Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 4: 'Don't Give Up the Ship'

At 7:00 am, Perry ordered his two largest ships, the USS Niagara and the USS Lawrence, to set full sail and proceed directly toward the British line.  But the Great  Lakes' notorious winds put up a long resistance.  Despite Perry's wishes, the wind wouldn't back his ships.  

Nonetheless, at 10:00, just as he was readying to steer his ships away, the tricky wind suddenly shifted, situating itself directly behind the Americans.

Commanding the British vessels was Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, an experienced Royal Navy officer from Scotland, who ordered his ships to go with the wind, taking the British vessels into battle.

The British ship HMS Detroit crippled the American flagship USS Lawrence, forcing Perry to transfer his men to the USS Niagara.  He made sure to bring his battle flag --  emblazoned with the words "Don't Give Up the Ship," the dying words of his friend James Lawrence, who had been killed earlier in the war.

--Brock-Perry

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 3: The Battle of Lake Erie

Since August 1812, with the fall of Detroit, the British Royal Navy had controlled Lake Erie.  But, with Perry's new fleet, the British were in store for a reckoning.  

In July 1813, the British abandoned  the Great Lakes due to the new American threat, poor weather conditions and a shortage of supplies, as Perry's fleet had severed the critical British supply route from Fort Malden to Port Dover.  So, now the Royal Navy set out to break through Perry's line.

While the British squadron was composed of six ships, mounting 63 cannons, the Americans could counter with a fleet of nine vessels and 54 guns.

The British had the numbers when it came to long range cannons, while the Americans had the advantage in shorter range guns, carronades.

Perry definitely had to rely and pray on the wind to help him get up closer to the British ships to exploit his short range advantage.

--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

Standing Tall on Lake Erie-- Part 1: Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

From the Summer Hallowed Ground Magazine, American Battlefield Trust.

Just five miles south of the Canadian border, on an isthmus near downtown Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, stands a 352-foot-tall monument towering over the town and lake.  Free-standing, Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial is the world's tallest Doric column -- a plain, thick column that is a common sight at federal buildings throughout D.C..

The monument stands 47 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty when measuring  the New York Harbor landmark from the ground to the tip of Liberty's torch.

It is indeed a striking sight, usually simply referred to as Perry's Monument.  It is also the only international peace memorial overseen by the National Park Service.

However, it is so much more than these pieces of trivia.

--Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty Tricks' The British Pulled at Detroit-- Part 3: What About the Indians?

3.  BROCK PLAYED ON THE AMERICAN FEAR OF INDIANS

The British-Canadian  force opposing the Americans at Fort Detroit had an additional 600 native warriers under their leader Tecumseh.  Captured dispatches from the fort showed  that the Americans were alarmed by that large number of natives.  

Furthermore, Brock sent a message that he allowed to be intercepted saying that his food reserves were running low because he had 5,000 Indians with him.  The Americans then believed that he had 5,000 Indians in addition to his force.

So, when Brock sent a surrender demand to William Hull, he played up the Indian strength and further frightened the Americans saying:  "It is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware, that the numerous Indians who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond ontrol the moment the contest commences."

From my readings on the Detroit surrender, it would seem that the main person worried about the Indians was William Hull, but he was the one with thea authority to fight or surrender, and we know what he did.

--Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty Tricks' the British Used on Americans at Detroit in 1812

2.  THEY TRIED TO LOOK LIKE THEY HAD MORE SOLDIERS

To add to the illusion that the Americans were facing more enemy troops than they actually were, Isaac Brock had his men create individual campfires instead of one per unit.  It's a very old trick, used often in major battles throughout history.

Plus, the Canadian militia would march across the American field of view, then duck under their defenses, then run back to the end of the line, reform and march past again.  They did this as they  were going to camp meals as well, picking up rations, then marching out of sight, dumping their food and repeating the same action.

Sneaky, Very Sneaky Guy, You Know.  --Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty' Tricks the British Used on Hull at Detroit-- Part 2: Hull Court-Martialed

They also got the arms and weapons the Americans had in Fort Detroit.  And because of the stunning victory, Indian ally Tecumseh was able to rally even more Indians to his anti-American side and Brock was then able to thtreaten upstate New York.

William Hull was court-martialed and sentenced to death for the surrender, but the sentence was commuted by President James Madison.

