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not restrain himself as he saw the British fleet maneuvering off the Canadian coast, and on the 10th of September, 1813, with all his squadron, he engaged the British fleet. Perry's flag-ship, the Lawrence, was disabled, and he boarded the Niagara. He had placed some Kentucky riflemen in the masts, and under their deadly fire a large number of British officers and seamen were killed, and after a tremendous conflict, at three o'clock the British flag was hauled down, and for the first time in her naval history Great Britain, the "Mistress of the Sea," had lost an entire squadron, and had surrendered this to a young man only twenty-seven years of age. His dispatch to General William Harrison, then in camp at the falls of the Maumee, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," immortalized him. It is unfortunate that all the names of these Kentucky riflemen have not been preserved; they numbered about one hundred and fifty. They were largely from Colonel William E. Boswell's and Colonel R. M. Johnson's regiments, and their accurate aim did much to dishearten the British and keep the decks clear during the conflict. This victory gave to the United States the mastery of Lake Erie. It was impossible for the British to construct a navy and organize a naval force on Lake Erie again, and the destruction of Commodore Barclay's fleet made access to Canadian territory by the United States

entirely practicable and comparatively easy, and rendered possible the pursuit, which was afterward made, of Proctor and Tecumseh. Perry subsequently carried his ships into Lake St. Clair, and in person he followed the fortunes of General Harrison and Governor Shelby. Six hundred British sailors were made prisoners. Commodore Barclay,

the British commander, went into battle with one arm, and during the fight lost the other. The British loss in killed and wounded was two hundred, American loss twenty-six killed and ninety-six wounded. The news of this magnificent victory was communicated to the Kentucky troops about fifteen miles from Portage River, and gave new zeal and enthusiasm to the Kentuckians as they were nearing the end of their tedious and difficult march.

III

JOHNSON'S REGIMENT JOINS IN PURSUIT OF THE

FLYING ENEMY

Colonel Johnson's regiment, with the exception of one company, had been encamped at Fort Meigs since the middle of September. It had been placed there to awe the Indians and to keep General Harrison posted as to the military conditions then existing west of Fort Meigs.

On the evening of the 25th of September a messenger arrived with orders from General Harrison to march immediately to the river Raisin. With the dawning of

The military instincts

the morning the march was begun. of these veterans convinced them that the time of action had come. They had known of a large Indian force at Brownstown, and among men and officers there was a feeling that in forty-eight hours the command would come in contact with the enemy. For the use of the regiment four pieces of light artillery were taken from Fort Meigs, each of which was manned by a captain and ten men. These captains were Craig, Turner, Gist, and Sanford. On the twenty-eighth they reached the river Raisin. Frenchtown, the scene of the awful calamity nine months before, had been abandoned by its inhabitants, with the exception of a few French families.

men.

As they approached the town they saw the bones of their massacred brothers scattered over the plains for three miles south of the river. Ninety days before Colonel Johnson had sent a detachment to the battlefield, which had collected and buried the remains of many who had fallen on the fatal field. These interments, however, had been hasty, and the graves had been opened and the bones scattered afresh over the land. This awful sight produced a tremendous effect on the hearts of the With these grim reminders before them they saw again the helpless wounded prisoners and the barbarous savages bent on their schemes of murder, outrage, and robbery. They looked in grief and reverential awe on the spot where the noble and gallant Allen had fallen, where the handsome and brilliant Hart had gone down, and where the chivalrous Woolfolk, had been butchered. Before them was the ruin in which the ashes of Hickman and his companions were mingled, and near by were pointed out the places where Simpson had found his end, where Montgomery and Davis and McAfee, with selfsacrificing faithfulness in their devotion to their wounded comrades, had met an honorable though barbarous death, and where Lieutenant Graves had been shamefully slain. In the early morning an Indian guide had taken them to the spot where Simpson had been put to death. His

extraordinary height, six and a half feet, enabled his friends to identify his remains, and they were given honorable sepulture. This sad duty having been performed, the line of march was at once taken up.

On the following morning Colonel Johnson crossed the Huron River, and there received a dispatch from General Harrison in regard to the true condition on the east side of the Detroit River and of the position of his force, half way between Malden and Sandwich, in full pursuit of the

enemy.

The troops marched all this day at half speed. On arriving at the river Decasse they found Captain Benjamin Warfield had been sent over by General Harrison to repair the bridge. The Indians, on the west side of the Detroit River, had prepared an ambuscade at this place, expecting that Colonel Johnson would march by night into Detroit.

The regiment encamped at Rouge River that night, where they were re-enforced by four companies of regulars and one of militia from General Harrison's headquarters opposite Detroit, some uneasiness having been felt for the safety of Colonel Johnson on account of the large number of Indians who had been seen prowling on the east side. On the 30th of September, at twelve o'clock, the regiment, after a hard morning's march, entered Detroit.

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