Towards the latter end of March 1813, captain Perry arrived at the port of Erie [Pennsylvania], to take command of the fleet there fitting out.
During the summer the following American vessels were equipped on Lake Erie.
|
|
Guns. |
Commanders. |
---|---|---|---|
Brig. |
Lawrence |
20 |
O. H. Perry. |
|
Niagara |
20 |
J. D. Elliot. |
|
Caledonia |
3 |
Turner. |
Schr. |
Ariel |
4 |
Packet. |
|
Scorpion |
2 |
Champlin. |
|
Somers |
2 & 2 swivels |
Alney. |
|
Tigress |
1 |
Conklin. |
|
Porcupine |
1 |
Lendt. |
|
Trippe |
1 |
Smith. |
|
Ohio |
1 |
Dobbin. |
|
|
55 guns. |
|
The British fleet under the command of commodore Barclay, consisted of the following vessels.
|
|
Guns. |
Howitzers. |
---|---|---|---|
Ship |
Detroit |
19 |
2 |
|
Queen Charlotte |
17 |
1 |
Schr. |
Lady Prevost |
13 |
1 |
Brig. |
Hunter |
10 |
|
Sloop |
Little Belt |
3 |
|
Schr. |
Chippeway |
1 |
|
|
|
63 guns. |
|
On the morning of the 10th of September the British fleet was discovered by Perry from Put in Bay [at the southwestern end of Lake Erie, in Ohio\ where he then lay at anchor. Commodore Perry immediately got under way with his squadron, and stood for the British fleet. The wind at that time was light from South West. At IS minutes before 12, the British commenced firing: and at 5 minutes before 12, the action commenced on the part of the Americans. As the fire of the British, owing to their long guns, was very severe upon the Americans, and was principally directed at the Lawrence, commodore Perry resolved to close with them: he accordingly made sail, and ordered the other vessels to follow. Every brace and bow line of the Lawrence being shot away, she became unmanageable, notwithstanding the great exertions of the sailing master. In this situation she sustained the action, within cannister distance, upwards of two hours, until every gun was rendered useless, and the greater part of her crew either killed or wounded.
After a display of skill and gallantry, which, alone, would have been sufficient to have immortalized commodore Perry—after defending his vessel against a far superior force, to the very last extremity, this illustrious hero, at a critical moment, when, to almost any other mind, the contest would have appeared hopeless, resolved to save his country's honour, or perish in the attempt. He therefore quitted the Lawrence in an open boat, and rowed off for the Niagara, to make one more display of his heroism and talents. In his passage, there were no less than three broadsides fired at him by the British vessels, which he passed. Heaven interposed its protecting arm. He escaped the apparently inevitable destruction. He reached the Niagara in safety, and a breeze springing up. enabled captain Elliot, who commanded that vessel, to bring her into close action in a very gallant manner. Captain Elliot anticipated the commodore’s desires by volunteering to bring the schooners, which had, by the lightness of the wind, been kept astern, into close action. Some time after commodore Perry had left the Lawrence her flag was lowered; for having been so long exposed to nearly the whole fire of the British fleet, she was almost cut to pieces; and the chief part of her crew disabled, only eight men remaining capable of doing duty. The British however were not in a state to take possession of her, and circumstances soon permitted her flag to be again hoisted. At 45 minutes past two, the signal was made for close action. As the Niagara was very little injured, commodore Perry determined to pass through the enemy’s line with her. He accordingly bore up, and passed ahead of their two ships and a brig, giving a raking fire to them from his larboard side, at half pistol shot distance. The smaller vessels were by this time within grape and cannister distance, under the direction of captain Elliot. The severe and well directed fire from them and the Niagara, forced the two ships, the brig, and a schooner to surrender. A sloop and schooner attempted to escape, but were overtaken and captured.
