LIBRARY OF CONGRESS QQ01t.a'=5t,37fl -./ -.v' ■ ■^^, ,0' X 'i^' "^^ A - v.-^^ ^ > ,v - ,-0 /' y^.^ ^'^""^-^ ^^•'^St*'^ c/'^ ^°-.„ "^oV^"" .*^ . s"-< ^'^' ^^^ 6°<~ ^a A-^ -<. « c// i,v: ,,v . ,',•.. ^' X ''::^^r' ^^ .,v'^ ^ ^ . ' / K •■3K' ,/% ^*«».^ / \ '■■i&^ /'\'i % <-. '^a>V 'C 9 >. ' .0' a\V .v^^ '/ •V ^^ aV .^*^ COMMODORE OLIVER HAZARD PERRY United States Navv THE PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENARY REPORT OF THE PERRY'S Victory Centennial Commission STATE OF NEW YORK COMPILED BY GEORGE D. EMERSON SECRETARY ALBANY J. B. LYON COMPANY, PRINTERS 1916 £"3 sL> E \i ;. D. of D. FEB 20 1917 REPORT OF THE Perry's Victory Centennial Commission STATE OF NEW YORK October 1, 1916. To the Honorable the Governor and the Legislature: Pursuant to the requirements of Section 5, Chapter 190 of the Laws of 1913, we have the honor to herewith submit a report of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission of the State of New York, cover- ing its work to the first day of October, 1916. William J. Conners, Chairman. John F. Malone, Chairman Executive Committee, William L. Ormrod, Vice-Chairman, George D. Emerson, Secretary, William Simon, Treasurer, Edward Schoeneck, Simon L. Adler, Edward D. Jackson, Jacob Schifferdecker, William F. Rafferty, Charles H. Wiltsie. Contents Page Battle of Lake Erie — Action of New York State Senate, 1814 1 Action of the State of Ohio and other States for a centennial celebration ... 3 New York State Commission 4 Permanent organization. New York Commission 5 Interstate Board organized 6 Perry Memorial design adopted 7 Raising the Niagara 8 Celebration dates adopted 10 Buffalo Centennial Committee 10 Women's Committee, Perry Centennial 12 Preliminary gatherings 12 Trip of the Harvlf 14 New York Commissioners visit various celebrations 15 Programme of Buffalo Celebration 17 Arrival of the Perry flagship Niagara 28 Opening Exercises, Buffalo celebration 29 Public meeting, Women's Committee 30 Official banquet 52 Public meeting, Buffalo Chapter, Daughters of 1812 80 Spectacular features, Buffalo celebration, military parade, fireworks, boat laces, firemen's parade, aviation, etc 84 Departure of the Niagara 89 Work of the Women's Committee 91 Meeting of Colored people 93 Various matters, press, police, music. New York Central exhibit, etc 95 Perry Statue 96 Financial statement 99 vi Contents APPENDICES Page A. The Battle of Lake Erie 105-159 Henry Watterson 107 Frank H. Severance 113 George Bancroft 1 28 William V. Taylor 156 B. The Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay 159-168 Joseph Henry Freedlander 161 C. Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners 169-176 D. Address by Hon. John M. Whitehead, Put-in-Bay, July 4. 1913. 177-192 E. America's Message to the Nations 193—206 Dr. James A. MacDonald, Put-in-Bay, September 10, 1913 195 F. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York 207—210 G. Perry's Victory Centennial Committee, City of Buffalo, N. Y. . . 211-214 H. Women's Committee, Buffalo, N. Y., Perry's Victory Centennial celebration 215-219 I. Official procedings. New York Legislature, Perry's Victory Cen- tennial celebration 221 —226 J. Rewarding the Victors, Muster Roll, American fleet, killed and wounded, etc 227-25 1 K. Official reports, despatches and letters. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry 253-261 L. Naval operations around Buffalo, N. Y 263-270 M. Commodore Stephen Champlin, United States Navy 271-276 N. Official report, battle of Lake Erie, Captain Robert H. Barclay, Royal Navy 277-283 O. Tenth annual encampment, United Spanish War Veterans 284-286 Illustrations Facing Page 1. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Frontispiece 2. Chairman William J. Conners 8 3. Hon. John F. Malone, Chairman Elxecutive Committee 8 4. Secretary George D. Emerson 8 5. Hon. Simon L. Adler 8 6. Hon. William L. Ormrod 16 7. William Simon, Treasurer 16 8. Hon. Robert F. Wagner 16 9. Hon. Edward D. Jackson 16 1 0. Hon. William F. Rafferty 32 11. Dr. Clinton B. Herrick 32 1 2. Hon. Jacob Schifferdecker 32 1 3. Hon. Edward Schoeneck 32 14. Charles H. Wiltsie 48 1 5. Arrival of the Niagara at Buffalo 48 1 6. Colonel John T. Mott 48 1 7. Henry Harmon Noble 48 1 8. Governor Charles E. Hughes 64 1 9. Governor Horace White 64 20. Governor Martin H. Glynn 64 2 i . Hon. Louis P. Fuhrmann 64 22. Deck view of the Niagara 80 23. The Perry Flagship Niagara 80 24. Salute to the Niagara, Buffalo, N. Y 80 25. The Flagship Niagara off her anchorage, Buffalo, N. Y 80 26. The Niagara at her anchorage, Buffalo, N. Y 96 27. The Niagara, Wolverine and the Eissex 96 vu viii Illustrations Facing Page 28. Inspecting mementos of Commodore Perry 96 29. One of the Niagara's guns 96 30. Map of the battle of Lake Erie 110 31. " Don't give up the ship " 112 32. Edward P. Murphy 112 33. Firemen's Committee, Buffalo celebration 112 34. Departure of the Niagara 112 35. Map of Put-in-Bay and vicinity 122 36. Mrs. Esther C. Davenport 128 37. Commodore Perry statue, Buffalo, N. Y 128 38. South face. Perry statue, Buffalo, N. Y 128 39. North face. Perry statue, Buffalo, N. Y 128 40. Battle of Lake Erie 1 44 41. Official invitation, Buffalo celebration 144 42. Sailing orders. Commodore Perry, June 12, 1813 144 43. Sailing orders. Commodore Perry. June 12, 1813 144 44. Hon. Edward H. Butler 1 60 45. Pennsylvania State medal. Commodore Perry 160 46. The Mary Alice 160 47. Naval gunboat Har>>I( 160 48. Special order. Commodore Perry 176 49. Wine case from the Laxvrence 1 76 50. Buffalo Historical Society mementos 1 76 5 1 . Captain William L. Morrison 1 76 52. Commodore Elisha P. Hussey 192 53. The Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay 192 54. Winter scene at the Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay 192 55. Commodore George H. Worthington 192 56. Colonel Henry Watterson 208 5 7. Hon. A. E. Sisson 208 58. Webster P. Huntington 208 Illustrations ix Facing Page 59. Mackenzie R. Todd 208 60. Main Street. Buffalo, N. Y 224 61 . Motor Boat Races, Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y 224 62. March up Main Street, Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y 224 63. Naval Militia, Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y 224 64. Troop I, First New York Cavalry, Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y. . 240 65. Advertising the Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y 240 66. Hon. William J. Stern 240 67. The Perry's Victory Centennial Commission and the Perry's Victory Centennial Committee 240 68. Women's Committee, Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y 256 69. General Samuel M. Welch 256 70. The Court of Honor, Perry Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y 256 71 . Commodore Stephen Champlin 256 72. Map of the Niagara Frontier 264 73. Captain Robert H. Barclay 272 The PERRY'S Victory Centenary THE GREAT NAVAL BATTLE, known officially in the annals of the United States Navy as the Battle of Lake Erie, but more popularly designated Perry's Victory, was fought at about eight miles north- west of Put-in-Bay (South Bass Island) in Lake Erie, on the tenth day of September, 1813. Two fleets contended for the mastery in this action — an American fleet commanded by Conmiodore Oliver Hazard Perry and a British fleet under Captain Robert H. Barclay. Victory, as is well known, rested with the American squadron. The results of the battle were far reaching in their extent. By it was not only the control of the lakes assured to the Americans, a great issue of itself in the early part of the War of 1812, but it also made certain that the vast extent of territory now covered by the western part of the State of Pennsylvania, northern Ohio, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, and all of the States of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota was thenceforward to be a part of the United States of America and its flag the Star Spangled Banner and not the Union Jack of Great Britain. As an evidence of appreciation, at an early day. of the great victory won by Commodore Perry, the following action was taken by the Senate of the State of New York, February 3, 1814: The Senate of the State of New York, feeling a deep interest in the welfare of our beloved country, desirous that its rights be asserted and its honor maintained, anxious for its prosperity and glory and grateful to all whose exertions have pro- moted these objects, resolve as follows: State of New York Resolved unanimously). That the Senate views with the highest satisfaction, pleasure and pride, the victory obtained by the Navy of the United States, on Lake Erie, under the command of Commodore Ohver H. Perry, over the Navy of Great Britain, on that lake, on the 1 0th day of September last, a victory as glorious, by the lustre which it reflects on the nation, as by the important advantages which it secures to her cause. Resolved unanimously. That the Senate entertains the highest sense of the valor, skill and conduct of Commodore Perry in his arduous engagement with the British fleet, and hereby declares to the world the profound gratification it feels to him for this great achievement, which, while it has exalted his country, has covered his own name with immortal glory. Resolved, That the Governor of this state be requested to communicate these resolutions to Commodore Perry. In compliance with the resolutions the Governor, on February 5, 1814, addressed Commodore Perry the following letter: Albany, February 5, 1814. Sir.. — I have the honor to present to you the resolutions of the Senate of the State of New York, expressive of their high sense of the valor, skill and conduct displayed on the I 0th day of September last, in the victory obtained by the Navy of Lake Erie under your command, over that of Great Britain, and of their profound gratitude for that great achievement. Permit me, at the same lime, to say that my own estimation of the conduct exhibited on the memorable 1 0th of September harmonizes with that of the Senate, and to declare my own feelings of gratitude to yourself and to the heroic officers and men who fought with you on that signal occasion. With great consideration and esteem, I am. Sir, Your Obedient Servant, Daniel D. Tompkins. Commodore OLIVER H. Perry. The Perry's Victory Centenary To this letter Commodore Perry made the following reply: Newport, March 28, 1814. Sir. — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, covering reso- lutions of the Senate of the State of New York in relation to the action of the 10th of September, 1813, on Lake Erie. It is a source of great pleasure to me that my exertions in the cause of my country should be viewed in a favorable light by so respectable a body as the Senate of the State of New York. I feel highly gratified also in your testimony in favor of my brave officers and men. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your Obedient Humble Servant, O. H. Perry. His Excellency, DaNIEL D. TompkINS. The first movement towards commemorating the one hundredth anni- versary of this battle was inaugurated by the State of Ohio. In 1 908 the Ohio General Assembly authorized the Governor to appoint five com- missioners to prepare and catty out plans for a centennied celebration and authorized the commissioners thus appointed by Governor Andrew L. Harris, on June 22, 1908, to invite the co-operation of the lake States and the commonwealths of Rhode Island and Kentucky. During a period of two years following, this invitation was accepted by the appointments of commissioners, in the order named, in the States of Pennsylvania, Michi- gan, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island, Kentucky and Minnesota, and later the State of Louisiana appointed commissioners, as did also the United States government pursuant to Act of Congress. In the State of New York, on the twenty-fifth day of January, 1910, resolutions accepting the invitation extended by the State of Ohio, and providing for the appointment by the Governor of a Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, were offered by the Hon. Henry W. Hill, Senator from the Forty-eighth District, known as concurrent resolution 23. State of New York Tliere was some opposition to the proposition at first but through the exer- tions of Mr. Hill, in which he was greatly aided by the late Hon. TTiomas F. Grady in the Senate and the late Hon. Edwin A. Merritt in the Assem- bly, the resolutions were adopted in both houses of the Legislature. Under the authority thus conferred Governor Charles E. Hughes, on July 20, 1910, appointed the following citizens as commissioners: Ogden P. Letchworth, Buffalo, N. Y. ; George D. Emerson, Buffalo, N. Y.; John T. Mott. Oswego. N. Y. ; Clinton B.Herrick, M. D.. Troy, N. Y., and Henry Harmon Noble, Essex, N. Y. Mr. Letchworth resigned the appointment February 25, 1911. Mr. Mott January 8. 1913. and Mr. Noble June 6. 1913. Mr. William Simon of Buffalo, N. Y., was appointed May 9, 1911, in place of Mr. Letchworth; Mr. WilHam J. Conners of Buffalo. N. Y., on January 8, 1913, in place of Mr. Mott, and Mr. WiUiam F. Rafferty of Syracuse, N. Y., on June 16, 1913, in place of Henry Harmon Noble, resigned. Dr. Clinton B. Herrick died in Florida. March 23, 1915, and was succeeded by Charles H. Wiltsie of Rochester, N. Y. A bill was passed by the Legislature of 1913, and approved by the Governor April 3rd, becoming Chapter 190 of the Laws of 1913, reor- ganizing the Commission and making an appropriation of $150,000 for a celebration in New York State and in aid of the memorial to be erected at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, in memory of Commodore Perry and his officers and men who took part in the battle of Lake Erie. Under this act six members were added to the original Commission, viz : The Lieutenant- Governor exofficio, two State Senators and three Members of the Assem- bly, to be appointed respectively by the temporary President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly. Pursuant to this provision the follow- ing became additional members of the Commission: Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Martm H. Glynn, Senator John F. Malone, Senator William L, The Perry's Victory Centenary Ormrod and Assemblymen Simon L. Adler, Edward D. Jackson and Jacob Schifferdecker. On October 16th, Lieutenant-Governor Glynn became Governor of the State in place of William Sulzer and thereby vacated his membership in the Commission. He was succeeded by the Hon. Robert F. Wagner of New York City, whose term of office expired December 31, 1914. He was followed by the Hon. Edward Schoeneck of Syracuse, N. Y., Lieutenant-Governor. PERMANENT ORGANIZATION April 23, 191 3, a meeting of the Commission was held in the Ten Eyck Hotel at Albany, N. Y., at which time the following officers were elected: Chairman, William J. Conners; Vice-Chairman, William L. Ormrod; Treasurer, William Simon; Secretary, George D. Emerson. A by-law was adopted at this meeting providing for the appointment of an Executive Committee to take immediate charge of the work of the Commission. The Executive Committee thus authorized was organized by the appoint- ment of Senator John F. Malone, Chairman, Messrs. Martin H. Glynn, Simon L. Adler, Edward D. Jackson, Jacob Schifferdecker and the Chairman of the Commission, ex-officio. As the work progressed employees were appointed from time to time, and during the preparations for the celebration at Buffalo and in its execution, the following were connected with the work of the Commission : Clarence J. Murphy, stenographer; James Reed, Martin L. O'Shaugh- nessey, Charles J. Hahn, Joseph Stockmar, Samuel Meyer and Henry J. Weber, clerks; and Michael Rozewski, messenger. A publicity bureau was also established and placed in charge of James F. Doyle as chief and Benjamin L. Peer as assistant, both experienced newspaper men and thoroughly adapted for the work contemplated. The office of the State of New York Commission was located at No. 386 Ellicolt Square, Buffalo, N. Y., and the Citizens' Bcmk of Buffalo made its depository. On the 1 0th day of September, 1910, Commissioners representing the various states which had entered into the movement met at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, and formed an organization under the name of the Interstate Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners. Conmiissioner George H. Worthington of Ohio was elected President-General; Commissioner /Henry Watterson of Kentucky, Vice-President General; Commissioner Webster P. Huntington of Ohio, Secretary-General; Commissioner A. E. Sisson of Pennsylvania, Treasurer-General, and Commissioner Harry Cutler of Rhode Island, Auditor-General. TTiese officers have been con- tinued to the present time. Commissioner Clinton B. Herrick of New York, was made a member of the Elxecutive Committee and Commis- sioner George D. Emerson a member of the Committee on Legislation and Publicity. Commissioner O. P. Letchworth was chosen Vice- President-General for the State of New York for the years 1910-191 I ; Commissioner Henry Harmon Noble for the years 1911-1912, and Commissioner Willijim Simon, 1912-1913 and 1914. At the annual meeting of the Board at Put-in-Bay, September 10th, 1914, Commis- sioner Simon L. Adler was appointed a member of the Executive Com- mittee and Commissioner William L. Ormrod Vice-President-General for the State of New York for 1914-1915. At the annual meeting at Put-in-Bay, September 10th, 1915, Messrs. Adler and Ormrod were reappointed to these respective positions. Under the original statutes and resolutions of the different states, the purpose of the Interstate Board was to arrange for and to supervise the erection of a suitable memorial at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, in memory of Com- modore Oliver Hazard Perry and the officers and men of his fleet who The Perry's Victory Centenary participated in the naval battle, September 10, 1813, and an appropriate celebration in connection therewith. A meeting of the Interstate Board was held in the New Willard Hotel, Washington, D. C, January 29, 1912, participated in by Commissioners George D. Emerson and William Simon of New York, at which time the design for the memorial was adopted, the proposition accepted being that submitted by J. H. Freed- lander and A. D. Seymour, Jr., of New York City. The selection was made after a competition in which fifty-four designs were presented. Put-in-Bay, Ohio, was selected as the site of the proposed monument, it being the point at which the fleet of Commodore Perry was at anchor when the approach of the British vessels was discovered on the morning of September 10, 1813, and near which the fighting took place. On South Bass island, upon which the monument is erected, the officers killed in the battle, three of the American fleet and three of the British fleet, were buried the second day after the fight, appropriate funeral services being held, attended by officers and men of both fleets. TTie plan adopted, in brief, comprises a central shaft, 3 1 7 feet in height, constructed of New England granite, surmounted by a tripod eighteen feet high, containing a powerful electric light, the whole resting on a plaza 750 feet long by 458 feet in width. Flanking the central shaft there is proposed to be erected two buildings of the same material as the shaft, an historical museum and a memorial building, the whole adjacent to and facing the bay where Commodore Perry's fleet anchored and looking in the distance at the scene of the action. When completed it will rank with any similar structure in the world. At the annual meeting of the Interstate Board, at Put-in-Bay, Septem- ber 10, 1912, contracts aggregating $357,000 were authorized, an amount sufficient to complete the memorial shaft, and this part of the work is now 8 State of New York finished. The contract was awarded to J. C. Robinson & Son of New York City. At the meeting of the Interstate Board in Cleveland, Ohio, November 19, 1913, provision was made for completing the plaza as far as the funds available would permit. At the annual meeting of the Inter- state Board, held at Put-in-Bay, September 10, 1914, Honorable A. E. Sisson, Treasurer-General, reported that to July 26, 1914, the total cost oi work on the Put-in-Bay Memorial, partly paid by the Interstate Board and partly by the Ohio State Commission and including site and clearing same, architects' fees, legal expenses, etc., was $312,127.84. RAISING THE NIAGARA As the movement progressed the proposed celebration widened very materially in its scope. In the latter part of the year 191 1 and early in the year 1912 the project of raising, from her long resting place. Perry's flagship, the Niagara, was agitated, and at the annual meeting of the Interstate Board held at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, September 10, 1912, finally took definite shape. Soon after the close of the War of 1812, the two brigs which had served Commodore Perry as flagships during the battle of September 10, 1813, the LaivTence and the Niagara, were scuttled and sunk in Misery Bay, Erie harbor, Pennsylvania. In 1876 during the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, the Lawrence was raised, trans- ported to Philadelphia, cut up and the pieces sold for souvenirs. The Niagara, however, was not disturbed prior to March, 1913. The prop- osition finally adopted was that the Niagara should be raised from under the waters of Misery Bay, restored to her original lines and taken on a trip through the great lakes, calling at such cities as were willing to organize a local celebration in honor of the visit of the old war vessel. The Pennsylvania State Commission asked the privilege of doing the work WILLIAM J. CONNERS Chairman, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New "^'ork HON. JOHN F. MALONE Chairman, Executive Committee, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York, State Senator, ]9I 3-1914 GEORGE D. EMERSON Secretary. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New 'i'ork HON. SIMON L. ADLER Member of Assembly, 1912-13-14-15-16. and Member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New ^'ork The Perry's Victory Centenary of raising and refitting the Niagara at their own expense and it wa» granted. Divers who had examined the remains of the Niagara under water reported the wood composing her to be in good condition and that there was no question but that she could be raised and rebuilt. It is with the greatest pleasure that we are able to report that this project, unique in the history of the navies of the world, was successfully carried out and that millions of people along the great lakes and adjacent thereto, were enabled to look upon and visit a war vessel which had taken part in a great naval battle 1 00 years before and which again traversed the waters sailed over at that time. It is impossible to describe in words the enthusiasm which the appearance of this time honored craft aroused in the multitudes who were permitted to share in the wonderful spectacle, unequalled in any generation and which possibly may never be duplicated. In April, 1913, the Niagara was raised from under the waters of Misery Bay, taken ashore and rebuilt. She was launched June 7th, almost an exact century after her original entry into the waters of Lake Erie. Masts, rigging and cannon after the style of the brig of 1813, were procured at the Boston Navy Yard and at the time of the first celebra- tion, which took place at Erie, Pennsylvania, commencing July 6th, the rejuvenated war vessel was fully equipped and ready for her latter day voyage. In compliance with invitations issued by the Interstate Board, repre- sentatives from the various cities along the lakes, which were planning to have local celebrations, met with the Interstate Board at the annual meet- ing at Put-in-Bay, September 10, 1912. After considerable discussion as to the proposed chain of celebrations, based upon a visit of the Niagara to different lake ports, an adjournment was had to meet in Detroit, Michigan, in October. A meeting was duly held at the Ponchartrain 10 State of New York Hotel, October 2nd. At this meeting a schedule of celebrations was arranged, and after some modifications, decided upon as follows: Eric, Pa Week of July 6th July 1 3th Fairport. Ohio July 1 4th 1 5th Lorain. Ohio 1 5th 20th Put-in-Bay. Ohio 20th 26th Monroe. Mich 26th 27th Toledo. Ohio 27th 30th Milwaukee, Wis Aug. 4th Aug. 8th Green Bay, Wis. . 10th 1 3th Chicago. Ill 16th 21st Put-in-Bay. Ohio 26th 28th Buffalo. N. Y Sept. 2nd Sept. 6th Sandusky, Ohio 8th and 9th Put-in-Bay. Ohio 1 0th and 1 1 th Detroit, Mich 1 2th and 1 3th Cleveland. Ohio 14th 1 7th BUFFALO COMMITTEE In the meantime, anticipating the outcome of the proposed series of celebrations, the people at Buffalo had taken active steps for the organiza- tion of a Citizens' Committee. Resolutions were adopted by the Common Council and approved by the Mayor, providing for the appointment of a Perry's Victory Centennial Committee of the city of Buffalo, to be con- stituted as follows: The Mayor, President of the Board of Councilmen, President of the Board of Aldermen and all members of the New York State Commission residing in Buffalo, ex-officio, nine citizens to be named by the Mayor, three councilmen to be named by the President of the Board of Councilmen, seven aldermen to be named by the President of the Board of Aldermen, and five members of the Chamber of Commerce to be selected by the President of that body. The following appoint- ments were made under the authority conferred by the resolution : The Perry's Victory Centenary 11 Mayor of the City of Buffalo. Hon. Louis P. Fuhrtnann; President. Board of Councilmen. Charles L. Willert (1912). Horace C. Mills (1913): President. Board of Aldermen, George K. Staples (1912). Edward Sperry (1913); all members of New York State Commission residing in Buffalo. Citizens* Committee: Charles R. Wilson. Frederick J. Meyer. Michael Nellany. Thomas Stoddart. Gen. G. Barrett Rich. Leslie J. Bennett. George C. Ginther. Henry C. Steul. Hon. Henry \V. Hill. Board of Councilmen: Francis T. Coppins. B. Dorasewicz. Board of Aldermen: Col. George J. Haffa. George J. Burley. Thomas H. McDonough, John P. Sullivan. William G. Humphrey, George Vosseller. Edward Stengel. Chamber of Commerce: M. Emmett Taber. O. H. P. Champlin. Gen. Edgar B. Jewett. Gen. Samuel M. Welch and Captain Thomas E. Boyd. The following were subsequently by a vote of the committee appointed additional members: Dr. Francis E. Fronczak. Colonel Charles J. Wolf, Captain George H. Norton, Harry J. Knepper. Charles F. Reif. Frank H. Severance, Richard L. Kirtland, Charles E. Baker. The Committee was organized in the Mayor's Office, Buffalo. June 1 2, 1912, by the election of the following officers: George D. Emerson. Chairman; General Edgar B. Jewett, Vice-Chairman; Harold J. Balliett, Secretary ; Gen. G. Barrett Rich, Treasurer. The time for the celebra- tion in Buffalo was designated September 2nd to 6th inclusive, and the City Committee, above named, continued in existence until the close of the celebration, forming a most valuable auxiliary to the State Commis- sion in assisting to plan and carry on the very successful celebration which was held in the city of Buffalo. Soon after his election as Secretary of the State Commission, Mr. Emerson resigned the chairmanship of the Committee and was succeeded by General Edgar B. Jewett. In 1912 the city of Buffalo appropriated the sum of $2,500 for the use of this 12 State of New York Committee in connection with the celebration, and in 1913 the further sum of $3,400. WOMEN'S COMMITTEE In November, 1 9 1 2, a Women's Committee, to assist in the celebration, was appointed with Mrs. Esther C. Davenport, a long time member of the editorial staff, Buffalo News, as Chairman. Mrs. Davenport called to her assistance a large force of the best known and most capable women in the city of Buffalo, and under their leadership a series of receptions and other functions was arranged, designed especially for the entertain- ment of the distinguished visitors who should come to Buffalo during the celebration. These several functions were cared for in a most delightful manner and contributed very largely to the feeling of satisfaction with which the celebration was very generally received. A full list of the Women's Committee appears as an appendix to this report and the part borne by the Committee is included later in the report. Preliminary to the work of organizing the celebration in Buffalo, two important gatherings took place in that city which called still greater attention to the importance of the project and directed public thought to its preparations. The first of these was the meeting of the Intercities Com- mittee, Perry's Victory Centennial Celebration, on the I 1th and 12th of December, 1912, at the Iroquois Hotel. Representatives were present from eleven of the lake cities and the city of Louisville, Kentucky, for the purpose of considering features which might be made common in all the cities proposing to hold Perry Victory Centennial celebrations. Many designs for street decorations, including a Court of Honor, pageants, fire- works, spectacular dramas, official souvenirs, etc., etc., were considered. A very pleasant feature of the gathering was an automobile ride, arranged by the Buffalo local committee, during which a visit was made to the The Perry's Victory Centenary 13 rooms of the Buffalo Historical Society, where a number of relics of the Perry fleet are deposited; to Forest Lawn Cemetery, where a memorial wreath was placed by Commodore George H. Worthington, President- General, at the request of the Buffalo Committee, on the grave of Com- modore Stephen Champlin, U. S. Navy, who commanded the Scorpion in the battle of Lake Erie, September 10th, 1813; to Scajaquada Creek, in which was located in 1812 and 1813 the ship yard where five of Com- modore Perry's vessels were fitted out for the naval service and to " The Front," a section of the Park system, overlooking the head of Niagara Rivi^r, the scene of Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott's bold exploit on the night of October <5th, 1812, in cutting out the Caledonia and Detroit, two British vessels, from under the guns of Fort Erie, where they lay at anchor. TTie second of these events was a Perry Centennial banquet, given at the Iroquois Hotel, Saturday evening, March 27th, 1913, by the Buffalo Yacht Club, at whose dock by courtesy of the club, the flagship Niagara was anchored during her stay in Buffalo in the September following. In addition to the members of the club a number of invited guests were present, including the Hon. John P. Sanborn of Newport, Rhode Island, Chairman of the Rhode Island Commission, and Mayor William J. J. Stern of Erie, Pa., Chairman of the Intercities Committee, Perry's Victory Centennial Celebration. Dr. Elisha P. Hussey, Commodore of the club, acted as toastmaster. Addresses were made by the Mayor of Buffalo, Hon. Louis P. Fuhrmann; Secretary George D. Emerson of the New York Commission, Hon. Peter A. Porter of North Tona- wanda, Frank H. Severance, Esq., of the Buffalo Historical Society, Mayor Stern and Chairman Sanborn. During Mr. Severance's address he exhibited the original order, written and issued by Commodore Perry in June, 1813, for the transfer and sailing from Buffalo to Erie, Pa., to 14 State of New York join the balance of the fleet there, of the vessels Caledonia, Somers, Trippe, Ohio and Amelia. The formal speeches were varied by appropriate music. The schedule for the trip of the Niagara provided that the flagship should leave Erie, Pennsylvania, at the close of the celebration at that place, July 13th, for her long trip through the lakes to Chicago, returning thence to Buffalo, for the celebration, and from there to Put-in Bay for the ceremonies on the Centennial day. The question of a suitable escort came up. It w^as deemed unwise or impracticable for the Niagara to make the trip under her own sails and the Pennsylvania State Commission placed the United Stales naval gunboat Wolverine, stationed at Erie, at the disposal of the Interstate Board for the voyage and it was finally arranged that the Niagara should be towed by the Wolverine through her extensive travels. The Ohio State Commission placed in service the United States naval gunboat Essex and the Secretary of the United States Treasury detailed the revenue cutters Tuscarora and Morrell for escort duty. The naval gunboat Yaniic was also attached to the fleet, by the courtesy of the Michigan State Commission. The New York State Commissioners realizing that it was their duty to furnish a similar vessel foT the service, arranged to have the United States naval gunboat Hatvk, ordinarily stationed at Buffalo, for the use of the naval militia, form a part of the escort. The Hawk left Buffalo July 26th, under com- mand of Lieutenant Thomas W. Harris, N. M. N. Y., joined the fleet at Put-in-Bay, going with it from there and taking part in a number of the celebrations at different points. Commissioner William L. Ormrod was designated by the Commission to accompany the Hawk as the repre- sentative of the New York State Commission and performed that duly. In addition to the vessels named. Commissioner William J. Conners, The Perry's Victory Centenary 15 Chairman of the New York State Commission, left Buffalo in his hand- somely equipped yacht, the Mar^ Alice, and with it, as a part of the visiting squadron, made the trip to Chicago participating en route in the celebrations at Erie, Lorain, Toledo, Milwaukee and Chicago. TTie New York State Commission was also otherwise well represented at a number of the celebrations. Commissioner Adler visited the celebrations at Erie, Toledo, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Louisville. Commissioner Emerson was present at Erie, Green Bay and Louisville. Commissioner Schifferdecker was present at Louisville, and Commissioner Herrick at Cleveland and Louisville. Commissioner Rafferty also attended the Louisville celebration. At each of these points, the New York Com- missioners were well received and very courteously entertained. On July 4th, 1913, the cornerstone of the Perry memorial at Put-in- Bay was laid with full Masonic ceremonies by the Grand Master of Masons of the State of Ohio, and in the evening, a memorial banquet was held at the Hotel Commodore. Commissioners Adler, Emerson and Schif- ferdecker were present at these ceremonies. The centennial celebration of the battle, September 1 0th and I I th, at Put-in-Bay, was marked by an imposing parade, the transfer of the remains of the officers killed in the battle and buried on South Bass Island, from their long time resting place to a crypt in the new monument, and a large and well appointed banquet at the Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point, Ohio, at which Commissioners Adler and Herrick were present. Public exercises were also held at this time, at Put-in-Bay, which included an address by former President William H. Taft, and in which the Dominion of Canada was represented by Dr. James A. McDonald of Toronto, Ontario. TTie Hawk continued in service until the arrival of the Niagara and accompanying fleet at Chicago, August 16th, from which point she 16 State of New York returned to Buffalo and was called upon to participate in the reception of the flagship Niagara upon her arrival in Buffalo, Tuesday, September 2nd. Altogether the Harek was in service twenty-three days at a chartered rate of $200 per day, which included all expenses of every kind, coal, seamen's wages, provisions, etc. In the meantime meetings of the State Commission were being held at intervals and meetings of the Executive Committee more frequently. At the first meeting of the Executive Committee a resolution was adopted designating September 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th and 6th as the days for the official celebration at Buffalo. A number of parties in different parts of the country, controlling events deemed suitable for the Buffalo celebra- tion, were communicated with and arrangements made for various items of exhibition. TTirough the courtesy of the Secretary of Weir, the Twenty- ninth Regiment, Unit3d States Infantry, was ordered to take part in the military parade, September 4th. The National Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans was scheduled for Buffalo for the same week and they announced their intention of furnishing a large contingent for the same parade. Arrangements were also made to mobilize various- branches of the National Guard and Naval Militia from Syracuse and westward. TTie details for the reception of the Niagara and its inspection while here were consummated and also the arrangements for the official banquet, firemen's parade and other prominent features of the celebration. As finally evolved the full programme took the following shape: HON. WILLIAM L. ORMROD Vice-Chaiiman, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New "i'ork. State Senator. I911-I2-13-M WILLIAM SIMON Perry's Victory Centennial State of New \'ork c ommission. HON. ROBERT F. WAGNER State Senator and Lieutenant-Governoi, Member of Perry "s Victory Centennial Commission, State of New ^'ork HON. EDWARD D. JACKSON Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York, Member of Assembly, Etc. The Pefiry's Victory Centenary 17 PROGRAMME OF THE CELEBRATION Monday, September 1, 1913 8.30 p. M. Grand illumination. Court of Honor. Tuesday, September 2, 1913 9.00 A. M. Exercises at Liberty Pole; raising of flag presented by Mrs. Caroline Perry Moore, a second cousin of Commodore Perry; address by Mayor Louis P. Fuhr- mann. Music, Park Band. 1 1 .00 A. M. Arrival of the Perry flagship Niagara and escort, greeted by whistles from all boats in the harbor and bells on the shore; national salute by U. S. S. Han>k: grand reception to officers of the fleet. