the northwestern horizon. Very soon into shreds, her spars battered into splinPerry's nine vessels were ready for the ters, and her guns dismounted. One mast enemy. At the mast-head of the Lawrence remained, and from it streamed the na was displayed a blue banner, with the tional flag. The deck was a scene of words of Lawrence, the dying captain, in dreadful carnage, and most men would large white letters "DON'T GIVE UP THE have struck their flag. But Perry was

SHIP." The two squadrons slowly ap- hopeful in gloom. His other vessels proached each other. The British squad- had fought gallantly, excepting the ron was commanded by Com. Robert Niagara, Captain Elliott, the stanchest H. Barclay, who fought with Nelson at ship in the fleet, which had kept outTrafalgar. His vessels were the ship De- side, and was unhurt. As she drew near troit, nineteen guns, and one pivot and the Lawrence, Perry resolved to fly to her, two howitzers; ship Queen Charlotte, and, renewing the fight, win the victory. seventeen, and one howitzer; brig Lady Putting on the uniform of his rank, that Prevost, thirteen, and one howitzer; brig he might properly receive Barclay as his Hunter, ten; sloop Little Belt, three; prisoner, he took down his broad penand schooner Chippewa, one, and two swivels. The battle began at noon, at long range, the Scorpion, commanded by young Sailing - Master Stephen Champlin, then less than twenty-four years of age, firing the first shot on the American side. As the fleets drew nearer and nearer,

W

I

B

8

POSITION OF THE TWO SQUADRONS JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE.

hotter and hotter waxed the fight. For two hours the Lawrence nant and the banner with the stirring bore the brunt of battle, until she lay words, entered his boat, and, with four upon the waters almost a total wreck stout seamen at the oars, he started on -her rigging all shot away, her sails cut his perilous voyage, anxiously watched by

In have met the enemy and they aw ours:

Twe Ships, tur B.

Briss

Schoonee I one Sloop.

one

Your, with great respect and esteem
OD Bmy.

PERRY'S DESPATCH.

those he had left on the Lawrence. Perry the Niagara in safety. Hoisting his penstood upright in his boat, with the pen- nant over her, he dashed through the nant and banner partly wrapped about British line, and eight minutes afterwards him. Barclay, who had been badly the colors of the enemy's flag-ship were wounded, informed of Perry's daring, and struck, all but two of the fleet surrenderknowing the peril of the British fleet if ing. These attempted to escape, but were the young commodore should reach the pursued and brought back, late in the decks of the Niagara, ordered big and evening, by the Scorpion, whose gallant

little guns to be brought to bear on the commander (Champlin) had fired the little boat that held the hero. The voy- first and last gun in the battle of Lake age lasted fifteen minutes. Bullets traversed the boat, grape-shot falling in the water near covered the seamen with spray, and oars were shivered by cannon-balls, but not a man was hurt. Perry reached

Erie. Assured of victory, Perry sat down, and, resting his naval cap on his knee, wrote to Harrison, with a pencil, on the back of a letter, the famous despatch: We have met the enemy, and they are

ours-two ships, two brigs, one schooner, also offered reparation for the insult and and one sloop." The name of Perry was injury in the case of the CHESAPEAKE made immortal. His government thanked (q. v.), and also assured the government him, and gave him and Elliott each a of the United States that Great Britain gold medal. The legislature of Pennsyl- would immediately send over an envoy vania voted him thanks and a gold medal; extraordinary, vested with power to conand it gave thanks and a silver medal to clude a treaty that should settle all each man who was engaged in the battle. points of dispute between the two govThe Americans lost twenty-seven killed ernments. This arrangement was comand ninety-six wounded. The British loss pleted April 18, 1809. The next day the was about 200 killed and 600 made prison- Secretary of State received a note from ers. At about nine o'clock in the evening Erskine, saying he was authorized to deof the day of the battle, the moon shin- clare that his Majesty's Orders in Council ing brightly, the two squadrons weighed of January and November, 1807, would anchor and sailed into Put-in-Bay, not be withdrawn on June 10 next ensuing. far from Sandusky, out of which the On the same day (April 19) the PresiAmerican fleet had sailed that morning. The last survivor of the battle of Lake Erie was John Norris, who died at Petersburg, Va., in January, 1879.

dent issued a proclamation declaring that trade with Great Britain might be resumed after June 10. This proclamation gave great joy in the United States. Partisan strife was hushed, and the President was toasted and feasted by leading

Ernst, OSWALD HERBERT, military officer; born in Cincinnati, O., June 27, 1842; graduated at West Point in Federalists, as a Washingtonian worthy 1864, and entered the Engineer Corps; superintendent of West Point in 189398; appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers in May, 1898, and served in the war against Spain. He was sent to Porto Rico, and had command of the troops in the action of Coamo. He is the author of Practical Military Engineering.

