in the legislature of that state, and enjoyed, during a long and well-spent life, the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens. It may be instructive to glance at the progress of our own country, and the changes which have marked the map of the world since General Cleaveland entered the mouth of the Cuyahoga on the morning of July 22, 1796. The treaty of Versailles had declared the independence of the United States, but had not secured that peace which the colonies, upon entering the struggle, had devoutly hoped might result, and although the mother country, by that treaty, formally acknowledged the independence of the states, she nevertheless reluctantly relinquished her claims and relaxed her grasp upon her American colonies. Nor was the peace and absolute independence of the states secured until the War of 1812. From the close of the Revolution until the War of 1812, England seemed to think that, notwithstanding the treaty of Versailles, she owned the ocean and had the right to plunder our ships and destroy our growing commercial importance. Nor were her violations of that treaty restricted to the piratical destruction of our commercial marine, but she invaded. our soil with her armies and desolated many of our coast towns and cities. So aggressive and in violation of the treaty of Versailles had been the acts of England towards the United States on land and sea, that on December 9, 1807, the American sea-ports were closed to British commerce and trade suspended. has made you familiar with the events of the War of 1812. The smoking ruins of the public buildings of Washington and the flames which destroyed Buffalo, the taking of Detroit, the battle of Frenchtown and the River Raisin, of Tippecanoe, of Bladensburgh and Lundy's Lane, the capitulation of Alexandria, the successful defense of Fort Stephenson by the gallant Croghan, are all familiar historical facts. But the events of the War of 1812, which would seem to be of most interest to us, are those which occurred on Lake Erie under Commodore Perry, and on the soil in its vicinity under General William Henry Harrison. From a lone rocky island in Lake Erie, on the morning of the tenth of September, 1813, the cry of "Sail, ho!" was heard from History the man whom Perry had stationed there. In an instant that cry is caught up and rings from ship to ship of Perry's fleet. The man who had watched through the long night saw approaching in the distance the British fleet, commanded by Captain Barclay, who had served under Lord Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar. Perry's fleet consisted of nine vessels-the Lawrence, Caledonia, Niagara, Scorpion, Ariel, Sommers, Porcupine, Tigress and Trippe. The British fleet of six vessels-the Chippewa, Detroit, Hunter, Queen Charlotte, Lady Prevost and Little Belt. The Lawrence and Niagara carried each twenty guns; the remaining seven vessels one or two guns each. Perry had in all fifty-four guns, and Commodore Barclay sixty-eight. The Lawrence was the flag-ship of the American fleet, on board of which was Perry. "Pour all your broadsides into the American flagship!" was Barclay's command, and at once the thirty-five long range British guns discharged their missiles of destruction into the ill-fated Lawrence, at the mast-head of which floated a flag with the inscription, "Don't give up the ship!" Barclay had sailed down from Malden to capture and destroy the American fleet, and is confident of victory, and as soon as this is achieved, General Proctor, in command of the British army, will cross the Detroit river and attack General Harrison. It is a quarter to twelve o'clock when the musicians on board the Detroit, Barclay's flag-ship, strike up the National air, "Rule Britannia," and before the song has died over the waves a shot from a twenty-four pounder skims over the water towards the Lawrence; but the distance is too great and it falls short. Five minutes later a second shot crashes through her sides and Perry's men are eager to return the fire, but "Steady, boys, steady," is the answer of the self-possessed young man of twenty-nine years who stands upon the quarter-deck and who, before the day closes, will inscribe his name on the roll of his country's honored defenders. It is twelve o'clock. Lieutenant Stephen Champlin, a man of but twenty-five and a relative of Perry's,'is commander of the Scorpion and now nearest the British fleet. shot at the nearest British vessel. He fires a thirty-two pound o'clock, and the Lawrence, fastest of all the American fleet, is far in advance of every other vessel. She is alone and so near that the guns of every vessel of the fleet of the British can reach her. In an instant a storm of iron penetrates her sides, rends her sails, dismounts her cannon and wounds many of her crew. The Lawrence, Ariel, Scorpion and Caledonia are now engaged; the Niagara and the other small vessels are far behind and all the British vessels are pouring their fire into the Lawrence. At this juncture Lieutenant Yarnell sends the following message to Perry : 'Every officer in my division is cut down; can I have more?" And a little later he stands in the presence of his commander, the blood streaming down his face from a wound, and says, "I must have another officer," to which Perry replies, "I have none to spare you." Yarnell returns to the forward deck and the next moment his scalp is torn by a splinter, but he wipes away the blood and once more sights his gun. It is halfpast two. For nearly three hours the British