1898-99. | THE CONTEST FOR THE COMMAND OF LAKE ERIE IN 1812-13. 381 
seamen had served on board the Constctutéon in her actions with the 
Guerriere and Java, and were considered expert gunners. Mr. Roose- 
velt certainly falls far short of the truth when he says that “the Vzagara 
might be considered a match for the Det¢rozt, and the Lawrence and 
Caledonia for the five other British vesse/s.”* 
The British squadron was foredoomed to defeat because of its unpre- 
paredness. Fugitives and deserters from Canada had kept Perry well 
informed of the state of the British vessels, and he was, perhaps, over- 
confident, while Barclay knew that the odds against him were so great 
that scarcely anything short of a miracle could save him. 
When the American squadron was first seen the wind blew gently 
from the southwest giving Barclay the weather gage. He at once bore 
up with the intention of coming to an action among the islands but the 
wind very soon shifted to southeast, bringing the enemy directly to 
windward. All that could then be done was to heave to and form line 
of battle heading to the southwest, “ according to a given plan so that 
each ship might be supported against the superior force of the two 
brigs opposed to them.”+ This was in the following order, Chzppewa, 
Detroit, Hunter, Queen Charlotte, Lady Prevost, Little Belt. 
The American squadron approached slowly with a wind that was 
sometimes scarcely perceptible and sometimes rose to a four or five 
knot breeze. A light shower of rain came on, passed over, and left the 
sky perfectly cloudless. It was quite ten o’clock before Perry cleared 
the islands, and an hour later, when about three miles distant he formed 
his vessels into the conventional closehauled column of attack a cable’s 
length apart with the Avze/ leading followed by the Scorpion, Lawrence, 
Caledonia, Niagara, Somers, Porcupine, Tigress and Trippe. The distance 
from front to rear of his column was accordingly about a mile when all 
the ships preserved their proper distance, and the attack was delivered 
obliquely at an angle of nearly fifteen degrees by which he avoided be- 
ing raked fore and aft as he approached and could return the fire from 
the British squadron with his broadside guns trained sharply forward. 
He then hoisted on his flagship a blue banner bearing in large white 
letters the words ascribed to the dying Lawrence “ Don’t give up the 
ship!” 
At fifteen minutes before noon a bugle sounded on board the Detroz¢ 
which became the signal for three hearty cheers from the crews of the 
* *“Naval War of 1812,” pp, 261-2. 
tBarclay to Yeo, ‘‘ Canadian Archives,” Q, 123, 
