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acute, Barclay had little choice but to confront the Americans despite the depletion of his men and supplies. His ships set sail on the night of September 9, "fully expecting to meet the enemy the next morning." 5 His expectation was correct. Enemy ships were sighted to the northwest of Put-in-Bay, the American base, in the early morning. As the U.S. squad- ron set sail, guns were loaded and combat preparations com- pleted. On the Lawrence, Perry hoisted his "Don't Give Up the Ship" battle flag and rallied his crew (fig. 5). 6 Like their commander, many had no previous experience in direct naval engagements; the Battle of Lake Erie was Perry's first (and last) major test in this regard. As the Lawrence sailed into range, it took heavy fire from the long guns of the British ships Detroit and Queen Charlotte, but was not yet close enough to retaliate effectively with its own shorter-range carronades (fig. 6). The slower, smaller ships that carried most of the U.S. long guns were still out of range, as was the Lawrence's sister ship, the Niagara. While the total firepower of the U.S. ships exceeded that of the British, its uneven dispersal soon placed the Lawrence in an untenable position, giving Perry three options: close range and engage with the enemy, surrender, or pull back and reposition his squadron. In choosing the first course of action, he exposed his ship and crew to further bombardment; at the same time, he anticipated support from the rest of his fleet. Perry's pre- battle orders to his officers had been three-fold: engage your designated adversary, stay close to the Lawrence, and stay in line. 7 The surgeon on board the Lawrence later recounted how "the Niagara did not make sail with the Lawrence and accompany her into close action as ordered…and did not fol- low her down toward the enemy's line, so as to encounter her own antagonist, the Queen Charlotte." 8 This action—whether due to insubordination or a lack of wind and/or effective signaling at critical junctures, as Elliott and his defenders alleged—was a source of longstanding acrimony and debate that was never fully resolved. Whatever Fig. 4. Edward Mooney's Portrait of Commodore Oliver Perry (1839) Fig. 5. The U.S. Naval Academy Museum's collection includes the original "Don't Give Up the Ship" flag. Fig. 6. Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, Sept. 10th 1813 was drawn by J.J. Barralet and engraved by Benjamin Tanner c. 1814. It shows the many American and British ships engaged in battle at close quarters on Lake Erie. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS & PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION, LC-DIG-PGA-03353N U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY MUSEUM U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY MUSEUM 15 THE CAPITOL DOME

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