War of 1812 - U.S. Navy Ship to Ship Battles in the Great Lakes
Early in the War of 1812, the United States planned to invade and conquer Canada. Western U.S. politicians sought to remove British influence from the frontier and acquire more land for settlement.
A historical piece focusing on U.S. Navy ship to ship battles in the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.
A historical piece focusing on U.S. Navy ship-to-ship battles in the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. The American militia outnumbered British troops, but the British relied on key bodies of water, such as Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, to quickly move men and resources.
Old Ironsides in the War of 1812
Naval battles fought on two of these lakes would affect the war's outcome. The battle of Lake Erie, also known as the battle of Put-in-Bay, took place in September 1813. British control of Lake Erie had given them control of American territory, including Detroit, and they sought to break that control.
The Americans built a fleet of small ships in the sheltered Harbor at Erie, Pennsylvania, under the supervision of shipwright Noah Brown and master commandant Oliver Hazard Perry. Months earlier, Perry's friend, Captain James Lawrence, was mortally wounded in the devastating loss of USS Chesapeake.
His friend's dying command inspired Commodore Perry. Don't give up the ship and had a flag made, bearing those words, which he flew with the masthead of his flagship, the Lawrence, named for his fallen friend, as Perry's fleet rapidly took shape.
Don't Give Up The Ship Flag
British Commodore Barkley was quick to reinforce his fleet by sending HMS Detroit to defend the lake against the anticipated American attack on September 10th, a day with light wind. Perry brought out his ships against his British counterpart.
His flagship, Lawrence, engaged the center of the British line and was battered by the enemy's long guns. He took down his flag from his badly damaged ship.
Perry was rowed to the Brig Niagara, where he resumed the fight. At that moment, the wind picked up, giving Niagara and the rest of the American ships a decisive advantage. When Barkley surrendered, the Americans regained control of the lake and their territory.
The battle of Lake Champlain in September 1814 found us master commandant Thomas McDonough's fleet in control of the waterway, the British plan to invade New York from Canada and seize American territory before negotiators could finalize a treaty to end the war, but a successful invasion would require them to take control of Lake Champlain from the Americans.
Knowing an attack was coming and that he was outgunned, McDonough anchored his ships in Plattsburgh Bay in such a way that the British ships would have to sail directly into his broadside.
With light winds, the British flagship was unable to maneuver properly and dropped anchor, trading close fire with McDonough's flagship, Saratoga, with both ships badly damaged. McDonough's advanced planning gave him the advantage.
He had anchored his vessels close together and was able to turn them using only the anchor cables. He shifted Saratoga around and resumed fire from her UNAM side.
The British flagship's compliance was unable to match this maneuver and surrender. The British invasion force was forced to retreat from American soil because the strategically vital waterway remained in our hands.
Thank you for the video, Daniel Dayton.
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