The Lawrence was so completely cut up, that after the action, she was sent to Erie to be dismantled. Lt. Yarnell, upon whom the command of the Lawrence devolved after the commodore left her, refused to quit the deck though several times wounded. Lt. Brooke of the marines, and midshipman Saul, were both killed on board the Lawrence. At the surgeon of this vessel was stooping, in the act of dressing or examining a wound, a ball passed through the ship a few inches from his head, which, had it been erect must have been taken off. Mr. Hambleton, purser, distinguished himself, and towards the close of the action was severely wounded.
On board the Niagara, lieutenants Smith and Edwards and midshipman Webster behaved in a very handsome manner. Captain Brevoort of the army, who, with the men under his command, had volunteered, to act as marines, did great execution with his musketry. Lt. Turner, who commanded the Caledonia, brought his vessel into action in the most gallant style. The Ariel, Lt. Packet, and Scorpion, sailing master Champlin, got early into the action, and were of great service. The purser Magrath performed essential service, Captain Elliot particularly distinguished himself by his exertion and skill.
The following is an estimate of the killed and wounded on board the American fleet.
|
Killed |
Wounded |
Total |
---|---|---|---|
Lawrence |
22 |
61 |
83 |
Niagara |
2 |
25 |
27 |
Caledonia |
|
3 |
3 |
Somers |
|
2 |
2 |
Ariel |
1 |
3 |
4 |
Trippe |
|
2 |
2 |
Scorpion |
2 |
|
2 |
|
27 |
96 |
123 |
Of the British fleet the captain and first lieutenant of the Queen Charlotte, were killed. Commodore Barclay of the Lady Prevost was severely wounded, and lost his hand. The loss of the British in killed and wounded has been estimated at 160.
The rejoicing at this victory in the United States, was extremely great. All the principal towns were illuminated. This victory however led to something yet more substantial, the conquest of Upper Canada, the retaking of the Michigan territory, and the capture of the British army by General [William Henry] Harrison.
Such dramatic successes as the Battle of Lake Erie were not common in the War of 1812. With one blow, the United States gained control of the upper Great Lakes, regained Detroit and Michigan territories, fatally weakened the British-Indian alliance, and eliminated fears of an invasion from Canada. Americans’ self-confidence grew, and so did the respect accorded the young nation by its enemies. And, in the process, a new national hero was created—28-year-old Oliver Hazard Perry.
The following account of the battle comes from the journal of Samuel Hambleton, a purser (paymaster) on board the 260-ton brig Laurence, Perry’s flagship. His description is important because it is by an eyewitness who was also a personal friend of Perry.
Samuel Hambleton was born on 29 March 1777 in Talbot County, Maryland; he was a sixth-generation American.2 His ancestor, William Hambleton, had settled in Talbot County in 1657 and quickly became prominent, holding positions as a sheriff, justice of the peace, and delegate to the lower house of the Legislature. Early in his own life, Samuel labored as a merchant’s clerk, opened a business in Georgetown, and served briefly as a clerk in the Civil Service. When nearly 30 years old, he joined the U.S. Navy. His first station was as purser to a gunboat fleet, a vital part of President Thomas Jefferson’s new defensive navy. He remained at New Orleans with the gunboats from January 1807 until July 1811. Then, by his own request, he was allowed to report to Washington to settle his financial records and other paperwork.
After nearly a year on furlough, Hambleton was assigned to Newport, Rhode Island, and the command of Oliver Hazard Perry.3 On 12 March 1813, he departed from Newport, the “pleasantest place [he had] ever seen,” ordered by Perry to Lake Erie. He arrived at the lake on 1 April and was immediately critical of his new surroundings. He noted in his journal that the post was “destitute of defence,” a situation he blamed on the poor quality of officers who “drink & play” with the men “as though they are equals.” Perry was aware of the situation, laboring hard all spring and summer to ready his fleet for combat. Such capable and energetic men as Samuel Hambleton were precious commodities, and a friendship quickly blossomed between the two. When Hambleton received orders to report to Burlington, Vermont, Perry protested by personally writing to Secretary of the Navy William Jones that Hambleton was indispensable. The purser was allowed to remain and, thus, to participate shortly thereafter in the battle which made Perry famous.
