Things You Didn't Know About Oliver Hazard Perry-- Part 5: 'Don't Give Up the Ship'

Perry is known for his "Don't Give Up the Ship" flag, which serves even to this day as a rallying cry for the U.S. Navy.

As a tribute to his dying friend Captain James Lawrence of the USS Chesapeake, killed in a June  1813 battle in Boston Harbor.  Lawrence had issued a plea to his crew during his clash with the HMS Shannon as he lay dying.  (Sadly, they did surrender.)

Perry had a group of women in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was building his fleet.  The flag became a symbol of victory and perseverance when it flew over Perry's flagship, the USS Lawrence, at the Battle of Lake Erie.  When his ship was so battered that it could no longer fight, Perry transferred himself and that flag to the USS Niagara, continued the fight and won dramatically.

--Brock-Perry  (The Perry in my signoff is for Oliver Hazard Perry.)

Things You Didn't Know About Oliver Hazard Perry-- Part 4: 'Perry's Luck'

6.  Known for his leadership skills and abilities to raise  a crew of inexperienced sailors, Perry instilled discipline in his men that is part of his Navy legacy even today.

In addition to seafaring skills, he had the ability to pick the right men for the right job and to turn a group of novices into crews of sailors.  When Perry first arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1812,   he was unfamiliar with the area and additionally was tasked with training men, most of whom had no knowledge of ships.

He was firm in his discipline.  There is frequent references to "Perry's Luck" as this approach and an orderly mind proved to be successful throughout his career.

--Brock-Perry

Things You Didn't Know About Oliver Hazard Perry-- Part 2: A Builder

3.  Perry was promoted to Master Commandant in the Navy at age 28.  After being a midshipman, he returned to Rhode Island and supervised the construction of a flotilla of small gunboats.  In March 1812, he achieved the high rank of Master Commandant, something few as young as he achieved.

4.  In 1813, he was given command of naval forces on the Great Lakes and appointed to supervise the construction of an American fleet on Lake Erie.  His headquarters were at what is today Erie, Pennsylvania.  When he arrived, there were no American ships and the British already had eight ships.

Despite the fact that he had no nearby resources other than trees, in short order he had nine vessels with the 490 ton brigs Lawrence and Niagara being the largest.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie: Perry's Monument-- Part 2: The British Fleet is Sighted

The monument's construction started in 1915, the centennial of the War of 1812's conclusion, with the intention of honoring the brave souls who battled at the site 102 years prior.

The titular "Perry" is famed  U.S. naval officer Oliver Hazard Perry, who, in February 1813, was sent to Erie, Pennsylvania, to complete the building of an American squadron that could hold its own against the powerful British Royal Navy in the Great Lakes region during the War of 1812.  By early fall, his fleet was ready to engage.

On the morning of September 10, 1813, a lookout aboard one of the American ships spotted six British vessels to the northwest of Put-in-Bay, beyond Rattlesnake Island.  Word spread quickly to Master Commandant Perry who issued orders to cobfront the British ships.

--Brock-Perry

Minding Your 'P's' and 'Q's'-- Part 1: (Admiral Perry?)

Jan. 27, 2021, WBRZ Channel 2 ABC, Pat Shingleton: "P's and Q's "

Near our home in Ellwood City, Pa.,  are roads that  would have been identified as routes of transport during the Revolutionary War.  The roads connected Pittsburgh to Erie where Admiral Perr's Fleet  was located during the War of 1812.  (Well, not actually admiral.)

There are many locations such as Rachael's Road Road House near Grove City that displays a house that George Washington visited.

In those early days, local taverns and public houses or pubs provided lodging, food or drink from inclement weather.  Libations were originally  a convenient means for  combating the winter chill and a "wee-nip" could break the bone-chilling cold.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin's Post War Service-- Part 5: Quite Famous

In 1843, the USS Michigan, which was the first ironclad warship to sail on the Great Lakes, was launched at Erie, Pennsylvania.  She was 168 feet in length with a beam width of 69 feet, a ten foot draft and 600 ton displacement.  Her first commander was William Inman.