of all confidence. In the House of Representatives, John Randolph, who lauded England for her magnanimity, offered (May 3, 1809) a resolution which declared "that the promptitude and frankness with which the President of the United States has met the overtures of the government of Great Britain towards a restoration of harmony and freer commercial intercourse Erskine, DAVID MONTAGUE, BARON, between the two nations meet the apdiplomatist; born in England in 1776; proval of this House." The joy was of soon after 1806 was sent to the United brief duration. Mr. Erskine was soon States as British envoy. He was on duty afterwards compelled to communicate to in Washington at the time of Madison's the President (July 31) that his governaccession to the Presidency. He found ment had refused to sanction his arrangethe new President so exceedingly anxious ment, ostensibly because the minister had for peace and good feeling between the exceeded his instructions, and was not two countries that he had written to Can- authorized to make any such arrangement. ning, the British minister, such letters Mr. Erskine was recalled. The true reaon the subject that he was instructed to son for the rejection by the British aupropose to the Americans a reciprocal thorities of the arrangement made by repeal of all the prohibitory laws upon Erskine probably was, that, counting upon certain conditions. Those conditions were the fatal effects of sectional strife in so partial towards Great Britain, requir- the Union, already so rampant in some ing the Americans to submit to the rule places, the British government was enof 1756, that they were rejected. Very couraged to believe that the bond of union soon, however, arrangements were made would be so weakened that a scheme then by which, upon the Orders in Council be- perfecting by the British ministry for ing repealed, the President should issue destroying that Union would be successful. a proclamation declaring a restoration of England having spurned the olive-branch commercial intercourse with Great Brit- so confidingly offered, the President of ain, but leaving all restrictive laws as the United States issued another proclaagainst France in full force. Mr. Erskine mation (Aug. 9, 1809), declaring the non

intercourse act to be again in full force 1799. On June 26, 1812, under command in regard to Great Britain.

Erskine, SIR WILLIAM, British soldier; born in 1728; entered the English army in 1743; commanded one of the brigades at the battle of Long Island in 1776; and was second in command of Tryon's expedition to Danbury in April, 1777. In the next year he took command of the east ern district of Long Island. He died March 9, 1795.

of Capt. David Porter, she left Sandy Hook, N. J., on a cruise, with a flag at her masthead bearing the significant words, "FREE-TRADE AND SAILORS' RIGHTS." He soon captured several English merchant vesels, making trophy bonfires of most of them on the ocean, and their crews his prisoners. After cruising southward sev eral weeks in disguise, capturing a prize now and then, he turned northward, and chased a fleet of English transports bearing 1,000 troops to Halifax, convoyed by a frigate and a bomb-vessel. He captured one of the transports, and a few days afterwards (Aug. 13) fell in with the British armed ship Alert, Capt. T. L. P. Langhorne, mounting twenty 18pounder carronades and six smaller guns. The Essex was disguised as a merchantman. The Alert followed her for some time, and at length opened fire with three cheers from her people. Porter caused his ports to be knocked out in an instant, when his guns responded with terrible effect. It was a complete surprise. The Alert was so badly injured and her people were so panic-stricken that the conflict was short. In spite of the efforts of the oflicers, the men of the Alert ran below for safety. She was surrendered in a sinking condition. She was the first British naval vessel captured in the war. Nobody was killed on either vessel.

Esopus War, THE. There had been a massacre by the Indians of Dutch settlers at Esopus (now Kingston, N. Y.) in 1655. The settlers had fled to Manhattan for security, but had been persuaded by Stuyvesant to return to their farms, where they built a compact village for mutual protection. Unfortunately, some Indians, who had been helping the Dutch in their harvests in the summer of 1658, became noisy in a drunken rout, and were fired upon by the villagers. This outrage caused fearful retaliation. The Indians desolated the farms, and murdered the people in isolated houses. The Dutch put forth their strength to oppose the barbarians, and the "Esopus War" continued until 1664 intermittingly. Some Indians, taken prisoners, were sent to Curaçoa and sold as slaves. The anger of the Esopus Indians was aroused, and, in 1663, the village of Wiltwyck, as the Esopus village was called, was almost totally destroyed. Stuyvesant was there When Commodore Bainbridge at the time, holding a conference with the about to sail from Boston with the ConIndians in the open fields, when the de- stitution and Hornet, orders were sent to structive blow fell. The houses were Captain Porter, of the Esser, then lying plundered and burned, and men, hurrying in the Delaware, to cruise in the track from the fields to protect their families and property, were either shot down or carried away captive. The struggle was desperate, but the white people were vietorious. When the assailants were driven away, they carried off forty women and children; and in the heap of ruins which they left behind them were found the charred remains of twenty-one murdered villagers. It was the final event of violence of that war.

Esquemeling, JOHN, author of Buccaneers and Buccaneering in America, which has been frequently reprinted.

Essex, THE, a frigate of 860 tons, rated at thirty-two guns, but actually carried forty-six; built in Salem, Mass., in

Was

of the West Indiamen, and at a specified time to rendezvous at certain ports, when, if he should not fall in with the flag-ship of the squadron, he would be at liberty to follow the dictates of his own judgment. Having failed to find the Constitution at any appointed rendezvous. and having provided himself with funds by taking $55,000 from a British packet, Porter made sail for the Pacific Ocean around Cape Horn. While in these waters, Porter seized twelve armed British whale-ships, with an aggregate of 502 men and 107 guns. These were what he entered the Pacific Ocean for. He armed some of them, and at one time he had a fleet of nine vessels. He sent