Hambleton’s account of the Battle of Lake Erie has apparently never before been published. He did allow Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, a naval officer biographer of Perry and Stephen Decatur, to use his journal.4 After the death of Samuel’s brother John,5 the journal was given to Dr. Samuel A. Harrison, a Maryland physician and friend of the Hambletons. In 1873, Harrison tried to get Lippincott’s Magazine to publish extracts of Hambleton’s descriptions of the Lake Erie battle and a duel between Decatur and James Barron. The magazine turned down the journal, Harrison believed, because of its earlier use by Mackenzie.6
The following account has been carefully transcribed with only slight changes of the sometimes awkward punctuation. It was not made from Hambleton’s own journal but from a somewhat later copy. The location of the original (if it still exists) is unknown. The files of the Maryland Historical Society do contain a small portion of the original which covers the years 1822–1823.7 A comparison of this segment to the copy reveals that only minor changes in spelling and sentence structure have been made, thus verifying that the copy is a reliable document for scholarly use. Hambleton’s account of the battle, written on 12 October 1813, begins:
On the 10th of last month, at sunrise, we were roused from our berths by the information that the enemy were in sight. In a few minutes the fleet was under weigh, beating out of the harbor of Put-in-Bay. The Enemy cpnsisting of 6 sail was visible from deck, distant about 12 miles to windward, but the wind, soon after we got out, changed & gave us the weather gage, which, as we had short guns, was considered fortunate. The day clear & beautiful, the wind moderate. All hands were busily employed in preparing the ship for battle which it was evident, the adversary would not decline. We stood on the same tack with them for several hours, gradually approaching each other, until nearly 12 o’clock, when the enemy, hove-to, in line & awaited our approach. About 11 o’clock Capt. Perry produced the flag, already mentioned, [In an earlier section of the journal, Hambleton wrote that he had suggested the motto “Don’t give up the ship.”] & having unfurled it, mounted a gun slide & said “My Brave Lads, this Flag contains the last words of the brave Capt. Lawrence. Shall I hoist it?” “Aye, aye” they cried from all quarters (having read the motto) & gave three cheers. Grog was then served out & every man repaired to quarters. Capt. Perry went leisurely round, inspecting his battery, & occasionally spoke to the men: seeing those drafted from the Constitution, he asked “Well, boys are you ready?” “All ready, Sir.” “I need not say anything to you—you know how to beat those fellows.” Passing on—”Ah!,” said he, “here are the New Port boys, they will do their duty I warrant.” In this way he went round, examining every gun & questioning the captain of it.
When the Motto flag was run up the whole of our fleet cheered. Having got within a mile & a half of the headmost ship, the Detroit, she opened a fire on us which was not immediately returned as we wished to get nearer. The action commenced a few minutes after 12 o’clock. The Lawrence made more sail & by signal ordered the other vessels to do likewise. Every now & then tried a shot at them, the first-Lieutenant looking out to see whether it took effect or not. As soon as he reported that we reached the Enemy gave him a broad-side & then stood on again until we considered ourselves within grape & cannister distance when we commenced a regular fire. Several of our men had already fallen—one at one of my guns fell from the third shot they fired at us.