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, visiting officials, etc., by State Commission, Citizens' Reception Committee, Hon. E. H. Butler, Chairman, Women's Committee and Buffalo Yacht Club. Visiting fleet anchors off Buffalo Yacht Club. Music, Sixty-fifth Regiment Band. 12.00 M. Glenn Martin's spectacular hydroaeroplane sensation; soaring to an altitude of 1,500 feet when a woman passenger leaps from the machine and alights on the waters of Lake Erie by the aid of a parachute. Foot of Porter Avenue. 2.00 P. M. Buffalo Yacht Club races. First race, Class "A" yachts, over 25-foot rating. 2.15 P. M. Second race. Class " Q " yachts, not over 25 feet, not less than 21 feet. Course — The course for the Perry Centennial races on Sept. 2d and 3d was as follows: Starting across a line between north end of Government breakwater and judges* boat, thence to and around buoy placed three nautical miles to wind- ward (or leeward) leaving it to port. Thence to and around buoy at starting line 18 State of New York leaving it to port, thence to and around windward (or leeward) mark leaving it to port, finishing across a line between north end of Government breakwater and judges' boat. Judges — H. A. Warren, Meredith Potter, H. V. Bisgood, Jr. Clerk of Course — W. Morse Wilson. 5ecre/ari) of Regatta Committee — E. C. Hall (Clawson-Wilson Company). Federal 1739; residence 'phone. Federal 25964. 2.00 P. M. Hydroaeroplane and aeroplane exhibitions at The Front. 2.00 P. M. Rowing boat races in outer harbor off foot South Michigan Street. The fol- lowing events were open to local oarsmen and outsiders as indicated : Senior four — First prize, four-oar shell and four gold medals ; second prize, four gold medals. Intermediate four — First prize, four sweep oars, four gold medals. Junior four — First prize, four sweep oars and four gold medals ; second prize, four gold medals. \ 40-pound four — First prize, four sweep oars and four gold medals; second prize, four gold medals. Novice four — First prize, a banner and four gold medals ; second prize, four gold medals. Eight-oar crervs — First prize, four gold medals ; second prize, a baimer. Senior single — First prize, single shell and a medal; second prize, a pair of sweeps. Intermediate single — First prize, a pair of oars and medal; second prize, medal. Junior single — First prize, banner and medal ; second prize, medal. Novice single — First prize, banner and medal ; second prize, medal. Events open to outside and local oarsmen: Senior four crews, senior eight crews, 1 40-pound crews, senior single. 3.00 P. M. Balloon ascension and parachute exhibition. Ferry Street Driving Park. The Perry's Victory Centenary 19 4.00 p. M. Band Concert, Shelton Square. Park Band. 8.00 p. M. Band Concert, Lafayette Square. Park Band. 8.00 P. M. The Twentieth Century Club opens its private rooms and entire club house for a reception for the Wonnen's Committee and their distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen. 8.30 P. M. Spectacular Firemen's Run on Main Street, Tapper Street to Exchjuige Street. Wednesday, September 3, 1913 10.00 A. M. Flying boat and aeroplane exhibitions at The Front. 10.00 A. M. Meeting at Women's Industrial and Educational Union, under auspices Women's Committee, Mrs. Esther C. Davenport, chairman. Program: Address on " Perry's Battle and Victory on Lake Erie," the Hon. Peter A. Porter; ode to Oliver Hazard Perry, Mrs. Alfred G. Hauenstein; talk on "Along the Historic Niagara," Mrs. Robert Fulton; " Reminiscences of a Real Daughter of the War of 1812," Mrs. James H. Ross; " Greetings from the Women of This Century," Mrs. Charles M. Dow. Informal buffet luncheon served by the Women's Union. Military music. 11.00 A. M. Glenn Martin's spectacular hydroaeroplane sensation; soaring to an altitude of 1,500 feet when a woman passenger leaps from the machine and alights on the waters of Lake Erie by the aid of a parachute. Foot of Porter Avenue. 1 1 .00 A. M. Motor boat races, Niagara River course. Start and finish at Launch Club, Grand Island. 20 State of New York 1 1 .00 A. M. Cabin Cruiser " Bang and Go-Back " Race. Distance, about six miles. First prize, $150; second prize, $100; third prize, $50. 2.00 P. M. Balloon ascension and parachute exhibition. Ferry Street Driving Park. 2.00 P. M. Buffalo Yacht Club races. First race, Class " B " yachts, less than 25-foot rating. 2.15 P. M. Second race. Class " C," veteran cruisers, built prior to 1 908 and not entered in any other class. 3.00 P. M. Ten-mile (28 ft., 25 h.p.) Runabout Race. First prize, $150; second prize, $100; third prize, $50. 4.00 p. M. Ten-mile Displacement Race. Open to boats ownned by members of the Buffalo Launch Club. First prize, $200; second prize, $100; third prize, $50. Swimming meet, under auspices of Buffalo Launch Club. The meet was held under the sanction of the A. A. U. and open only to amateurs registered in the A. A. U. Competition directly in front of clubhouse. Grand Island, Niagara River course, Buffalo Launch Club harbor, events run alternately with motor boat races, as follows : 1. 50-YarJ Sivim, Open — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 1 4k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 2. \ 00-Yard Swim, Open — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 14k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 3. 200-Yard Swim, Open — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 14k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. The Perry's Victory Centenary 21 4. 400-Yard Smm, Open — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 14k. solid gold open- face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 5. Fancy Dive — First prize, 1 4k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; second prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 6. 50-YaTd Sivim, Handicap, Open — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 1 4k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 7. i 00-Yard Sivim, Handicap, Open ■ — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 14k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 8. 200-Yard Stvim, Handicap, Open — First prize, sterling silver cup, value $50; second prize, 1 4k. solid gold open-face watch, value $30; third prize, 25-year Crescent filled hunting case gold watch, value $20. 4.00 p. M. to 7.00 P. M. Reception to distinguished guests on board the Niagara and at the Yacht Club by the Women's Committee. 4.00 P. M. Band Concert, Main and Genesee Streets. Park Band. 7.30 P. M. Band Concert, Riverside Park. 65th Regiment Band. 8.00 P. M. Band Concert, Lafayette Square. Park Band. 8.30 p. M. Grand display of fireworks at Riverside Park, showing among other brilliant features. Perry crossing from the Laivrence to the Niagara during the Battle of Lake Erie, and, complimentary to Admiral George Dewey and United Spanish War Veterans, the naval battle of Manila Bay. 22 State of New York Thursday, September 4. 1913 1 0.00 A. M. Grand Military Parade by Fourth Brigade New York National Guard, Naval Militia, troops of cavalry £uid battery of the National Guard, Twenty-ninth Regi- ment, United States Infantry, United States sailors and marines and including also five thousand uniformed members of the United Spanish War Veterans, who hold a national encampment at Buffalo the same week, and other unofficial military organi- zations. The line of march as follows: from Niagara Square, through Niagara Street to Franklin, to the Terrace, to Main, to Broadway, to Jefferson, countermarching in Broadway to Main, to North, to Delaware, and to the McKinley Monument. I 1 ,00 A. M. Motor boat races, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Cabin cruisers, " Bang and Go-Back." Open. Five Miles. First prize. Silver Trophy and $200; second prize. $200; third prize, $100. 1 2.00 to 4.00 P. M. Garden party and buffet luncheon at the Castle, Fort Porter, by the Women's Committee, in connection with maneuvers for Army and Navy. 2.00 P. M. Balloon ascension and parachute exhibition. Ferry Street Driving Park. 2.00 P. M. Glenn Martin's spectacular hydroaeroplane sensation; soaring to an altitude of 1,500 feet when a woman passenger leaps from the machine and alights on the waters of Lake Erie by the aid of a parachute. Foot of Porter Avenue. 3.00 p. M. Aeroplane and hydroaeroplane exhibitions at The Front. 4.00 P. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Perry Centennial Race. Distance, 25 miles. Open to any boat faster than 25 miles per hour. First prize, $600 cash or cash value; second, $300 cash or cash value; third, $150 cash or cash value. The Pefu^y's Victory Centenary 23 4.00 p. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Chamber of Commerce Trophy Race. Distance, 25 miles. Open to any boat faster than 25 miles per hour. First prize. Chamber of Commerce Trophy and a Special Silver Trophy. The Perry Centennial 25-Mile Race and the Chamber of Commerce Trophy Race start at the same time. 4.00 p. M. Band Concert, Shelton Square. Park Band. 4.00 to 7.00 p. M. Mrs. Harry Hamlin's reception to distinguished guests at her residence, 1014 Delaware Avenue. 65th Regiment Band. 7.00 P. M. Official banquet tendered by the New York State Perry Commission to visiting officials. Perry Victory Centennial Commissioners and other invited guests at the Iroquois Hotel. 8.00 p. M. Band Concert, Lafayette Square. Park Band. Friday, September 5. 1913 10.00 A. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island, Perry Centennial Speed Trials. Open. First prize, Silver Trophy and $200; second, $200; third, $100. 10.00 A. M. Aeroplane and hydroaeroplane exhibitions at The Front. 1 1 .00 A. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Ten-mile Club Race. 400-inch class displacement boats. Open to members of Motor Boat Club only. First prize, Moffit Cup and $300; second, $200; third, $100. 24 State of New York 1 1 .00 A. M. Balloon ascension and parachute exhibition. Ferry Street Driving Park. 1 1 .00 A. M. Glenn Martin's spectacular hydroaeroplane sensation; soaring to an altitude of 1 ,500 feet when a woman passenger leaps from the machine and alights on the waters of Lake Erie by the aid of a parachute. Foot of Porter Avenue. 1.30 p. M. Parade of veteran and other volunteer firemen of New York Slate. A splendid exhibition of the fire apparatus of various eras. Route of march, from the McKinley Monument, through Niagara Street to Franklin, to Terrace, to Main, to Goodell, to Oak, to Broadway, to Spring, and countermarch on Broadway to the Auditorium. 3.00 P. M. Patriotic meeting at Twentieth Century Club, Niagara Frontier, Buffalo Chapter, National Society of United States Daughters of 1812. Mrs. John Miller Horton, Regent. 4.00 to 7.00 P. M. Farewell reception at Hotel Iroquois for departing guests by Women's Committee. 4.00 P. M. Motor boat race. Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Perry Centennial Race. Distance, 30 miles. Open to any boat enrolled in any club on the Great Lakes or their tributaries. First prize, $600 cash or cash value; second prize, $300 cash or cash value; third prize, $150 cash or cash value. 4.00 P. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starling from Motor Island. E. R. Thomas Trophy Race. Distance, 30 miles. Open to any boat enrolled in any club on The Perry's Victory Centenary 25 the Great Lakes or their tributaries. First prize, E. R. Thomas Trophy and a Special Silver Trophy. The Perry Centennial 30-Mile Race and the E. R. Thomas Trophy Race start at the same time. 4.00 P. M. Band Concert, Main and Genesee Streets. Park Band. 8.00 P. M. Band Concert, Lafayette Square. Park Band. 8.00 P. M. Grand illuminated automobile parade. Assemble at 7.30 P. M. One thousand dollars distributed in prizes, cash or plate, divided as follows: First prize, $200; second prize, $150; third prize. $125; fourth prize, $100; fifth prize, $75; sixth prize, $65; seventh prize, $55; eighth prize, $50; ninth prize, $45; tenth prize, $35; eleventh prize, $30; twelfth prize, $25; thirteenth prize, $20; fourteenth prize, $15; fifteenth prize, $10. Line of march: North Street from Richmond Avenue, to Delaware Avenue, to Terrace, to Main Street, to High Street, to Jefferson Street, to Broadway, to Court Street, to Niagara Square, and disband. Judges' stand at Lafayette Square. Parade forms on Richmond Avenue, facing North Street; decorated cars com- peting for prizes line up on west side of street; all other cars on east side of street. 8.30 p. M. Parade, Military Order of the Serpent, United Spanish War Veterans. 9.00 P. M. Entertainment of visiting colored citizens by Citizens' Committee and Men's Club of St. Philip's Episcopal Church at Elmwood Music Hall. Vocal music, addresses, dancing, etc. 65th Regiment Band. 26 State of New York Saturday, September 6, 1913 10.00 A. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Open Displace- ment Class. Open to any displacement boat of any power. Distance, 20 miles. First prize. Silver Trophy ; second prize. Silver Trophy ; third prize. Silver Trophy. 11.00 A. M. Balloon ascension and parachute exhibition at The Front. 11.00 A. M. Glenn Martin's spectacular hydroaeroplane sensation; soaring to an altitude of 1 ,500 feet when a woman passenger leaps from the machine and alights on the waters of Lake Erie by the aid of a parachute. Foot of Porter Avenue. I 1 .00 A. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Small Hydro- plane Class. Distance, 20 miles. First prize. Silver Trophy and $300; second prize, $200; third prize, $100. 2.00 p. M. Aeroplane races, hydroaeroplane and flying boat exhibits at The Front 4.00 p. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Perry Centennial Race. Distance, 35 miles. Free-for-all. First prize, $850 cash or cash value; second prize, $450 cash or cash value; third prize, $200 cash or cash value. 4.00 p. M. Motor boat race, Niagara River, starting from Motor Island. Blackton Trophy Race. Distance, 35 miles. Free-for-all. First prize, Blackton Trophy and a Special Trophy. The Perry Centennial 35-Mile Free-for-All Race and the Blackton Trophy Race start at the same time. 4.00 P. M. Band Concert, Shelton Square. Park Band. The Perry's Victory Centenary 27 5.00 p. M. Departure of Perry's flagship, the Niagara, with farewell salutes and greetings. 65th Regiment Band. 8.00 P. M. Band Concert, Lafayette Square. Park Band. 8.30 p. M. Closing illumination. Court of Honor. 8.30 P. M. Jubilee parade and good-bye farewells by everybody. The various features of the programme were carried out with thorough- ness and a systematic regard for detail. The weather was delightful throughout the entire week, and in addition to the residents of Buffalo, who thronged the streets in great numbers, thousands of visitors came from the surrounding territory and even from a distance. 28 State of New York ARRIVAL OF PERRY'S FLAGSHIP The greeting to the Perry flagship Niagara which arrived in Buf- falo at eleven o'clock on the morning of September 2nd, was a spec- tacle unequalled in the history of the Great Lakes. The Commis- sion chartered the steamer United Shores as the official boat, and accompanied by a reception committee composed of three hundred citizens of Buffalo, headed by the Hon. Edward H. Butler, editor and proprietor of the Buffalo Everting News, and with a large fleet of water craft of all kinds and descriptions, handsomely decorated and loaded to their capacity with enthusiastic residents of Buffalo and visitors, met the Niagara and escorting gunboats at the opening in the south breakwater and from there proceeded to the dock of the Buffalo Yacht Club at the foot of Porter Avenue which had been designated for her anchorage during the visit. Immediately upon turning, after passing through the breakwater, whistles from all the boats in the harbor and factories on shore gave vent to their loudest screeches which was maintained for a long period of time. A salute of twenty-one gims was fired by the naval gunboat Hawk, and the beach and the docks for miles along the lake front were thronged with men, women and children. Upon reaching the anchorage at the dock of the Buffalo Yacht Club the Niagara was boarded by members of the New York State Commission, headed by the Hon. John F. Malone, Chairman of the Executive Com- mittee, who extended on behalf of the Commission, its official greetings to Ensign George M. Lowry, U. S. Navy, commanding officer of the Niagara. Upon going ashore the visiting officers and reception com- mittee were entertained in a most delightful manner by the Women's Committee at the Yacht Club. The Perry's Victory Centenary 29 OPENING EXERCISES The opening exercises at nine o'clock on the morning of September 2nd, were brief and modest, but interesting. Mrs. CaroHne Perry Moore, a long time resident of Buffalo and a second cousin of the distinguished Commodore Perry, had signified her desire to present to the city of Buffalo a large American flag. Arrangements for carrying out her wishes were made and in the presence of a great assemblage, gathered around the Liberty Pole, General Edgar B. Jewett, Chairman of the Citizens' Committee, on behalf of Mrs. Moore, presented the flag to the city, through His Honor the Mayor, who in accepting the flag made the following remarks: Address of Hon. Louis P. Fuhrmann, Mayor Mr. Chairman, FeWon» Citizens, Ladies and Cenilemen: I assure you that I appreciate the courtesy of the committee in extending me this invitation to participate in these flag raising exercises this morning. I know that every citizen living under the stars and stripes possesses the full measure of patriotic sentiment in his heart. We may not always be displaying that sentiment in words, for the sufficient reason that we are busy with a thousand and one things that go to make up human life. Duties press upon each and all of us behind and before. Nevertheless the sentiment resides, out of the sight possibly, but deeply implanted in our hearts. The real value of floating the flag from this pole will be this — that the spectacle of it fluttering in the breeze will serve to challenge and arouse our sentiment of patriotism. As it gracefully unfolds aloft from this pole, men, women and children looking up will feel that they are living, actual units in the total of ninety millions that go to make up this republic. With uplifted faces, a new sight of Old Glory will inspire a swift and fresh impulse to a deeper love and appreciation of our liberties. Speaking as the Chief Executive of the city I want to sincerely thank the donor of this beautiful flag — Mrs. Caroline Perry Moore — and assure her that four hundred and fifty thousand patriotic Buffalonians join me in this expression of 30 State of New York gratitude. Her beautiful life of more than four-score years has already demonstrated that she is worthy of her kinship with the great Commodore whose valorous deeds we are to celebrate this week. This gracious act is a praiseworthy climax in a noble woman's career. In behalf of the city of Buffalo I gladly accept this flag. MEETING UNDER AUSPICES OF WOMEN'S COM- MITTEE OF BUFFALO At ten o'clock on Wednesday morning, September 3rd, a public meet- ing was held at the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, under the auspices of the Women's Committee, Mrs. Esther C. Davenport, Chairman, presiding. The principal address was made by the Hon. Peter A. Porter, whose grandfather. General Peter B. Porter, was a distinguished officer of the American army during the War of 1812. Mr. Porter spoke as follows : Perry's Battle and Victory on Lake Erie In the language of the flowers: Queen Rose, of this rose-bud garden of girls; and all you other American Beauties: If there are any sights on earth which enthuse a loyal American they are the two which meet my eyes as I stand upon this platform — two of the fairest sights in all the world — American women and the American flag. And when I am honored with an invitation to address an audience made up of that sex, which for all time has been " the hope and the joy, and the despair and the salvation of man," and when further I am asked to draw for that audience — and this celebration would not be complete or a success without the participation of the women — a word-picture of one of the greatest of all American victories: for me, the entire situation could not possibly be made more inspiring. The Good Book tells us that, no sooner had the Almighty made man, " in His owTi image " and placed him — a perfect creature — in the Garden of Eden, that He declared: " It was not good for man to be alone." So, out of his body, " flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone " — to be for him a companion and a help- The Perry's Victory Centenary 31 mate — He created what the poet has declared to be " Earth's noblest thing, a woman perfected." And during all the six thousand years that have elapsed since then — through all the ages, and in every clime — woman, lovely woman, has been adored and petted, loved and worshipped, spoiled emd looked up to, as " the sweetest thing that ever grew beside a human door." I am a firm believer in the good influence of woman. It is the greatest and the most far-reaching power on earth; greater than that of men ; greater than that of governments ; greater than any financial institution that was ever devised; greater than any political machine that was ever conceived; greater than any trust that was ever formed to rob the people. For men may come, and men may go; machines may come, and machines will go ; and trusts may come, and trusts shall go ; but the good influence of the women — '■ like Tennyson's brook — " shall go on forever." For, it is still as true as it ever was, that " the hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world." And, as it has been since the Creation; so shall it remain until the Resurrection. There has been no phase of existence which it has not continuously dominated. " They talk about a woman's sphere, as though it had a limit. There's not a place on earth or heaven. There's not a joy to mankind given. There's not a blessing or a woe. There's not a whispered " Yes " or " No " There's not a kindly action done. There's not a great election won. There's not a mighty nation saved. Nor war's unholy terrors braved. There's not a marriage on the earth, TTiere's not a life, nor death, nor birth. There's not a feather's weight of worth, Without a woman in it." It is the fondest wish, it is the proudest joy of every man, to have with him always, the up-lifting and the ennobling influence of the women; to the end that his mother, his sister, his sweetheart, his wife and his daughters "Shall show him how divine a thing a woman can be made." 32 State of New York Did women have influence in the winning of the Battle of Put-in Bay? Aye: verily they did. It was the mothers of Revolutionary days who had taught patriotism to the men who formed Perry's crews; those brave men " behind the guns." " Their's not to reason why, Their's not to make reply, Their's but to do or die." Perry himself was the American commander at that battle, solely through the intent of a higher power. He had been especially sent and especially equipped to meet that crisis. He had been brought up on the seacoast; his only toys had been ships. He had had patriotism instilled in his mind when his mother taught him his earliest lessons. He had learned to be a Christian and a God-fearing lad, when he had knelt at her knees to say his evening prayers. And, at the supreme moment of his life, when he had won that epoch making battle — standing on that bloody deck, writing his official report to the Secretary of the Navy — recognizing the infinity of his maker, he began it, " It has pleased the Almighty to grant to the American arms on this lake, a great victory." And he attributed his miraculous preservation throughout all the special dangers to which he was exposed in that fight, to the prayers which his devoted wife (in their modest home in Newport, Rhode Island) , had for weeks, ceaselessly offered up for his preservation and for his success; prayers which he felt had been wafted by the angels up to the throne of grace, and were heard and granted by the Almighty. I may speak of the battle only, and of that in skeleton. In spirit and decision it was a one-man battle and that man was Perry. In its victorious ending it was a one-ship fight, and that ship was the Niagara. Between June and September, 1812, the British had captured all but four of the American-owned vessels on the Upper Lakes. In order for us to have a chance to win the war, it was essential that we build a fleet on those lakes. Perry was sent to do it, and was given a separate command over these waters. The authors of " Pinafore " might summarize the entire event in a verse like this: He built a fleet; and what is more He swept the lakes from shore to shore And he polished off the British, both aft and fore; Flying from the top-mast his Commodore's Burgee, He polished off the British so beautifullee. That their fleet surrendered in its entire-lee. His months of preparation gained for us that Victoree And he became the Hero of our Lake Navee. HON. WILLIAM F. RAFFERTY Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New ^'ork CLINTON B. HERRICK, M. D. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York HON. JACOB SCHIFFERDECKER Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New ^'ork. Member of Assembly, 1911-12-13 HON. EDWARD SCHOENECK Lieutenant-Governor, State of New ^'ork, 1915-16. Member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission The Perry's Victory Centenary 33 For three weeks • — his fleet as well manned and as well equipped as he had been able to prepare it, under the most disadvantageous circumstances — - he sought the encounter. The British ships lay in port at Maiden. For the last ten days of that time Perry had waited at Put-in-Bay; determined to fight, and wailing for the British to emerge, which he knew they must soon do, owing to their lack of provisions. On the evening of September 9th, knowing intuitively that the fateful day must be close at hand, he summoned the captains of his fleet, and gave each one written and explicit orders for his part in the battle. The British guns had the longer range ; Perry's guns threw the heavier broadside. Barclay wanted to battle him from afar; Perry's chance of victory lay in close fighting. " Lay yourself alongside of them," was the keynote of his orders to his officers. As the meeting was about to close. Perry displayed a new flag. It was on plain blue cloth, on which were stitched, in letters of white cotton, Lawrence's last mes- sage, " Don't give up the ship." " When that flag goes to the mast head, it is the signal for battle; good night," were his parting words. That flag had been made and presented to him by patriotic women of Erie, where part of his fleet had been built. Its influence towards winning the victory was enormous. To our crews, it typified the feelings of their loved ones at home; yes, the feelings of the womanhood of America. As the sun rose over the horizon the next morning, the voice of the lookout on the Lawrence rang out clear, "Sail, ho!" It electrified the crew. The British were in sight at last. Quickly the signals to the other vessels were sent aloft. The boatswain's whistle sounded from every ship. "All hands up anchor " and " Pre- pare for battle " were the sharp orders. Every man in the fleet appreciated that before sundown, the supremacy of the lakes — yes, perhaps the ownership of half the North American continent — would be decided. Slowly the two fleets approached each other. At noon, when two miles apart, the British opened fire. Perry, on the Latvrence, was near the van. For two hours the fire of the British was mainly centered on that boat; because it bore the Commodore's pennant. At the end of that time, seven-eighths of her crew were dead or wounded — only fourteen were unharmed — • most of her guns were dis- mounted; there were none to man the others. It looked like sure defeat for the Americans. The Niagara — the LaTi>rer\ce's sister ship — had lagged behind, and was unharmed. To Perry's mind came the divinely sent message: " If I can reach the Niagara, the battle may yet be won." 3 34 State of New York In his heart rang the feeling (which was put into words the following year), " That the Star-Spangied Banner in Glory SHALL wave ; o'er this land of the Free, and this Home of the Brave." He ordered his commodore's flag (but not the Stars and Stripes) hauled down and brought to him. He sent to his cabin for his commodore's uniform. He took off the undress jacket he had worn all the morning, and dressed himself in the insignia of his rank. Whether to death or victory, he would go in his robes of office. He called for four men (out of the fourteen unharmed) to man his gig. When it had been lowered he stepped into it. " To the Niagara," was all he said. That boat lay half a mile astern. With his flag thrown over his shoulder. Perry stood erect in the little boat; nor would he make himself a less conspicuous target, until finally the rowers declared they would no longer work the oars unless he sat down. The British quickly apprehended that if Perry reached the Niagara he would be able to continue the battle. Every gun on the starboard side of the British fleet was quickly, under orders from their flagship, trained on that little gig. For fifteen minutes Perry was the sole target of an entire British fleet. Few men, indeed, have ever been so signally honored. That little boat was actually struck, oars were splintered (no wonder it took them fifteen minutes to row that half mile) ; the water about it was literally churned into foam by cannon balls; but Perry, and these four rowers, reached the Niagara unharmed. Of these four men who risked their lives to transfer him, we can say, in the words of Tennyson's " Six Hundred," changing the spelling, but not the sound of just one word, " Stormed at by shot and shell. Bravely they rowed, and well. Those noble sailors. Into the jaws of death. Up to the mouth of Hell, Rowed those brave sailors. Ne'er shall the glory fade Of that wild row they made. We honor those sailors." But death did not sit in the prow of that gig on that trip. Above it, and about it, unknown and unseen, angelic forms hovered, to protect its occupants from harm. Such a miraculous trip, when both rowers and rowed, though the sole target of The Pee^^y's Victory Centenary 35 thirty-two cannon for a quarter of an hour, reached their destination unharmed, raises the minds of men a step higher (yes, to the highest conceivable point), toward the appreciation and the comprehension of the omnipotence and of the eternity of God. Once on the Niagara's deck, with a fresh crew thereon. Perry ordered his pennant sent to the mast-head ; it was the signal for battle. A breeze — sent by Providence from just the desired quarter — sprang up, and Perry headed toward the center of the British line; where he had all day wanted to be, and where his heavy guns could be worked at close range. He struck it, and passed through it. On the one hand lay the Lad^ Prevost, and she received a full broadside from the Niagara's guns. Then, Kke the avenging angel that she was, she swept on to where on her other side lay the two largest British vessels, the Detroit and the Queen Charlotte (which providentially for us had just fouled each other). Into that double target, and at half pistol shot range, was fired the Niagara's other broadside. In just eight minutes from the moment when the Niagara raked the Lad^ Prevost, a British officer, bearing in his hand a boarding pike, to which was attached a white handkerchief, stood at the rail of the Queen Charlotte. For the first time in the history of the world, a squadron of that Britannia which had boasted for centuries that " She ruled the waves," had surrendered in its entirety. From the Niagara Perry wrote to Harrison that modest but portentous message: " We have met the enemy and they are ours." In sentimental loyalty to his dead and wounded comrades on the Laxorence (his first flagship, and which had borne the entire burden of the earlier part of the battle) , Perry was rowed back to that battered hulk. Thither had to come all the com- manding officers of the British fleet to lay their swords in his hands. Perry's men were the only ones who had ever witnessed such a sight. Perry was a sick man when the battle opened. Excitement and God-given courage had sustained him during the fateful day. Now, having given orders for the care of the wounded and for the burial of the dead, he laid his fever-racked body down on that bloody, sanded deck, beside one of his dismounted guns, and still clasping in one hand his sword of victory, he folded his arms across his breast, and slept the sleep of a tired child. Of the " good ship Niagara " when she swept through the British line, both her port and starboard guns sending forth messages of defeat (nwssages that were writ in powder and iron shot) to the British, and at the same time hymning a paeon of victory for the Americans, she was simply fulfilling the then unknown destiny 36 State of New York which had been decreed for her when her keel was laid. The American people might have well sang to her: " Dash on, dash on, oh. Ship of Fate; Dash on, Niagara, strong and great; Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears. Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. Are all with thee. Are all with thee." And she more than justified their every hope. Truly we did well to raise her from her long sleep in the mud under the waters of Misery Bay to receive the adulations that are being bestowed upon her. Go, visit her this afternoon; and gaze reverently on that rebuilt wooden hulk, and as you tread her deck, which Perry trod in victory a century ago, attune your thoughts to the fact, that, even as she was on the afternoon of September 10, 1813, in gratitude for what she accomplished that glorious afternoon, in the hearts of a patriotic people, in her resurrected and reconstructed form, she is again today " The Idol of the Nation." And to the memory of Oliver Hazard Perry, the nation sings. Here before thine altar kneeling. Gently o'er our senses stealing. Comes that mystic aid to healing. With both past and future dealing; Bygone victory revealing. And for endless peace appealing; For memory does enhance the feeling. That we love thee. That we dearly love thee still. The PEtmv's Victory Centenary 37 ODE TO COMMODORE PERRY Mrs. Alfred G. HauENSTEIN, one of Buffalo's gifted poets, read the following ode to Commodore Perry, written by her for this occasion : OLIVER HAZARD PERRY I Hail, thrice hail to thee Spirit of Memory! Nor Wisdom, Time or Space But borrows from thy grace. As down the ages' mellowing aisles Thy splendor streams upon the afterwhiles: A Century is to thee The foreground of Posterity, Whereon with stately march Our Heroes pass again. Our laurelled men; Here historic conflict and triumphal arch, Flaunting flags, the Nation's good emd great, Upon thy service wait. And once again are made to be On Memory's mighty canvas. Great is thy mission Speaking Memory! II To-day where Erie's wide blue waters roll Thou stirrest our soul; And comes again the thrill of honest pride As at our fair Lake's side. With cannon v^reathed in Peace, Dumb, in the long years' release, We greet the remembering day TTiat bore the glory of an ancient victory. 38 State of New York Come, Master-Painter, And with the cunning of thine artistry Paint once again in very breath and blood The valorous moments of that fateful day; Limn the young and gallant leader And his dauntless crew — The swelling sails against old Erie's blue; Our eyes are fain to see, our ears to hear The deed momentous, the far-echoing cheer Winged by the wind, exultant, toward the land. The ringing triumph of each brave command The young, undaunted commodore flung free With splendid pohe and fine audacity. Yield, winsome water of thy treasured deeps! Yet, trouble not the valiant band that sleeps Calm, on thine undulant breast; For them the battle and the sacrifice Toll of horror with its nameless price. Are hushed forever in the hymn of Rest; Yea, iheir's the glory that shall never cease, TTiey were the prophets of a priceless Peace! On such a day as this when breeze and ray Made shining holiday. Through all the coves and shoals of Put-in Bay, The blithe young warrior Whose fame we all adore First glimpsed the British fleet far out, away To north and west — a beckoning sight To him whose soul had chafed full long In dull Inaction's chains; with vigilant might He rallied all his loyal fleet, A radiant squadron, meet For contest, and with hunger for the fray ; The Perry's Victory Centenary 39 The stately Caledonia — she who 'neath TTie quiet eaves of old Fort Erie crept The while our seamen slept. And who, in the silent night. Before e'en the silvering Dawn Its curtain had withdrawn Was grasped all skillfully. From the dull enemy — Sleep-laden \nlh the day's full task and care; Then the fair LaTvrence, queenly in line and height. Flaunting the inunortal burgee bright That flamed each heart, each lip. Coined by the gallant Captain of the Chesapeal{e, Sung of all martial men. Legend we breathe again. Swung from the mast high tip " Don't give up the Ship! Strong was the Lawrence in carronade to meet The out-numbering guns that marked the British fleet. The charge that challenged — grape and canister And all the searching musketry that menaced her; So thought he, daring with a deep desire. And little dreamed how fierce the British fire; Then the Niagara, swift of wing and strong Proudest of champions in the valiant throng; To-day within our waters, for us all Her storied self, in truth makes festival! What miracle her coming, that hath lain A buried treasure long, but not in vain. Unseen, yet unforgot, Her's is a royal lot — A Phoenix-Argosy of our wide Inland Main, Who rises, lightly touched by tempering Time With that same pride that made her once sublime! Then followed a scant half score of others Whose high names Are History's, and Song's and deathless Fame's. 40 State of New York Upon the Laivrence calm and firm he stands, His eager voice pealed forth in sure commands. With swelling heart he faced the hostile sails, Nor fear, nor danger, that strong heart assails — This youthful Caesar of our Inlemd Seas, Intrepid in his honor and invincible; War with all its cruel tragedies Still finds hira resolute, insuperable; His is a Master-mind, whose word Is sure, and true, and flawless as his sword. Now, sounds a clarion bugle, whose clear call Proclaims the conflict, in the hearts of all. Mad crash of howitzer, the roar of carronade. The very fires of wrath belch from the shrieking guns, Tlie battle's on! and all her fearless sons England, the Mother, 'gainst her child, hath spurred! See the wide rents her angry shells hath made. Torn, shattered masts, and yet, all valor-stirred. On, on they light, and to the guns return; But what is this? — a rending at the bow, A welter at the stern? The Lawrence! is she now Already sinking in a foam-white shroud? She was so fine — all soldierly and proud ; Now her brave decks are thick with havoc dire. Rains 'neath her tottering masts the blazing fire How madly fierce! Must she go down? Careening now, She shudders as some bruised thing, and lo, TTie awful groaning of her passing mocks The blue September sky vnlh piteous shocks! But what of him, young warrior, who commands. Shall he yield to defeat With no decks 'neath his feet? Shall England and her Barclay claim the day? The Perry's Victory Centenary 41 Nay, never! While remains in his staunch fleet One single schooner, sloop or brigantinel Avast there ! lower a boat. Across the red v^aves float. No moments must be lost Tho' hail of shot and shell may be the cost, And in the British fire the prow be hurled — His flag with the beaming stars and stripes On the Niagara shall there be unfurled! Across the waves by lusty seamen urged The dauntless leader cuts his hurried way. All helpfully the gleaming waters surged. While, at the prow, upheld in brave array. He flings his gleaming flag out towards the sky. And cheers his men to fervent loyalty. Swnft as a seabird in its upward flight He mounts the hempen ladder; in the breeze The fluttering pennant bright Proclaimed his right Still to be foremost in the splendid fight. Radiant, indomitable, he veered the ship. Heartening his comrades with his rallying cheer. No word has passed his lip Untoward in its message; nor fear Nor frown found lodgment in his face. But, buoyant, as a god, the signal gave That thrust his brig into the British reave. Now crash, and shriek, and hiss of swivel gun Gave lurid sign the battle's tide had turned. And where the broadside port had poured, there burned The flame of carnage, in the noonday sun; TTie British decks all strewn in gory heaps. 42 State of New York Ill-fated Barclay, wounded desperately. Forgot Trafalgar and great Nelson's fame. Yet, gallant, ready, all unflinchingly Fought on for glory of great England's name. And of his glittering ship but shreds remained. Ensigns, mizzen-top, and gaff were gone. Stripped of the paltry glory it had gained She swung a ghost-ship of the early dawn. Brave Brigantine, who bore your England's flag To-day we love you for your staunch defense. And the* in Memory's song your dust we drag We love you in a deeper, dearer sense. Would, resplendent, you might proudly ride To-day, in honor, at the Niagara's side. Now the great day wears on to afternoon — That glorious day, but once that history gave. The cheering and the carronading die. O'er the spent seas the light winds gently croon And deepening silence breathes serenity: Where late the thrill of warfare held deep sway Now men are quiet in the fear of God; Stupendous were His footsteps where He trod Along the glinting crests that fateful day; And as of old on golden GalHlee He stilled the tempest to tranquility So to the conflict gave He swiftest end. Once more men looked on brothers, friend on friend. Once more the smoke clouds were dissolved in air. And War's wide chariots found no highway there. With head and heart in reverence deeply strong This younger David views his victory. Slain lies the giant of a Nation's wrong. And wide the trophies of captivity. The Perry's Victory Centenary 43 Yet, silent, mindful of God's Providence, He claims nor honor, nor pre-eminence; Too nobly great was he. Cast in a mold of primal-majesty. And simple as that shepherd lad of old Who sought no laurels green, no guerdon gold. He swiftly on a slip of paper wrote The immortal words, to Harrison, we quote (O Country mine, count these thy deathless dowers) " We have met the enemy, and they are ours! " Now the great sun, which all that destined day Held golden court above its furious fray Sank, as some weary monarch on Night's breast; But ere he slept, across the twilit West He flung a flag of triumph 'gainst the gray; Then stately Night, Mother of silent Peace, Bade every tumult of the wild day cease. Summoned her splendid train that, star to star. Sped the glad message of Sweet Peace afar. While, in the deepening Dusk, upon the deck Of his dear ship, quiescent see him stand, — The conquering Hero of an unconquerable band! On the loved Lawrence, in its waste and wreck He made an humble throne, its perilous price Draped it with majesty of sacrifice; And here, in solemn file and spent array Passed the bruised glory of the enemy. The silvering stars reflect their sabers' gleam, As low they lay them at the victor's feet. Crushed with the sorrow of a full defeat; Are now his acts of chivalry complete — Do not the glories of achievement seem 44 State of New York To reach his heart's apocalypse in dream — This zealous Conqueror? Nay, nay, tho' youth's fine ichor fills this warrior. He gave fair lodgment in his breast To that twin force — the crown of greatness In all history — Honor and simplicity! Thus, in fine reverence to the fallen foe The order gave, that English swords should know No change of master, and no change of place. No alien scabbard need their steel deface; As man to man, blood of one blood they stood. And broke war's shackles for the common good. That day, all marvelous, wrote for you, for me Forever and forever God's own history! Then the wide forests of th' unmeasured West, The billowing prairies toward the primal sun. The precious secrets of the mines' vast breast. Through that immortal struggle, then, were won; O, towering pines, ye snow-clad mountain peaks, O, Rockies, regnant over hill and plain. Ye sapphire seas that are our Inland Main Here on blue Erie Memory, listening speaks To McKinley, Rainier, Shasta's glittering crest. And all the grandeur of the great Northwest! Ye were the trophies of that thrilling day. Blood bought and fought for in a hero's way. Then hail to Thee, thrice hail to Thee, Great, human. Memory; Perry, and Victory — what have they won? God grant a finer strength, God grant World Peace at length. World Peace and Brotherhood, All that is true and good — For this we pray. MiNNIE FerrIS HaUENSTEIN. The Perry's Victory Centenary 45 ALONG THE HISTORIC NIAGARA An address by Mrs. RoBERT FuLTON, an eminent artist, authoress and club woman of Buffalo, entitled "Along the Historic Niagara," was the next paper presented : To-day, Buffalo the Queen City of the Lakes, is celebrating the victory gained by Commodore Perry over the British fleet one hundred years ago. In 1915 we are to herald a hundred years of peace betv^feen Great Britain and the United States, and while we honor the hero of Lake Erie, let us not forget the nameless heroes who gave their lives to make that victory possible, nor the gallant British Commander, Barclay, who was badly wounded in the fray; and let us rejoice that war between the two great English speaking nations of the world is a thing of the past and that from either end of the bridges which span the Niagara river, float the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes in friendly feeling. It is not my purpose in this brief talk to speak at length of Perry's victory for we have already heard graphic and detailed accounts of it at the morning meetings at Fort Porter from Mr. George D. Emerson and the Hon. Peter A. Porter and will hear more about it later on this programme; although it must necessarily be the dominant note of every address during this memorable week. It is enough for me to call to your memory ■ — to emphasize the fact that Perry's victory had far- reaching results for it gave the United States mastery of the lakes, prevented an Indian war, and led to the surrender of Detroit. It was as notable and far-reaching an event as was the surrender of the British at Fort Niagara in 1 783. And when we think of that magnificent chain of lakes — fresh water seas — Superior, Huron, Michigan, St. Clair and Erie, is not our beautiful Niagara a wonderful stream, bearing on her bosom the waters of all those lakes as she hastens on to the great Falls of Niagara, thence with the rushing and roaring of many waters down the narrow cliff-bound gorge to the lower river on her way to Lake Ontario, then to the St. Lawrence until at last she is merged in the immensity of the ocean, the ultimate end of all streams, like the soul seeking eternity ! The shores along this historic river constitute the Niagara Frontier, a region particularly interesting to me as my birthplace and the home of my grandfather. General Parkhurst Whitney of Niagara Falls, a prominent pioneer of the Niagara Frontier, a man always in the vanguard of every public improvement and a brave 46 State of New York soldier in the War of 1812, having been severely wounded at the Battle of Queens- ton Heights. This frontier extends from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It is indeed a wondrous region. It is remarkable for its Indian legends, for its unsurpassed scenery, for its geological formations, its rare plants and for the wonderful hydraulic and electrical development of recent years. The historical associations along the Niagara river are numberless. From the date of the first white man's entrance upon the scene, about in the year 1600, and during the next fifty years, it was visited by a few daring missionaries, mostly Franciscan monks whose zeal to spread the gospel of Christ among the savages made them willing to endure every hardship. Then came the French, first officially in peace, represented by that splendid explorer, Cavelier De La Salle who, it will be remembered, built and launched the first vessel to navigate the upper lakes. It was called the Griffon and a boulder placed by the Niagara Frontier Landmarks Association marks the spot where it was launched at the village named for LaSalle, five miles above the Falls. Later, came hostile French armies and the steadily increasing influence of the French, the incessant but for many years futile attempt of the British to drive out the French, the successful campaign of the British in 1 759 which made them masters of the Frontier, the surrender in I 783, at the close of the American revolution, by Great Britain to the United States of all her territory lying east of the Niagara river, the stirring events of border warfare during the War of 1812, all along the frontier, the Canadian internal and Fenian rebellions, all make a list of noted events within sound of the swift flowing river. The typical red men of America are rapidly becoming extinct. The grand old forests, whose solemn stillness once echoed their tread, now resound with the strokes of the woodman's axe, or have given place to cities and villages whose spires and domes reared heavenward mark the advent of another race. The streams whose waters were cleft by their canoes, the brooks whose crystal drops slaked their thirst, are now navigated by steamboats or electric launches, or flow through cropped fields or cattle haunted pastures, and, in many cases, are devoted to commercial purposes. The children of the forests whose places we have usurped are passing; but many a tradition will long preserve the memory of their tribes. A legend of Niagara tells of the coming of the first missionary to this frontier. It is a legend of Goat Island, " that beautiful isle which divides Niagara's tumultuous tides at the brink of the mighty falls." Here, thanks to its being a Slate reservation, we still find the primeval forest, the sylvan solitudes, trees centuries old with dates carved on them by hands long since dust, and, speaking of this island, it may be of interest to note that the TTiree Sister Islands, in the rapids west of Goat Island, were The Perry's Victory Centenary 47 named for General Whitney's three daughters, the eldest of whom, Asenath Whitney was my mother. The red men regarded this isle as sacred, as the abode of the Great Spirit. At the head of the island there is a channel in the upper rapids through which it may be reached, but it is a hcizardous undertaking. A few daring white men have accom- plished it, but the Indians seem to have easily reached the island in their canoes, and here, in the long ago, they brought the bodies of their chiefs for burial, and it is probable that many fierce warriors sleep the long sleep under the old trees within sound of the mighty Falls. Tradition tells us that the first white man to go on Goat Island was an American monk who penetrated the wilderness carrying the gospel tidings to the aborigines. It is so long ago that the good father's name is lost in the obscurity of the past but the memory of his faith and daring in the service of the Master remains like the faint fragrance of a withered rose. The Indians believed that no human being could pass the night on the island and live because of the spirits that haunted the solitudes and after an unusually fervent appeal from the monk, told him if he would do it, they would become Christians. The good father gladly consented for he was becoming discouraged, having labored long and vainly to convert them, and so he was taken in a canoe one moonlit night to the island and left alone in the primeval forest, the only sounds the call of a night bird, the rustling of the leaves and the solemn voice of the mighty cataract. He passed the night in prayer and at sunrise, when the eastern sky was all aglow with gold and crimson, he went to the brink of the Horse-Shoe Falls, and the Indians, assembled across the rushing waters on Table Rock, seeing him unharmed, deeming it a miracle fell on their knees and he blessed them across the gorge. And tradition goes on to say that in the roseate mist cloud there appeared a hand holding aloft a golden cross; but this is only legendary and may or may not be true, and the best historical authorities agree that Etienne Brusle, Champlain's interpreter, was prob- ably the first white man to see the Great Falls, and that Samuel De Champlain the first Governor General of New France, Champlain the most picturesque figure in all Canadian history, never saw the Falls. That he had heard of them, however, is shown by his mention of the great cataract of Niagara in one of his books published in Paris, France, in 1604; but the first exhaustive account of Niagara with quaint drawings is given by Father Hennepin in 1697. Many are the legends of Niagara I could tell, had I the time. This whole region is replete with Indian legends and tales of border warfare. No longer does the red man roam the forest of this frontier and in his place we find people of all races. 48 State of New York Slav and Hun, Saxon and Celt, Scandinavian and Latin, all come to our fair land of America which has been called the great melting pot of the world. Let us hope that in the future this fusion of the races may produce a high type of manhood, and in order to accomplish this, they must be educated to respect American institu- tions. Buffalo is, indeed, a cosmopolitan city with a very large foreign population. The Buffalo of 1913 is quite different from the little village surrounded by forests to which came the news of Perry's victory one hundred years ago. Its quiet inhabitants little dreamed of the grave problems that confront our beloved country to-day, but her children have faith in her and believe that our glorious ship of state guided by an over-ruling Providence, will sail on in safety, and though like a river it may be through troubled waters over rocks and rapids, yet like the Niagara, it will enaerge at last into the still waters and on to greater achievements for the uplift of humanity. In closing let me quote from Henry Watterson's recent splendid address at Put-in-Bay: " Perry nailed to his mast-head the dying words of the unconquerable Lawrence, ■ Don't give up the ship.' May we not amplify and extend thera to embrace the sweep and reach of our institutional system? On land and sea, in glory and in peril, whenever the republic rides the waves too proudly, or is threatened by foes within or without, let us take them as a message from heaven, and pass them on to our neighbors, and teach them to our children. " ' Don't give up the ship! Don't give up the ship! CHARLES H. WILTSIE Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New "I'ork COLONEL JOHN T. MOTT Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New "^'ork HENR\- HARMON NOBLE Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, Slate of New York The Perry's Victory Centenary 49 REMINISCENCES OF A REAL DAUGHTER OF THE WAR OF 1812 Mrs. Fulton was followed by Mrs. WiLLIAM H. Ross, a resident of Buffalo, whose father served in the War of 1812, thus making her a real daughter of that war. Mrs. Ross' reminiscences were as follows : Madam Chairman and Friends: A few statements from memory of my father. Elijah Boardman, who served six months in the War of 1812. Governor Tompkins had called for volunteers to assist in the defense of the Niagara Frontier. Father was eighteen years of age at the time of enlistment, and he with other comrades from Seneca County, N. Y., joined General Scott's march to the Niagara Frontier, arriving early in July. Father's first experience was in the now historic battle of " Lundy's Lane." and truly a baptism of fire, it was. Father often recounted to me the order of Captain Hooper, to tie their handkerchiefs around their heads and shoot from the ground. The Indian allies of the British made it necessary to resort to this mode of warfare. Father's vivid account of the siege and sortie of Fort Erie in September, 1814, is well remembered. The siege lasted many days until in the brilliant sortie planned by General Brown, they met the besiegers in a life and death struggle. The Americans retained possession of the fort. The nearest father came to being wounded was the mark of a bullet that grazed the handkerchief that he had around his head in the battle of Lundy's Lane. All through his life he favored colored handkerchiefs similar to the one worn at that time. Father always maintained the Americans were the victors at Lundy's Lane. The British having retired from the field, the Americans remained in possession. Father had great admiration for General Scott and watched his rise to the highest position in the army with much interest. He was also interested in the noted Indian, Red Jacket, who served for a time on the American side. Father always claimed the State of New York, by the call of Governor Tomp- kins, promised a bonus of five dollars per month to all six months volunteers. Why it was not given to those young soldiers is not to-day known. TTie United States government gave a grant of land to surviving soldiers a few years after the close of 50 State of New York this last war with England. Father's portion was near the now thriving town of Pontiac, Michigan. These few statements give me the honor of being a real daughter of the War of 1812 Society, for without this war for emancipation from British misrule, especially on the high seas, there would be no celebration of one hundred years of peace. In closing I thank you for your very kind greeting, and could we have foreseen this glorious occasion forty years ago, there might have been many more personal memories. GREETINGS FROM THE WOMEN OF THIS CENTURY The last paper was from Mrs. Charles M. Dow, of Jamestown, N. Y., one of the best known club women of this State. She presented " Greetings From the Women of This Century," and spoke in full as follows : Madam Chairman and Friends: I deeply appreciate the honor that you have conferred upon me in asking me to appear upon the program of the Perry Victory Centenary. In the past, I have presided over meetings in this beautiful building when the audience represented brilliant women from all over the State, and I have been thrilled with the wonderful work that the women of our State have been accomplishing, but never before have I listened to a more brilliant program than this patriotic one in honor of a great victory which so vitally affected our nation and made possible the great commerce of the city of Buffalo. Last evening, as we drove around the city lighted with its myriads of electric lights, it looked like fairy land, and I thought of the dim light of the tallow candle of a hundred years ago and I marveled at the wonderful things that have opened up to women in that time. The progress of the last century is the most notable along every line in the history of the races of mankind and marked by greater material progress than in all previous records. The nineteenth century is, beyond comparison, the most notable period in the history of the races. The average American mechanic of to-day is in many respects better circumstanced than was any king of a century ago. He eats more wholesome food and has more conveniences and devices The Perry's Victory Centenary 51 for his comfort and satisfaction in living. Napoleon at the height of his power could not command the household conveniences, — the steam heat, the running water, the bath, and sanitary plumbing, gas, electric light, the railroad, the steamboat, the tele- graph, the telephone, the phonograph, the daily newspaper, the magazine and a thousand other blessings that are now a part of the daily necessities of even a manual laborer. The mechanic of to-day as compared with a monarch of a hundred years ago, dwells upon the earth more like an angel and less like an ape, and has many more resources and safeguards against disease and death. He knows hundreds of facts of nature and science whereof no king of 1 800 had ever dreamed, and he knows, too, how these facts may be used to man's advantage. He has a broader mind, a more liberal education, a knowledge of the wonders of the universe far more e.xact and extensive. He is likely to live longer, he is quite certain to live better. But woman's world to-day is a new era — old things are passing. The changes enlarge our horizon, we see further and feel deeper as the age advances. Our real life to-day is a thinking one and the quality of our thought is the quality of our being. Our thought realm is real and makes for character and character abides. We have been told " The world's greatest assets are souls who think imperially." They not only enrich themselves but really increase the value of mankind. He who founds an institution, writes a live book, composes a vital drama, or creates an oratorio, but adds to the appreciable forces that increase life and multiply joys. To keep pace with the progressive spirit of the age demands vigorous thinking but to lag a little is easier and one escapes notoriety with its added burdens. The true attainments of science, the triumph of art. the achievements of inventions, the glories of music, poetry and literature, the virtues and graces of royal character; — and this to-day. to my mind, is woman's greatest heritage with every door vAde open. We have confidence that the woman of to-day, as the woman in the past, will do the work before them v^th steadfast, earnest endeavors. The very interesting proceedings of this meeting were enlivened by mar- tial music, furnished by a detachment of Boy Scouts, and, just before its close, the Chairman, Mrs. Davenport, presented to the audience in a very complimentary manner. Commissioner George D. Emerson, Secretary of the State Commission, designating him as one of the guiding spirits in the great celebration and the one to whom the Women's Committee was in- debted for many courtesies and kind offices. Mr. Emerson expressed his 52 State of New York gratification at meeting the ladies and that it had fallen to him to assist Mrs. Davenport and her associates in the splendid manner in which they had performed their part of the celebration. OFFICIAL BANQUET Hie official banquet, given by the Commission to invited guests, was held at the Iroquois Hotel, Thursday evening, September 4th. Four hundred and twenty guests participated in a well appointed dinner. At the close of this part of the evening's entertainment, the assemblage was called to order by Senator John F. M alone. Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission. In a few well chosen remarks Senator Malone introduced Mr. John N. Scatcherd, a prominent citizen of Buffalo, as toastmaster of the evening, who performed its duties in a most graceful and satisfactory manner. In accepting the chair, Mr. Scatcherd spoke briefly, saying: I feel highly complimented in being selected to assume the duty of presiding over a gathering such as this and upon such an occasion. I have been much impressed during the last few months by what seemed to be a universal desire on the part of the civilized peoples of the world to bring about universal peace, and as I sit here to-night and realize the emotions of an occasion like this I cannot help but be impressed by the fact that the very basis of it all was not universal peace, but contest and warfare. If it hadn't been for the controversy one hundred years ago we would not be here to-night celebrating this glorious victory. And what is to become of our children and our children's children if we are to have universal peace? Certainly they will never be able to enjoy a week such as we have been enabled to enjoy. Notwith- standing the fact that peace is a glorious thing; in fact, a religion, nevertheless, as far as ! am concerned, I believe in controversy with my fellows honestly and fairly. and where there is honest difference of opinion I believe in fighting it out on that line if it takes all summer. I believe in controversy for the right; I believe such controversy brings out the best that is in us, and while we all hope for peace, it must be peace with honor. The Perry's Victory Centenary 53 The commission appointed by the State of New York for the celebration of Perry's great victory has furnished us a fine programme, which has reached a climax this evening. It is now my pleasure to call upon Mayor Louis P. Fuhrmann. Address of Mayor Fuhrmann The Mayor responded as follows: A/r. Toastmaster, and Honored Quests: I assure you that I greatly appreciate the honor which is mine this evening in being invited to participate in this banquet. Speaking as the chief executive of the city, I want to extend to the local com- mittee, to the representatives of the Empire State, and to all those concerned, my sincere thanks for the splendid services they have rendered in making this Perry celebration a magnificent success. This is indeed a glorious celebration in honor of the great Commodore whose deeds and memory vnll live forever in the hearts of his grateful countrymen. Great as this celebration is I am not overwhelmed by its magnitude, for the city of Buffalo is used to doing things in great ways. Only last week, the International Congress on School Hygiene — an assemblage that represented the entire civilized world — were the guests of the Queen City of the Lakes — a fitting introduction to this programme, which commemorates the glory of a world hero — Commodore Perry. More than half a century ago, the Great Free Soil Convention of 1848 was held in Buffalo — the convention which flung to the breeze the banner of free soil, free speech, free men and which contributed more than any other single influence or event previous to 1 861 in popularizing sentiment in favor of human freedom in this republic. The beautiful Pan-American Exposition, breathing sentiments of fraternity and inclusiveness to all the North and Central and South American nations, occurred here in 1 90 1 . Permit me to say this evening, friends, that Buffalo is a world city. Of all (he cities in the United States none is more cosmopolitan in character than Buffalo. The descendants of Europe, Asia, Africa, as well as the Americas, enter largely into our population. We have not only this vfidt racial diversity amongst us, but our industrial and commercial activities touch more sides of human life than any other city in the new world. 