The US Brig Lawrence’s namesake James Lawrence was born in Burlington, New Jersey, on October 1, 1781. Educated in the field of law, Lawrence chose to enlist in the newly formed U.S. Navy instead, in September 1798. He served as a Midshipman aboard the Ganges and Adams during the undeclared war with France, as a Lieutenant aboard the schooner Enterprise during the War with Tripoli, and was second in command during the expedition to destroy the frigate Philadelphia in the Tripoli Harbor. Later in the Tripolitan War he commanded the Enterprise and a gunboat in battles with the Tripolitans. He subsequently served as First Lieutenant of the frigate John Adams, 1805 commanded Gunboat Number 6 during a voyage across the Atlantic to Italy, and commanded the warships Vixen, Wasp and Argus. Promoted to the rank of Master Commandant in 1810, he took command of the sloop Hornet the following year and sailed her to Europe on a diplomatic mission.
Lawrence was still in command of the Hornet when the War of 1812 broke out. In July 1812, the Hornet captured the privateer Dolphin. Later that year the Hornet blockaded the British sloop Bonne Citoyenne at Bahia, Brazil. On February 24, 1813, she sank the HMS Peacock off British Guiana.
Returning to the United States in March 1813, Lawrence was promoted to the rank of Captain. Two months later he took command of the frigate Chesapeake, which left Boston on June 1. Almost immediately after leaving port, the Chesapeake engaged the British frigate Shannon in battle. When the two ships crashed together, British seamen stormed the Chesapeake, where the two crews engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the British were ultimately victorious. Lawrence was mortally wounded during the battle. As he lay dying, he gave his final order, which became the rallying cry for the American Navy: "Don't give up the ship!" While inspired by his words, the Chesapeake's crew was unable to fend off the British and was forced to surrender the ship. Lawrence died of his wounds on June 4.
Named in honor of James Lawrence, the U.S. Brig Lawrence was one of two 493-ton Niagara-class brigs built at Erie, by Adam and Noah Brown under the supervision of Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins and Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, for United States Navy service on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.
Lawrence was launched 24 May 1813 and fitted out at Erie with the other ships of Perry's newly built squadron while awaiting the arrival of her crew. On 9 August, Captain Jesse D. Elliott and some 100 men arrived and helped man the squadron, which sailed on 12 August. The squadron sailed to Detroit and quickly began operations with a voyage to Detroit in search of the opposing British squadron.
During the 10 September 1813 Battle of Lake Erie, Lawrence served as flagship for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry until she was disabled by enemy fire. Perry then transferred to the Brig Niagara, from which he fought the battle to a successful conclusion. In mid-1815, following the end of hostilities, Lawrence was sunk in Misery Bay, near Erie, in order to preserve her hull. Her submerged hulk was sold in 1825 and, except for a brief examination in 1836, remained underwater for nearly four more decades. In September 1875 her remains were raised, cut into sections and transported by rail to Philadelphia, where she was to be exhibited during the 1876 exhibition celebrating the Centennial of the United States.
During the exhibition, the Lawrence was displayed outside a warehouse where the ship was being cut up for relics. During the exhibit, the warehouse caught fire one night, and the ship's remains were destroyed.
Some people collected the Lawrence relics as souvenirs, while others had a more proprietary interest in them. Daniel Weeks, an Erie gunsmith, was one such proprietor. Out of what could have been Erie’s first flagship, Weeks created a wooden sewing box, three wooden napkin rings, two nut picks, a broach and earrings set, and a miniature iron cannon affixed to a wooden base.
There was a great interest at the time in Erie supporting the restoration of the Lawrence, but with the disastrous end of the Lawrence at the Philadelphia exhibition, Erie’s attention turned to the US Brig Niagara and the Perry Centennial. Suddenly, the Lawrence faded from public consciousness. The Lawrence is not the first ship most people think of when recalling the Battle of Lake Erie. Prior to 1913, the Lawrence was pretty much fixed in people's thoughts.
More pages in history are devoted to the story of the Battle of Lake Erie than to the building of the ships that fought that battle. The gun-brigs Niagara and Lawrence were constructed at Cascade shipyard. They were sister ships and were built exactly alike. Trees were selected for the Lawrence’s frames so that knees and bends provided smooth lines from stem to stern. Each frame was from a single tree, extending keel to main deck. This construction gave the brig great strength, and ability to bear shocks and strains.
