|
Themes God's cause for you THE BATTLE OF THE BOATS One of the impressive battles of the war with the British (1812-1814) was the Battle of Lake Erie. Although the Americans had maintained a military force on land, the British were clearly superior at sea. The British had numerous warships patrolling Lake Erie and were completing an even larger boat, the 19 gun Detroit. The Americans on the other hand, did not have one ship on the Lake. This gave the enemy easy attack routes from Canada, where their armies were stationed, to the northwest corner of the U.S. After several invasions proved costly to the American side, President James Madison wanted to find a man that could construct and command a fleet of warships on Lake Erie. He chose 27 year old Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry. He arrived at Erie in March 1813, with 150 men, and began building the fleet. Although the 533 men he commanded were barely enough to sail his ships, Commandant Perry raised anchor on his new 20 gun flagship Lawrence and along with nine other smaller fighting vessels set off in pursuit of the British fleet. By this time, the British had completed and launched the 19 gun Detroit commanded by Commodore Robert Barclay. Both Barclay and Perry were eager to test their fleets in battle. They didn't have long to wait. On the morning of September 10, 1813, the battle for Lake Erie began. Perry's fleet was at a disadvantage at first. The British ships were fitted with long guns capable of firing a shell one mile. Perry's ships carried shorter cannons with half the range. In his zeal to fight, Perry allowed his ship, the Lawrence, to pull ahead of the main battle group. He had ordered the Niagara to accompany him, but her captain held back. The Lawrence sailed alone into the center of the British fleet. Perry had no choice but to fight. In the next two hours, the British killed 80 percent of Perry's sailors. Perry himself was firing the last working cannon until it too was destroyed. With his ship a floating wreck, Perry lowered a small boat and rowed to the undamaged Niagara. He dismissed the captain from his command and with cannons blazing pressed the attack again. The British had also received heavy casualties. Their two main ships were damaged and collided as they moved to fight. Perry bore down on the two powerless ships unleashing numerous barrages at close range. In a few minutes the British ships surrendered and the entire fleet was captured. Perry then dispatched his now famous message to General Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Even though the odds were against the Americans, they believed in their cause so firmly, that they were willing to risk their lives in battle. Israel faced similar odds facing the giants in Canaan, but they had God's Word and promise that they would be victorious. Sadly, they refused to believe God. You have a great enemy, Satan, who desires to keep you from all that God has for you. God has given His Son for the ungodly at Calvary (Romans. 5:6) and has given His word to you (John 5:24). Will you believe Him?
No one has commented on this article.
Related Items:
|
Peter Orasuk
