ommodore
Perry left her in charge of his first lieutenant, Yarnal, and hoisted
the pendant on board the _Niagara_. Soon after Commodore Perry had left
the _Lawrence_, her colours were struck, but the British, from weakness
of their crews and destruction of their boats, were unable to take
possession of her.

It was at this anxious and interesting juncture that the fate of the day
seemed to poise in favour of the British; and Commodore Perry even
despaired of the victory, when a sudden breeze revived his hopes, and
turned the scale in his favour. This fortunate commander, finding the
_Niagara_ had suffered lightly in the engagement, made a desperate
effort to retrieve the fortune of the day, and taking advantage of the
breeze, shot ahead of the _Lady Prevost, Queen Charlotte_, and _Hunter_,
raking them with her starboard guns, and engaged the _Detroit_, which,
being raked in all directions, soon became unmanageable. The _Niagara_
then bore around ahead of the _Queen Charlotte_, and hauling up on
starboard tack, engaged that ship, giving at the same time a raking fire
with her larboard guns to the _Chippewa_ and the _Little Belt_, while
the smaller vessels, closing to grape and canister distance, maintained
a most destructive fire. This masterly and but too successful
manoeuvre decided the contest. Captain Barclay being severely and
dangerously wounded, Captain Finnis, of the _Queen Charlotte_, killed,
and every commander and officer second in command either killed or
disabled, the _Detroit_ and _Queen Charlotte_, perfect wrecks, after a
desperate engagement of upwards of three hours, were compelled to
surrender.

By this decisive action, the whole of the British squadron on Lake Erie
was captured by the enemy, who now became masters of the lake. The enemy
lost in this action twenty-seven men in killed and ninety-six men
wounded. The British lost three officers and thirty-eight men killed,
and nine officers and eighty-five men wounded.

The prisoners were landed at Sandusky, and treated with the greatest
humanity by the American commodore, who paroled Captain Barclay, and
treated that gallant officer with all the kindness and attention which
his unsuccessful bravery deserved.

The British army in possession of the Michigan territory and the
neighbourhood of Detroit, by this disastrous defeat, were deprived of
every prospect of obtaining future supplies from Kingston by way of Lake
Ontario, and a speedy evacuation of