The Battle of Lake Erie

The story of the H.M.S. Detroit begins with the American declaration of war against Britain on June 18th of 1812. The American plan was a three-pronged invasion of British settlements along the Detroit River, the Niagara River, and near Montreal. The Americans anticipated a swift decisive victory over the British because the bulk of British forces were currently engaged in war against Napoleon in continental Europe. This notion of an easy victory would be quickly dashed when in the opening months of the war, Major General Isaac Brock and the Indian allies under Chief Tecumseh, captured Fort Detroit

As President Madison and his advisors began to re-calculate the efforts needed to continue with the invasion, it became clear that control of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie would be vital to keeping supply routes open to their land forces. Likewise, Sir George Prevost, Governor General and Commander in Chief of the King's Forces, realized the importance of maintaining military supremacy on the Lakes for continued defence of the British Provinces. Soon both sides frantically embarked on ship building programs to boost their naval strength in the Great Lakes. A Great Lakes conflict was inevitable and the preparation for the Battle of Lake Erie would result in the construction of a flag ship, H.M.S. Detroit.

Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, then a 28-year old Royal Navy Officer, arrived in Amherstburg from Kingston aboard the Lady Prevost. In June of 1813, there, the experienced naval officer found a settlement of roughly 100 buildings, a newly rebuilt and rearmed Fort Malden, and the Upper Lakes establishment of the Provincial Marine. Barclay promptly took command of the largest ship in Amherstburg, the H.M.S. Queen Charlotte, and re-assigned command of the armed schooners, Lady Prevost and Chippawa, to other Royal Navy Officers under his command. This small squadron would be the first to reconnoitre the American ship building progress at Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania).

Meanwhile, Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry of the United States Navy had assumed command of the shipbuilding program at the hamlet of Erie. The young commandant ensured the rapid development of their fleet by securing the inland industrial resources of Pittsburgh. Under the protective arm of Presque Isle Peninsula north of Erie, the Americans were nearing the completion of a formidable squadron.

The H.M.S. Detroit, named in honour of the capture of Fort Detroit, would eventually become the most powerful battleship on the Upper Lakes. However, her completion did not come easy. The construction of the H.M.S. Detroit was constantly plagued by a lack of building materials. Many of the necessary supplies needed to be imported from England and the industrial resources of Upper Canada were found sadly lacking. It is probable that Master Shipwright William Bell was forced to reuse parts from other ships at Amherstburg in order to equip the H.M.S. Detroit. For example, the corvette was planned to carry sixteen 14-pound carronades and four long 12-pounder, but in the end was outfitted with a confusing assortment of cannons and carronades due to supply difficulties. To compound the supply problem, there were also an insufficient number of artisans to continue the construction of the H.M.S. Detroit at suitable pace.

Despite these troublesome problems, the H.M.S. Detroit was launched in August of 1813 as the Battle of Lake Erie loomed ever closer. In the weeks leading to the epic battle, Commander Barclay distributed guns, munitions, and manpower within his makeshift squadron the best he could. Although reinforced by a small detachment of Royal Navy personnel during the final days before the battle, Commander Barclay still consider his squadron under-equipped and undermanned.

With provisions running dangerously low at Amherstburg, Commander Barclay set sail on September 9, 1813 to find the American squadron. By dawn of September 10, 1813, Barclay's squadron, led by H.M.S. Detroit, had found the enemy near Put-In-Bay. Although the wind had shifted in favour of Perry's fleet, Barclay committed his ships to battle amid bugling from the Detroit, and cheers from the British line.

The opening round of battle saw the H.M.S. Detroit inflicting considerable damage to Perry's Lawrence as the American Commander struggled to manoeuvre his ship into close quarters with the Detroit. By the second hour of battle, both the Detroit and the Lawrence were sustaining heavy casualties. Despite the ongoing carnage, which surrounded the two opposing commanders on their own decks, the battle pressed on until Commandant Perry was finally forced to abandon the battered and broken Lawrence and moved to the Niagara.

The H.M.S. Detroit, however, was only in slightly better condition while the Niagara had gone practically unscathed due to her distance from the main action. Then, as Perry was being transferred to the Niagara through British sniper fire, Barclay was struck by a portion of a salvo from the enemy line, shattering his right shoulder in the process. The command of Detroit and the British Fleet was transferred to Second Lieutenant George Inglis. The Battle's conclusion drew near.

In order to offer fresh resistance to the incoming Niagara, Inglis decided his best chance lay in directing the Detroit's starboard battery to action. As the Detroit's sailors struggled to bring the ship around with its tattered sails and rigging, the Queen Charlotte was also aiming to pass the Detroit and was at the Detroit's stem on the starboard side. Midway through the Detroit's turn, however, disaster struck. The wind pushed the Detroit backwards and into the Queen Charlotte, causing their spars to become fatally entangled.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Niagara raked the two entrapped corvettes with her carronades. The Queen Charlotte was forced to surrender soon afterwards. By the time Inglis managed to free the Detroit, even the flagship of the British Squadron could offer little resistance and was thoroughly unsailable. On the Detroit, one man in three had been killed or wounded. Inglis had little choice but to surrender.

The H.M.S. Detroit spent the winter of 1813-14 in Put-In-Bay and then brought to Presque Isle until the declaration of peace. The Detroit, along with the Queen Charlotte and the Lawrence were mothballed with their masts removed and finally scuttled. After spending years beneath the waves, both the Detroit and the Queen Charlotte were raised in 1837 and refitted for merchant duty.

The Detroit's service as a merchant vessel lasted only until 1841 when the derelict ship was purchased by a group of merchants in Niagara Falls, New York. Sent down the Niagara River &5 a spectacle and political statement, the old warship from Amherstburg gradually broke up in the river, and was no more.

The preceding account was condensed from the book; "H.M.S. Detroit -The Battle of Lake Erie" by Thomas and Robert Malcomson.