54 State of New York A great city is more than houses and lands and ships, to be sure, but so long as the world is as it is and men have to earn their living, (he industrial aspects of the community will remain of prime and commanding importance. Turning aside from commerce and industry to those things that deepen and enrich human life, permit me politely to call your attention to the multitude of evidence on every hand vk'hich prove beyond challenge that Buffalo is a beautiful and a universal city. Our thoroughfares and our residences, our streets and parks, our business houses, banks and newspapers, our school houses and religious edifices, as well as our charitable and fraternal organizations, are proof positive that Buffalo, the home of two distinguished American presidents — - Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland — is a progressive, patriotic American city. Toastmaster Scatcherd then said : The State of New York, realizing that there should be a proper celebration of Perry's victory, made an appropriation and appointed a commission to supervise expenditures. The chairman of that commission is with us this evening. Serving without remuneration, a great sacrifice of time and money, members of that com- mission have earned the gratitude of the people of Buffalo and the entire State. It is now my pleasure to call upon William J. Conners, chairman of that commission, to respond. Address of Chairman William J. Conners Chairman WiUiam J. Conners on rising was greeted with a demon- stration of applause which lasted for several minutes. When the cheers had subsided Mr. Conners said : Mr. Toaslrnaster, Invited Cuesls and Gentlemen of the City of Buffalo: You seem to be getting ahead pretty fast when you call upon Conners so soon. (Applause.) I feel somewhat like the fellow who picked up a newspaper and began to read it upside down. Of course, it is very amusing to me to note that I am the only speaker who has not the title honorable tacked to his name. That was a printer's fault, maybe. We came here to celebrate the great battle of Lake Erie. I don't think any of you gentlemen expect of me a lengthy speech, because this is probably the first or second time that I have had it fixed so that I would be called upon so early in the programme. The PEEy^Y's Victory Centenary 55 The humor of Mr. Conners met a quick response. Almost every sentence he spoke was cheered and greeted with ripples of appreciative laughter. Some of the newspaper boys came to me and wanted me to give them my speech. I said if I did I was afraid they couldn't read it. (Laughter,) The last speech I dehvered from notes was at the Jewish Synagogue, and it took me a week to collect the notes. (Laughter.) I had two or three of my editors help me with that speech, and when I got down there I was met by two or three ladies who punctured and criticized what I had to say, so from that day to this I have never attempted to read a speech from notes, and I don't intend to do it now. Right here I want to say in connection with this Perry celebration, that we are all indebted to my friend. Commodore Worthington. He is really the father of the Perry celebration. Out of his own pocket he paid representatives to go to other cities to further the raising of the Niagara, which as you all know, has proved the great attraction in Buffalo this week. When they asked me what I knew about the battle of Lake Erie, I was frank to say that I knew little. I knew that the great victory was won a long time ago, but I wasn't here then. Sometimes I think it was a mistake that I wasn't. When informed in New York by Governor Sulzer that I had been appointed chairman of the State commission, my reply was that nothing would please me better. My friend, Mr. Emerson, called upon me one day and informed me that I had been appointed a member of the Perry commission. I have been appointed chairman, I told him. William Simon, Mr. Emerson and myself met then at my office and, of course, they forced me to accept the chairmanship. It was one of those things where they had to force me, gentlemen. Just as they are forcing the mayoralty on three or four men. (Cheers and laughter.) In looking into this affair I found that it was planned to have the big celebration at Put-in-Bay, but, gentlemen, after what has taken place, I think you will agree with me that I have succeeded in whip-sawing my friend Worthington by bringing the great celebration to Buffalo. I had my own ideas about the character of the celebration from the start. My first jump was to Washington, where I saw ray friend, Taft, and Secretary Knox. 56 State of New York Turning to the toastmaster Mr. Conners said: No, my time is not up. I want to tell just what occurred. I am going to make a speech my own way. Of course you told me you didn't belong to the Ripper gang, and wanted to be chairman of this affair to square you and we did it. Now let me go on. Resuming his remarks, Mr. Conners said: I went down there to Washington with a view to getting a dirigible balloon to give the people of Buffalo something they had never seen before. I got a letter from President Taft and Secretary Knox to Ambassador Leishraan at Berlin. At Berlin they told me a dirigible balloon would not be let out of Germany unless by the Kaiser's permission. I told them I had no objections to meeting the Kaiser. (Cheers and laughter.) Finally I had the honor of meeting the Kaiser and different people connected with the project, but after figuring it out in dollars and cents I found it was not best to bring a dirigible balloon here. I came back feeling a little disappointed. We looked over the best things that could be given in the way of flying machines and other attractions. It was ray resolve to give the people of Buffalo a good show and I think that the results of the week have justified that resolve. This is the first show ever brought to Buffalo where the citizens were not called upon to pay, except for a few dollars for grandstands and minor details. The whole bill, gentlemen, has been paid by the State of New York. To-day our com- mission is working as one. It wasn't always that way, but it is so now. (Laughter.) You know I am very easy to coax but very difficult to shove. (More cheers and laughter.) We have other gentlemen here, among them August Belmont, a descendant of the great commodore and therefore I don't want to take up loo much of your time. Your toastmaster has talked a good deal about peace. I want to say that I love peace, on my own conditions, and unless it is on my conditions I don't like it. (Laughter and applause.) I come from a race that always loved peace just like that. (Laughter.) The Perry's Victory Centenary 57 Toastmaster Scatcherd said : Gentlemen it is always the unexpected that happens. I am not a good sleeper and at five o'clock this morning I heard my doorbell ring and rushing down stairs in my slippers and nightgown, I found a red-headed messenger who handed me a note from Mr. Conners, saying he did not feel in good shape to make a speech, but would do so on one condition. That was if a porous plaster he wore remained in place he would talk me to death. (More cheers.) Address by Hon. Asa Bird Gardiner, LL.D., H.D., M.H., President Rhode Island State Society, Order of the Cincinnati, and President Military Society of the War of 1812. The toastmaster then introduced Colonel AsA BiRD GARDINER, of New York, well-known as an author and speaker. Colonel Gardiner's address was historical in its character and largely reminiscent of the War of 1812 and Commodore Perry. He spoke as follows: We are met this evening to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the defeat and capture on Lake Erie of the entire British Squadron of superior force by Com- modore Oliver Hazard Perry's command after a fierce and gallant action in which the heroism displayed by officers and men of the contending forces is something of which both kindred nations may well be proud. It was the first recorded instance in a thousand years where a British Squadron had thus been overcome. The result was one of national importance for it gave to the United States of America the control of Lakes Erie, St. Clair, Michigan, Huron and Superior. To make territorial control complete Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry forth- vnt\\ prepared the vessels of both squadrons, which were still fit for active service, for transportation of all of Major General William Henry Harrison's army in a descent upon Canada and received him and his staff on his own vessel, the Ariel. and, on September 27, 181 3, debarked the American army at Maiden, which the British regulars under Major General Proctor and Indians under the great Chief Tecuraseh, hastily evacuated and retreated up the right bank of the Detroit river followed by the American army on land and Perry's vessels by water. 58 ■ State of New York c At the river Thames only the hghter draught vessels, the Scorpion, Tigress and Porcupine, with the baggage and boats of the army, could proceed up that stream to the end of navigation almost to the place where the battle of the Thames was fought on October 5. 1813, which resulted in a total defeat of the enemy and of Proctor's ignominious flight, accompanied by forty dragoons, leaving, besides killed and wounded on the field, 626 regular troops as prisoners of war and a great amount of military stores and train of brass cannon, including three Revolutionary trophies taken at Saratoga or Yorktown by the Americans, but recaptured by the British at the surrender of Detroit in 1812, by Brigadier General William Hull, of the United States Army. In this battle of the Thames, the great Indian War Chief Tecumseh was killed and his allied Indian tribes dispersed with great loss in killed and wounded. Commodore Perry served throughout all these operations so glorious to the American arms — where the navy could be utilized, as Major General Harrison's intimate co-adjutor and when the navy could do no more by water, acted as his hief aide in the battle and was constantly under fire, — a battle which was the corroUary to Perry's great naval victory on Lake Erie and brought peace to the northwest and left the present great states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota — with a total population, by last census, of 7,219,741, exclusively under American sovereignty. TTiese were the great events so glorious to the nation's arms, so important to its security and prosperity, in which Oliver Hazard Perry was a principal factor. The limits of these remarks admit but brief reference to the causes of the second war for American independence and a brief biographical sketch of the American hero — the Christian gentleman, the kind, good and gallant comrade in arms, whose potential victory we to-day celebrate. It has been the speaker's privilege to know probably two hundred of the veterans of the War of 1812, and listen to their stories of service by land or sea, and in many instances, narratives of what some suffered by forcible and unlawful impress- ment in the British navy. The treaty of peace of I 783 required the British government to evacuate with all convenient speed all military posts in acknowledged United States territory, leaving the American artillery, slaves and other property. In direct defiance, however, of this treaty the British government kept four mili- tary posts garrisoned by British soldiers in the State of New York, including one on Lake Champlain, and also one at Detroit, which commanded the straits, and one at Michillimacinac which commanded Lakes Superior and Huron, and held all The Perry's Victory Centenary 59 these for thirteen years, — throughout President Washington's administration. In addition a fort was erected on the Miami river, Ohio, within admitted American jurisdiction, from whence the Miami, Maumee, Shawnee and Wyandot tribes of Indians were deliberately supphed with arms, ammunition and other necessaries to enable them to harass and check incoming settlers from the states, so that between I 783 and 1 790 it is estimated that 1 ,500 immigrants to Kentucky alone were killed and scalped. In addition, because of anticipated war with Spain, the British government stationed a sloop of war off Sandy Hook, to impress American sailors, and even Jersey fishermen, in sight of where they were born, were forcibly seized and com- pelled to serve and subjected day after day, if they refused to serve, to severest whipping at the mainmast with the cat-o-nine-tails until they succumbed to a service of years without word from home or family and even compelled to fight against their own country in the War of 1812. A melancholy instance of this was exhibited in the victorious combat, October 25, 1812, between the U. S. frigate United States 44, and H. B. M. frigate Mace- donian 49, in which seven impressed American seamen were found on the British ship who had been forced to fight against their country's flag, two of whom were killed in the action. Because a sailor or even a shipmaster, despite his protection, spoke English, ergo he was an Englishman and taken from his own ship and flag to serve under the British flag. In order to render this species of service effective, commanding officers of British ships were given great discretionary authority and not subject to question in the use of the lash. They knew that the half-insane king, George III, profoundly hated the Americans and felt they could do almost anything against them without being subject to inquiry. The wars in Europe, from 1791 to 1815, diverted nearly all the carrying trade on the Atlantic and Mediterranean to our merchant ships and the immense profit derived by our farmers for all their produce, due to our neutral and pacific position, excited the jealousy of the two principal belligerents with maritime forces, England and France, and in the desire to deprive each other of this source of supplies and stimulated by the predatory spirit war engenders, when not checked by their owti governments, a systematic spoliation of American commerce was undertaken and recklessly pursued. Great Britain began it first as to the Spanish West Indies, ordering her cruisers to capture all neutral merchant ships trading to the colonies of a belligerent where such trade was not permitted in time of peace. 60 State of New York This order, in violation of the law of nations, apphed almost exclusively to the American merchant marine and resulted in many captures and condemnations of such vessels and cargoes to the ruination of their owners. Then came the orders in council for the paper blockade of France, Holland and Germany from the Elbe lo Brest, a distance of more than eight hundred miles — followed by Bonaparte's Milan and Berlin decrees of a paper blockade of the whole British coast. Such a system of warfare, in violation of established neutral rights, was ruinous to American trade, which was threatened with annihilation. On June 19, 1812, the Gingress of the United States of America, declared war to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the de- pendencies thereof and the United States of America and their territories. This appeal to arms by the American people, after unexampled forbearance, was made necessary by a continued series of hostile encroachments and aggressions on their rights, interests and territorial jurisdiction, and in defence of certain great principles of the laws of nations which had been oppressively violated for many years to their great injury. These causes cannot here be given. The speaker has conversed with many veteran native born American sailors who were forcibly irspressed from American merchant ships. At the declaration of war in June, 1812, there were then on record in the United States Department of State the cases of 6,257 seamen, citizens of the United States, who had been forcibly taken from American merchant ships and were then serving under compulsion in the British navy. When these American seamen learned of the war a large number refused to fight against their country. Some commanding officers by brutal floggings compelled the Americans in their crews to do duty, but 2,548 impressed American seamen withstood the terrors of such an infliction and were sent to Mill Prison as prisoners of war. It is pertinent to state here that this second war for American independence resulted in lasting mutual respect and regard between American and British seamen, resulting in closest recognition of kinship when associated together on service, a regard which, in later years, has been evinced time and time again in a substantial way when one or the other was temporarily involved in difficulties, and such actual or moral support was heartily given. As indicative of this feeling there is to-day in Newport Historical Society a sextant presented to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry by the gallant Captain Robert Heriot Barclay, who had lost an arm under Nelson at Trafalgar and had The Perry's Victory Centenary 61 commanded the British Squadron on Lake Erie, sent after his return to England and inscribed: "As an expression of appreciation of the kindness extended to him and his men after the defeat." Mr. Justice Riddell, and those hving authorities from whom he chose to quote, must now take heed that ahhough the Treaty of Ghent was silent on the subject, the following great principles as results of the war, and now engrafted in the law of nations, are ever to remain as evidence that the total casualties of the army and navy of the United States in that war, killed and wounded, and prisoners, anoounting to I 3,225, and of the British and their allies, amounting to 23,354, were not without effect in the results attained, viz : 1 . That independence and territorial sovereignty of a nation is inviolable. 2. That the national flag protects seamen on regularly documented American vessels against foreign impressment. 3. That the neutral flag covers enemy's goods except contraband of war. 4. That neutral goods, except contraband of war, are not liable to capture under an enemy's flag. 5. That blockades in order to be binding must be effective: that is to say, main- tained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy and preclude a reasonable chance of entrance. These are the principles for which Oliver Hazard Perry and his military and naval associates fought. His career was one of the most inspiring to patriotic effort in England or America. His paternal ancestor, Edmund Perry, came from Devonshire, England, in I 630, and after a brief sojourn in Plymouth, Mass., settled in South Kingston, on Narra- gansett Bay, Rhode Island. Edmund Perry's great-grandson. Freeman Perry, born in I 732, who was grand- father of our Oliver Hazard Perry, was a member of Assembly and Judge, Court of Common Pleas, and married the daughter of Oliver Hazard, a gentleman of large landed estate and owning many slaves in the Narragansett country. Their third son, Christopher Raymond Perry, born December 4, 1761, was a midshipman in the Continental Navy of the Revolution, but too young to receive a commission, and later in the Continental Letter of Marque service, and was captured and confined for three months in the Jersey prison ship in the Wallabout, enduring dreadful miseries until he escaped. 62 State of New York In October, I 784, being then only twenty-three years old, Christopher Raymond Perry, at that time master of a merchant sailing ship, married Sarah Alexander, a young lady of Scotch-Irish parentage, and on August 23, 1785, their first child, Oliver Hazard Perry, was born at the old family homestead not far from Point Judith Pond, South Kingston, R. I. His mother was possessed of much beauty of feature and attractive gentleness of manner, coupled with an unusual degree of force of mind and energy, which qualities were inherited by her son, Oliver Hazard Perry. From his father, when home from his long sea voyages, and relating his reminiscences of service in the Revolutionary War, he gathered valuable instruction, and when his father on June 9, 1 798, was commissioned a post captain in the United States navy and began to build the frigate General Greene, 28, at Warren, R. I., he received in April, 1 799, his warrant as midshipman in his father's ship, and served in the West Indies on convoy duty, and in a fight near Cape Tiburon, San Domingo, with three forts manned by insurgents, which were silenced in thirty minutes. Later he was in the blockade of the port of Jaquemel and bombardment of the place, which resulted in its surrender with 5.000 men to the constituted San Domingo authorities, that harbor having been a point from whence American commerce was seriously annoyed. With the inauguration of President Jefferson, who was opposed to a navy, it was incontinently reduced to the vanishing point and thirty-three out of forty-two captains, including Christopher Raymond Perry, were honorably discharged, but his son Oliver Hazard was retained. After little over a year on " waiting orders " the son was assigned as midshipman to the frigate Adams then at New York, and in June, 1802, sailed for Gibraltar and later to Tripoli — meanwhile at seventeen having been appointed an acting lieutenant, and, after duty in the Mediterranean, arrived home in the Adams in November, 1 803. and devoted himself to study, EUid in leisure hours to a society pre-eminently distinguished for intelligence and refinement. In the following July. 1 804, he was ordered to the historic Constellation, 38, then fitting out in Washington, but now permanently, it is to be hoped, in Newport harbor. Arriving off Tripoli in September, blockade duty was his fate under inefficient commanding flag officers until peace, having meanwhile been transferred as first lieutenant to the schooner Nautilus, in which he went to Gibraltar. The Perry's Victory Centenary 63 His appearance, manners and conversation had especially attracted the attention of Commodore Rodgers and he was transferred to the historic Constitution, 44. then the flagship, until the Commodore, in the late summer 1806, shifted his flag to the Essex, 35, and returned home bringing Perry with him and arriving in Newport in October. Our hero then returned to his mathematical and other studies of his own volition, but must needs in January, 1807, fall in love, and became engaged to Miss Elizabeth Champlin Mason, then but fifteen, beautiful and intelligent and of an old Newport gentry family. He was then employed to build seventeen frail and useless harbor gunboats under the scandalous policy of President Jefferson. When they were built he was ordered to New York with them and continued for a time in command until ordered to proceed to Westerly, R. I., to build more, on which duty he was employed from February, 1 808, until their completion in April, 1 809, and was then appointed to the schooner Revenge, I 4 guns, in Long Island Sound and cruised vfilh the squadron of four frigates, five sloops and some smaller vessels, under Commodore Rodgers, until April, 1810, when ordered to Washington, where his schooner underwent extensive repairs. Sailing on a cruise May 20, 1810, on the southern Atlantic coast, with the consent of the Spanish governor, he boldly took out from off Amelia Island and from under the British gunbrig Plumper and schooner Jupiter, the merchant ship Diana of Wiscasset, which was there wrongfully under British colors and under the fictitious name of "Angel." Leaving Charleston, S. C, on August 10, and rejoining Commodore Rodgers in New York harbor for a cruise, he was sent with his vessel to Nevsfport, from whence on January 8, 1811, he proceeded to join the commodore at New London, but after being under sail an hour a dense fog arose and the vessel when beyond Point Judith, and under charge of an experienced and skillful pilot, ran on the rocks and become a total loss, everything of value on board, however, being saved. A Court of Inquiry fully and honorably exonerated Perry. On February 5, 1 8 II, he was married to Miss Mason. Having been promoted to be master-commandant he was in June, 181 I, given charge of a flotilla of twelve gun boats at Newport, a duty most distasteful to a navy man, but diligently and efficiently performed. In January, 1813, a new secretary of the navy, William Jones, came into office. On February 1 7, our hero received in Newport orders to proceed to Sackett's Harbor with all the best men under his command in the flotilla, and thence to Lake Erie, to command the squadron, the construction of which had been commenced. 64 State of New York On Washington's birthday. February 22. 1813. an auspicious day in this regard for America. Perry relinquished his command of the flotilla at Newport and set out for Sackelt's Harbor. N. Y.. where Commodore Chauncey was in command on Lakes Erie and Ontario. It was a trip of much hardship at that time of year and through sparsely settled districts. Arriving on March 3d, he was detained a time by Commodore Chauncey. but on March 27, reached his destination at Erie, Pa., going by way of Buffalo, where he spent March 24th and 25th. At Erie Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins, United States Navy, with Noah Brown of New York as superintendent, was in charge of the construction of two twenty-gun brigs and four gunboats, whose frames, from trees cut down on the spot, were of white and black oak and chestnut, with outside planking of oak and decks of pine. No measures had been taken to forward the guns for the vessels nor had the fifty carpenters expected from Philadelphia arrived. Carpenters, blacksmiths, seamen, guns, sailcloth, pivot bolts for carronades, anchors, other iron work, ammunition, everything needful was lacking, and had to be brought at that inclement season a distance of five hundred miles over almost impassable roads through a sparsely settled country. Perry's energy and determination, aided by a manner which inspired confidence and regard, overcame everything. He was at Sackett's Harbor, Pittsburg or Buffalo when needful to expedite transportation of supplies. Early in May the gunboats were launched and later, the two brigs. Going to see Commodore Chauncey on Lake Ontario and to do so, walking or riding in a furious rainstorm or rowing in an open boat, our hero found the army under Major General Henry Dearborn, U. S. A., in conjunction with the navy about to assault Fort George, upper Canada, and for this operation he was given command of 500 seamen, which with the Third Regiment, U. S. Artillery, were to take the advance. Perry after reconnoitering in an open boat vWthin musket shot, directed certain schooners where to lie so their fire would be effective, and when the troops after landing fell back to the shore, this fire controlled the situation. Then landing he pushed forward with the reformed brigade and Fort George was taken. This most gallant conduct received due praise from Commodore Chauncey in his official report, but, as to Lake Erie matters, he seems to have been actuated more or less by jealousy for he withheld all the marines sent by the secretary of the navy, HON. CHARLES E. HUGHES Governor of New \'ork State, January 1, 1907, to October 6, 1910 HON. HORACE WHITE Governor of New ^'ork State, October 6, 1910, to December 31, 1910 HON. MARTIN H. GLYNN Governor of New ^'ork State, October 17, 191 3, to December 31, 1914 HON. LOUIS P. FUHRMANN Mayor of Buffalo, N. Y., 1913 The Pee^y's Victory Centenary 65 via Sackett's Harbor for Lake Erie, so that our hero had to borrow from the Twenty-eighth U. S. Infantry Regiment, with Major General Harrison, soldiers to act as marines, but as it had been raised in Kentucky, the men were all expert riflemen and their fire was very destructive in the battle of Lake Erie. The capture of Fort George and retreat of the British enabled Perry to use water transportation for his stores through Niagara river and also remove with great difficulty into Lake Erie live small United States vessels, which had been detained at Black Rock, and on June 14, 1813, he sailed with them from Buffalo for Erie — the brig Caledonia of three long 24's, the schooner Somers of two long 32's, Amelia and Ohio of one 24 pounder each and sloop Trippe of one long 32. At Erie, after his two twenty-gun brigs were fully rigged, batteries mounted and ready to sail, it was only with incredible difficulty he got them over the bar and into deep water. When ready to sail on August 12th to meet the British squadron, Perry had about 400 officers and men to man two twenty-gun brigs, and eight smaller vessels mounting together fifteen guns, and making an aggregate of fifty-five guns for the whole squadron. On August 31st, while lying in Put-in-Bay, he received from Major General Harrison a re-enforcement of about 1 GO men, which, after deducting some casualties, raised his effective force to 490. Some of these soldiers were lake or river boatmen and were utilized as seamen. While Commodore Chauncey was keeping, despite urgent pleas, our young commander from receiving necessary officers and seamen to man his squadron, the British commander was building, launching and equipping a very strongly built ship, the Detroit of 500 tons and nineteen guns, all long except two twenty-four pound carronades. In addition Commander Barclay had the ship Queen Charlotte of 400 tons and seventeen guns, three of them being long guns, one of which in each of these ships was on a pivot. Also the schooner LaJv Prevost of 230 tons and thirteen guns, three being long guns; the brig Hunter of 180 tons and ten guns; the sloop Little Belt of 100 tons and three guns; the schooner Chipperva of 100 tons, mounting one long eighteen pounder, making in all sixty-three guns of which thirty-five were long and manned by 502 officers and men. At sunrise on September 1 0th, the British squadron was discovered from the mast- head of the Lawrence coming towards Put-in-Bay where the American squadron 66 State of New York was at anchor, which in a few minutes was under sail, beating out of the harbor against a light southwest breeze, and with ahead to tow, but the breeze suddenly shifted to southeast which gave Perry the weather gauge. Clearing for action, weather serene and without clouds and sailing at about three knots an hour, for six miles the gallant antagonists slowly approached, the British ships newly painted and presenting a gallant appearance. Meanwhile the crew of the Lawrence which was in the lead, after recourse to their breadbags, and grog having been served, awaited the encounter in stern silence except as their beloved commander went to every battery to minutely inspect it and had a pleasant word for the captain of the gun and service detachment. Returning aft he produced his lettered burgee inscribed, " Don't give up the ship," and mounting on a gun slide asked, " Shall I hoist it? " adding " This flag contains Captain James Lawrence's last words." "Aye! Aye! Sir! " came from every part of the ship and the flag went up. Slowly the two squadrons approached each other and there was dead silence for an hour and a half until at the sound of a bugle on the Detroit, then distant a mile and a half, the British crews began to cheer. This ship then began the action vnth her long guns, of which her entire armament consisted, except two carronades, and as the Lawrence led the American line and could not return the fire except from one long twelve by reason of being armed with carronades, sail was made and orders by trumpet repeated to the squadron to close with the enemy. The Niagara, next but one in line, repeated the order to make sail, but did not do so, merely using one long twelve pounder. Meantime the Lawrence suffered terribly for half an hour of almost unresisted cannonade from the Detroit and soon from the guns of other ships, amounting in all to thirty-four guns which were brought to bear on her and the carnage was dreadful. At last getting into position where her carronades could be used, the Lawrence opened fire with great spirit and effect. Some of the smaller American vessels, the Caledonia, Scorpion and Ariel did all they could to help the Lawrence, but the Niagara, instead of closing vfith the Queen Charlotte, repiained practically out of action and the latter ship closed up on the Lawrence, whose forward division of starboard guns were then directed against the Detroit and the second division against the Queen Charlotte. TTie smaller American vessels being still too remote for effective service, the Lawrence for more than two hours with uninterrupted spirit maintained the fight against such tremendous odds, all due to the admirable manner in which Perry The Peeu^y's Victory Centenary 67 had trained his crew, particularly those whom he affectionately termed his " Newport Boys." Aloft, most of the ships rigging was shot away and hanging down overboard, sails torn to pieces, spars wounded and falling on deck, brace and bowlines cut so as to make it impossible to keep the ship under control. On deck the destruction was even more terrible. One after another every gun but one was dismounted and the bulwarks were so beaten in that the enemy's round shot passed entirely through. Captain Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, U. S. N., has recorded that " the slaughter was dreadful beyond anything recorded in naval history. Of 100 well men who had gone into action, twenty-two were killed and sixty-one wounded." Meanwhile our hero continued to fire his single remaining carronade, using his chaplain and purser and wounded men to man the gun until it also was disabled and the purser wounded. Undismayed, collected and even calm, cheerful, his wounded and dying would look toward him with confidence and affection as did Bonaparte's in his palmiest days. His ship was now an unmanageable wreck and beginning to go astern, but still receiving the British shots. The Niagara which had kept aloof, was, at this time, half-past two, passing the Laivrence on her weather or larboard beam, distant nearly half a mile and rapidly going by the British squadron and soon would have been entirely out of action. Thereupon our hero determined to board her and bring her into action, and called for his boat. Standing erect in the boat, the British soon perceived his object and directed a fire of great guns and musketry on the boat, several of whose oars were splintered and the crew covered with spray from round and grape shot striking the water. Entreated by his crew he finally sat down, and, at the end of fifteen minutes, hard pulling, the Niagara was reached and his flag hoisted and its commander sent to bring up the slower American vessels. There were then but two wounded men on the ship and none killed. Its com- mander had presumably expected our hero to be killed and then with his fresh ship he would have reaped the glory which came to Perry. But fourteen men were left on the Lawrence undisabled by wounds, when Perry took his boat's crew of four men, and in order to stop further carnage. Lieutenant Yamall, commanding, having no gun serviceable to reply, her flag was hauled down, whereat the British sailors cheered, but they were unable to take possession for a new condition had arisen. 