the mother country, without obtaining any credit for it. The hardy frontier men of the American lakes are as able to endure fatigue, as ready to engage, and as constant in battle, as the seamen of any marine in the world. They merely require good leaders, and these the English appear to have possessed in Captain Barclay and his assistants. "Captain Perry, in his report of the action, eulogised the conduct of his second in command, Captain Elliott, that of Mr. Turner, who commanded the Caledonia, and that of the officers of his own vessel. He also commended the officers of the Niagara, Mr. Packett of the Ariel, and Mr. Champlin of the Scorpion. It is now believed that the omission of the names of the commanders of the gun-vessels astern, was accidental. It would seem that these vessels, in general, were conducted with great gallantry. Towards the close of the action, indeed, the Caledonia, and some of the gun-vessels would appear to have been handled with a boldness, considering their total want of quarters, bordering on temerity. They are known to have been within hail of the enemy at the moment he struck, and to have been hailed by him. The grape and canister thrown by the Niagara and the schooners, during the last ten minutes of the battle, and which missed the enemy, rattled through the spars of the friendly vessels, as they laid opposite to each other, raking the English ahead and astern. "Captain Perry was criticised, at the time, for the manner in which he had brought his squadrons into action, it being thought he should have waited until his line was more compactly formed, and his small vessels could have closed. It has been said, that an officer seldom went into action worse, or got out of it better.' Truth is too often made the sacrifice of antithesis. The mode of attack appears to have been deemed by the enemy judicious, an opinion that speaks in its favour. The lightness of the wind, in edging down, was the only circumstance that was particularly adverse to the American vessels, but its total failure could not have been foreseen. The shortness of the distances on the lake rendered escape so easy, when an officer was disposed to avoid a battle, that no commander, who desired an action, would have been pardonable for permitting a delay on such a plea. The line of battle was highly judicious, the manner in which the Lawrence was supported by the Ariel and Scorpion being simple and ingenious. By steering for the head of the enemy's line, the latter was prevented from gaining the wind by tacking, and when Captain Elliott imitated this manœuvre in the Niagara, the American squadron had a very commanding position, of which Captain Perry promptly availed himself. In a word, the American commander appears to have laid his plan with skill and judgment, and, in all in which it was frustrated, it would seem to have been the effect of accident. There has never been but one opinion of the manner in which he redeemed his error, even admitting that a fault was made at the outset; the united movements of the Niagara and of the small vessels at the close of the action, having been as judicious as they were gallant and decisive. The personal deportment of Captain Perry, throughout the day, was worthy of all praise. He did not quit his own vessel, when she became useless, to retire from the battle, but to gain it; an end that was fully obtained, and which resulted in a triumph. A popular opinion, which is too apt to confound distinctions in such matters, usually attaches the idea of more gallantry to the mere act of passing in a boat from one vessel to another, during an action, than in fighting on a vessel's deck. This was the least of Perry's merits. Captain Elliott was much longer in the same boat, and passed nearly through the whole line twice; and Mr. M'Grath had left the Niagara for one of the other vessels, in quest of shot, before Captain Perry quitted the Lawrence. A boat also passed twice, if not three times, from the Caledonia to the Trippe in the height of the engagement, and others, quite likely, were sent from vessel to vessel. Captain Perry's merit was an indomitable resolution not to be conquered, and the manner in which he sought new modes of victory, when the old ones failed him. The position taken by the Niagara, at the close of the affair, the fact that he sought the best means of repairing his loss, and the motive with which he passed from vessel to vessel, constitute his claims to admiration. There was, no doubt, a personal risk in all the boats, but there was personal risk everywhere on such an occasion. "The British vessels appear to have been gallantly fought, and were surrendered only when the battle was hopelessly lost. The fall of their different commanders was materially against them, though it is not probable the day could