324 Naval War of 1812 



boasting it has given rise to, I should say it was a 

 battle to be looked upon as in an equally high degree 

 creditable to both sides. Indeed, if it were not for 

 the fact that the victory was so complete, it might 

 be said that the length of the contest and the trifling 

 disparity in loss reflected rather the most credit on 

 the British. Captain Perry showed indomitable 

 pluck and readiness to adapt himself to circum- 

 stances; but his claim to fame rests much less on 

 his actual victory than on the way in which he pre- 

 pared the fleet that was to win it. Here his energy 

 and activity deserve all praise, not only for his 

 success in collecting sailors and vessels and in build- 

 ing the two brigs, but above all for the manner 

 in which he succeeded in getting them out on the 

 lake. On that occasion he certainly out-generaled 

 Barclay; indeed the latter committed an error that 

 the skill and address he subsequently showed could 

 not retrieve. But it will always be a source of sur- 

 prise that the American public should have so glori- 

 fied Perry's victory over an inferior force, and have 

 paid comparatively little attention to Macdonough's 

 victory, which really was won against decided odds 

 in ships, men, and metal. 



There are always men who consider it unpatriotic 

 to tell the truth, if the truth is not very flattering; 

 but, aside from the morality of the case, we never 

 can learn how to produce a certain effect unless we 

 know rightly what the causes were that produced 

 a similar effect in times past. Lake Erie teaches us 

 the advantage of having the odds on our side; 