68 State of New York Peny was bearing down in the Niagara, with signal hoisted for " close action." The Queen Charlotte and Detroit having run afoul of each other, the Niagara passed slowly under the bows of the Detroit, delivering a destructive raking fire of grape and canister and then vvath the larboard guns directing a murderous lire into the stern of the Lad]) Prevost and into the Little Belt, while the United States regular soldiers, all riflemen acting as marines, cleared the decks with the accuracy of their fire. The smaller American vessels now coming into action the jig was up and the British flag came down from one vessel after another, and the crew of the Larvrence thereupon raised over her again the Stars and Stripes. As tlie smoke cleared away, the Chippewa and Little Bell were discovered bear- ing away toward Maiden, but were pursued by the Scorpion and Trippe and brought back. Time will not permit, except most briefly, a sketch of our hero's subsequent career. He was at once promoted to the grade of Post Captain and received every mark of appreciation from the government, and on being relieved of the command of the Lake Erie squadron, met with a continual enthusiastic ovation on his return to Newport, where, on November 15, 1813, in the historic State House there, illuminated for the occasion, he was welcomed by his fellow citizens. Congress gave him its thanks and a gold medal and State Legislatures gave him thanks. Subsequent service on the Potomac in command of an hastily erected earth work, from which the British retiring from Washington were fired upon, afterwards in command of the frigate Java in the Mediterranean and then ordered to the coast of Venezuela in the sloop of war John Adams, on a diplomatic mission, were not especially eventful incidents, but this last service ended fatally, near Trinidad, from an attack of yellow fever, and our hero died on his birthday, August 23, 1819, aged 34 years. President Monroe, in announcing the fact to Congress, in a message dated De- cember 7, 1819, said: " His death is deplored as a national misfortune." At his funeral services in Trinidad, the British battery in Fort St. Andrew, fired minute guns and his remains on landing were received by the Third British West India Regiment with arms reversed and British officers wearing white scarfs and hatbands, the band playing a dirge preceding the commander of the garrison and staff The Perry's Victory Centenary 69 and British officers acting as pall bearers. The United States ship Lexington was sent to bring his remains home and on December 4, 1826, they were intened in the Common Burial Ground in Newport with imposing ceremonies, the Rhode island State Society, Order of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member, promi- nently participating as mourners. Such men make a nation truly great. Address of Hon. Dudley Field Malone The toastmaster then introduced the Hon. DUDLEY FlELD Malone, of New York City, Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, who delivered the address of the evening responding to the toast " The Presi- dent of the United States." Mr. Malone's brilliant address was listened to with the closest attention, frequent applause following his well rounded sentences. Mr. Malone said in part: The people of Buffalo are to be sincerely congratulated on the signal way in which they have paid fitting memorial to a great man and a great event. It is of striking and immeasurable value to the present generation that celebrations of this kind should frequently be held to renew the glory and re-emphasize the great qualities of our heroes and the great effects of their heroism which have grown to somewhat indefinite outline in the perspective of a century. I had the recent pleasure of traveling aboard our flagship, the DelaXvare, which ranks among the four greatest fighting vessels of the present American navy, and it was difficult to conceive as to-day I stood upon the sacred decks of the Niagara, the changes that have been brought about in a century in the growth and character of our naval equipment. But of infinitely greater significance when one steps from the steel latticed bridge of one of our modern dreadnoughts to the circumscribed deck space of the little Niagara, is the realization of the tremendous difficulties that Com- modore Perry had to overcome to fashion a fleet out of the heart of a virgin forest, which, by his valor and the patriotism of his men, proved itself superior to the British flotilla manned and officered by veterans of Nelson's armada. Gaze back through the perspective of a century to witness the strange and thrilling events in which Buffalo had her inrmortal share! The people of America are troubled and afraid, for on the Canadian border is the threatened menace of an enemy with rapidly building fleets and victorious armies. When the god of war 70 State of New York bent on a test of our fitness for nationhood, brought us into our second war in 1812. we had no navy worthy of consideration, but we did have a great naval tradition. Nine frigates and nine small vessels pointed their guns beneath the Stars and Stripes while a thousand sail proclaimed the proud boast that Britain rules the seas. During the Revolution we had no continuous or coherent fighting force; only the genius of Paul Jones and the dashing courage of Jack Barry brought brilliant victories to the American people. These men established the naval tradition — a tradition of incomparable fighting. In the spring of 1813 a young captain of the navy, restless in the inactivity of seacoast defense, secures permission to march and meet the British on the lakes. He travels on sleds through the wilderness by way of Lake Ontario and Buffalo, to the little village of Erie, and there commands the strangest naval preparation since that early century when the energy of the Themistocles created the Athenian fleet which at Salemis swept the seas and won liberty and glory for Greece. On the forest shore of Lake Erie mighty trees that towered in their centuried strength as the morning sun drove the mist from the lake front, by evening's dusk had been fashioned into the timbers which can to-day be seen holding the keel and form of the old Niagara for the solemn edification of this generation. Extemporized forges blaze amidst the forest and as the iron is wrought great piles of scrap are accumu- lated to be tied into bags and fired at the rigging of the expected enemy. The fleet is complete. The British are sighted. The battle is fought. The victory is won. An immortal message is sent by one of America's immortals to thrill the hearts of all succeeding generations. Gentlemen, the indescribable hardships suffered by Perry and his men, the indefatigable courage and self-sacrifice in battle, the imperishable patriotism that made victory complete; the generous devotion to a cause that made the young com- modore's name a sacred thing even on the lips of rough-hewed men; the decisive defeat of foreign aggression; your magnificent display of patriotic interest in this celebration have all been in vain if this victory of American arms and the qualities of heart and mind that made Commodore Perry a leader, have no applicable signifi- cance for the present generation. You remember the circumstance that when Perry left the shattered Lawrence he took the pennant with Lawrence's dying words, " Don't give up the ship," but he left flying the Stars and Stripes. LawTence's flag was the flag of the principles of service which had inspired Perry to heroism; the Star Spangled Banner was the flag of his country for whom his deeds of heroism were accomplished. Every The Perry's Victory Centenary 71 citizen to-day of the humblest origin and place in society should carry with him into his political opinion and action the principles of courage and sacrifice for which the flag of Lawrence was the emblem, and he should keep it unsullied in order that his personal principles may be of service to the flag of his country in peace and war. Flags symbolize the sentiment and the aspirations of a people. The flag of Lawrence emd of Perry brings hushed silence and reverent thoughts; the flag of our country flying in the free air should be the inspiration for every citizen to ask the question when in doubt as to the political stand he should take, what would Oliver Hazard Perry do as a citizen of America in these circumstances? Would he follow the schemes of personal interest, or would he serve the welfare of a nation and a people? He who can gaze upon the flag of our common country without an impulse of deep devotion is not a good citizen. Oh! beautiful emblem of Liberty's tree. Oh! star spangled flag of the land of the free, I love thee. Old Glory, with love that's as true And as pure as the stars in thy heavenly blue. There's no flag like my flag — • there's no flag like thine. Oh! patriots, countrymen, comrades of mine! 'Tis kissed by God's breezes, by angels caressed. Beloved by the North, by the South, East and West, And each brilliant star shooting forth when unfurled. Sends flashes of hope to the oppressed of the world. The same qualities essential to the garland victories of war are necessary to the national accomplishments of peace. The same courage, the same disinterestedness of service, the same self-sacrifice, the same willingness to surrender all things personal for the triumph of a cause are as ardently needed in these " piping times of peace " as they were on that beautiful day when Perry rode victorious against the British fleet. I have sometimes doubted if it was not infinitely more difficult to be a leader of our people in times of peace than in times of stress and warfare. In times of war, without regard to the justifiable causes of the conflict, the people stand in enthusiastic support of any step the President may take. In times of peace the President may even more loyally serve the interests of a people, yet the acrimonies of partisanship, the railings of demagogues and the news reports colored by the glittering gold of interested groups of men, all conspire to the distortion of a leader's motives and capacity. (Great applause.) 72 State of New York I have been asked to speak to the toast, " The President of the United States." I hope I may do so without political significance, because in America we are all partisans before election day, but after election day we are all Americans. In 1908 I campaigned through the East with a man who by his successful handling of the Japanese and Mexican problems bids fair to rival the records of any previous Secretary of State. Mr. Taft was elected President, but on the 5th of March when my regiment marched by the reviewing stand in Washington, Wilham Howard Taft, the President of the American people, was as much my President as he was of any man in the long line of march. We honor the name and commemorate the deeds of Perry because he brought a war to a successful issue for his country. History will record this nation's tribute of respect and gratitude to the present President of the United States who, by indomitable courage, unswerving patience, unfailing tact and an incomparable per- sonality, has saved 90,000,000 of people from the ravages of a senseless war in Mexico, and thousands upon thousands of American homes from the loss of fathers emd sons on the field of futile battle. To stand against the doubts of a people, the impulsive conclusions of the press, the abuse of those who place property above morals, and the temptation to certainly perpetuate his tenure of office by a successful war against a weaker people is an exhibition of rare courage and heroic leadership that is worthy of the dignity and honor of the Presidency of the United States. With the continuance of peace at home and abroad great things may be accom- plished. The economic demands of a people, the economic demands of the Nation, will be met at this session of the Congress by a tariff and currency bill. The solemn pledges of accomplishment made by the leader of his party to an expectant people will be fulfilled. Increasing prosperity will be the measure of the President's sagacity and constructive statesmanship. His devotion to the peaceful needs of our people, his magnetic and attractive personal qualities, his dominating nnind and a character of essential integrity justify the prophecy and the belief that as Providence in other crises has given to the American people in Washington and in Lincoln men of the full stature of patriotic statesmanship, so has He given to the American people in these days of economic crisis a man who will rise above all the small temptations of partisan politics to serve his country in this generation that the republic may go on through the centuries of time to accomplish the high destiny for which it was con- ceived. (Long continued applause.) The Perry's Victory Centenary 73 August Belmont of New York, introduced by Mr. Scatcherd as a grand-nephew of Commodore Perry, followed Mr. Malone. Mr. Bel- mont received an inspiring welcome. August Belmont Speaks " When I came here to-night," said Mr. Belmont, " I did not expect to be called upon as the representative of the Perry family. When I received my invitation I wrote to the commander's grandson, TTiomas Sargent Perry, at Bridgeport, Conn. He told me he would confine himself to the simple services over his grandfather's grave at Nevkport. But he advised me to attend the celebration here, for, he said, it probably would be the last celebration of the victory. He explained that with die advent of woman suffrage they would probably cease to honor the deeds of men and confine themselves to the heroes of pink teas. Mr. Belmont then spoke of the tendency of the Perrys to take up careers as sailors or soldiers. "At one time," he said, " there were seventeen cousins of the Perry family in Annapolis Naval academy and it has been a source of regret to me that my surroundings were such that I took up a commercial career, honorable as it may be, instead of a military or naval one." TTien Mr. Belmont thanked the diners for the honor they had paid to the memory of Oliver Hazeu-d Perry. Remarks of Rev. A. V. V. Raymond The Rev. Dr. A. V. V. RAYMOND of Buffalo was next introduced. He said in part: As I look upon this brilliant gathering I understand what he meant who said: " In such a presence the fact that one is not distinguished is sufficient to make him distinguished." And when I think of myself as one of the speakers I am thankful 74 State of New York my responsibility is not that of those who asked me to speak, for you all realize that such an invitation carries an acceptance with it. Is there one here who would have hesitated a moment to say the word that would put his name on a programme destined to go down into history? We have our answer in the demonstrations of this week. Without any process of reasoning we feel instinctively that he realized the higher responsibilities of life who wrote his name so large that it is hailed with gratitude by 90,000,000 of people after the lapse of 1 00 years. Think of the silent influence of that little brig down in the harbor. What an insignificant thing it is in itself. How unworthy of comparison with the great steamers that go in and out of our port daily. Yet what a glory crowns that little vessel ! Nor should we forget that Oliver Hazard Perry was not alone on the decks of the vessel that sailed to victory 100 years ago. His is the name we acclaim because he was the commander, but what of the men who obeyed, the men who followed where he led, who fell in the fight while he lived? If I were to propose a toast to-night, it would not be to the memory of Oliver Hazard Perry, whose name is honored by all, but to *' The Others." the unnamed heroes of the battle of Lake Erie. Address of Justice Herbert P. Bissell Justice Herbert P. Bissell of the Supreme Court was introduced following Dr. Raymond. The justice had to wait for the applause to die out before he was able to begin his address. TTien he said : This commemoration of Perry's victory not only transplants us to the scenes of a hundred years ago, but brings us to a realization of the wonderful progressive development of the past century, in education, science and material wealth. We are impressed by a review of the primitive conditions of naval warfare on the lakes, when we find that Perry's famous flagships — the Lawrence and the Niagara — were each of 480 tons burden, and 110 feet in length ; while the aggregate tonnage of the nine war vessels comprising his victorious fleet was 1 ,67 1 tons. The papers left by Daniel Dobbins, the brave and efficient sailing master to whom the construction of the flagships was entrusted, inform us that he was authorized at the outset to draw upon the Navy Department at Washington for the sum of $2,000, The Perry's Victory Centenary 75 and that the total cost of these celebrated ships approximated $19,500. The sum of one dollar was paid for each standing tree that entered into their construction. The trees were cut and sawed by hand, and the nails were manufactured without the aid of machinery. When we stop and consider that the annual appropriations for the United States navy now aggregate $140,000,000 and that a single warship constructed of steel has a displacement of 15,000 tons and cosU the government $10,000,000. we appreciate that times indeed have changed. Turning from the contemplation of the primitive conditions existing upon the water at the time when this gallant young hero and his self-sacrificing companions re-established American supremacy on the great lakes, our minds are also filled with reflections on the conditions of life that surrounded the sturdy pioneers who settled western New York and opened the way for the march of the American nation across the American continent. In 1813 the frontier of western New York consisted of two counties — Niagara and Chautauqua — with a population of 8,432 persons, of whom 1.508 lived in the township of Buffalo. This same territory to-day rejoices in an aggregate population of 750,000 inhabitants. We have heard much in recent years of the " strenuous life " which has been defined as " the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; of that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship or from bitter toil, and who out of these, wins the splendid ultimate triumph;" and I venture to say that the strenuousness of these days does not compare in dauntless courage and noble self-sacrifice with that displayed by the patriots and pioneers of a century ago. As we look back upon the crudities existing at the time of the pioneer settlement of this region, how vividly do we realize that improvement, progression, advance- ment and development are stamped on every part of creation, on every department of science and every sequence of events! Let us picture briefly the stout-hearted pioneer emigrating to this vn\d region a hundred years ago, conveying his family and all of his worldly possessions in a heavy old Dutch wagon, drawn by a span of sorrily-jaded horses, through woods, across streams, along corduroyed roads and roads that sadly needed to be corduroyed. There were no brick or macadam highways in those days. The journey occupies many days, and finally the obstacles have been overcome, the hardships have all been patiently endured, and the little opening in the timber reached, where, on the morrow, will be erected the log cabin in which they are to begin their frontier life. Wolves and other wild animals howl about them, and they are uncertain of the 76 State of New York friendliness of the Indian owners whose domain they have invaded. The cabin of logs — a rude hut twelve by fifteen feet square — is finally completed. It has no sash or glass, but the small window-hole is covered by an old newspaper, printed far away in New England or Pennsylvania; and the first door is covered by the canvas which sheltered them on their journey in the wagon. The furniture — chairs, bed- steads and tables — are all hewn out of rude logs; and then, with the simple cooking utensils they have brought with them, they begin housekeeping in their new home. They are miles distant from any other human habitation and beyond the reach of mails or other conveniences. But here, v^nth faith in God and faith in themselves, they begin to live their new life — a life of progress from the most primitive elements of civilization throughout all the years that shall be given them to the prosperity of those who shall live when they are gone — a life of hardship and unremitting toil, freely devoted to the coming generation. Truly a genuine example of the strenuous life! The advancement of civilization in education, refinement, science and material wealth since this region was settled has certainly made the past century a marvel of progressive improvement. Our fathers suffered the deprivations and the hardships; we are enjoying the benefits and the glory ! When we review the conditions of life that surrounded the colonists and pioneers, and contrast them with the conditions that we are enjoying and accepting as a matter of course to-day, I sometimes wonder how these changed conditions would affect him, if we could bring back to life Benjamin Franklin, the greatest and most progressive citizen of the eighteenth century, the sage, the philosopher and philan- thropist who founded here in America the first public library and the first hospital, organized the first police force and the first fire company, built the first pavements, established the American Philosophical Society and the academy which afterwards grew into the great and flourishing University of Pennsylvania, and who above all things, we should remember in this practical age, first discovered the practical appli- cation of electricity. Now let us, in imagination, awaken him from his long slumber in Christ church cemetery in Philadelphia where he was laid to rest in 1 790, and then buy him a ticket from Philadelphia to New York in a Pullman parlor car, with a dining car attached in which he will get a better dinner than he ever ate in his life, and proceed to his destination on a steam-drawn vestibule train. When in two or three hours* time he reaches the Hudson river which he crossed in a small boat as a runaway apprentice from Boston in 1 723, send him through a tube under the river on a car propelled by electricity — the force whose practical application and value he first The Perry's Victory Centenary 77 discovered. When he emerges let him stare for awhile at the magnificence of the great railway station, and then drive him swiftly in a taxicab to the Waldorf-Astoria, and take him up in an electric elevator to the sixteenth story where he can find a telephone hanging on the wall of his room and have a talk with his wife, Sarah Read, back home in Philadelphia. Now, if by this time, the great philosopher and sage is not sufficiently dazed and astounded, why turn on the electric lights and wind up a Victrola so that an orchestra of seventy-five pieces can play him some selections from Handel's oratorios out of a box two feet square, while a wireless message is transmitted to him from mid-ocean, sent by the Morse code from the deck of a steamship built of steel which is crossing the Atlantic in five days' time over the course which occupied the packet ship five weeks' time when he sailed from New York to London in 1 767, to appeal to the British crown for justice for the American colonies. The next morning, after he has been taught how properly to use and enjoy the luxuries of modern plumbing, we will invite him to take a ride in a trolley car or an automobile for a trip to Belmont Park where he may see a flock of aeroplanes darken- ing the sky while one of them flies out of sight encircling the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor; or perhaps he might see Rodgers starting out on his 4,000 mile flight, from ocean to ocean, across the American continent. And then returning by the elevated railway and through the subway, we must not forget to entertain him in the evening with moving pictures, representing in color the magnificent details of the recent coronation of a successor to his despotic majesty. King George the Third. Of course he would wish to use a kodak so he could take a few snapshots of the skyscrapers forty and fifty stories high that have replaced some of the two-story structures of the eighteenth century. I hardly think it will be necessary to take him for a trip in a submarine boat, for I feel sure that by this time the great philosopher, the wisest and most progressive American of the eighteenth century, will either be a candidate for an institution for the insane, or glad to return to his slumbers in Christ church cemetery, well satisfied with the progress and development of the United States in the past century ! Surely, Mr. Toastmaster and gentlemen, we Americans have just cause for optimism, and to rejoice that the prize for which the heroes and patriots, the pioneers and backwoodsmen fought — the American continent — has developed in a com- paratively brief period of time into a nation possessing everything that begets material prosperity and individual happiness! 78 State of New York Remarks by Hon. Edward H. Butler Hon. Edward H. Butler, editor and proprietor of The Bufalo Evening Neivs, spoke next, saying : I want to say that we have this week hved up to the slogan of the Chamber of Commerce that Buffalo Means Business. I think that a close adherence to that motto will mean a bigger Buffalo. I want to say a word about Mr. Conners and the other men responsible for this affair. We will thank Senator Malone, too. I want to call attention to the monument which is to be placed at the Front in honor of Perry. I want to say, too, that the people of Buffalo have been unified in their efforts to make the celebration a great success. We must thank the ladies, too, for the important part which they played in this affair. Before the Rev. Father Kean was introduced, Toastmaster Scatcherd paid a sterling tribute to Commodore George H. Worlhington of Cleve- land. Mr. Scatcherd said it was through the efforts of Commodore Worlhington that the centennial celebration spread from city to city along the lakes. Commodore Worlhington did not speak. The last speaker introduced was the Rev. M. J. Kean, who, in a good natured way, pictured the spirit of Oliver Hazard Perry returning to the Queen City of the Lakes, from the dock at the foot of Main Street, to view the so- called improvements — the Lackawanna station, the Lehigh station, the Central station, designated the " Union Station," and the Terrace station. Fear of disturbing the peace of the citizenship allowed the old original conditions to sleep on Main Street, the expectation of beauty, in the mmd of the great Commodore, had assumed the veritable appearance of a " Midway " and the Soldiers' and Sailors* beautiful monument presented a picture of a wall of commercialism surrounding it. Dropping this feature of his address. Father Kean concluded by a picture of the first proclamation of peace, uttered more than nineteen The Perry's Victory Centenary 79 centuries ago by the Divine Architect of Nature, and the Creator of humankind, a lesson as cheerfully accepted as lovingly given, and now forming a bond of friendship where once bitter enmity prevailed. Were Oliver Hazard Perry among us tonight, the nobleness of spirit and the patriotism that prompted his actions in the historic days com- memorated tonight, would speak out and sanction the purpose of this distinguished gathering. Let Buffalo take up that spirit and weave and mould it into its life's actions for future greatness. This splendid entertainment, unsurpassed in the history of Buffalo, was attended by many of its leading citizens, representatives of its business, professional and official life. Those at the speaker's table were Chairman William J. Conners, of the Perry's Victory Commission, Hon. John F. Malone, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Toastmaster John N. Scatcherd, Secretary George D. Emerson and Treasurer William Simon of the Perry Commission; Commodore George H. Worthington of Cleveland, Ohio; Hon. Dudley Field Malone, Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. ; Rev. A. V. V. Raymond, Mayor Louis P. Fuhrmann, Hon. Edward H. Butler, Hon. August Belmont of New York City, Hon. William F. Rafferty of Syracuse, Colonel Asa Bird Gardiner of New York City, Rev. M. J. Kean, Justice Herbert P. Bissell, Supreme Court, Hon. Simon L. Adler of Rochester, N. Y., Hon. William L. Ormrod of Churchville, N. Y., Hon. Jacob Schifferdecker of Brooklyn, N. Y., Hon. T. W. Finnucane of Rochester, N. Y.. and General J. Warren Keifer of Springfield, Ohio. Vocal and instrumental music, interspersed at intervals, enlivened the occasion. 80 State of New York PUBLIC MEETING OF NIAGARA FRONTIER. BUF- FALO CHAPTER. NATIONAL SOCIETY. DAUGHTERS OF 1812 On Friday afternoon, September 5th. Niagara Frontier, Buffalo Chapter. National Society, Daughters of 1812, held a meeting at the Twentieth Century Club, which was well attended and marked with an enthusiastic, patriotic spirit. In a stirring address Hon. Peter A. Porter inspired the women in the audience with the feeling that they were celebrating a victory which was in large measure won by women. Not only had they been the silent agents who furnished food, clothing, bandages and other necessities, but they had given Perry the flag to raise over the Laxerence. When the first flagship had to be abandoned. Perry carried the banner slung over his shoulder as he was rowed in a small boat, the target of thirty British guns, to the Niagara, where the Stars and Stripes, presented by women, con- tinually stirred the fighters to their utmost. How the 116 guns, brought by the Commodore out of the fray and allowed to remain at Erie for a time because of lack of funds for their removal, were allowed to boom forth the opening of the Erie canal was also described by Mr. Porter. The guns were placed at ten-mile intervals from Buffalo to New York, and as the boat, carrying the Governor, the Mayor of Buffalo and other officials, left Buffalo, the cannon were shot off in turn, the entire number requiring one hour and ten minutes. Describing the incident Mr. Porter said: In that battle Perry had 54 guns at the start. During the fight one gun on the Ariel burst. The British had 63 cannon. Wlien the battle ended, all in all. Perry was just 1 1 6 guns to the good. ff-'* ^^ ■bL'^1^-- ~*^^xt>- DECK VIEW OF THE " NIAGARA < > n \~ o o 1- H 3 ca LU r H D n -J < fc t/j CC 57 < C/J o n < 3 2 U - r- * O (T3 CL ^ X O en O < a^ "^ )^ rt c< OJ cc WJ UJ n cu -J= c UJ rt! 3: H ^ O < The Perry's Victory Centenary 81 Later on, as the various vessels of both the fleets were either sunk, sold or other- wise disposed of by the United Slates government, the guns were all stored at Erie. It was too expensive to transport them by land to the seacoast. But the time was soon to come when those cannon, which had engaged in deadly conflict at Put- in-Bay, were to be employed in carrying a message of peace. When the Erie canal neared completion the United States government decided to transfer those cannon over it to Brooklyn. There were no telegraphs in those days. Some bright man or perhaps it was a woman, conceived the idea of employing those cannon to carry the news from Lake Erie to New York bay that the Erie canal was an accomplished fact. So arrangements were made with the firm which had the contract to transport them, that on a sort of trial trip through the canal they should drop off those cannon at about ten-mile intervals, between Buffalo and Albany, and so on down the Hudson river. This was done; those guns were brought to Buffalo from Erie by vessels. At Buffalo they were transferred to the first canalboats that were ever built for our great waterway and some 50 of them — the largest, both American and the captured British guns (there were about 35 of the latter and fifteen of the former), were deposited on the canal bank from Buffalo to Albany, and along the shore of the Hudson. TTien in October, 1825, one fine morning, as the canal boat Seneca Chief entered the canal from Lake Erie (down near the foot of Porter avenue), the first gun of that long chain, boomed out from The Terrace. And, as its thunder was heard at Black Rock, a gun there took up the message, and so on clear across the State, gun after gun repeating the message, clear down to New York bay, in one hour and ten minutes, was carried the news, that at the village of Buffalo, the Erie canal, thenceforth to be the glory of the Empire State, and a factor in transportation, had been officially declared open. Perry's guns had thus their victories in peace as well as in war. An interesting part of the exercises was the presentation by Roderick J. Cant of an 1812 flag, the gift of Mrs. Charles J. North to the Niagara Frontier, Buffalo Chapter. TTie flag, which was held during the speech by Miss Florence Cant, has fifteen stars and stripes. The response of Mrs. Robert Fulton, first vice regent, who presided, was followed by the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by Mrs. Howard 6 82 State of New York Hamilton Baker, soloist of the afternoon, accompanied by Mrs. Clara Gentzsch McGuire. Another appropriate feature was the song. Perry's Victory, by Samuel Taggart, who was a poetic combination of shoemaker, composer and violinist, and who wrote this eulogy of sixteen verses soon after the battle, composing his own music. One verse with the original music was sung before the Battle Prayer of Koerner, and several other verses were sung to the music of Brahms, to which Mrs. Baker had adapted the words. Mrs. Baker also sang Joseph Hopkinson's Hail Columbia, her entire programme, thoroughly in keeping with the spirit of the celebration, being warmly applauded. How far-reaching was the enthusiasm in this centenary was shown in the representation of other State Chapters of Daughters of 1812. Mrs. Dudley E. Cornell, Kansas City, State President of Kansas; Mrs. Charles H. Smith of Cleveland, State President of Ohio; Mrs. T. L. A. Greve of Cincinnati, Honorary President of Ohio, and Mrs. C. Elwood Brown, coming in place of Mrs. Kate Kearney Henry, President of the United States Daughters of 1812 in the District of Columbia, were present and spoke briefly. Mrs. Cornell, first daughter of 1812 in Kansas and organizer and first president of the society there, is a granddaughter of Colonel Dennis, who fought on the Niagara frontier. The only centennial Kansas has had thus far, said Mrs. Cornell, was in 1905, when a monument was erected to General Zebulon Pike, who on his journey to the west lowered the Spanish flag in Kansas and gave it a good start by raising the Stars and Stripes. TTie same patriotism inspired and was renewed by both these centenaries celebrating events which meant so much to all parts of the country. The Perry's Victory Centenary 83 Mrs. Smith invited all the Buffalo daughters to the Cleveland celebra- tion, from September 1 4th to the 1 7th, during which there would be un- veiled in Gordon Park the Perry monument, which was first erected in 1860 and has been traveling around ever since to accommodate the growing city. Mrs. Greve brought greetings not only from Cincinnati, but also from California, where she is a former regent of the California Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of San Francisco and honorary vice-president of the Colonial Dames of California. She also announced herself very much a New Yorker, being a descendant of the first white child born in the New Netherlands, which makes her a Daughter of the Holland Dames, another of the many societies of which she is a member. In addition to these speeches by women from other states, there were telegraphed greetings from Mrs. John Miller Horton, Buffalo regent, then at The Hague, where she attended the Peace Congress the pre- ceding week, and from Mrs. Charles Burt Tozier, founder and regent of the Commodore Perry Chapter of Cleveland, past president of the Ohio society and chairman of the Women's Committee of the Perry Victory Centennial in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. An historic touch was given to the programme by the exhibition of a huge spike from the flagship Larvrence, brought by Mrs. George C. Bell. An invocation, offering thanks for the courage of those heroes who offered their lives for their country, and praying that " the glory of the past be not dimmed by the children of the present," was offered by the Rev. Andrew V. V. Raymond, DD., LL.D., at the opening of the pro- gramme. A reception followed the exercises. The girls who assisted in serving refreshments were Miss Edla Gibson, Miss Lois Smith, Miss Helen Kent, 84 State of New York Miss Florence Cant, Miss Helen Jackson and Miss Helen Doorty. The table and platform were decorated with huge baskets in red, white and blue, white asters, red gladioli and blue ribbon. The red-shaded candles on the table, the huge flags on the platform and the small silken banners arranged throughout the hall carried out still further the patriotic tone of the meeting. Through the courtesy of the Twentieth Century Club the guests viewed Miss Carlisle's pictures of English gardens. The students here on a tour from the convention of the federation in Ithaca, with the men of the Saturn Club, who were their hosts at luncheon the day before, were Jimong the guests invited to the celebration and recep- tion. Preceding the meeting the committee which arranged it entertained at luncheon in the Twentieth Century Club in honor of the visiting State regents. SPECTACULAR FEATURES OF THE CELEBRATION The spectacular part of the celebration was no less brilliant than the intellectual and oratorical. On Wednesday evening, September 3rd, a magnificent display of fireworks was given in the Niagara river facing Riverside Park, which was witnessed by a gathering of people estimated at 1 50,000 in number. Thursday, September 4th, was set apart as Military Day and its more prominent features were the official banquet in the evening and the military parade which started from Niagara Square at ten o'clock in the forenoon. Under the leadership of General Samuel M. Welch, com- manding the Fourth Brigade, National Guard, New York, as Grand Marshal, there were in line the Twenty-ninth United States Infantry, under Colonel John S. Mallory, with army wagons, machine guns, hos- pital corps, etc., and the Third, Sixty-fifth and Seventy-fourth Infantry The Perry's Victory Centenary 85 Regiments, commanded respectively by Colonels William Wilson, George J. Haffa and Charles J. Wolf, Battery A, First Field Artillery, Captain Guido Verbeck, Troop I, First Cavalry, Captain William J. Donovan, all of the National Guard of the State of New York and the Third Battalion Naval Militia of the State of New York, Commander Edward N. Walbridge, together with a large contingent of United Spanish War Veterans and other unofficial military organizations. In all, about 7,000 men were in line fully uniformed, armed and equipped. No finer military display ever passed along the streets of Buffalo. After the parade, the commissioned officers were invited to participate in the receptions at the Castle, Fort Porter, and the residence of Mrs. Hamlin, No. 1014 Delaware Avenue. Friday afternoon, September 5th, was given up to the firemen of western New York and vicinity, both active and exempt, who paraded in full uniform, bringing with them various equipages, decorated in most a'listic and attractive designs. This display was regarded by many as one of the most interesting features of the entire celebration and the very suc- cessful manner in which the plans were carried out, the visiting firemen being entertained by their brethren of Buffalo, was a source of great satisfaction not only to the Commission but to those who projected this picturesque turnout. The parade, which was witnessed by thousands of spectators gathered along its principal streets, was under charge of Edward P. Murphy, Assistant Chief of the Buffalo Fire Department, as Grand Marshal, with Colonel George J. Haffa of the Sixty-fifth Regiment, N. G. N. Y., as Chief of Staff. In addition to a number of bands scattered at inter- vals through the line the following companies participated in this exceed- ingly interesting display: 86 State of New York FIRST DIVISION Michael Brummer, Marshal Exempt Firemen's Association, Buffalo, N. Y. ; Dye Hose Company, Albion, N. Y. ; Arcade Fire Department, Arcade, N. Y. ; Dewey Hook and Ladder Com- pany, Brockport, N. Y. ; Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company, Lake City Hose Company, Dunkirk Hose Company and Murray Hose Company, all of Dunkirk, N. Y. ; Independent Hose Company, Cohocton, N. Y. ; Brocton Hose Company, Brocton. N. Y.; Alden Hose Company, Alden, N. Y. ; First Volunteer Hose Company, Lackawemna, N. Y. SECOND DIVISION H. LocHMAN, Marshal Hamburg Exempt Firemen's Association, Hamburg, N. Y. ; Hamburg Fire Department, Hamburg, N. Y. ; Depew Hose Company, Depew, N. Y.; Central Hose Company, Depew, N. Y. ; Kenmore Fire Department, Kenmore, N. Y. ; Rescue Hose Company. Doyle Hose Company and Forks Hose Company, all of Cheektowaga, N. Y. ; Active Hose Company, Sloan, N. Y. : Victory Hose Company. Lackawanna, N. Y. THIRD DIVISION Patrick Webb. Marshal Lancaster Fire Department (four companies), Lancaster, N. Y. ; LaSalle Fire Company, LaSalle, N. Y. ; Alert Hose Company. North Tonawanda, N. Y.; LeRoy Chemical Hose Company. LeRoy, N. Y. ; Silver Creek Hook and Ladder Company. Silver Creek. N. Y. ; Silver Creek Hose Company, Silver Creek, N. Y. ; Merriton Hose Company. Merriton, Ontario. Canada; Exempt Firemen's Association, Hamilton. Ontario. Canada. FOURTH DIVISION Matt. Endres. Marshal Veteran Firemen's Association. Buffalo. N. Y. ; Fountain Hose Company, Springville, N. Y. ; Lyndonville Hose Company, Lyndonville, N. Y.; Pavilion Hose Company, Pavilion, N. Y. ; Hutchinson Hose Company, Williamsville. The Perry's Victory Centenary 87 N. Y.; Protection Hose Company, Thorold, Ontario, Canada; Sherman Fire Department, Sherman, N. Y. ; Eggertsville Hose Company, Eggertsville, N. Y. ; Angola Hook and Ladder Company, Angola, N. Y. ; Angola Hose Company, Angola, N. Y. ; Exempt and Veteran Firemen in carriages. FIFTH DIVISION Second Ballalion, Buffalo Fire Department Battalion Chief George Hedden, Marshal Engine Company Number Three (motor engine) ; Engine Companies Numbers One, Two, Five, Nine, Eleven, Eighteen and Thirty-four; Hook and Ladder Companies Numbers One and Two; Chemical Engine Number Three; Water Tower Number One; Fire Boat Hose Tender. The line was formed near the McKinley monument, Niagara Square, and line of march thence to Niagara street, to Franklin street, to the Terrace, to Main, to Goodell, to Oak, to north side of Broadway, to Jefferson, counter-marching on the south side of Broadway to the Audi- torium, where the parade was dismissed and luncheon served to the visiting firemen. On Friday evening, September 5th, took place the parade of decorated automobiles and it is no exaggeration to say that to no part of the entire celebration was given more care, thought and study in the preparations, than to this event. Many of the automobiles were trimmed in a manner showing much careful thought, which resulted in handsome as well as unique designs. The large crowds who were on the streets that evening evidently viewed this display with much gratification. During all of the days of the week, commencing on Tuesday, Septem- ber 2nd, while the features of the programme which have already been outlined were being carried out, a multitude of other attractive events as named in the programme helped to round out those most interesting days. 88 State of New York The motor boat parades, yacht club parades, motor boat club, launch club, yacht club and the rowing boat races, and the swimming meet under the auspices of the Buffalo Launch Club, called forth as witnesses large circles of friends deeply interested in the results; the aviation exhibit, some features of which were exploited each day, was never excelled in this part of the country; the balloon ascensions held their share of the atten- tion of the thousands who came out on the streets during the five days of jubilee. One very unique feature was the spectacular firemen's run which took place Tuesday evening, September 2nd. A number of pieces of the fire apparatus of the city of Buffalo were gathered on Main street between Goodell and Tupper streets under the leadership of Edward P. Murphy, Assistant Chief of the Department, who also later in the week acted as Grand Marshal of the Volunteer Firemen's parade. By the liberal use of red fire an imitation fire was kindled on the Terrace and, at a given signal, the assembled engines, hose carts, wagons, etc., started on a furious gallop down Main street. Chief Murphy leading the way. To prevent accidents the street was cleared for the space of time needed and the crowds that lined Main street to witness this unusual spectacle — "a fire to order " — were simply enormous. Through the courtesy of the Board of Park Commissioners of the City of Buffalo, the Municipal Park Band was placed at the disposal of the Commission free of charge and gave band concerts, commencing Tuesday afternoon, September second, on each afternoon and evening during the week, a courtesy that was not only very greatly enjoyed but highly appreciated. The contract for the official street decorations was awarded to the firm of William Beck & Sons Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they brought to The Pee^^y's Victory Centenary 89 the fulfillment of their agreements the highest sidll known to the art of street decorating. TTie three blocks on Main street. Eagle street to Court street. Court street to Mohawk street, Mohawk street to Huron street, were designated as the Court of Honor, and each side of the street for the entire length lined with statues of Commodore Perry and picturesque columns, all draped and surmounted with electric balls while festoons of colored electric bulbs were swung between the different columns and statues. Along Main street and the nearby side streets, through which the different parades moved, were placed over the streets, flag decorations and for a large portion of the route electric illuminations. The effect especially at night was most attractive. DEPARTURE OF THE NIAGARA The flagship Niagara remained in Buffalo until Saturday afternoon, September sixth, when at five o'clock on a beautiful early autumnal day, she left her moorings at the dock of the Buffalo Yacht Club, was towed out of Buffalo Harbor into the waters of Lake Erie and disappeared in the distance just as the sun was setting. During her stay in Buffalo as at all other places in the course of her trip around the lakes, she had been visited by many thousands of people juid when the hour for her sailing came there was still a large assemblage waiting for an inspection of the old war vessel and they with another great multitude who had gathered to witness the leaving, looked upon her departure with keen regret and bade her a fervent " God Speed " on her return trip. The Sixty-fifth Regiment band was present and played patriotic and other airs suitable to the occa- sion. It may not be uninteresting to recall in this connection that this visit of September, 1913, was the second visit of the Niagara to Buffalo. Soon 90 State of New York after the battle of the Thcimes, October 5, 1813, the American army under General William Henry Harrison, which had fought and won the battle, was ordered to the Niagara frontier for duty and Perry's fleet, including the British vessels captured on the tenth of September, was used to transport the army from the vicinity of Pul-in-Bay to Buffalo. While in Buffalo Commodore Perry, General Harrison, and a large number of the army and navy officers were banquetted in a most sumptuous manner, October 25 th, at the old and for that day well appointed Pomeroy's Tavern. The New York Central Lines contributed an exhibit which, while not in the exact line of the celebration, proved a very interesting and attractive feature. It helped also as much in its way to exemplify the old and the new in railroad appliances as did the Niagara in showing the contrast between the vessel of 1813 and that of 1913. They placed at their own expense at the railroad crossing of Porter Avenue, directly along the path- way to the dock of the Niagara, the original New York Central train, known as the Dewitt Clinton train, built in 1 83 1 , and by its side one of their latest model monster steam locomotives. The contrast was a vivid one and the two exhibits, representing the types of the early and the present day, were inspected by thousands of people. The Commission is indebted to Harry Parry, Esq., General Agent of the New York Central Lines at Buffalo, through whose exertions this interesting display was featured without cost to the Commission. The Perry's Victory Centenary 91 WORK OF THE WOMEN'S COMMITTEE No report of the Perry Victory celebration in Buffalo would be com- plete and would be lacking in a very important item if without a resume of the splendid work of the Women's Conmiittee, of which Mrs. Esther C. Davenport of the Buffalo Evening NeTvs was chairman. The main purpose of this committee was to provide for the social entertainment of the distinguished visitors who should come to Buffalo during the celebra- tion and more especially gentlemen with ladies accompanying them. That the committee succeeded in this purpose to the very highest point of efficiency was universally acknowledged. A most enjoyable series of entertainments was arranged and carried out with appointments complete in every particular. Upon the arrival of the Perry flagship Niagara as heretofore chronicled, the women of the committee served a breakfast at the Buffalo Yacht Club to the officers of the visiting squadron, the Perry Victory Commissioners and the Buffalo Reception Committee of which the Hon. Edward H. Butler was chairman. Tuesday evening, September second, the club house of the Twentieth Century Club, a strong and influential ladies' organization, was, by the courtesy of its Board of Di- rectors, opened to the committee and their guests and a delightful evening was spent amid most pleasant surroundings. On Wednesday afternoon, the third, a reception was given by the committee on board of the Niagara attended by 1 ,000 guests. TTie proceedings of a public meeting held by the committee Wednesday forenoon at the Women's Educational and Industrial Union have already been summarized in another part of this report. Thursday, September fourth, in the general calendar of the cele- bration, was designated as Military Day, one of its great features being the parade of United States Infantry, New York National Guard, Naval 92 State of New York Militia, United Spanish War Veterans, etc., starting from Niagara Square at ten o'clock A. M. At the conclusion of the parade all commis- sioned officers and a large number of other guests were bidden to a buffet luncheon served by the ladies in the headquarters building at the United States army post. Fort Porter, in Buffalo, the building known as " TTie Castle." The usual garrison at this post, a battalion of the Twenty-ninth United States Infantry, had been ordered to Fort Niagara for military practice and in their absence the battalion commander. Major Monroe MacFarland, U. S. A., had placed the Castle at the disposal of the ladies for committee meetings and this reception, a courtesy which was greatly appreciated. It was elaborately but tastefully decorated and the spacious and well kept grounds surrounding added a charm to the scene. About six hundred guests attended this luncheon- many of them officers in full uniform. The weather was all that could be desired for such an indoor and out-of-door function. The buffet luncheon at Fort Porter was followed by a reception given by Mrs. Harry Hamlin, who opened her beautiful home. No. 1 01 4 Dela- ware avenue, for this purpose. This was an unusually large gathering, upwards of fifteen hundred guests accepting Mrs. Hamlin's hospitality, among whom were many officers in full uniform. It was an ideal func- tion, one of its most attractive features being the music of the Sixty-fifth Regiment band. Friday forenoon was designated for a trip to the Falls in the special car of the International Railway Company, the Ondiara, as guests of Mrs. Joseph T. Jones, a well known Buffalo lady, and which proved to be, for those who participated, a delightful ride. At the Iroquois Hotel, Friday afternoon, September 5th, a fare- well reception was given by the Women's Committee and like all its functions was complete in its appointments and happy in the surround- The Perry's Victory Centenary 93 ings. Music and some short addresses filled out an informal programme, and then came the crowning event, viz. : the presentation of a silver tea set — colonial pattern — to the chairman of the committee, Mrs. Esther C. Davenport, as a testimonial of the very capable services which all recognized as not only a distinct factor in assisting to make the Perry Cen- tennial Celebration in Buffalo the marvellous success that it was but that under her leadership the women of Buffalo had made a new and higher record for cordial hospitality — a hospitality that will not soon be for- gotten. MEETING OF COLORED PEOPLE One of the most interesting gatherings of the week was that of the colored people of Buffalo and their invited guests held at Elmwood Music Hall, Friday evening, September 5th. It was planned by the Men's Club of St. Philip's Episcopal Church and a committee of colored men acting under authority from the Buffalo local Perry Victory Com- mittee. The officers were Rev. J. W. Livingston, chairman; Alexander Parker, vice-chairman; Cornelius Ford, secretary; Mont Tate, assistant secretary, and T. D. Payne, treasurer, Appropriate music was rendered by the choirs of Vine Street Metho- dist Episcopal Church and St. Philip's Episcopal Church. Mr. John Sayles, secretary to the Mayor, extended a welcome from the city as the representative of Mayor Fuhrmann. A pleasing feature of the programme was the presentation of appropriate medals to Mrs. Catharine Seaton, Moses Day and C. A. Dickson as representatives and kinspeople of Anthony Williams, a colored man who served on the Somers, one of Commodore Perry's vessels in the battle of September 10th, 1813. The address of the evening was delivered by the Rev. J. Edward Nash, one 94 State of New York of the best known clergymen of his race and pastor of the Michigan Avenue Baptist Church of Buffalo. Mr. Nash had for a topic " Heroes of Our Race," and spoke as follows: Address of Rev. J. Edward Nash Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Cenilemcn: When we take into consideration the fact that more than one hundred Afro- Americans took part in the battle of Lake Erie, one hundred years ago, and that we have in our midst, in the persons of Mrs. Catharine Seaton and Messrs. Charles Dickson and Moses Day near relatives of one of those men, it seems fitting and appropriate for us, Afro-Americans, to take some prominent part in this Centennial Celebration. We feel, first of all, that we should express our gratitude to those who conceived the idea of the Afro-Americans having a proper place in this celebration and who by their conception have made this gathering here tonight possible. I have been asked to speak on " Our Heroes." What I shall say in the brief moments allotted me must necessarily be free from particulars, details and personalities. Heroes depend not so much on what is done as upon the age in which and the circumstances under which it is done. One age denounces, censures and condemns; another age praises, honors and worships. Let us see briefly: L How heroes are made — I st, Liberty ; 2nd, Opportunity ; 3rd, Sympathy ; 4lh, Cooperation. n. What are some of the qualities of an hero — 1st, Intelligence; 2nd, Loyalty, Patriotism; 3rd, Courage, Bravery. in. Some of the fields of activity and service that are most conducive to heroes. 1st, the field of industry; 2nd, the field of social service; 3rd, the field of religious activity. Let us always remember the men of our race and of every race who have made sacrifices, braved the storms and made the day of peace and prosperity that we enjoy possible. Hon. Edward H. Butler, chairman of the Citizens' Reception Com- mittee for the Perry Celebration in Buffalo, made a short and character- istic address in which he expressed the interest he had always felt in the The Peeiry's Victory Centenary 95 colored citizenship, recalling in an enlerteiining way his impressions of that citizenship and paying a high tribute to Buffalo's colored population as energetic, loycJ citizens that are always a helpful element in the community. Councilman Charles L. Willert, one of Buffalo's official representa- tives on the local Perry Committee, congratulated the colored people upon the magnificent success which they had made of this memorable gathering. Thomas Jones, an attorney of Washington, D. C, in a most delight- ful cmd fascinating manner, spoke of the past and the future of the race and urged his hearers to pursue their way steadily, earnestly and ener- getically, until they had attained the highest degrees of citizenship. At the conclusion of the formal programme dancing was indulged in and refreshments served. Instrumental music was furnished by the 65 th Regiment Band. VARIOUS MATTERS TTie Commission feels that it owes a great debt of gratitude to the newspapers of Buffalo, Rochester and many other places, for the zealous and unselfish manner in which they, individually and collectively, sup- ported the efforts of the Commission. They gave freely of time and space in making public the plans for the celebration, in giving publicity to the various details in which the public at large would most probably be interested and in circulating broadcast any and all items which would be likely to attract attention to the enterprise and contribute to its success. Their assistance cannot be characterized in words nor can any distinction be made between the different papers in the generous help afforded. 96 State of New York The police arramgements at Buffalo, under the supervision of Super- intendent Michael Regan, were well ordered and it is a matter of con- gratulation that during the entire week of the celebration, not a single arrest was made other than for the ordinary misdemeanors which happen each week in all large municipalities, not in any way chargeable to the extraordinary circumstances of the great celebration. Under the provisions of Chapter 190 of the Laws of 1913, the Com- mission was authorized at its discretion, to pay to the treasurer general of the Interstate Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, to be applied on the construction of the Perry Memorial at Put-in-Bay, a sum not exceeding $50,000 out of the total amount appropriated by that act. In view of the many claims upon the Commission arising out of the celebration at Buffalo, the permanent memorial to Commodore Perry in Buffalo, office expenses and other legitimate items of expenditure, the Commission felt that not more than $30,000 could be safely pledged for that purpose. The limitations specified in the act making the appropriation were removed by the Legislature of 1915 and this amount paid to Hon. A. E. Sisson, treasurer-general of the Interstate Board, August 21 , 1915. THE PERRY STATUE Having a feeling that this great centennial commemoration ought not to be permitted to become a thing of the past — to exist in memory only — the Commission at a meeting held June 1 0th, 1 91 3, on motion of the Hon. John F. M alone, set aside the sum of $20,000 for the purpose of erecting m the city of Buffalo, on some grounds facing Lake Erie, preferably that portion of the city park system known as The Front, a statue or other suitable memorial to Commodore Perry and in commemoration of the great centennial celebration at Buffalo in September, 1913. This propo- en Z D a en < a: < a < X O UJ The Perry's Victory Centenary 97 sition when made public met with almost universal approbation. Various models were inspected and studied, and after careful consideration the design of Mr. Charles Henry Niehaus, the distinguished sculptor of New York City, accepted. That portion of the park system of the city of Buffalo known as The Front was selected for the location of the statue. Here on a most com- manding site, overlooking the lake and the head of Niagara river, directly facing Fort Erie on the Canadian shore, from whence came the brig Caledonia of Perry's Lake Erie fleet, seized by a daring body of Americans from under the guns of the fort, October 9, 1812, in a semi- circular plaza, fringed by a great hedge through which peer several anti- quated pieces of artillery, relics of a past generation, donated by the United States government, and from which the green sward slopes rather precipitously to the waters flowing at its base, the statue was erected in the fall and winter of 1915. The statue and the supporting pedestal, the construction of which was entrusted to McDonnell & Sons, granite contractors of Buffalo, N. Y., are a masterpiece of the sculptors' art, executed entirely in harmony wath the beautiful conception. The granite pedestal eight feet four inches high, with nautical embellishments including ropes and anchor for orna- mentation, carved in low relief on the die, is surmounted by a bronze figure of Commodore Perry in full uniform. Erect, four square to the winds, grasping his sword in his left hand, his feet firmly placed on the deck of the flagship, collar at the neck open, and with a look of intense earnestness the commander seems apparently gazing at the approach of the enemy's fleet down the lake. The figure is nine feet in height and was cast by the John Williams Company of New York City. TTie base of the pedestal is circular, fifteen feet three inches in 7 98 State of New York diameter, surrounded by a walk nine feet four inches wide. The outer circular border of the walk is ornamented and protected by ten granite posts. The front of the pedestal, facing the lake, bears the simple inscription : OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 1785-1819 On the north and south faces appear the names of the commissioners while on the east face is carved the official record : ERECTED BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK 1915 perry's victory CENTENNIAL COMMISSION The vivid conception of the American commander in the great naval battle of September 10, 1813, the artistic genius shown in the materiaHza- tion of this conception, the exceedingly appropriate site used for the loca- tion of the statue, the picturesque surroundings and its faultless con- struction, all combine to place this work among the highest types of art in the United Slates. On December 6, 1915, a meeting of the Commission was held at the Iroquois Hotel in the city of Buffalo, and after a careful inspection by the commissioners, in conjunction with the sculptor, Charles Henry Niehaus, the statue was accepted for the State by the Commission. A further meeting of the Commission was held at the Hotel Knickerbocker in New York City, March 11, 1916, at which plans for its dedication were considered. The honor of unveiling the statue was, by a unanimous vote, conferred upon Miss Ruth Conners. daughter of the Chairman of the Commission. Section five of the same act requires that the Commission must sub- mit with its report a statement of its disbursements and for what purpose expended, and the following is a full statement of all expenditures to the first day of October, 1916: The Perry's Victory Centenary 99 FINANCIAL STATEMENT May 16, 1913, to October I, 1916 PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMISSION STATE OF NEW YORK Cr. By amount appropriation Chapter 190 of the Laws of 1913 $150,000 00 Dr. To checks State Comptroller: May 16. 1913 $10,000 00 August 29, 1913 20,000 00 September 9. 1913 40,000 00 October 29, 1913 10,000 00 December 27, 1913 5,000 00 July 8. 1914 7,000 00 October 13, 1914 7,000 00 January 25. 1915 1,000 00 June 4, 1915 1.000 00 June 21. 1915 1.000 00 August 21. 1915 30.000 00 September 4. 1915 1.000 00 October 5, 1915 2.000 00 December 13, 1915 10,000 00 May 1, 1916 1.000 00 August 7. 1916 1.000 00 147.000 00 Unexpended balance appropriation $3,000 00 Received from Comptroller as above $147,000 00 Expended as per vouchers filed v^fith State Comptroller 146,351 73 Balance on deposit Citizens Bank of Buffalo, October 1, 1916. $648 27 Unexpended balance with State Comptroller. October 1, 1916. 3.000 00 Total unexpended balance October 1, 1916 $3,648 27 100 State of New York ElXPENDITURES May 16. 1913. to October 1. 1916 Street decorations Official banquet Music Fireworks U. S. S.HaJ»k Decorations Luncheons, various functions Badges (official) Advertising, publicity department Expenses Commissioners Women's Union Buffalo, rent of hall Salaries and services Daughters of 1812, public meeting Military parade Buffalo Yacht Club, various items Office expenses, including rent Printing and stationery Postage and transportation Charles H. Niehaus, Buffalo Perry Statue Motor Boat Club races, prizes Yacht Club races, prizes Rowing Club races, prizes Automobile parade, prizes Extra prizes, aviation Firemen's parade Curtiss Aviator Company Balloon ascensions Glenn Martin, aviator Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay $10,617 00 4,000 00 1.174 00 3,245 50 4.600 00 349 16 1.378 25 1.079 26 2.244 06 9.250 50 30 00 16.890 63 209 10 11.242 69 1.286 30 2.810 48 1.552 10 992 70 20.000 00 10.000 00 1.200 00 1.500 00 1.000 00 200 00 3.500 00 3.000 00 750 00 2.250 00 30.000 00 $146,351 73 The Perry's Victory Centenary 101 We have the honor to submit with this report a number of appendices containing matter that is of much mterest in connection with the Perry's Victory Centenary — a celebration in honor of a great historical event — one of the most decisive victories ever won under the Stars and Stripes — whose recollection must stir the patriotism in the heart of every Americzui citizen and cause him to rejoice that under Divine Providence the course of history was turned into channels that made for the upbuilding of the Republic and the farther spread of the mighty and everlasting principles of freedom and liberty which the fathers in 1 776 established and their sons in 1812 cemented. Appendices 103 APPENDIX A THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE By Henry Watterson, First Vice-President General of the Interstate Board Perry's Victory Centennial G>nunissioners Frank H. Severance. Secretary of the Buffalo Historical Society Hon. George Bancroft William V. Taylor. Sailing Master, Brig Laurence 105 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE By Henry Watterson First Vice-President General of the Interstate Board Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners WHATEVER WE MAY OR MAY NOT BE, we Americans can scarcely be called a memorializing people. We seem indeed readier to accept the self-assertion of the living than to erect monuments to the dead. Long ago Barnum, the showman, discovered that even as the average Englishman dearly loves a lord does the average Yankee dearly love a humbug. It is to the women of our land that we are indebted for the stately shaft in honor of Washington which towers over the National Capital, as well as for the ownership of Mount Vernon. Latterly Lincoln has been coming to a proper recognition. But when we look for visible signs of the saints and sages, the heroes and martyrs of other days, we discover that they are few and far between and very hard to find. In Europe, go where you will, you may not come upon a village or hamlet that boasts not some expression of pious homage and local pride in bronze or marble, some " storied urn or animated bust." recalling the life and deeds of the great man who was born there, whilst the parks, the streets and the public places of the cities and towns are ever3rwhere ennobled and beautified by the imagery, inspired by the nomenclature of the past, vitalizing history and educating and elevating the people. Around the Great Lakes, as we call our inland oceans, with Chicago, the world-famous, for an axis, flanked by Milwaukee, the Queen City of Wisconsin, and Detroit, the Fairy Goddaughter of Michigan — sailing from Duluth to Buffalo — tarrying awhile at Toledo and Sandusky and 107 108 State of New York Erie — shame upon them ! — we look, with a single exception, in vain for some evidence that less than an hundred years ago there lived a man named Oliver Hazeu-d Perry, and, save as a fishing resort, that there is, or ever was a place called Put-in-Bay. All honor to the single exception! In Cleveland, that miracle of modern progress, which carries Ohio's challenge to the Great Northwest and gives her rivals on either hand a run for their money, we do learn that, on the tenth of September, 1813, a battle was fought by Oliver Hazard Perry in the waters of Put-in-Bay, which enabled the victor to relate that " we have met the enemy and they are ours! " Next after John Paul Jones stands Oliver Hazard Perry. Jones brought the American Revolution home to England. Perry drove Eng- land back behind the barricades of her New France. The fight off Sceu-borough Head in the North Sea told the world that if England was the mistress of the sea, America was master. TTie fight off Put-in-Bay rescued the territory conquered by George Rogers Clark and wiped out the disgrace of Hull's surrender. Jones laid the cloth for the French alliance. Perry cleared the way for Harrison's advance and shortened the distance between Bladensburg and the Treaty of Ghent. But, above all, it was Perry, like Jones, who gave the world assurance of a man, of an American and of America, the resistless, the unconquerable ; of the flag, the glorious, the wonder-breeding; of the Union, the imperishable. Over every frontispiece from the Aurora Borealis to the Southern Cross, over every temple of liberty and trade, over every arena of manly prowess and productive achievement, blazing in letters of living light, as Webster would have said, shine forever the letters that spell the words, " We have met the enemy and they are ours." The Perry's Victory Centenary 109 It was a marvelous battle, a magical victory. The story reads like a page out of the impossible. Truly is there a destiny that governs the vs'orld and rules in the lives of men. The young subaltern, rusting and fretful in the little Rhode Island seaport; the longed-for call to action and the instant answer of the minute men; the sudden apparition of a fleet in the harbor of Erie as though some wizard hand had touched the forest and commanded its trees of oak and ash to rise and sail the deep ; the thunder of the guns carrying Freedom's message of defiance; the havoc, the repulse, the running of the gauntlet of fire and blood from ship to ship. Let me read you the brief, immortal story. I take it from the graphic narrative of John Clark Ridpath. The LatVTtnce, Perry's flagship, began to suffer dreadfully under the concen- trated fire of the enemy. First one gun and then another was dismounted. The masts were broken. The rigging of the vessel was rent away. The sails were torn to shreds. Soon she yielded no longer to the wind, but lay helpless on the water. On the deck death held carnivaL The American sailors lay dead and dying on every hand. During the two hours that Perry faced his antagonist his men were reduced to a handful. Entering the action the Lawrence had a crew of officers and men numbering more than a hundred. Of these, by 2 o'clock in the afternoon, eighty-three were either dead or wounded. Still Perry held out. Others fell around him, until only the commander and thirteen others were left uninjured. Meanwhile all the ships had become engaged — but the Niagara only at long range and ineffectively. Elliott, the captain of that vessel, perceiving that resistance from the Lawrence had ceased, now sailed ahead believing that Perry had fallen and that the command had devolved on himself. It was at this juncture that Perry resolved upon that famous exploit which has made his name immortal. He pulled dov^ his battle flag, but left the Stars and Stripes still floating! Then with four of his remaining seamen, he lowered himself into the boat. He flung his pennant and battle flag over his arm and around his person, stepped into the boat, stood upright and ordered his men to pull for the Niagara. 