On November 4, 1845, Stephen Champlin succeeded him as commander and served in that capacity until until March 31, 1848, when he was replaced by James M. McIntosh (I could not find mention of him).

After retiring from the Navy, he resided in Buffalo, New York.  In 1842 he was spoken of as a possible candidate for the office of Buffalo mayor but declined the nomination.  At the time of his death, he was the last surviving officer of the Battle of Lake Erie.  His funeral eulogy was delivered by New York Governor Clinton.

Then a few months after his death, Gov. Clinton delivered a rather lengthy address to the Buffalo Historical Society on the life and career of Stephen Champlin.

--Brock-PerryChamplin

Stephen Champlin's Post War Service-- Part 2: Five Operations for His Wound

His wife, Minerva Lydia Pomeroy was born June 28, 1798 and died June 8, 1859.  They had eight children.  Of interest, the first one born in 1818 was named Oliver Hazard Perry Champlin.  I have found nothing about him following his father's footsteps into the U.S. Navy.

In the spring of 1818, Stephen Chaplin was compelled to undergo further surgery on his leg to remove bone fragments.  He was then detached from the naval station at Erie and allowed because of his health to return to Connecticut. until November 1828.

In November 1828 he was put briefly in command of the steamer USS Fulton at New York, and served as her captain until December 30th at which time  it was decided that his leg made him unfit for such duties (as he had undergone  three more operations).  He returned to Connecticut, remaining there until  1834 when he returned to  Buffalo.

Considering where surgery stood in this period of time, he was risking his life each time and in great pain.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin's Postwar Career-- Part 1

After his capture, the British paroled him figuring that his wounds would be mortal.  He went back home to Connecticut where he recovered from the wounds.  On March 28, 1815, he was ordered to join Perry's fleet which was heading to the Mediterranean to battle the Barbary Pirates off the coast of Algeria and Tunisia.

In the fall of 1815, in consideration of his wounds, he was ordered to  to return to Erie in the spring of 1816. There he underwent a difficult operation to remove the many splinters of shattered bone that remained in his leg.

From 1816-1818, he commanded the USS  Porcupine surveying the Canadian-American border along the upper Great Lakes.  Upon his return to Erie, he was beached in a strong gale at Buffalo.  During his enforced stay in Buffalo, he met and courted Minerva  Lydia Pomeroy whom he married there  on January 9, 1817.

She was a Buffalo socialite of the city. She and Stephen had eight children.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 10: The Fleet Underway, But No Battle

"To gain time in this emergency, Commodore Perry ordered the Ariel, Lieutenant Packet, and the Scorpion, commanded by myself, to get under weigh and stand out  toward the enemy, and annoy them at long shot.  We dashed directly at them.  Upon seeing the boldness  with which they were approached,  they changed their course and stood toward Long Point.

"Late in the afternoon we were recalled.  Every officer and man in the fleet was engaged all night in getting the fleet ready for action.  At 3 a.m., the signal was made to get under weigh, and at daylight the whole squadron was in motion.   Although, for three days, neither officers nor men had had any sleep, except such that could be snatched upon deck, the greatest anxiety was manifested to pursue the enemy.

"After a cruise of 24 hours off Long Point, without getting sight of the enemy, the fleet returned to Erie for the purpose of taking in supplies for the Army under General Harrison."

A Near Fight Early On.  --Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 9: Getting Over the Bar

"At daylight on the 1st of August, the Scorpion, under my command, with some of the  other small vessels by lightering and warping were got over,  The Niagara and one of the small vessels were then placed as near the bar as possible to protect the others while on it.

"A few guns were left upon the Lawrence, to enable her to make some defense in case of an attack.    With all the exertion we could make, we were nearly two days in getting the Lawrence over, and had we then been attacked, the issue must have been most disastrous.

"Indeed, while she was still on the bar, we discovered the enemy standing in  with a leading breeze, but by renewed and most unparalleled exertions, the Lawrence was got into deep water at 8 or 10 a.m. and at 12 m, her guns were aboard, and she was ready for action.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 8: His Account of Oliver Hazard Perry

In 1840, the Rhode Island Historical Society asked Champlin to write about Oliver Hazard Perry's building of his Lake Erie fleet and his victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.  He replied that he could and based his recollections on a journal that he kept at the time.

