though
possibly not of their best, from the distance at which Perry changed
his speed. Elliott's battery was the same as Perry's. He thus
continued until it became evident that, the "Queen Charlotte" having
gone to the support of the "Detroit," the "Lawrence" was heavily
overpowered. Then, not earlier than an hour after Perry bore down, he
realized that his commander-in-chief would be destroyed under his
eyes, unless he went to his support, and he himself would rest under
the imputation of an inefficient spectator. He ordered the "Caledonia"
to bear up, in order that he might pass (position 3; C_{1}, C_{2}).
Though not demonstrably certain, it seems probable that the wind,
light throughout, was now so fallen as to impede the retrieval of his
position; the opportunity to close, used by Perry, had passed away. At
all events it was not till between 2 and 2.30 that the "Niagara"
arrived on the scene, within effective range of the carronades which
constituted nine tenths of her battery.

With this began the second stage of the battle (3). Perry's bearing
down, receiving only the support of the long guns of the "Caledonia"
and of the schooners ahead of him, had brought the "Lawrence" into hot
engagement with the "Detroit," supported a half hour later by the
"Queen Charlotte." By a little after two o'clock both flagships were
well-nigh disabled, hull and battery; the "Lawrence" most so, having
but one gun left out of ten on the broadside. "At 2.30," wrote
Barclay, "the Detroit was a perfect wreck, principally from the raking
fire of the gunboats." Which gunboats? Evidently the "Ariel" and
"Scorpion," for all agree that the rear four were at this hour still
far astern, though not absolutely out of range. To these last was
probably due the crippling of the "Lady Prevost," which by now had
gone to leeward with her rudder injured. Up to this time, when the
first scene closed, what had been the general course of the action?
and what now the situation? Assuming, as is very probable, that
Barclay did not open with his long 24's until Perry was a mile, two
thousand yards, from him,--that distance requiring six degrees
elevation for those guns,--an estimate of speeds and courses, as
indicated by the evidence, would put the "Lawrence" in action, at two
hundred and fifty yards, at 12.10. This calculation, made
independently, received subsequent confirmation in consulting
Barclay's report, which says 12.15.[94] The same time, for the du