10 State of New York That vessel was more than a half-mile distant. It required the oarsmen fully fifteen minutes to make the passage. The boat had to pass in full exposure to the enemy's guns. The British at once perceived what was doing. As the smoke cleared from around the hull of the Lawrence they saw the daring act of the com- mander, transferring his flag from one ship to another. His own vessel was shattered to death ; but there was the Niagara, hale and strong. Should he succeed in making her deck, the battle would be to fight over again. Victory or defeat was turning on the issue. The British guns opened on the little boat. Discharge after discharge followed. Some of the shot struck the frail cockle, and the splinters flew; but the men were unhurt. Perry continued to stand up as a target until the faithful seamen refused to pull unless he would sink down to a position of greater safety. The shot from the enemy's guns knocked the water into spray around them, but the boat reached the Niagara in safety, and Perry was taken up. A moment more, and his battle flag was flying above the unhurt ship! May every schoolboy and every schoolgirl in the land read the rest of it; how, his foot upon the deck of the Niagara, his battle flag again flying at the fore. Perry swooped like a hurricane down upon the enemy's line; cut the British fleet in two, right in the middle, three vessels on the right, three upon the left ; broadside after broadside on either hand ; death and destruction in his resistless wake. TTiirty minutes and all is over. The brave English commander. Barclay, hors de combat. His second in command, Finnis, killed outright. Human nature could hold out no longer. Down comes the British flag. We had met the enemy and they were ours, " two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop," said Perry in his report to Harrison, written upon the back of an old letter, his hat for a desk. The victor (again I quote from Ridpath) did not in the elation of his triumph forget the situation around him. He caused himself to be transferred from the still unhurt Niagara back to the bloody deck of the (D Chippewa Detroit Hunte ,V ~& ^ya 4ii Llltte Belt Commanders of British Vessels Dii-ettioit of Movement .■j 'j Flaiithip of ■ '"^ Copt. I'errtJ Scorpion ^j|^,| Cadence Scorpion /^,ig| Lawrence ,i. - Cal eiJciftTa Tht action btyi" "' J-^ I'linittca bvfoir rj. Iht Deti.iil oflln- Urtti^h Squaih'On Jiriiiy thf Jir^l slml at the L<( (finite. Chippewa. Master Mate J. Campbell (Mf ri,i|.,.enuY SB llrilishc'e '0 Detroit. Captain Robert Heriot Barclay Hunter, Lt. George Bignall ^. ■ Queen Charlotte. Acting Com. Robert Finnis Ladv Prevost, Lt. Edward Wise Buchan Little Belt, Lt. Provine -^C^u,- Porcopine Tigress The two Squadrons just before Batt le Trippe ® Chippewa Deuo.l ^Queen^ ^^^^^^ ^ Little E First Position in the Action Commanders of American Vessels Scorpion, Sailing Master Stephen Chaniplin Ariel. Lt. John H. I'aoket Lawrence, Capt. Oliver Hazard Perry Caledonia. Lt. Daniel Turner (taken frt.m Hrilish Uy F.lln.lt) Niai?ara, Capt. Jesse D. Elliott Somers, Sailing Master Thomas C. Almy (formerly tbe 'K:atl.*rine" ) Porcupine, Midshipman George Senat Tigress, Lt. Augustus H. M. Conckhn Trippe, Lt. Thos. Holdup Stevens (furinerlj the '■tontrnotur ') s^ Tigress ^5. Trippe 4iJ '•■ LaJy ? Prevosli iL \Ariel '> s Trippe Scorpion • . •' \ '^^^ ~-*~^ /I I'll ' Chippewa Swl Laily P^evost^l @ Sco.pion Del'"'*.' - **^ "^ -sL_ "— -J- Trippe ^Soi Second Position in Ihe Action Position aldose of Battle Courtesy of The Unitird SUtes Hist.iry «. From Av<.-ry's History of liiu Unitt-il States an.l its People BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE (September 10th 1S13) The Perry's Victory Centenary 111 Laivrence. There, and not in some other place, would he receive the surrender of the enemy. The British officers as they came up to present their swords had to pick their way through dead and dying, slipping in pools of blood as they came. Perry bade his antagonists retain their swords, his the chivalry of one to whom the fortunes of war had given the power, but not the right, to humiliate a fallen foe. In the silence of the following night the dead sailors, British and American, were consigned to their last rest in the clear waters of Lake Erie. The next day Perry brought back to Put-in-Bay his own and the captured fleet. Sailing into the harbor, the dead officers of both com- mands were buried on the shore. TTie losses had been very great. On the American side twenty-seven were killed and ninety-six wounded — this out of a force of but little over four hundred effective men. The loss of the British was forty-one killed and ninety-four wounded, the gallant Captain Barclay, who had already lost an arm, having the mis- fortune to lose the other. Great was the fame of the battle and of him who won it. It was the first time in history that an entire British fleet, large or small, had been taken in any open, equal conflict. Lake Erie was cleared. The way for Harrison and his braves, for Shelby and his hunting shirts, was opened, and forever and ever the Great Northwest, rid of invaders, was redeemed. A hundred years have come and gone — a hundred years of peace between the two nations of Anglo-Saxon and Scotch-Irish blood and tongue — and we are about to celebrate with fitting rites the heaven- blessed consummation. No wounds survive the Wars of the Revolu- tion or of 1812. Each party to the strife showed itself valiant. Each carried its trophies from the field, each has nursed its glories, not its 112 State of New York griefs. Blood is thicker than water. On the 10th of September, 1913. we shall do honor alike to Barclay and to Perry. Thenceforward until the end of 191 4, the centenary of the Treaty of Ghent, the jubilation will proceed, mutual and unabated. Henry Watterson Louisville. Ky., July, 1912. (From the Souvenir Programme, Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners.) EDWARD P. MURPHY' Assistant Chief, Buffalo Fire Department, Grand Marsha!, Firemen's Parade, Perry's Victory Centenary z CO 3 03 8- UJ cu UJ g U. o 00 ■>., ^„..//.. OFFICIAL INVITATION Issued by the New \'oi-k State Commission anrl the Perry's Victory Centennial Committee of the City of Buffalo, N. Y. ^/ ,x»/-? y"-««-^ .''■1?- ^^i^iil!^ ><>«« JI>.'>-*^/ ■^'"^^■"" ^^ f /<-./-...< ./-HrCir.^ m~^ d CKy a-»c r.Jt— ii^-tf j ^/ 7 17 .^ '-;?,/, ^o„ ,i t/^ Cn^ '^ •-J't (Um.^^^ /.7 . />. ':7,<'- -,<' v'/: .. / / / / » Sailing Orders of Commodore Perry for the Trar.sfer of the Five Buffalo Vessels from Buffalo. N. ^■., to Erie, Pa. Dated Buffalo, June 12, 1813, (Ori'^iiiiil ill llu- iiislody iif llw Biijlulo Ili^hn ical Siuiciy) (7^ '''■\'''y'**fif^_ii^'^mma^-'^^m.n,^fJSft*-^r. J^^^^' •"fia^ ^^il-*V *!^' -/' ««.«- "m^-"'^^ ■'ft . ^<-^u^v >' ■t^-..(^ ^i.'y^*<'^ '' ^4^-f '' > l||»»ri WBTi' nvrlM I Wigfrn i j w^ «l*«l* '■ i^Ki^aKt; i»i*.v_i;^^ < : «e i i«« ww ' ii*giii ' U'i iii WB!w wi !i(."'ji ' *■- %> f ■■ J Sailing Orders of Commodore Perry for the Transfer of the Five Buffalo Vessels from Buffalo, N. "i'., to Erie, Pa. Dated Buffalo, June 12. 1813 {Orioinal in the cu^loily of the Buffalo Ilislorical Society) The Pei^y's Victory Centenary 145 to be followed by a victory achieved under his own flag; that very morn- ing, too, his first position had been, as we have seen, in the van ; but it had been very properly changed for the purpose of placing him opposite to the Queen Charlotte. Elliott had inherent defects of character. He lacked the generous impulse which delights in the fame of others; the delicacy of sentiment which rejects from afar everything coarse or mean; the alertness of courage which finds in danger an allurement; the quick perception that sees the time to strike; the self-possessed will, which is sure to hit the nail on the head. According to his own account, he at first determined to run through the line in pursuit of the Queen Chadolte; and having a fair and sufficient breeze, he directed the weather braces to be manned for that purpose; but he changed his purpose, when he observed that the LaJvrence was crippled, and that her fire was slacken- ing; and after a consultation with the purser Magrath, who was an experi- enced seaman, he agreed, " If the British effect the weather gauge, we are gone." So kept his place next in the line to the Caledonia, which lingered behind, because she was a dull sailer, and, in the light wind, was moreover retarded in her movements by the zeal of Turner, her com- mander, to render service by his armament, which enabled him to keep up an effective fire from the distance. It was a part of Elliott's orders to close with the Queen Charlotte, but he held it to be his paramount duty to keep his place, a half-cable's length behind the Caledonia on the line as designated in the original order of battle, even though the flagship of the squadron might be cut to pieces. So Perry lay exposed to thrice his force, at the distance of fifteen hun- dred or a thousand feet, aided only by the two schooners on his beam, and the constant help of the Caledonia. Under the heavy fire the men on deck became fewer; but Perry continued the action with unabated 10 146 State of New York serenity. Parsons, the surgeon's mate, and the only man in the fleet who was then able to render surgical aid, heard a call for him at the small sky- light, that let in the day upon his apartment; and as he stepped up he recognized the countenance of his commander, who said, with a placid countenance and quiet tone: "Doctor, send me one of your men;" meaning one of the six men allowed for assistance to the wounded. The call was obeyed; in a few minutes it was successively renewed and obeyed, till at the seventh call. Parsons could only answer that there were no more. "Are there any that can pull a rope? " asked Perry; and two or three of the wounded crawled on deck, to lend a hand at pulling at the last guns. Wilson Mays, carpenters' mate, who was so sick as to be unfit for the deck, begged to be of use. " But what can you do? " was the question. And he replied : " I can sound the pump, and let a strong man go to the guns." He accordingly sat down by the pump, and at the end of the fight was found at his post, " with a ball through his heart." The surgeon's apartment could offer no security to the wounded. In the shallow vessel it was necessarily on a level with the water, and was repeatedly perforated by cannon balls. Once as the surgeon stooped to dress a wound, a ball passed directly over his head, and must have destroyed him, had he not been bending down. A wounded midship- man, Henry Laub, just as he left the surgeon's hands, was dashed against the ship's side by a cannon ball. On deck, the bulwarks were broken in, and round balls passed through the little obstructions; but as long as he could. Perry kept up a regular and effective fire, so that the Detroit, of whose crew many were killed or wounded, was almost dismantled. On board the Queen Charlotte, the loss was most important, for Finnis, her commander, " a noble and intrepid officer," fell at his post, and Lieu- tenant Stokoe, the next officer in rank, was struck senseless by a splinter. The Perry's Victory Centenary 147 On board the Larvrence the shrieks of the wounded and the crash of timbers shattered by cannon balls, were still heard ; but its own fire grew fainter and fainter; one gun after another was dismounted. Death had the mastery: the carnage was unparalleled in naval warfare; more than four-fifths of the effective officers and men on board were killed or dis- abled by wounds; the deck, in spile of the layer of sand, was slippery with blood, which ran down the sides of the ship; the wounded and the dead lay thickly strewn everywhere around. To fire the last gun. Perry himself assisted. At last every gun in the ship's battery on the enemy's side were dismounted, every brace and bow-line was shot away ; the vessel became unmanageable, in spite of the zeal of the commander and the great exertions of the Sailing Master. And still Perry did not despair, but had an eye which could look through the cloud. Meantime Elliott watched the last spasms of the Lawrence as it lay gasping in its ruin; and now that its fire was dying away, that no fresh signal was hoisted, that no special message was sent from Perry, he per- suaded himself that his young superior lay among the slain. Believing himself now the chief commander of the squadron, Elliott hailed the Caledonia and ordered Lieutenant Turner to bear up and make way for him. Turner at once, without a word, put up his helm in the most daring manner, and made sail for the enemy's line, using his small armament all the while to the best advantage; while Elliott, under a freshening breeze, passed to the windward of the Caledonia. The Lawrence lay disabled and silent; by all the rules of naval warfare, he should have given her protection by sailing between her and the British ; but instead of it, he kept to the windward, sheltered by the helpless flag- ship, to which he sent Magrath in a boat with a few brave men for twelve- pound round shot, to replenish his own nearly exhausted stock; and, then 148 State of New York firing as he went along, on the Queen Charlotte, he steered for the head of the British line. Perry, who saw with the swiftness of intuition the new method that must be chosen now that the first failed, and who had already resolved to transfer his flag, with the certainty that, in the crippled state of the British, " victory must perch on his banner," immediately entered his boat with his commander's pennant, and bade the sailors whom he took as oarsmen to row with all speed for the Niagara. The command of the LaTvrence fell to Yarnall, with full discretionary power to sur- render or hold out; but he had an admonition from the motto flag which the departing hero had sent flying to the mast-head, and which spoke the trumpet words: Don't GIVE UP THE SHIP. The flag had been raised amidst the shouts of the whole squadron and the promise of the crew of the Lawrence to redeem that pledge. Yarnall consulted with Forrest and with Taylor; there were no more guns that could be used; and had there been, men were wanting to handle them. Fourteen persons alone were left well and unhurt, and only nine were seamen. Further resist- ance was impossible; to hold out might only expose life recklessly. Officers and men watched anxiously the progress of Perry ; they saw the sailors force him to sit down ; they saw a broadside aimed at him, and fall harmlessly around him; they saw marines from three vessels shower at him musket balls, which only ruffled the water of the lake ; and at fifteen minutes before three, they saw the oars dipping for the last time, and their beloved commander climb the side of the Niagara. They had braved the enemy's fire for three hours; could they not confide in help from their commodore and hold out five minutes more? True, they had no means of offense ; but they had a pledge to keep ; they had an enemy whose dying courage they should refuse to reanimate; they had their country's flag to preserve unblemished; they had the honor of that day's The Perry's Victory Centenary 149 martyrs to guard ; they had a chief to whom they should have spared an unspeakable pain ; they had the wounded to consider, who with one voice cried out : " Rather sink the ship than surrender ! Let us all sink together! " And yet a shout of triumph from the enemy proclaimed to both squadrons that the flag of the Lawrence had been lowered ; nor did they then forbode how soon it was to be raised again. Meantime Perry climbed the gangway of the Niagara, and the superior officer, whom Elliott had thought to be dead, stood before him, radiant with the indomitable purpose of winning the day; with his forti- tude unimpaired by the crowded horrors of the last two hours; black with the smoke of battle, but unscathed, with not so much as a wound on his skin; with not a hair of his head harmed. His quick eye glanced at the ship's rigging, at the hale crew that thronged the deck, and his buoyant nature promised him a harvest of glory as he beheld the Niagara, " very little injured," even " perfectly fresh," its crew in the best condition, with scarcely more than three men hurt. Elliott's mind was stunned; and completely dumbfounded he asked the foolish question : " What is the result on board your brig? " though he had seen that the brig was a dis- abled wreck, and had even thought that Perry had fallen. " Cut all to pieces! " said Perry whose mind had instantly condemned the course in which Elliott was steering, and was forming his plan for redeeming the day. " I have been sacrificed," he added ; but he checked all reproach of Elliott, and blamed only the gunboats, which had been still farther astern. It marks how ill Elliott was at ease, how much he was struck with shame, how entirely he lost his self-possession, that he caught at the word which seemed to relieve him from censure, and at once offered to go and bring up the gunboats. " Do so," said Perry, for Elliott had anticipated his wish, and proposed what was best for both. At this. 150 State of New York Elliott, the second officer of the squadron, whose right it would be to take the chief command if Perry should be wounded, left his own brig, and went in a boat on the paltry errand, fit only for a subordinate, to bear a superfluous message to the gunboats, which, under their gallant officers, were already advancing as fast as possible. As he stepped into the brig. Perry, running up his pennant, and hoist- ing the signal for close action, which was instantly answered from all the squadron with loud cheers, hove to, and veered ship, altering her course eight points, set foresail, topsails and top-gallant sail, and bore down to cut the British line, which lay at the distance of a half mile. The Lad^ Prevost, disabled by the loss of her rudder, had drifted to the westward and leeward from her place in the line; Barclay in the Detroit, when he saw the prospect of a contest widi a second brig, had attempted to veer around, that he might bring his starboard broadside to bear; but in doing it he had fallen upon the Queen Charlotte. At this moment Perry, whom seven, eight or ten minutes in the freshened breeze had brought up with the British, disregarding their fire, cut their line, placing the Chippewa and Lady Prevost on his left, the Detroit and Queen Charlotte on his right: and as he did so, he shortened sail to make sure of his aim, and coolly and v«th fatal accuracy, at half pistol shot, he raked the Lady Prevost with his broadside port, while he poured his full starboard broadside on the Detroit and Queen Charlotte as they lay entangled and for the moment helplessly exposed. The loud many- voiced shriek that rose from the Detroit told that the tide of battle had turned; but what was worse for the British was that their gallant com- mander, the skillful and intrepid, but ill-fated Barclay, who had lost an arm at Trafalgar, received a desperate wound which was to deprive him of the other. The wound was so severe that he was obliged to be carried below, leaving the direction to an officer of little experience. The Perry's Victory Centenary 151 Perry now ordered the marines to clear the decks of the Lady Prevost; but the survivors, terrified by the raking fire which they had suffered, fled below, leaving on deck no one but their commander, who, having for the moment lost his senses from a severe wound in the head, remained at his post, gazing about with a vacant stare. Perry, merciful even in battle, stopped his guns on that side, but having luffed athwart the two ships, which had now got clear of one another, he continued to pour into them a close, deadly fire. Meantime Elliott, heedless of exposure to danger, had passed in an open boat down the line, and repeated to the schooners the orders which Perry had sufficiently announced by signal. Their com- manders themselves, with sails up and the use of large oars, hastened into close fight. The Trippe, under Holdup Stevens, was following hard upon the Caledonia: so that Elliott got on board the Somers, a schooner of two guns, where he showed his rankling discontent and unsettled frame of mind by sending the commanding officers below, and beating with his trumpet a gunner who disregarded an absurd order, and did just what was evidently most proper to be done. The small vessels having by this time " got within grape and canister distance," threw in close discharges from their side. TTie commanding officer of the Queen Chadotte, finding himself exposed to be raked ahead and astern, was the first to give up; one of her officers appeared on the taffrail of that ship, and waved a white handkerchief, bent to a boarding- pike, in token that she had struck. The Deiroil had become completely unmanageable ; every brace was cut away, the mizzen-top-mast and gaff were down, the other masts badly wounded, not a stay left forward, the hull very much shattered, and a few guns disabled; at three, or a few minutes after. Lieutenant Inglis was therefore under the necessity of hail- ing the Americans, to say he surrendered. The Hunter yielded at the 152 State of New York same time, as did the Lad}) Prevost, which lay to leeward under the guns of the Niagara. The Chippewa, on the right of the British line, and the Little Belt, on the extreme left, endeavored to escape; but the first was stopped by Champlin, in the Scorpion; the other by Holdup Stevens in the Trippe. As the cannon ceased, an awful stillness set in, disturbed only by the feeble groans of the wounded, or the dash of oars as boats glided from one vessel to another. Possession having been taken of the conquered fleet, at four o'clock Perry sent an express to Harrison with these words: Dear General. — We have met the enemy, and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop. As he wrote to the Secretary of the Navy, a religious awe seemed to come over him, at his wonderful preservation in the midst of great and long-continued danger; and he attributed his signal victory to the pleasure of the Almighty. It was on board the Lawrence that Perry then received the submission of the captives. This was due to the sufferings of her crew, to the self- sacrificing courage of the unnamed martyrs who still lay unburied on her deck; to the crowd of wounded, who thought their trials well rewarded by the issue. The witnesses to the act of the British officers in tendering their swords were chiefly the dead and wounded, and the scene of sorrow tempered and subdued the exultation of triumph. The conqueror bade his captives retain their side-arms; and added every just and unaffected expression of courtesy, mercy, and solicitude for their wounded. The Perry's Victory Centenary 153 When twilight fell, the mariners who had fallen on board the Lawrence and had lain in heaps on the side of the ship opposite the British, were sewn up in their hammocks, and, with a cannon ball at their feet, were dropped one by one into the Lake. At last, but not till this day's work was done, exhausted nature claimed rest, and Perry, turning to his cot, slept as sweetly and quietly as a child. The dawn of morning revealed the deadly fierceness of the combat. Spectators from the island found the sides of the Lawrence completely riddled by shot from the long guns of the British; her deck was thickly covered with clots of blood; fragments of those who had been struck, hair, brains, broken pieces of bones, were still sticking to the rigging and sides. The sides of the Detroit and Queen Charlotte were shattered from bow to stern ; on their larboard side there was hardly a hand's breadth free from the dent of a shot. Balls, cannister and grape were found lodged in their bulwarks; their masts were so much injured, that they rolled out in the first high wind. TTie loss of the British, as reported by Barclay, amounted to forty-one killed, of whom three were officers, and ninety-four wounded, of whom nine were officers. Of the Americans, twenty-seven were killed and ninety-six wounded. Of these, twenty-two were killed and sixty-one wounded in the Lawrence, and about twenty more were wounded in the Niagara after she received Perry on board. An opening on the margin of Put-in-Bay was selected for the burial- place for the officers who had fallen. TTie day was serene, the breezes hushed, the water unruffled by a wavelet. TTie men of both fleets mourned together; as the boats moved slowly in procession, the music played dirges to which the oars kept time; the flags showed the sign of sorrow ; solemn minute guns were heard from the ships. The spot where 154 State of New York the funeral train went on shore was a wild solitude; Americans and British walked in alternate couples to the graves, like men who, in the presence of eternity, renewed the relation of brothers and members of one human family, and the bodies of the dead were likewise borne along and buried alternately, English and American side by side, and undistinguished. The wounded of both fleets, meeting with equal assiduous care, were sent to Erie, where Barclay was seen, with tottering steps, supported between Harrison and Perry, as he walked from the landing-place to his quarters. Perry crowned his victory by his modesty, forbearing to place his own services in their full light, and more than just to others. When, in the following year, he was rewarded by promotion to the rank of captain, he who had never murmured at promotion made over his own head, hesitated about accepting a preferment which might wound his seniors. The personal conduct of Perry throughout the tenth of September was perfect. His keenly sensitive nature never interfered with his sweetness of manner, his fortitude, the soundness of his judgment, the promptitude of his decision. In a state of impassioned activity, his plans were wisely framed, were instantly modified as circumstances changed, and were executed with entire coolness and self-possession. The mastery of the lakes, the recovery of Detroit and the Far West, the capture of the British army in the peninsula of Upper Canada, were the immediate fruits of his success. The imagination of the American people was taken cap- tive by the singular incidents of a battle in which everything seemed to have flowed from the personal prowess of one man ; and wherever he came the multitude went out to bid him welcome. Washington Irving, the chosen organ as it were of his country, predicted his ever increasing fame. The Perry's Victory Centenary 155 Rhode Island cherishes his glory as her own; Erie keeps the tradition that its harbor was his ship-yard, its forests the storehouse for the frames of his chief vessels, its houses the hospitable shelter of the wounded among his crews; Cleveland graces her public square with a statue of the hero, wrought of purest marble, and looking out upon the scene of his glory; the tale follows the emigramt all the way up the Straits, and to the head of Lake Superior. Perry's career was short and troubled; he lives in the memory of his countrymen, clothed in perpetual youth, just as he stood when he saw that his efforts were crowned with success, and could say in his heart, *' We HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE OURS." 156 State of New York BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE Letter written by WlLLlAM V. Taylor, Sailing Master of the brig Lawrence at the battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 William Vigeron Taylor, at the time a Sailing Master in the United States Navy, was an officer in the fleet of gunboats commanded by Com- modore Oliver Hazard Perry, at Newport, Rhode Island, when the latter received orders to report to Commodore Isaac Chauncey at Sackett's Harbor, New York, for duty on Lake Erie. Taylor left New- port with a detachment of seamen, February 21, 1813, and upon reach- ing Erie, Pa., the fleet headquarters, was assigned to duty as Sailing Master and for a time was the next officer in rank to Perry. Upon the organization of the fleet he was attached with the same rank to the brig Lawrence, the original flagship. He served with credit and efficiency during the great battle of September 1 0th, and prior thereto was of invaluable assistance in preparing the fleet for active service. Taylor, who was of French descent, was promoted to Lieutenant, December 9, 1814, and to Commander, March 3, 1831. He became a Post Captain in September, 1841, and commanded the sloops Warren and Erie in the Gulf of Mexico. He was afterwards placed in com- mand of the ship-of-the-line Ohio and took her around Cape Horn to the Pacific. He went on the reserve list September 13, 1855, and died February 11,1 858. He was the father of Rear-Admiral William Rogers Taylor, United States Navy. The following letter, written by Taylor, October 17, 1813, with especial reference to the battle of Lake Erie, is of interest as coming from one who was in the thickest of the fight from its commencement to its close and was addressed to his brother Stephen : The Perry's Victory Centenary 157 Erie. October 17, 1813. Deiar Stephen. — I have received your welcome letter from Newport and have observed with pleasure that you have with true brotherly affection kindly excused me for my neglect, although it was in some measure correct, for since I have been on this station all my time has been devoted to public service, not only from inclination to serve one of the best and bravest of men but in a great measure from necessity, as we have had few officers on the station and many of them very young and consequently the duty fell very heavy on me. You wish a correct statement of the battle. At daylight on the 1 0th September, at anchor in Put-in-Bay we saw the British squadron working to windward and toward us. We made the signal immediately to get under way, which was prompdy complied v^^ith. We took advantage of the wind and turn'd out to windward of Snake Island to gain the weather gauge. At about 9 A. M., weather'd away the island, bore up to run for the enemy — winds light — they observing we had gain'd the wind of them, hauled up their (word illegible) top G sails and most gallantly waited our approach in line of battle, confident of success as they have since stated. Just before the action commenced Captain Perrry produced a flag with these emphatical words on it in capital letters : " Don't give up the ship " — the dying words of the brave Lawrence — and asked the men if he hoisted it would they support it. They answer'd him with three rousing cheers. At 15 minutes before 1 2 they commenced firing at us from the Detroit, a fine new ship mounting long 24's, 1 8's and 1 2's. As our cannonade would not take effect at this distance we endeavor'd to close with them as quick as possible. At 12 opened our broadside on them, we being the leading vessel and flagship they were determined as they have since said to sink us — they nearly accomplish'd their purpose for when within short distance they opened a most tremendous and destructive fire on us from all their heaviest vessels. We sustained their fire 2'/^ hours — the Laivrence at this time presenting a picture too horrid for description — nearly the whole crew and officers and all prostrated on the deck, intermined with broken spars, riggins, sails and in fact one confused heap of horrid ruins. Some of the guns were dismounted and mounted five times in action — some of these guns were mann'd three different times in action. Captain Perry, finding he could not fire another gun or annoy the enemy in any shape from the Lawrence — he determined to leave her. He took down his private flag and bore it triumphantly to the Niagara amid showers of round, grape, cannister and musketry. I say triumphantly, for he must have been conscious no vessel recorded in the annals of naval history ever was fought 158 State of New York better or more obstinately defended — few indeed remaining uninjured, and those few employ'd about the magazine and cockpit. When Captain Perry got on board the Niagara she had not a man either kill'd or wounded. He immediately made sail and carried her into action — directing Captain Elliot to bring up the small vessels and then indeed it was a proud moment for an American to see our gallant com- mander breaking through the enemy's line and forcing our proud foe to yield to American skill and bravery — not a single vessel escaped to tell the tale. I had forgot to inform you that shortly after Captain Perry got on board the Niagara we on board the Lawrence finding that we could not make any resistance to the enemy, fire still galling, we concluded from principles of humanity to haul down our colours and save the little remnant of our brave crew. Why we suffered so much and the Niagara and several other vessels little or none vnll be a subject for your private ear — suffice to say that