The Capitol Dome

Elliott's reason for keeping the Niagara out of steady engage- ment, the outcome was clear: the battle was prolonged, more lives lost, and the Lawrence almost completely destroyed. As one on-shore observer noted, "by 2:30 in the afternoon, the [ship] was a helpless wreck, with sails in tattered strips and guns out of action, and four out of every five men fit for duty either killed or badly wounded," as is shown in Powell's paint- ing. 9 After inflicting considerable damage on the British ves- sels, the Lawrence and its crew could do no more. Boarding a small skiff, Perry seized on his only chance of victory by transferring to the Niagara. Recognizing the significance of Perry's move, the British shifted fire in his direction. As we know, Perry nonetheless reached the Niagara, assumed com- mand, and sent Elliott to direct the smaller vessels closer in. Perry closed range and attacked; in attempting to change posi- tion the British vessels Detroit and Queen Charlotte became entangled in their damaged riggings and were unable to defend themselves. Perry received the British surrender on the deck of the Lawrence, which had borne the brunt of the battle. While it can be argued, as many have, that Perry's actions were brash and headstrong—adjectives often used to describe the twenty-seven-year-old officer himself—his decisive if reckless heroism was widely celebrated and viewed as embody- ing the independent spirit and daring of the young nation itself (fig. 7). His victory inspired a burst of patriotic fervor that renewed support for the war effort, earning him a Congressio- nal Gold Medal and promotion to the rank of captain. The victories at Lake Erie and later in the War of 1812 were instrumental in bolstering the country's morale and con- fidence and creating a more unified national identity. In the words of then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, "the war has renewed and reinstated the national feelings and char- acter which the Revolution had given…. [Americans] now feel and act more as a nation." 10 In 1818, at the high-water mark of the rampant nationalism that came to characterize the "Era of Good Feeling," the chronicler of President James Monroe's visit to Lake Erie during his famous national tour the year before remarked on what Perry's victory represented at the time: He gained the first victory . . . over a British squadron, in modern naval warfare. Other American commanders upon the ocean, had conquered single-handed; but Perry set the first example of conquering an entire British fleet in American waters. . . . He was the first American officer who followed the example of [British Admiral Horatio] Nelson, in fighting a passage through the line of an hostile fleet; and was the first in our country who made the hazardous attempt successful. 11 The Lake Erie victory advanced the reputation and growth of the nascent U.S. Navy and greater awareness of American presence on the world stage. In strategic terms, U.S. control of Lake Erie severed British supply lines and so was a fac- tor in Gen. Harrison's defeat of the British and their Native American allies and the retaking of the Michigan territory. The death of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames triggered the end of the Native American confederacy he led and, ultimately, of native resistance to American expan- sion into the northwestern territories. In this way, Perry's vic- tory was an indirect factor in America's westward expansion and the displacement of its native peoples. 12 Perry saw no further action in the War of 1812. He later filed formal charges against Elliott, who then challenged his former superior to a duel. To avoid scandal, Perry was sent on a diplomatic mission to South America, but his death there in 1819 did not end ongoing controversy over the battle. The topic was popularized by writers Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper, and as late as 1882, writing in The Naval War of 1812, Theodore Roosevelt concluded that "the Niagara, the most efficient and best-manned of the American vessels, was . . . almost kept out of the action by her captain's misconduct." 13 the painting, and further ControVerSy The Battle of Lake Erie was the second painting that Ohio Fig. 7. John Woodside's painting, We Owe Allegiance to No Crown (c. 1814), visualizes burgeoning American unity and confidence in the person of a sailor stepping on a broken crown and surrounded by symbols of America and liberty, including a large national flag, the liberty cap and broken chains of a newly-freed slave, and the laurel wreath of a victorious combatant. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIK ARNESEN (C)NICHOLAS WEST 16 THE CAPITOL DOME

• Cover