"Persuant to orders,  I arrived at Erie, Pennsylvania, the station of the United States fleet on Lake Erie, July 24, 1813, with a draft of 70 men and boys of the most ordinary kind and nearly all new hands.  By the almost incredible exertions of the few officers and men upon that station, the vessels composing our little fleet were nearly ready for service.

"Upon my arrival with recruits, Commodore Perry commenced operations for crossing the bar upon which there was  only four feet of water (*).  The enemy's fleet at the same time, lay off the harbor, with the intention to cut off all supplies from our squadron.

"A small battery with two or three 12-pounders was therefore erected so as to command the entrance to the harbor as well as to command the entrance the entrance to the harbor as well as to give protection to the vessels that should first cross the bar."

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 7: Fired First and Last Shots at Battle of Lake Erie

Champlin's force marched from Sackets Harbor  that evening.  At Schlosser, he chartered a two masted boat and  went up the river by rowing with barge poles to Buffalo.  There the group took on arms before continuing on to Oliver Hazard Perry at Erie, Pennsylvania, arriving there on July 24, 1813.  This was a full ten days earlier than another group which had left Sackets Harbor two hours before Champlin.

On July 25, he was ordered to fit out and take command of the USS Scorpion.

As second in command to Perry at Erie, Champlin participated in expeditions against Fort George and Fort York (Toronto) aboard the USS Asp.  Later in command of the two gun schooner USS Scorpion, Champlin led the attack on the British fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 13, 1813.

He is credited with firing the first shot of the battle which effectively ended British control of the Great Lakes.  And, in capturing the HMS Little Belt he also fired the last shots.

--Brock-Perry

Stephen Champlin-- Part 6: At York and Fort George

Stephen Champlin was appointed to the rank of sailing master on May 22, 1812; lieutenant on December 9, 1814; commander on June 22, 1838; captain on August 4, 1840 and commodore on April 4, 1867.

He was sent by Perry to the Great Lakes in 1813, in advance of Perry's main force.  Champlin left with 42 men and 2 officers and traveled by land from Albany, N.Y. to Sacketts Harbor on Lake Erie.  During the winter, he and his men fitted out the schooner Asp in preparation for an attack on Little York (Toronto) during which he was second in command.

After York, he took part in the Battle of Fort George.

After this, Perry ordered Champlin to Boston to try to secure men from the Bainbridge.  Upon return to Sackets Harbor, Chauncey asked him to go to Utica, NY, and collect a $36,000 draft and pay Mr. Van Rensselaer and return with the balance.

Two days after returning to Sackets Harbor, Chauncey ordered him to report to Perry with 3 officers and 71 men at Erie, Pennsylvania.

--Busy Guy.  --Brock-Perry

HMS/USS Detroit-- Part 2: Essentially a Hulk After the Battle of Lake Erie

It was classified as a corvette and was originally planned for twenty 24-pdr. carronades but those cannons were captured when the Americans attacked York, Upper Canada.  As a result, the HMS Detroit was armed with an assortment of guns, some taken from British Fort Amherstburg.

Many of these were long guns, which could fire further than carronades, but were lighter shot.  This made an initial big difference in the Battle of Lake Erie.

After their capture at the battle, the badly damaged Detroit and HMS Queen Charlotte were used as hospital ships.  A gale struck a few days later, further damaging the ships.  After the wounded were taken off, the two British ships were essentially nothing more than hulks.


They were taken to Put-In-Bay to prevent sinking.  In May 1814, the USS Ohio assisted in fitting out the two ships at Put-In-Bay and then convoyed them to Erie, Pennsylvania where they were laid up until sold in 1825.

--Brock-Perry

USS Tigress-- Part 1: At the Battle of Lake Erie

I've been writing about Stephen Champlin in the past several posts and he later commanded this ship.

From Wikipedia.

