Sept. 2, 2021 – From Sept. 10, 1813 to Sept. 14, 1813, American and British forces ferociously clashed at sea and on land as the War of 1812 dragged on. From the deck of the Brig Niagara to the flagpole at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, that history is still alive more than 200 years later.

Brig Niagara
In the photo below, U.S. Brig Niagara is docked at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio on Aug. 24, 2014.

Brig Niagara is a reconstruction of the sailing vessel made famous by Captain (later promoted to Commodore) Oliver Hazard Perry on Sept. 10, 1813 when he defeated a British squadron of six ships. After his ship, the Lawrence, was disabled and most of her crew wounded or killed, Perry rowed to the Niagara. He hoisted his ‘Don’t Give Up the Ship’ battle flag. The words on the flag were spoken by his friend, James Lawrence. Lawrence was killed commanding a ship in June 1813 during the War of 1812. before he died, he instructed his crew, “Don’t Give Up the Ship.”

With a little help from the wind, Perry was able to position the ship so the crew could fire her cannons from both sides of the ship. In a matter of minutes, Perry won a decisive victory that was a much needed victory for the Americans. In reporting the victory to General William Henry Harrison, Perry famously said: “We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, twos brigs, one schooner and one sloop.”

On Aig. 24, 2014, Brig Niagara visited Toledo, Ohio as part of their Great Lakes tour. Redwood Learn interviewed some of her crew members. The following is from the 2014 article about those interviews.

Sydnee Groenendaal, Niagara 4th Mate
Sydnee Groenendaal, 24, is 4th Mate on Brig Niagara this summer. She began as a volunteer when she was 15 years old. During her junior and senior years in high school, she logged a total of 200 volunteer hours aboard the ship. Since high school, Sydnee has steadily worked her way up from Ordinary Seaman to Able-Bodied seaman to Mate. On Brig Niagara, she is in charge of a portion of the 18-member crew. Her job is to plot the route of the ship taking into consideration wind, general weather and traffic conditions on the lake. “My job is to look outside the rails from the deck,” Sydnee said to Redwood Learn.
 

In addition to working on Niagara, Sydnee is currently completing an undergraduate degree in history at the Penn State University branch campus in Erie. She finds the history of the War of 1812 really interesting as she studies the land and sea campaigns. “All we were doing was winning back what we bumbled in the beginning,” she said. Noting that officers in the U.S. Army could be promoted for political reasons, in the U.S. Navy, there was not a chance someone could command a ship without knowing how to sail. In 1813, Niagara had a crew of 155 men and boys to sail the two-masted vessels and fire her 18 cannons during battle. Niagara now sails with a crew of 18 give or take a few depending on their port of call.

Tye Feltner, Niagara crew member
Tye Feltner, 23, is a Niagara crew member this summer and will be one of three members of Niagara’s winter maintenance crew in Erie.

Tye grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in Marquette. “I used to watch classic freighters come in every day. It’s humbling,” he said. Tye explained that many crew members are half-time sailors and half-time students. He is studying art, writing and ecology at Northern Michigan University. But the sea has an undeniable pull he cannot ignore. Navigation on water has a really long history and as Americans, our ancestors arrived by boat, even if you are from Nebraska, Tye said with a smile.

“I think it’s in our blood,” Tye said.

War of 1812 Bicentennial
The Bicentennial of Perry’s 1813 victory in Lake Erie was celebrated in 2013 with great fanfare. More than 1,000 modern pleasure boats watched the reenactment of the Battle of Lake Erie from the very spot in Lake Erie where it occurred in 1813. Tall ships from around the world participated.

Brig Niagara was again at the center of the action. Under the command of Commodore Oliver Perry, the Americans defeated a squadron of six British ships. It was the first time an entire squadron of British ships had been defeated in one battle.

After losing to Commodore Perry in Lake Erie in fall 1813, the British set their sights on Washington D.C. and then two ports – Baltimore and New Orleans.

On Aug. 24, 1814, the British achieved the first part of their objective. They marched into Washington D.C., ate dinner at the abandoned White House, and then set it on fire along with the U.S. Capitol and many other public buildings.

Americans purposely set fire to the navy yard to prevent the British from taking ammunition and acquiring more ships. Fires burned into the next day, partially extinguished by a severe thunderstorm. Then as quickly as the British came, they left.

Their next objective was to capture the vital port city of Baltimore. Just three weeks later, they launched their invasion. This time the stars and stripes prevailed.

The Star-Spangled Banner
From Sept.13-14, 1814, the Battle of Baltimore raged at Fort McHenry, a star-shaped fort on the water’s edge guarding the port city. From a truce ship about one mile from Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key saw that the stars and stripes were still flying at ‘dawn’s early light’ on Sept. 14, 1814. He was inspired to write a poem, a poem that quickly became a song, The Star-Spangled Banner. The song became the national anthem in 1931.

Following the British defeat in Baltimore, the War of 1812 finally ended in December 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, a treaty negotiated by both sides in Ghent, Belgium. Britain and the United States never again went to war.

1813 American School Sheet

Following the American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie on Sept. 10, 1813, merchants began selling products to mark the victory. Teachers had ‘American School Sheets’ available to them for their students.

Around the perimeter of the school sheet, ships from naval battles were printed in color. The center of the sheet was blank for students to compose a poem.

Print a copy from the link to the right (Extra! Extra! Activities) and experience what students in 1813 did in class! (Used with permission from the Louis Schultz Collection and the Toledo Museum of Art)

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Why is Brig Niagara a famous U.S. Navy ship?

2. Who commanded Brig Niagara during the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 during the War of 1812?

3. What is the reason the words, Don’t Give Up the Ship, were put on a flag?

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

1. What are the literal and figurative meanings of “Don’t Give Up the Ship?”

2. Why does the modern day Brig Niagara tour ports in the Great Lakes?

3. From the interviews with crew members, why did they want to work on the ship?

4. Why do you think the British wanted the port of New Orleans?