, and sunk in the harbor.
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the five vessels against the current of the Niagara, which varied in strength from five to seven knots, commenced. To aid Captain Perry in the work, two hundred soldiers, under command of Captains Brevoort and Young, were loaned him by General Dearborn; he had also a party of officers and fifty seamen, that remained with him until after the battle. At Black Rock navy stores were taken aboard; and after two weeks of incredible fatigue, the vessels passed the rapids. On the evening of the fourteenth, they set sail from Buffalo and reached Erie on the evening of the eigh- teenth without having been molested, though the enemy had a force in the vicinity six times that of the Americans. The British ship Queen Charlotte and schooner Lady Prevost lay at Long Point when the vessels passed up. When hovering afterward around Sturgeon Point, they discovered a boat passing up the Lake, which had left Buffalo Creek the pre- ceding evening loaded with valuable property. The vessels immediately gave chase and fired several guns, but the Yankee skipper was two wide awake for them, and ran into Cattaragus Creek and escaped. It is certain Captain Perry manifested as much his skill and address here, as his indefatigable perseverance in stemming the rapids.
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