Due to a lack of iron for hand-wrought nails, a large part of the hull was held together by wooden pins – tree nails (trunnels in sea lore). There was a complete lack of oakum and pitch for caulking all seams and making the ships water-tight, so lead caulking was used with great success. The green timber should have been seasoned for about one year. (When the Niagara was raised in 1913 the lead caulking was still firmly in place.) Lead caulking of the green timber undoubtedly produced a water-tight hull superior to oakum and pitch.
During the War of 1812 the U.S. government spent about $2,500,000 for the ships on Lakes Erie and Ontario. Only a small part of this money went into the building of the Lake Erie fleet. In no way was the cost of building excessive. The trees used in the construction of the ships were paid for at the rate of $1.00 each to the owner of the land where cut. Records of each payment were recorded by Dobbins. One dollar in 1813 was considered the day’s wage for a skilled worker.
The Lawrence and Niagara were the largest ships, with drafts of 9 feet. Today these ships are considered small, but in 1813 they were immense. They were a great curiosity and looked formidable compared with anything seen before on the Lakes. The big guns were giants of destruction to the citizens, and Erie felt a security it had not experienced for the past year, in 1812.
While in Erie, before leaving for the Battle of Lake Erie, Perry had a blue flag, with the words Don’t give up the ship in white, made for hoisting at start of action. At noon September 10, 1813, both fleets were underway and closing for action. Perry’s fleet had the weather gage and maneuvering advantage. Perry intended to close the British quickly to a range of about one-half mile to take full advantage of the carronades, and avoid damage from the long guns. The British ship Detroit started action about noon with its long guns when range was about 1-1/2 miles. The first shot fell short.
All the American ships, including the Lawrence, moved to engage the enemy except the Niagara, commanded by Elliott, which did not maintain formation and appeared to lag behind taking a small part in the action. By 2 P.M. Perry, in the Lawrence had borne the brunt of the battle with withering enemy fire from the Detroit and Queen Charlotte. By 2:30 P.M. the Lawrence, with every gun in the ship’s battery on the enemy’s side dismounted and with every brace-line shot away, was no longer manageable.
Casualties on both sides were heavy. In Lawrence, 83 of her crew of 103 were either killed or wounded (although Perry and his brother came through unscratched). Twenty-seven Americans were killed (22 in Lawrence), and 96 were wounded (61 in Lawrence).
Perry noted the Niagara was intact, called for a small boat with four oarsmen, and transferred to the Niagara, accompanied by his brother Alexander. The British, seeing the above movement, thought the Lawrence was about to surrender, ceased firing at the Lawrence, and assumed the British had won the battle.
The Niagara broke through the British line ahead of the Detroit and Queen Charlotte and luffed up to fire raking broadsides from ahead of them, while the US Brig Caledonia and the American gunboats fired from astern. Although the crews of Detroit and Queen Charlotte managed to untangle the two ships they could no longer offer any effective resistance. Both ships surrendered at about 3:00 pm. The smaller British vessels tried to flee but were overtaken and also surrendered.
The Battle of Lake Erie decisively determined the present northern boundary of Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and westward, rather than the British intent of the Ohio River westward to the Mississippi River. The long geopolitical scheme of the British empire for North America was destroyed forever.
While the Niagara’s place in history is well deserved, it would not have been possible without the Lawrence.
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| Raising US Brig Lawrence in Misery Bay (September 1875) |
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| Raising US Brig Lawrence in Misery Bay (September 1875) |
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| Used by Dr. Archimides Smith, Surgeon on the U.S. Brig Lawrence, during the Battle of Lake Erie. |
Used by Dr. Archimides Smith, Surgeon on the U.S. Brig Lawrence, during the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813. These instruments [in the photo above] were given to Dr. Smith by General William Henry Harrison and donated to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology by W.H. Smith.
They include, at top: Hacksaw type bone saw.
In the middle group: 6½" forecept clamp (above, with - from left to right - below it): 7½" bone scraper; 7" knife; 7½" knife; 9" knife; artery clamp.
In the lower left: 13" curved knife. In lower center, top to bottom): 6¼" suture hook; 7½" scapel; 7" scapel; 5¼" scapel. In the lower right: 14½" curved knife.
