i 
3 
“ 
= as 
PS 
— 
1898-99. ] THE CONTEST FOR THE COMMAND OF LAKE ERIE IN 1812-13. 383 
were absolutely out of range of the Queen Charlotte's guns. This ship 
consequently soon fell out of her new station and henceforth failed to 
render any material assistance to the Detrozt. But the duel between that 
vessel and the Lawrence continued at close range for more than two 
hours. In their eagerness to disable their principal antagonist quickly 
the American gunners are believed to have overloaded their carronades 
with shot, and either from this cause or some other, their fire was not 
nearly as effective as had been expected, while the British ship although 
so greatly overmatched in weight of metal and other respects certainly 
succeeded in inflicting far more injury than she received from this par- 
ticular opponent, but the long guns of the Avze/, the Porcupine and even 
the Caledonia had done her much damage. Gun after gun ceased firing 
as they were disabled or had their crews swept away until about half- 
past-two the Lawrence was entirely silenced and dropped astern while 
the remaining vessels continued to drift slowly ahead and to leeward 
with the rising wind. The destruction on board of her had been terrible. 
Two officers and twenty men were killed and six officers and fifty-five 
men wounded. Her masts were standing but every brace and bowline 
had been shot away. Her hull was dreadfully shattered. Most of the 
guns on the engaged side were dismounted, their breechings having 
been torn away or their carriages knocked in pieces until but one could 
be discharged. 
At the rear of the line things were going badly with the British. Lieut. 
Bignall, commander of the Hzzzer, finding that the American schooners 
were rapidly disabling his vessel while the shot from his light guns were 
falling short, made sail to the front in the hope of assisting the Chzppe- 
wa. The Lady Prevost and Little Belt were then attacked by the 
Somers, Tigress, Porcupine and Trippe which remained at long range and 
battered them deliberately to pieces with entire impunity. The Lady 
Prevost lost men rapidly and her commander, Lieut. Buchan, was dis- 
abled by a wound in the head which rendered him temporarily insane. 
The command then devolved upon Lieut. Rolette of the Provincial 
Marine who was soon afterwards severely injured in the side and badly 
burned by an explosion which disabled several of his crew. Finally the 
rudder was cut away by a round shot and the Lady Prevost drifted help- 
lessly out of action to leeward. The Little Belt lost her commander and 
escaped destruction only by running to the head of the line where she 
was entirely out of the fight. 
All this time the Vzagara had remained in her original station, a cable’s 
length astern of the Caledonia which had avoided coming within carron- 
ade distance, and consequently had effected little, although firing her two 
