tack Perry once his ships had just cleared the
sandbar and were still unarmed sealed his
fate. When the American squadron emerged
on Lake Erie the following month, it would be
larger and mounting heavier armament than
Barclay’s.
Throughout the summer of 1813, the
British strategic position in the western the-
ater declined precipitously. British and Indian
forces under Gen. Henry Proctorand the
Shawnee Chief Tecumseh had evacuated
Ohio following their repulse at Fort Stephen-
son on August 2, 1813, taking with them thou-
sands of Native American refugees. Their
presence made an already serious supply situ-
ation nearly untenable. On September 9, 1813,
the near lack of food finally forced Barclay to
depart Amherstburg a final time, and he sailed
in search of the enemy. He found Perry wait-
ing for him the following day near the Bass Is-
lands. In every respect the odds were stacked
against the British. Barclay’s squadron mus-
tered only six vessels: the corvettes Detroit
(11 guns) and Queen Charlotte(17 guns), the
schooner Lady Prevost(13 guns), the brig
General Hunter(10 guns), and the sloop Lit-
tle Belt(3 guns). These were arrayed against
the brigs Lawrence and Niagara(20 guns
each), the schooner Somers (2 guns), the
sloop Trippe(1 gun), and the gunboats Ti-
gress, Porcupine, Scorpion,and Ariel.Perry’s
fleet also threw a heavier combined broadside
of 1,536 pounds to Barclay’s 887 pounds. Fur-
thermore, although the British enjoyed a
slight edge in long-range cannons, the Ameri-
cans possessed a far higher percentage of
short-range, ship-killing carronades. In fair-
ness, both sides were hobbled by a ram-
shackle assortment of sailors, soldiers, and
militia to outfit their respective ships, but
here the Americans also enjoyed a higher pro-
portion of trained, professional seamen.
On the fateful afternoon of September 10,
1813, as the two antagonists approached to
give battle, the wind, which had favored Bar-
clay, suddenly shifted to Perry’s advantage.
This negated Barclay’s intention to conduct a
long-range duel with the Americans and thus
neutralize their heavier armament. Nonethe-
less, Perry was somewhat sloppy in his dispo-
sitions, and he failed to directly order Elliott’s
Niagarato close with the enemy. That officer,
either out of spite or incompetence, stood
back and aloof as Perry advanced unsup-
ported, and the entire British fleet pounded
his Lawrenceinto matchwood. After several
hours, Perry fired the last working cannon
himself before ordering the vessel to surren-
der. He then heroically and dramatically
transferred his flag to the unscathed Niagara.
Barclay, meanwhile, was reeling from the ef-
fects of two serious wounds, but he remained
on deck directing the battle until the loss of
blood forced him below. This spared him the
agony of observing the powerful Niagara
break the British line with several broadsides,
forcing the fleet to surrender in turn. Barclay’s
losses were 41 killed and 94 wounded to an
American tally of 27 killed and 96 wounded.
But despite the glaring disparities between
these well-matched contestants, British brav-
ery and determination (every Royal Navy offi-
cer involved was either killed or wounded)
rendered the Battle of Lake Erie an extremely
close call.
American control of Lake Erie was now as-
sured, and the American army under Gen.
William Henry Harrison then crossed into
Canada, forced Proctor’s fleeing forces to give
battle at the Thames, and decisively defeated
them that October. This outcome was the di-
rect result of Barclay’s unexplained failure to
keep the American squadron bottled up at
Presque Isle behind the sandbar.
After the battle, Barclay remained a pris-
oner for several months before being ex-
changed. He returned to England soon there-
after and endured a general court-martial for
losing his squadron. Barclay was quickly ex-
onerated, but the stigma of defeat overshad-
owed his subsequent naval career. Lake Erie
was the first time in history that a squadron
belonging to the Royal Navy had surrendered
to an enemy, and—unofficially, at least—Bar-
clay was never forgiven. Despite numerous
appeals, he remained without much to doBARCLAY, ROBERTHERIOT