cannon have poured their destructive fire into the Lawrence. The battle is going against the Americans. The Lawrence is a crippled wreck, but the supreme moment in the life of Oliver Hazard Perry has now arrived, and though his decks are running with blood; though he has but a single available gun left; though his flag-ship is a wreck, he will yet triumph and win the victory. Half a mile astern is the Niagara with as many guns as the Lawrence had at the beginning. Scarcely a shot has grazed her, and for some reason Captain Elliot has not come into the battle. The other vessels are but slightly injured. At this moment Commodore Perry decides to leave the Lawrence and go on board the Niagara and renew the fight. The plain blue jacket which he has worn during the engagement he now pulls off and dons his uniform. "Lower the boat!" is his order. The men comply, and with his flag under his arm, and holding his little brother by the hand, Perry steps into the boat and stands erect. The sailors ply the oars and the boat shoots forth from the Lawrence. From the deck of his flag-ship, the Detroit, which is also nearly a wreck, Captain Barclay observes this movement and compre hends its meaning. He is aware that if Perry gains the deck of the Niagara the battle will be renewed and waged more furiously than ever. "Fire upon that boat!" is his stern command, and instantly the shot plough through the water around it; the oars are splintered and one shot passes through the boat. The men of the American fleet swing their hats and cheer lustily as they behold the brave Perry approaching the Niagara through this storm of fire and death, and when he climbs the Niagara's side, the air is rent with one enthusiastic shout and up goes his flag to the mast-head. If Barclay imagines that the battle is nearly won, he is deceived-it is only about to begin. "Double-shot the guns!" is the order of Perry, and the gunners of the Niagara immediately comply. A breeze from the southwest is now freshening. The entire British fleet is north of the Niagara. Perry determines to break through Barclay's lines, and the heart of every man in his fleet beats responsive to his own. The sails are adjusted to the favoring breeze and each lagging vessel surges nearer the enemy. The Niagara breaks through the British line, having the Lady Prevost on the right and the Chippewa on the left. Her doubleshotted guns sweep their decks from stem to stern and pour a terrible broadside into the Detroit, dismounting her guns and making fearful havoc. "Port the helm!" is the order. The Niagara sweeps to the right and delivers her fearful fire to the Detroit and Queen Charlotte, and just now, on the other side of these vessels, comes the Caledonia, her hull and rigging ablaze. It is three o'clock, and for the first time during the three long hours all the vessels of the American fleet, except the Lawrence, are engaged. She can no longer work her guns and has pulled down her flag, but Barclay cannot take possession of her. Eight minutes past three. Down comes Captain Barclay's flag, and then in rapid succession the flag of every British vessel. The thunder of the guns and the roar of battle cease, and Commodore Perry, standing upon the deck of the Niagara, in the calm dignity of his simple manhood, writes with pencil, on the back of an old letter resting on his navy cap, this dispatch to 4 General Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." The time for action on the part of General Harrison had now come. He was at Fort Meigs with an army of five thousand men, and the British General Proctor could not prevent his crossing the Detroit river. Seventeen days after Perry had met and captured the British fleet, General Harrison's army and our fleet crossed the western extremity of the lake and landed in Canada, only to find that General Proctor had set fire to the town of Malden, and, with his army of red-coats and Indians, was ingloriously fleeing to the north. But the Americans, with undaunted resolution, pursued and overtook him at the River Thames, where a battle ensued. It was short and decisive. It was fought on a strip of land between the river and a swamp. A regiment of Kentucky riflemen on horseback, under command of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, charged upon the Indian allies of the British, and Tecumseh, their leader, was killed. So determined and desperate was the attack of General Harrison's men that the British general, almost at the beginning of the fight, became demoralized and fled. After the first dash of the Americans, the British soldiers threw down their arms and gave way, and the Indians fled to the swamp. In less than fifteen minutes the army of Proctor was routed and scattered to the winds; the Indian confederacy with the British forever destroyed; six cannon, some five thousand stand of small arms, and the entire stores and baggage of Proctor's army captured. Thus by the coöperation of Commodore Perry and General Harrison was the power of England over our northwestern territory broken, her claim of absolute dominion over Lake Erie and our other inland seas lost, and the last roar of cannon that died along our shore was the expiring note of British domination. The report of Perry's glorious victory, and the brilliant achievement of General Harrison at the battle of the Thames, were everywhere hailed with the triumphant shouts of patriotism, and the American people saw that from the moment Commodore Barclay's flag came down, the dominion of England over our |