The Caledonia, Lieut. [Daniel] Turner, was close astern of us—the Ariel, Lieut. Packet & Scorpion, Sailing Master Champlin were on our larboard bow. These 4 vessels sustained the fire of the enemy almost exclusively for more than two hours in which time we had twenty-two men killed & sixty-one wounded. The ship was a complete wreck—the rigging cut to pieces, masts and spars wounded & almost every gun on the starboard side dismounted or in some way disabled. I lost several of my little command, & at length, being told, on application, that I could not have any more men & finding that both guns could not be managed without another hand, I laid hold myself. Capt. Perry observing this ordered all the officers to work at the guns. The Niagara, all this time, was a long way astern of the Caledonia & the Gunboats, Somers, Trippe, Tigress & Porcupine a considerable distance in line, astern of her. It is the general opinion of the officers that, during the time I speak of, we did not receive the least support from them. Our fire at length almost ceased. The Niagara then making sail came by us to windward & Capt. Perry ordering Mr. [John] Yarnell to act as he might think best after he should see him alongside, repaired on board of her. The enemy saw this movement & fired on him. As he mounted the side of the vessel (as he informed me) Capt. [Jesse Duncan] Elliott enquired how the day was going—to which he replied, badly—that he had lost most of his men & that his ship was cut to pieces & asked what the gunboats were doing so far astern? Capt. Elliott offered to go and bring them up & Capt. Perry consenting, he sprang into Capt. Perry’s boat & went off on that duty. Capt. Perry (as he told me) found the Niagara in perfect order—uninjured in any way. From that moment, said he, I was confident of victory. To break their line he ran ahead of their two ships, giving them a raking fire as he passed, with his starboard guns, &, to a large schooner and brig with his larboard side at half-pistol shot distance; the Caledonia, Ariel & Scorpion supporting him. The other gunboats also came into action just before four of the enemy struck & two made off. The Scorpion & Trippe chased and captured them so that not a man escaped to tell the sad story to their countrymen who witnessed the action from the shore but at too great a distance to know who was victorious.
This severe action which lasted nearly four hours took place off the Western Sister Island, eighteen miles below Malden and about eight miles from the Main Land. Before the battle commenced Captain Perry gave me directions how to act in case of his death, took a hasty look at his Wife’s letters, which with other private papers he destroyed and enclosed those of a public nature in sheet lead, thus preparing for the worst that might happen, observing to me “This is the most important day of my life.” Lieutenant [John] Brooks applied to me as he had done before to attend to his affairs in the event of his fall, which took place early in the action. His right thigh was shot off and his agony was so great that he begged the Commodore to shoot him. He lived about two hours. Another excellent officer, who, I am glad to say, survived, also applied to me to look after his affairs and hoped that if he should be killed that Commodore Perry and myself would endeavor to get something done for his wife & children. Soon after the Commodore reached the Niagara, the Lawrence struck. This was mortifying but absolutely necessary. Before the close of the action she rehoisted her colours. About two o’clock I had my left shoulder blade broke by something from aloft which struck me down, tore the clothes from my back, and bruised me dreadfully.8
After the action was over, Captain Perry returned to his own ship where he was greeted with three cheers. Soon after an Army officer, in full uniform, arrived on board and offered the sword of Commodore [Robert H.] Barclay, which was declined with a compliment.
The two fleets were brought to anchor and after securing the Prisoners all hands were turned to repair damages. The weather continued moderate. We got underweigh before day and got safely into Put-in-Bay about nine o’clock next morning. The officers who fell on both sides were next morning, Sunday, buried with military honours on South Bass Island. Lieutenant Brooks, of the Marines, and Midshipmen Henry Laub & John Clark on our part, — on the part of the Enemy, Captain [R. A.] Finnis of the Queen Charlotte, and his Marine officer, and the first Lieutenant of the Detroit. These are all that I now recollect. There may have been more.
Commodore Barclay received two wounds. The last in his right shoulder which disabled him in the only arm he had. The Commander of the Lady Prevost, Lieut. [Edward] Buchan was badly wounded in the head by a musket ball, and the commander of the Hunter, Lieut. [G.] Bignell was shot through one of his shoulders. Mr. Hoffmeister, Purser, lost a leg, and other officers, not recollected, were more or less injured.
