In 1814, the British burned the White House, the Capitol building, and the Library of Congress. DeCroix says, “They burned essentially the entire American side of the Niagara Frontier, starting with Fort Niagara and Youngstown, and working their way down to Buffalo by the end of the year.” On land, meanwhile, the Americans burned York, now Toronto, and Newark, which is now Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Americans controlled Lake Erie for the rest of the war. In the end, nine American ships defeated six ships of the British Royal Navy. Painting of a British and an American ship in action in the Battle of Lake Erie “You had to build your navy on these inland seas, as it were, to try to build a bigger fleet, and then to try to gain superiority on the lakes.” “We couldn’t get them around Niagara Falls.” So both sides had to build new ships on the shores of the lakes themselves. It was on the newly designated flagship Niagara that Perry proclaimed his now-famous, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Perry’s personal battle flag read, “Don’t give up the ship.”īut what ships were these? “You couldn’t bring Atlantic seagoing vessels into the lake and have them operate, and particularly Lake Erie,” DeCroix. Perry transferred to the Niagara from the Lawrence, that was heavily damaged. “The Niagara was responsible for carrying Perry to victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813,” he tells us. Guiding this Niagara into Buffalo last September was Senior Captain Walter Rybka. The Niagara was the victory flagship for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the War of 1812. “The Great Lakes were really the most viable transportation route from the Atlantic seaboard into the heart of North America.” Lawrence and the Great Lakes region,” says historian Douglas DeCroix of Western New York Heritage Press. “Most of the battles were fought along the St. Reconstruction of the Niagara which visited Buffalo in September
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