Schooner at the Battle of Lake Erie on the American side.  In September 1814, it was captured by the British, taken into their service and renamed the HMS Surprise.

Commissioned in 1813 and built in Erie, Pennsylvania, by Adam and Noah Brown. It was 50 feet long ans had a 17 foot beam, crew of 27 and mounted one 32-pounder gun.  Originally named Amelia, but renamed USS Tigress.

Commanded by Lt. Augustus H,M. Conkling at the Battle of Lake Erie 10 September 1813.

--Vrock-Perry

The Marines in the War of 1812-- Part 1: Sackets Harbor

From Wikipedia.

The first land action of the Marines in the War of 1812 was the establishment of an advanced base at Sackets Harbor, New York, by 63 Marines.  This gave the Navy a base on the shores of Lake Ontario.  Sackets Harbor later became the headquarters of the Navy for all action on the Great Lakes..

Marines helped defeat two British attacks on Sackets Harbor (the First and Second Battles of Sackets Harbor.

They later also established a base at Erie, Pennsylvania, where Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie was built.

--Brock-Perry

USS Niagara-- Part 4: Raised Again in 1913 For Centennial of Battle of Lake Erie

For the centennial of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1913, the Niagara was again raised in April 1913.  It was found to be in good enough condition to be rebuilt.  But that was made difficult because of a lack of the original plans.

The restored USS Niagara was launched 7 June with a new bowsprit, rigging and reproduction cannons.

From mid-July to mid-September of that year, the Niagara was towed to various Great Lakes ports, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland.  The USS Wolverine, the Navy's first iron-hulled warship towed it.

Ownership of the ship was transferred to the City of Erie in 1917.

It was docked and allowed to deteriorate.

--Brock-Perry

USS Niagara-- Part 3: Sunk, Raised and Sunk Again

The USS Niagara was built by Daniel Dobbins, who also built the USS Porcupine.  In September 1812, he traveled to Washington, D.C. to warn the government about the vulnerability of the Great Lakes.  On 15 September he was authorized to build 4 gunboats for the protection of Lake Erie

The construction of these four ships was largely overseen by Noah Brown, a noted naval architect.

After the war, the Queen Charlotte, Detroit and Lawrence were sunk for their preservation in Misery Bay by Presque Isle.  The Niagara was kept afloat to be used as a receiving ship.  It was sunk in 1820 when the naval station at Presque Isle closed.

Benjamin H. Brown of Rochester, New York, bought all four ships in 1825 and then he sold them to George Miles of Erie, Pennsylvania who raised them to use as merchant ships, but he found the Niagara and Lawrence had holds that were too small and they were in such bad shape that he allowed them to sink again..

--Brock-Perry

USS Niagara (1813)-- Part 1: Second Flagship of Perry at the Battle

From Wikipedia.

Snow brig, square rigged vessel, wooden hulled, with two masts.  A snow-brig has a snow or try-sail mast located behind the main mast.

It was the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie after his USS Lawrence was too smashed to continue fighting.  It is certified for sail training by the U.S. Coast Guard and as such is the SSV Niagara.  It is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania.  It often travels the Great Lakes during summers.

It was constructed 1812-1813 to protect  the vulnerable American shore of Lake Erie and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Lake Erie.

--Brock-Perry

Another William Himrod War of 1812 Veteran

From Expedition Erie (Pennsylvania).

WILLIAM HIMROD--  WAR OF 1812 VETERAN--  ABOLITIONIST

May 19, 1791- June 21, 1873.

It is unclear whether the General William Himrod and this man were related/

Born in Turbotville, Pennsylvania and came to Erie in 1810.  Was a carpenter and joiner until 1840.

During the War of 1812 he was a private in Captain McGuire's Company of Pennsylvania State Militia for 35 days October-November 1812.

He bought land in Erie, Pennsylvania, and named it New Jerusalem and offered plots to "newly freed blacks and destitute whites" for the opportunity to own their own homestead.  He taught Sunday School to blacks and provided them with Bible Study.

William Himrod was also a pioneer in Erie's iron industry.

--Brock-Perry