have been recovered after the Niagara gained the head of their line and the gun-vessels had closed. If the enemy made an error, it was in not tacking when he attempted to wear, but it is quite probable that the condition of his vessels did not admit of the former manœuvre. There was an instant when the enemy believed himself the conqueror, and a few minutes even, when the Americans doubted, though they never despaired; but a moment sufficed to change their feelings, teaching the successful the fickleness of fortune, and admonishing the depressed of the virtue of perseverance. "For his conduct in this battle, Captain Perry received a gold medal from Congress. Captain Elliott also received a gold medal. Rewards were bestowed on the officers and men generally, and the nation has long considered this action one of its proudest achievements on the water. "The results of the victory were instantaneous and of high importance. The four smallest of the prizes were fitted as transports, and, the Lawrence excepted, the American squadron was employed in the same duty. The English had evacuated Detroit, and with it Michigan, and on the 23d of September, the squadron conveyed a body of 1200 men to the vicinity of Malden, in Upper Canada, of which place they took possession; and on the 27th, Captain Perry ascended to Detroit in the Ariel, and re-occupied that town, in conjunction with the army. A day or two later, Captain Elliott, with the Niagara, Lady Prevost, Scorpion, and Tigress, went into Lake St. Clair, to cut off the enemy's baggage. On the 2d of October, a part of the vessels assembled at the mouth of the Thames, with stores for the army, and, as the latter advanced, Captain Elliott ascended the stream, with the Scorpion, Porcupine, and Tigress, until he reached a point where the banks of the river rendered it too hazardous to go any further, by exposing the vessels to the fire of the Indians. The battle of the Moravian Towns was fought on the 5th of the same month, when the savages received a severe rebuke, and nearly the whole of the right wing of the British army in the Canadas, laid down their arms on the field, under a charge of the American mounted volunteers. After this success, which placed most of the upper part of the province in the hands of the conquerors, the vessels were employed in bringing away the ammunition and other captured stores. October 18th, General Harrison and Captain Perry, the latter of whom had been present at the battle on shore, issued a joint proclamation, for the better government of the conquered territory, assuring to the people their ancient laws and usages, and the rights of property. "On the 23d of October, the squadron transported the army of General Harrison to Buffalo, and on the 25th, Captain Perry resigned the command of the upper lakes to Captain Elliott, repairing himself to the sea-board. November 29th, this gallant and successful officer received the commission of a captain, which was dated on the day of the victory, and soon after he was appointed to the command of the Java 44, a new frigate, then fitting for sea at Baltimore. There is a letter on file in the Navy Department, in which Captain Perry, who had only been a commander about a year, expresses some doubts of the propriety of accepting this rank over the heads of his seniors, and his readiness to yield to their claims." CHAPTER XV. General Harrison directs his Forces against Detroit and Malden, in possession of the inhuman Proctor-The latter retreats, burning Malden-Rapid Pursuit of the Americans-Colonel Johnson engages the Enemy-Achieves a glorious Victory-Exposes himself to all the Dangers of the Field-Kills Tecumseh-Is carried from the Battle Ground covered with Wounds-Detroit falls into the Hands of the Americans. "There was a speedy gathering then, Of fiery youths and fearless men, Ne'er had fair Elkhorn's bloody shore Here was th' appointed rendezvous- AFTER the victory just described, the Americans were masters of Lake Erie, but Detroit and Malden were in possession of the British general, Proctor. Against these, General Harrison, commander of the North-Western army, now resolved to direct his forces. Colonel Johnson, with a body of Kentuckians, was despatched against Detroit. General Harrison with his troops repaired on board the fleet, and the same day reached Malden. The British general, however, destroyed Malden, and retired with his forces. Finding Malden destroyed, Harrison next determined to proceed in pursuit of Proctor. On the 2d of October, with about two thousand five hundred men, selected for the purpose, he commenced a rapid march, and, on the 5th, reached the place where the enemy had encamped the night before. Colonel Johnson, who had joined General Harrison, was sent forward to reconnoitre the enemy, and soon returned with |