Here are the three "dirty" tactics British General Isaac Brock used to cower Revolutionary War veteran William Hull:

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1.  THEY USED OLD BRITISH UNIFORMS

The total number of  British forces attacking Fort Detroit was around 1,330 and the bulk of Brock's forces were militia members, not the vaunted British regulars that might make the Americans think twice about attacking (or even defending).

He did have some 300 British regulars, but not enough to get the psychological  effect he wanted, so he used old, cast-off coats of regulars.  He dressed his Essex militiamen in as many red British uniforms as he could find.  This made it appear to the Americans that he had more regulars than he actually did.

--Brock-Perry

Three 'Dirty' Tricks the British Used on Americans at Detroit in 1812

From the June 15, 2022 We Are the Mighty "3 dirty tricks Canada used to gain control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812."

Chief among American  embarrassing moments from the War of 1812 was General William Hull's surrender of Fort Detroit in Michigan to a numerically smaller British force.

The British, led by  Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock (the Brock in my signoff Brock-Perry for each blog entry) used a massive deception ploy to scare Hull into surrendering without firing a shot.  Hull infamously  complied with Brock's surrender demand despite having more troops and a fortified position.

Having taken Fort Detroit (site of present-day Detroit) and having the superior naval force on the Great Lakes meant the British had  control of Upper Canada (today's Ontario), the Great Lakes and the Michigan Territory for part of the war.

--Brock-Perry

About That Controversial Third Verse of the 'Star-Spangled Banner'

From the June 12, 2022, Twisted Sifter.

You've heard the "Star-Spangled Banner" countless times in your life.  It was written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as a poem after he witnessed the U.S. flag flying high and proud over Baltimore's Fort McHenry after a long night of bombardment in the War of 1812.

But, we only hear the first of three verses and some folks today have a real problem with one part of the third verse.  Who was Key talking about when he wrote:  "Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.  No refuge could save the hireling and slave from terror of flight  or the gloom of the grave."?

According to the Library of Congress, Key could have been talking about how the British recruited escaped slaves to fight Americans in the war and Key could have seen them as enemies just like British soldiers.

It should be noted that Key was a lawyer and later in life helped slaves fight for their freedom.  (He also owned slaves.)

--Brock-Perry

Anne-Louis Toussard-- Part 4

After being named  inspector of U.S. artillery in 1800, Toussard became commander of the  Second Artillery Regiment in January 1801.

Incredibly, when West Point was finished on  1802, President Thomas Jefferson passed over Toussard for its first superintendent because he was French.

Toussard resigned his commission in  March 1802, and returned to France and rejoining the French Army as a battalion commander in GeneralVictor Leclerc's failed attempt to conquer Haiti.

He served as French consul in the United States from 1805-1816.

In 1816, he returned to France where he died in Paris 10 April 1817.

--Brock-Perry

Anne Louis Toussard-- Part 3: Impact on American Artillery, Forts, West Point and DuPont Gunpowder

Again, I have seen Toussard's name spelled with just one "s" and also with two of them.  I am using the double "s" spelling.

In April 1795, President Washington appointed Toussard  a major in the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers, beginning a period during which he had  enormous influence on the American military.  After supervising the construction of several significant fortifications, he restructured the U.S. artillery service on the French model, bringing uniformity to its use of cannons.

In 1798, he laid out the plans for what would become the  Military Academy at West Point.

Also, his "American Artillerists Companion" (1809) became the standard text for artillery instruction.  Along the way,  he aided Eleuthere Irenee du Pont in establishing gunpowder  mills in Delaware, which would prove vital to American interests.

Again, I don't know how I never came across his name before his letter about the Hurricane of 1812.  

An Important Person in American History.  Sadly, One Who Is Not Known. --Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Brownstown, USS Constitution, Battle of Fallen Timbers, Bladensburg and D.C.

From the American Battlefield Trust 2022 calendar.

AUGUST 5, 1812

**  Skirmish near Brownstown, Michigan

AUGUST19, 1812

**  The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere

AUGUST 20, 1794

General Anthony Wayne defeats a Native American confederation at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, paving the way for the settlement of Ohio.

AUGUST 24, 1814

**  Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland

AUGUST 24, 1814

**  Burning of Washington, D.C.

--Brock-Perry