The loss of the enemy could not be ascertained as they threw over their dead before we took possession of their vessels. On numbering the enemy’s guns we found them to exceed ours by nine—we having 54—they 63—but our metal was heavier though we had fewer long guns. The British seem to have resorted to the same shifts as ourselves: they had on board many soldiers and some Landsmen, but they acknowledge the receipt of sixty Seamen just before they came out. They had also the crews of the Queen Charlotte, the Hunter, Lady Prevost, and two Gun Boats which having been long on board were probably good Lake Sailors.
Our force consisted principally of all the refuse of Commodore [Isaac] Chauncey’s fleet, with at most one hundred able Seamen, one hundred & thirty soldiers furnished by General Harrison, and about sixty Militia men who had entered for four months. Most of our marines also were enlisted at Erie out of the Militia & therefore little better. Our men were worn down by disease while those of the enemy were in good health. Under all these circumstances, with the want of support in the greater part of the action, our success was great.
The Lawrence was a wreck—her rigging cut to pieces by shot—every shroud bowline and even the signal haulyards were cut in two—her masts and spars all wounded & several hundred shot holes were counted in her spanker.
The wounded were below where Midn. [Henry] Laub and a Seaman were killed by shot which passed through the Ship. Midn. [Alex] Claxton, a gallant youth, excited general commiseration. His left shoulder being shot away, he lay on the ward room floor in great pain, but exceedingly anxious for the fate of the day. When he heard that the ship had struck, he burst into tears. He died soon after our arrival at this place.
Commodore Perry expressed his satisfaction with the conduct of his officers and men. The most perfect order was preserved during the whole battle. His own conduct was composed, dignified and decided. He came to me once [during the battle] & pointed one of my guns—elevating it, aiming at the spars instead of the hull.9
Because of his serious wound, Hambleton was sent back to the base at Erie immediately after the engagement. Not until the middle of November, more than two months later, was he removed from the disabled list. Upon resuming his normal duties as purser, Hambleton wrote repeatedly to Perry, now back in Newport, requesting that he be relieved. The dismal winter environment, lack of discipline, and intrigues wore on him heavily.10 Finally, on 17 February 1814, he received orders from the Secretary of the Navy to return to Washington.
There, Hambleton took charge of the intricate business of the prize money resulting from the Erie victory. Working closely with the Secretary of the Navy and Congress, he worked out a scheme for the disbursement of the $255,000. In early June, he left for Erie with $100,000 in banknotes to pay off the fleet; he completed his task by July. Returning to Georgetown, Hambleton became involved in the exciting events surrounding the British sack of Washington and the attempted conquest of Baltimore. He was commissioned as a purser to Commodore Rodgers who aided in the defense of Baltimore. Afterward Hambleton took a much-needed rest.
For a while, the purser took pleasure in his activities ashore. He speculated successfully in tobacco and bank stock, but mostly enjoyed the leisure at his residence “Perry Cabin”—which he had named in honor of Commodore Perry—in Talbot county.11 However, Hambleton could not enjoy such inactivity for any extended length of time. By the end of September 1816, he again yearned for the service. Writing to Perry, who was now cruising in the Mediterranean, Hambleton reflected that he was “becoming heartedly tired of idleness.” He longed “. . . for a return of those busy and anxious days that I once experienced, I might almost say enjoyed, in New Orleans and on the Bank of Lake Erie, where there was something to stir the blood, which now courses through my veins with a current so sluggish as to threaten a total stagnation.”12
Hambleton experienced difficulty in obtaining a satisfactory post and as a result often threatened resignation from the service. He was not able to return to sea until late 1819. From then until the mid-1840s, he served in such vessels as the Columbus, the Congress, and, appropriately, the Erie, which toured the Mediterranean and Carribbean. He was also stationed at Pensacola in the late 1820s and at the Philadelphia Navy Yard at the end of his career. The last few years of his life he lived in retirement on his farm in Talbot county, although his name remained on the active lists. He died on that farm in 1851.
1. Thomas Clark, Naval History of the United States from the Commencement of the Revolutionary War to the Present Time (Philadelphia: M. Carey, 1814), Volume I, pp. 219–222.
2 .The article’s biographical account of Hambleton is based primarily on his journal, a copy of which is now located at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore and known as the Hambleton Diary, MS. 983. This journal covers the years 1813 to 1832. Other helpful sources have been the Hambleton Family Papers, MS. 2021, also at the Maryland Historical Society, a letterbook of Hambleton’s which extends from 1806 to 1811 at the Historical Society of Talbot County in Easton, Maryland (this is also available on microfilm at the Hall of Records in Annapolis, Maryland), and the Perry Papers at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan. There are also original materials related to Hambleton in the Porter Family Papers, David Dixon Porter Papers, and John Shaw Papers, all at the Library of Congress. The only published sketches of Samuel Hambleton appear in Oswald Tilghman, History of Talbot County Maryland, 1661–1861 (Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1915), Volume I, pp. 455–476; and They Helped Make a Great America: Brief Biographies of Six Distinguished Talbot Countians (Easton: Easton Publishing Co., 1966), pp. 16–19. Charles Judson Dutton, in his Oliver Hazard Perry (New York: Green, 1953), makes a number of references to Hambleton.
3. Perry was then commanding the gunboats Norwich and Westerly.
4. Mackenzie’s Life of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was published in 1841 and his Life of Stephen Decatur in 1846. For a brief introduction to Mackenzie, see the Dictionary of American Biography, Volume XII, pp. 90–91. Samuel Hambleton letters to Mackenzie, 29 August 1840 and 16 October 1843, filed at the Clements Library.
5. John Needles Hambleton, entered the Navy in 1819 as a chaplain and five years later became a purser. He served until 1861 when he was placed on the retired list. During the Civil War, he worked on special duty and after the war was a member of the Board of Visitors of the Naval Academy. He died in 1870. There are a number of letters from him to his sister Louisa in the 1820s and 1830s in the Hambleton Family Papers, MS. 2021.
6. “Biographical Annals No. III,” pp. 66–67, Harrison Collection, MS. 432, Maryland Historical Society.
7. This particular portion of the journal had been given to Dr. Samuel A. Harrison by Samuel’s sister, Louisa, on 22 December 1870.
8. In a letter to his mother, Samuel described the wound in more detail: “I had just assisted in hauling out my Gun when a cannon Ball whose way appears to have been deadened by something aloft descended on my left shoulder, just grazing it behind. It broke my shoulder Blade and bruised me most shockingly. It cut all my clothes off my shoulder down to my waist. . . . It struck me down on my back as if it had been a flash of Lightening.” Samuel Hambleton to Mrs. William Hambleton, 30 September 1813, Hambleton Family Papers, MS. 2021.
9. Hambleton’s account concludes with three rough sketches of the position of the two fleets during the entire course of the battle. He states that they were supplied by Lieutenant Daniel Turner and “serve to elucidate my imperfect description.”
10. The most distressing aspect for Hambleton was the controversy that developed over Captain Elliott’s role in the battle. Elliott wanted part of the credit for the victory, although he deserved little. Soon he even claimed full responsibility for the victory, suggesting among numerous other things, that Perry had allowed the American flag “for the first time since the declaration of War [to have] been disgraced. . . .” Samuel Hambleton to Oliver Hazard Perry, 2 December 1813, Perry Papers, Clements Library. Hambleton summed up his opinion of Elliott by noting in his journal “. . . that he has acted towards Commodore Perry in the most ungenerous and ungrateful manner.”
11. Perhaps you may recollect to have heard me speak of a pretty little Farm I have in Talbot County on the Banks of Miles River. I have given directions to have this little seat, where I purpose to spend the evening of my life, [named] Perry-Hall [it became known as Perry Cabin.] Who knows but you may, one day or other, eat Terrapins & Oysters there?” Samuel Hambleton to Oliver Hazard Perry, 11 December 1813, Perry Papers.
12. Samuel Hambleton to Perry, 24 September 1816, Perry Papers.