it was a proud day for R. Island. Lieutenant Turner, a brother of the Doctor, was enabled to get his vessel into action although one of the dullest in the fleet. I had rather fight the best frigate in the British navy the same length of time v»rith the Lawrence than to fight the same battle over again. The British mounted 1 guns more than we and had 200 men more. I can say that I have been in one of the hardest battles ever fought on the water. The land about this country is becoming valuable — it is certainly a rich soil and from wild land to clear'd farms it can be purchased from 2 dollars to 12 per acre and the best inform'd people say that it will double in value in five years — the country is full of mill streams. Pittsburg is becoming an immense place from its many local advantages — two rich rivers water the town and forming the Ohio at the lower part of the place — this inexhaustible supply of water surrounding the tovm, prop- erty has risen from $500 to $20,000 in fifteen years — it is a manufacturing place and supplies all the western country. I shall be at home ere long and can give you more information. Give my love to Sally and Wm.. Mary and Jonathan Card, Susan and Hannah Weaver and all our relations, and believe me to be in reality. Your brother, Wm. V. Taylor. APPENDIX B THE PERRY MEMORIAL AT PUT-IN-BAY By Joseph Henry Freedlander Architect 159 HON. EDWARD H. BUTLER Cliaiiman, Citizens Reception Committee, Perry's Celebration, Buffalo, N. Y. Victory MEDAL Presented to Commodore Perry by the State of Pennsylvania. (Buffalo Ilishiriial Soiic/y Cdlhrliivis) o > <<] -o 3: c o CO M . < a o ri D 01) 2 a - a -J _c <■ 00 ^ 0= < >k /. OJ UJ cu I OJ o UJ THE PERRY MEMORIAL AT PUT-IN-BAY By Joseph Henry Freedlander Architect THE SCHEME OF THE Perry Memorjal had its inception in a combination of remarkable historical events. It is a striking fact that England and America, two countries which have been at peace for a period of a hundred years, should purpose to definitely seal their friendship by means of a general treaty, the spirit of which shall insure to the English speaking races this final triumph of civilization. It has therefore seemed most fitting to embody in a memorial commemorative of Perry's victory at the battle of Lake Erie, cin expression of the treaty of arbitration about to be entered into between the two nations — an epoch-making event in the history of two great peoples of vast and signifi- cant moment. Exactly one hundred years after the last war it is proposed to enter into an arbitration treaty designed to insure everlasting peace. It was vnth this thought pregnant with good-vWll to mankind in mind that the Perry Memorial was conceived. Three elements in the com- position immediately suggested themselves: the shaft, the museum, and a statue flanked by a colonnade, typifying peace by arbitration. The composition was born in an instant — the shaft took the form of a great Doric column, with the museum on the left and the colonnade on the right. All were placed on a broad plaza elevated only slightly above the ground so that the entire memorial would appear to rise from the sea and be further enhanced by its reflections in the rippling waters. The column stands alone so that it may be seen over the water from all points of the compass and by its very height dominate the surrounding 161 11 162 State of New York country. TTie museum and colonnade are distant from it some three hundred feet and thus will not obscure its perspective at any point. On the contrary its setting as the central motive in the composition will insure a degree of dignity impossible to obtciin were the other buildings placed in close proximity. The museum and colonnade in turn are placed on terraces at a slightly higher elevation than the meiin platform so that they may give grace and variety to the vista and their architectural setting be assured. . In view of the location of the site in so great an expanse of water and the necessarily isolated character which these conditions imply, the Doric order treated without ornament of any kind seemed best adapted to con- vey the impression of grandeur and simplicity which the memorial is intended to suggest. The plaza covers almost the entire site in length, and in width extends from the waters of Lake Erie to those of Put-in- Bay. Here it is reached by a broad flight of steps forming the main approach. Tlie shore drive runs through it, thus making it accessible to visitors both by land and by sea. A landing stage for small boats is provided at the bottom of the flight of steps. Besides insuring an architectural base for the general composition the plaza is intended to serve for exercises and ceremonies requiring the accommodation of large assemblages. Its extreme length is seven hundred and fifty feet and its width on the main central axis is four hundred and fifty-eight feet. It is twelve feet above mean high water while the terraces immediately sur- rounding the museum and the colonnade are elevated three feet more or fifteen feet above mean high water. The level of the roadway is elevated six feet above the water, a broad flight of steps leading down to it and in turn another flight continues to the water's edge. The Perry's Victory Centenary 163 It is intended to plant such portions of the site not covered by the plaza with shrubs and to enclose the memorial in a setting of landscape garden- ing, by means of paths, lawns, borders and planting. The trees on the site are being carefully preserved so that their foliage may not only afford shade but enhance the general color scheme as well. The stone selected for the entire memorial is a white granite, extremely beautiful in texture and color and of a sufficiently delicate pink cast to temper it and to counteract the natural tendency of pure white stones to take on a bluish cast under the sky. Its geological composition is as nearly perfect as can be obtciined and it was selected after exhaustive mechanical tests on account of its hardness £md consequent great dura- bility, the latter quality being naturally an essential in the choice of material for a monument destined to last through the ages. In order to give it as brilliant a texture as possible it is tooled or channelled with fine vertical lines. This treatment has the same effect on granite cis the cutting of facets on precious stones and tends to produce a sparkle, brilliancy and play of light and shade extremely pleasing to the eye. The column forming the central motive of the memorial is surmounted by a massive bronze tripod, the bowl of which is illuminated by mean?: of a cluster of one hundred concealed incandescent lights. TTie height of the column measured from the level of the terrace to the top of the tripod is three hundred and thirty-five feet. The tripod is eighteen feet high, its greatest diameter is twenty feet and it will weigh eleven tons. It will be of solid bronze, cast and transported to the site in sections, and then riveted together on the grounds. An electric hoisting derrick will swing it in place on the top of the column, to which it will be bolted by means of steel angles built into the masonry. Special provision has been made in the design of the tripod to stiffen it structurally against 164 State of New York wind pressure which in view of its elevation of over three hundred feet from the earth and the severity of the winter storms on the lakes is a most important consideration and a condition requiring careful cal- culation. The top of the bowl of the tripod is of frosted plate glass one-half inch thick, and will glow at night with the rays of innumerable incandescent lamps, installed underneath it. The foundations of the column as well as those of the museum and of the colonnade will rest directly on rock. At the inception of the work diamond-drill borings to ascertain the nature of the soil were made with the result that rock was found to underlie the entire site at levels of from ten to twenty feet below the surface. This made it possible to drive the forms for the concrete foundations directly to rock, and did away with the necessity of sinking caissons. The strata was found to be hard and homogeneous and of excellent bearing quality. The column is forty-five feet in diameter at the base and thirty-five at the neck, while the thickness of the walls at these points is nine feet and five feet respectively. The walls are built of granite ashlar or facing, backed up with concrete to a height of some eighty feet and con- tinued with brick to the top of the shaft. The diameter of the clear space in the interior of the column is twenty-five feet six inches. There are seventy-eight courses of stone in the height of the shaft. An interest- ing feature of the structural detail is the construction of the cap of the column. This has an overhang or projection at the angle of fifteen feet, measured on the diagonal. In order to hold the granite in place on the soffit or underside, forms are built, the stones, after being cut with keys on the upper surface, are laid on them and reinforced concrete poured until the whole becomes a homogeneous mass. After this has set the forms are removed and the stones dressed on the underside to an even surface. The Perry's Victory Centenary 165 In the base of the column a memorial rotunda has been arranged. It is faced with Indiana limestone and is entered directly from the terrace by means of four bronze doors facing the cardinal points of the compass. TTie floor of this rotunda is three feet below the terrace level, four short flights of granite steps leading down to it. It is composed of a field of Tennessee marble with a centerpiece and border in color. The ceiling of the rotunda takes the form of a dome, from the center of which will hang a bronze lighting fixture. TTie remains of six British and American officers who took part and were killed in the battle will be moved from their present resting-place on the island and reinterred in the walls of the rotunda. Their names, as well as those of all others who fought at Lake Erie, will be carved in the stone panels. In the center of the rotunda it is purposed to place a bronze statue of Perry, to commemorate the most remarkable achievement in naval history, whereby a hitherto unknown naval officer, twenty-eight years old, saved for the United States all that great territory bordering the length of the Great Lakes. Two flights of granite stairs built in the thickness of the walls afford communication between the four entrance vestibules adjacent to the rotunda and the landing above it. At this level the elevator and stair- case start, and run to the top of the column. The staircase is built of reinforced concrete throughout its entire height of some two hundred and fifty feet. It runs around and is supported by four concrete columns and is composed of four hundred and sixty-seven steps. The elevator is bstalled in the staircase well and is of the high geared traction type. Its speed is two hundred and fifty feet per minute and it is capable of lifting twenty-five hundred pounds. It is fitted with every modern safety device including an apparatus which automatically precludes the car from mov- 166 State of New York ing until the doors of the shaft are closed. The trip from the lower to the upper landing is made in one minute. From the upper platform a door leads to the outside parapet, concealed in the cap of the column. From this parapet forming a promenade three hundred feet above the terrace level a magnificent view of the surrounding country is obtained. The panoramic scene presented by the waters of the lake is imposing and wonderfully beautiful at all times of the day, while at night the impression conveyed by the intense quiet and the twinkling of innumerable lights is fairy-like and reminiscent of the star-lit lagoons of the Adriatic. A glass dome and ventilators at the top of the column provide light and air, while in addition the entire interior of the shaft is lined with a light colored face brick, terminating at the bottom in a white tile base. TTie column, as well as the museum, the colonnade and the terrace is lit electrically throughout, and is provided with inter-communicating and general telephone systems. All of the buildings are of fireproof con- struction and built of non-combustible materials — not a single piece of wood is used in any part of the work. The museum is to house a collection of Perryana as well as such arms, books, paintings, engravings and relics which pertain to the period and are reminiscent of the war of 1812. The building including the portico along the length of the principal facade is eighty-five feet long and sixty- four feet wide. Its height from the level of the terrace is forty-two feet and the columns of the portico are twenty-three feet high. In the interior the large exhibition hall extends throughout the entire height of the build- ing and has a gallery supported on columns running around it on all four sides. The treatment of the interior will be in stone and the columns of " breche violette " marble. The gallery will be lighted from above by means of a large skylight and on the rear rooms for the curator, for the The Perry's Victory Centenary 167 catalogue and a council room for meetings of the Interstate Board are arranged. At the two ends of the gallery decorative paintings illustrative of the battle of Lake Erie will be set in place. A frieze of panels carved in the granite and bearing the shields of the forty-eight States of the Union will run around the entire facade. The colonnade forming a pendant to the museum at the right of the column will enclose on three sides a statue typifying " Peace by Arbitra- tion." The height of the columns of the colonnade will be the same as those of the Museum, thus preserving a synmietrical sky-line. The open space enclosed within the colonnade v^ll be laid out in the manner of a formal garden, bisected by a pathway terminating at either end in a fountain built in the walls. From the garden level a broad flight of steps leads to the terrace. In the center of the flight and on the main axis of the structure the statue and pedestal will be placed. TTie figure is seated and both in action and expression portrays that calm dignity and serenity illustrative of the abundant blessings which will acrue to those nations who shall have made themselves custodians of universal peace. The statue will be of heroic size, cast in bronze, and about fifteen feet in height. A detail requiring careful study and of much interest in the design of the memorial has been the provision made for the correction of the per- spective by means of asymmetric curves. The long flight of steps for instance would appear to sag in the center if they were made straight or horizontal. Therefore they are built with a convex curve, that is to say they are some four inches higher at the center than at the ends. TTius in execution they will appear perfectly level. In the same manner the ter- race surrounding the shaft is raised in the center and lower at the ends — otherwise the column would appear to depress it and it would produce the 168 State of New York effect of resting in a concave dish. Similarly every vertical or horizontal surface of the entire group has been corrected by means of carefully cal- culated curvatures. To tie together the three elements of the composition there will be laid out on the main terraces and in the spaces between the column and the flanking buildings a scheme of landscape gardening whose main feature will consist of a green-sward one hundred and fifty feet long and seventy- five feet wide. At either side two granite walks will be built leading from the museum and colonnade terraces to the plaza surrounding the column. These in turn will be bordered with shrubs, bay-trees, flower beds, and other accessories which go to make up a garden wherein the public may find shelter and repose and a restful lounging place. Four large vases at the center terrace and smaller ones at the ends will serve to embellish the general layout and at either end of the steps leading from the water's edge a bronze standard bearing the national flag will be erected. Furthermore in deference to the naval character of the memorial it is proposed to use as attributes in the treatment of the grounds bronze cannon, mortars and anchors presented by the Navy Department. This is in brief a description of the salient features of the memorial. Erected to commemorate the valor and courage of a great commander and an epoch-making event in the history of the United States — it shall have doubly fulfilled its mission if, down through the ages, it shall stand — the first milestone on the high-road of everlasting peace. J. H. Freedlander. (From the Souvenir Programme, Interstate Board. Perry's Victory Centennial Gjnunissioncrs.) APPENDIX C THE INTERSTATE BOARD of the PERRVS VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMISSIONERS 169 THE INTERSTATE BOARD OF THE PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMISSIONERS THE Interstate Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Com- missioners was organized September 10, 1910. The membership consists of the Commissioners appointed by the President of the United States and the Governors of the several states participating, by authority of law, in the erection of the Perry Memorial at Put-in Bay, South Bass Island, Lake Erie, Ohio, and in the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Lake Erie. The personnel of this organization at the time of the Centennial celebration, with its sub- divisions for practical operations, was as follows : General Officers President-General, George H. Worthington, Cleveland, Ohio; First Vice-President-General, Henry Watterson, Louisville, Ky. ; Secretary- General, Webster P. Huntington, Cleveland, Ohio; Treasurer-General, A. E. Sisson, Erie, Pa.; Auditor-General, Harry Cutler, Providence, R. I. ; Financial Secretary, Mackenzie R. Todd, Frankfort, Ky. State Vice-Presidents The states hereinafter mentioned are named in the order in which they entered upon the enterprise by the appointment of Commissioners. The State vice-presidents were as follows: Ohio, Horace Holbrook; Pennsylvania, Edwin H. Vare; Michigan. Roy S. Barnhart; Illinois. 171 172 State of New York General Philip C. Hayes; Wisconsin, Rear-Admiral F. M. Symonds, U. S. N., Ret.; New York, William Simon; Rhode Island, Sumner Mowry; Kentucky, Colonel Andrew Cowan; Minnesota, W. H. Wescott; Louisiana, W. O. Hart. Committees (N. B. The President-General is a member ex-oficio, and the Secretary-General is Secretary, of all committees.) TTie Executive Committee was composed of the general officers, the United States Commissioners and the following State Conmiissioners : Ohio, John H. Clarke; Pennsylvania, Milton W. Shreve; Michigan, George W. Parker; Illinois, William H. TTiompson; Wisconsin, A. W. Sanborn; New York, Clinton B. Herrick, M. D.; Rhode Island, John P. Sanborn; Kentucky, Mackenzie R. Todd; Minnesota, J. Edward Meyers. Sub-committee of the Executive Committee: The general officers. United States Commissioner J. Warren Keifer, the Chairman of the Committee on Legislation, Promotion and Publicity, the Chairman of the Committee on Centennial Celebration, the Chairman of the Com- mittee on the Put-in Bay Celebration, and the Financial Secretary. Building Committee: President-General George H. Worthington, chairman; First Vice-President-General Henry Watterson; United States Commissioner Nelson A. Miles. Committee on Legislation, Promotion and Publicity: Commissioner A. E. Sisson, chairman; Commissioners Todd, Winkler, Hayes, Emer- son, Whitehead and Cutler. The Perry's Victory Centenary 173 Committee on Centennial Celebration: Commissioner Milton W. Shreve, chairman; Commissioners Mooney, Parker, Wells, Herrick, Wescott, Perry of Illinois, Wilson euid Davis of Rhode Island. Committee on the Put-in Bay Celebration: Commissioner John P. Sanborn, chairman; Commissioners Whitehead and Parker. Committee on Souvenirs: Commissioners Sisson and Cutler. Commissioners For the United States Government: Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A.. Ret., Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis, U. S. N.. Ret.. Washington, D. C. ; General J. Warren Keifer, Springfield, Ohio. Ohio: John H. Clarke, George H. Worthington, Cleveland; S. M. Johannsen, Put-in Bay; Eli Winkler, Nicholas Longworth, Cincinnati; Horace Holbrook, Warren; William C. Mooney, Woodsfield; Horace L. Chapman, Columbus; George W. Dun, Toledo. (Webster P. Huntington, Secretary, Cleveland.) Pennsylvania: A. E. Sisson, Milton W. Shreve, Erie; Edwin H. Vare, Philadelphia; T. C. Jones, McKeesport; George W. Neff. M. D.. Masontown. Michigan : George W. Parker, John C. Lodge, Detroit ; Arthur P. Loomis, Lansing; Roy S. Barnhart, Grand Rapids; E. K. Warren, TTiree Oaks. Illinois: William H. Thompson, James Pugh, Richard S. Folsom, Nelson W. Lampert, Adam Weckler, Chesley R. Perry, William Porter Adams, Willis J. Wells. Chicago; General Philip C. Hayes. Joliet; W. H. Mcintosh. Rockford; H. S. Bekemeyer, Springfield. 1 74 State of New York Wisconsin: Rear-Admiral Frederick M. Symonds, U. S. N., Ret., Galesville; John M. Whitehead, Janesville; A. W. Sanborn, Ashland; C. B. Perry, Wauwatosa; S. W. Randolph, Manitowoc; Louis Bohni- rich, Milwaukee; Sol P. Huntington, Green Bay. (Joseph McC. Bell, Secretary, Milwaukee.) New York: William J. Conners, George D. Emerson, William Simon, John F. Malone, Edward D. Jackson, Buffalo; Simon L. Adler, Rochester; Martin H. Glynn. Albany; Clinton B. Herrick, M. D.. Troy; William F. Rafferty, Syracuse; William L. Ormrod. Churchville; Jacob Schifferdecker, Brooklyn. Rhode Island: John P. Sanborn, Newport; Louis N. Arnold. Westerly; Sumner Mowry, Peace Dale; Henry E. Davis, Woonsocket; Harry Cutler, Providence. Kentucky: Colonel Henry Watterson, Colonel Andrew Cowan, Louisville; Samuel M. Wilson. Lexington; Colonel R. W. Nelson. Newport; Mackenzie R. Todd, Frankfort. Minnesota: J. Edward Meyers. Minneapolis; W. H. Wescott, Rosemount; Ralph W. Wheelock. St. Paul; Milo B. Price. Owatonna; Clyde Kelly. Duluth. Louisiana: W. O. Hart. Dr. H. Dickson Bruns. New Orleans; A. A. Gunby, Monroe. The Perry's Victory Centenary 175 THE PRISCILLA A most interesting adjunct of the Interstate Board was the handsome and well equipped yacht of President General Worthington. the Priscilla. Many meetings were held on the deck of this yacht and in memory of these occasions the following lines by the Secretary General, Webster P. Huntington, seem most appropriate: PRISCILLA Fair queen of the waters, dear pride of the lake, TTiou dauntless, majestic Priscilla, There is joy in thy wings and peace in thy wake, Priscilla, Priscilla, Priscilla f Where the white caps, pursuing the sprite of the deep. Ride away to the shores where the blue billows leap. Thou shall thrill me with pleasure or rock me to sleep. In the heart of thy waves, Priscilla! Oh, the toasts that were quaffed and the tales that were told In the shade of thy Sciils, Priscilla. Thy prow toward the sunset of purple and gold, Priscilla, Priscilla, Priscilla! The skies of the Northland were never so blue. The faith of good friendship w£is never so true. And just doing nothing ne'er so easy to do. As borne on thy breezes, Priscilla! TTie memory dwells on thy generous board, Beguiler of men, O Priscilla! When the Commodore carved — likewise frequently poured — Priscilla, Priscilla, Priscilla! When we fought Perry's Victory over, rough-shod, From the Lake to the Bay and from Sisson to Todd — Lord help the landlubber son of the sod Who shared not the conflict, Priscilla! 176 State of New York Somewhere there may be fairer days than I've known On the crest of thy sea, Priscillal Somewhere there may be brighter joys than thine own, Priscilla, Priscilla, Priscilla! Somewhere sweeter romance, somewhere truer souls. Somewhere better zweiback, somewhere deeper bowls; But not on this side of where Old Jordan rolls. As sure as thou sailest, Priscilla/ They say on the wings of an Infinite Mom, Past the blue of thy skies, Priscilla, Are the hosts of immortals triumphantly borne, Priscilla, Priscilla, Priscilla! But when the last tnunpet blows over the sea. You may count on the comrades, who, like unto me. Will hang up their harps and sail on with thee. To the end of the voyage, Priscilla! 'y / //. y ^<: ^< -^/"-^^^.^ / ,... y- /, /' J -i y '•' /'9 / r ^^.. ^g. ^. 3^^.^ / -«6 -<^.c> i. r ,: > Special Older, Commodore Perry (Orijiiiial ill tlh- anto.ly uf the Buffalo Ilistonial .Scnif/y) Q. U o ,-o (X c/1 :cs ■^ < u . o o-g "-r 7: -a -^ ~I^ — . o ,_ ,~ >-; E o *c; ^ >>-s ■^ ^Q s::^ -o — o DO E o PERRY'S VICTOR^- MEMENTOS [Biiffulo Ilislonail Soacly Collections) Engravings of the battle of Lake Erie of date 1815, keys to same, pieces of wood from the flagships Niagara and Lawrence and musket chest from the Lawrence. CAPTAIN WILLIAM L. MORRISON, N. F. P. Commanding U. S. S. " Wolvenne " APPENDIX D . Address by the Hon. John M. Whitehead, of Wisconsin. Member of Wisconsin Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay. July 4. 1913. 177 12 ADDRESS BY THE HON. JOHN M. WHITEHEAD OF WISCONSIN Member of Wisconsin Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, at the laying of the corner stone of the Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay, July 4, 1913. SEVERAL YEARS AGO we entered upon an era of centennials of great events and of the births of great men. We were about to close a century since Perry's victory. Should it pass unnoticed? If not who should first move to secure a fitting observance? The great lake states had a common concern that the event be properly celebrated. The scene of the battle and the burial place of the dead from the ships engaged was within the State of Ohio. It was fitting that Ohio act first and she did. She said: " It shall be done. The valorous deed shall be kept in mind forever. The beloved dead shall not be forgotten ; " and she called in the other great lake states to share with her in the noble enterprise. New York has answered it shall be done. The second city of the Empire State has had a grand career upon this historic lake and her youth has not yet passed. She is of virgin freshnes* and beauty in the charming abode of peace and prosperity which she has been able to build during these hundred years of peace. All hail, Ohio! All hail, Pennsylvania! All hail, Wisconsin! All hail. New York! All hail, Michigan! All hail, Illinois! The love of 179 180 State of New York the good, the true and the brave have not died out and they shall not be allowed to die out in the region that was saved to the stars and stripes by Perry's victory on Lake Erie. ft- * * * War was declared June 18, 1812. In the fall of 1812, when the country did finally realize the importance of the great lakes and the need of a lake navy. Captain Isaac Chauncey, who had distinguished himself in the Barbary war, was ordered by the naval department to take command of Lakes Erie and Ontario and to build fleets, September 3, 1812. He had been at the head of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was an experienced seaman, a dozen years the senior of Perry. He had been trained in the merchant service and entered the navy at twenty-six as a lieutenant. Congress had voted him a sword for his gallantry in the war against the Barbary pirates. He was an officer well qualified for his new and arduous position. He devoted himself to his work at Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario. At that time there were on Lake Erie but three or four small craft and none on the upper lakes belonging to the United States. The British had quite a number of vessels of one hundred tons emd over, employed mostly by the Northwest Fur Company. Captain Daniel Dobbins of Pennsylvania had visited Lake Erie as early as 1 796 with a party of surveyors. He had fitted out and had commanded for many years a small vessel and was one of the most experienced navigators of the lakes of his day. He too was a young man, nine years older than Perry. When war was declared he was at The Perry's Victory Centenary 181 Mackinac, an American fort which the Canadians and Indians had taken by surprise, our government having neglected to notify the fortress of the war. Dobbins here lost his vessel, and after many hair-breadth escapes arrived at Lake Erie late in August. Detroit had surrendered on the 16th and he was immediately despatched by General Mead to Washington with information. After a day's examination before the cabinet in regard to the ports and commerce on Lake Erie and the best place for a naval depot and shipyard he was tendered a sailing master's warrant in September, 1812, and ordered to commence building three gunboats and report his doings to Commodore Chauncey on Lake Ontario. Two days after his return to Erie, viz., September 26th, he cut the first stick of timber for the fleet himself, and employed such car- penters and shipbuilders in that region as could be found. Chauncey arrived late in December with master-builder Eckford who furnished models for two twenty gun brigs. Perry's squadron consisted of two twenty gun brigs, the Larvrence and the Niagara; four schooners, the Ariel, carrying four guns, the Scorpion, two guns, and the Porcupine and Tigress, each carrying one gun — all built in the harbor of Erie; the Caledonia, three guns, which Lieutenant Elliott had captured the preceding October; the Somers, two, and the Ohio and Trippe, one gun each, these three last named vessels had been bought — ten vessels in all with fifty-five guns, mostly short range, having a total broadside of 936 pounds. Before the battle one of the ten. the Ohio, had been sent on special duty to another part of the lake and it was not therefore brought into action and the total broad- side of Perry's fleet by so much reduced. 182 State of New York Barclay's squadron was made up of two ships — the Detroil, nineteen guns, and the Queen Charlolle, seventeen; two brigs, the Lad^ Prevost. thirteen, the Hunter, ten ; one schooner, the Chippeiva, one long gun, and one sloop, the Little Bell, three guns — six vessels in all, carrying sixty- three guns, mostly long range, with a broadside of 459 pounds. TTiere has been controversy over the relative strength of the two fleets. There are plain differences, no doubt. The main fact of present interest for this occasion is that there was a hot fight and that Perry won it, thereby retrieving to the United States its lost territory, restoring the American flag to staffs from which the year before it had been hauled down, sweeping the British from the lakes and rendering possible land campaigns that soon ended the war. Whatever may be said of equality or inequality of the two fleets it was a battle of brave men on both sides and Perry triumphed. This triumph we celebrate. The words of Perry " We have met the enemy and they are ours " have ever since been a proverb among our people. At three o'clock in the afternoon the battle was over. The roar of cannon ceased, the blue vapor of the battle was swept away by the breeze and the two squadrons were intermingled. When Perry's eye perceived at a glance that victory was secure, he wrote in pencil, on the back of an old letter, resting it upon his navy cap, that remarkable dispatch to General Harrison whose first clause has been so often quoted : The Perry's Victory Centenary 183 We have met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner amd one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem. O. H. Perry. A few minutes afterward he wrote to the Secretary of the Navy as follows : U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister, Head of Lake Erie, September 10. 4 p. M. Sir : — It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop, have this moment surrendered to the force under my command after a sharp conflict. I have the honor to be. Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, O. H. Perry. Honorable WiLLlAM JONES, Secretary of the Navy. The personal conduct of Perry throughout the 1 0th of September was perfect. His keenly sensitive nature never interfered with his sweetness of manner, his fortitude, the soundness of his judgment, the promptitude of his decision. In a state of impassioned activity, his plans were wisely framied, were instantly modified as circumstances changed and were executed with entire coolness and self-possession. Perry had been ill with lake fever before the battle and his body was racked with fever at the very time he was sustaining the strain of the day. When it was all over, exhausted nature claimed rest. He turned into his cot and slept as sweetly and quietly as a child. 184 State of New York On the 12th an opening on the mcirgin of Put-in-Bay was selected for the interment of the bodies of the three British and three American officers killed in the battle. The remnants of the crews of both fleets attended the burial. It was a beautiful Sabbath morning. TTie proces- sion of boats, the neat appearance of the officers and men, music, the slow and regulated motion of the oars striking in exact time with the solemn notes of the dirge, the mournful waving of flags, the sound of the minute guns of the ships in the harbor, and the wild and solemn spell of the place, the stillness of nature, gave to the scene a melancholy grandeur better felt than described. All acknowledged its influence, all were sensibly affected. The Americans and the British walked in alternate couples to the grave like men who in the presence of eternity renewed the relation of brothers and members of one human family, and the bodies of the dead were likewise borne along and buried alternately, English and American, side by side and undistinguished. There these brave men have slept for a century and it is now proposed that their remains shall be removed in solemn state from their humble sepulcher to the crypt to be prepared in the memorial which is to be erected upon this cornerstone. The names of the officers buried there are as follows: Lieutenant Brooks and Midshipmen Laub and Clark of the American service ; and Captain Finnis and Lieutenants Garden and Garland of the British service. * * ♦ ♦ "A Short History of the United States Navy " came from the press a year ago. It was written by Captain George H. Clarke of the navy, assisted by three of the instructors of the United States Naval Academy, as a text-book for midshipmen, and I quote an interesting and wholesome passage : The Perry's Victory Centenary 185 " The extravagant praise of Perry in American histories, criticized by Roose- velt, is due to the melodramatic features of the battle, which appealed to the popular imagination, the heroic resistance of the Laurence, the passage of Perry in an open boat to the Niagara and the sudden turning of the tide of victory. His fame should rest, rather, upon the hopeless days when the timbers of his future ships were still growing in the forest. In a word Perry's work on Lake Erie attests the fact that what counts in an officer's career is not the spectacular event which appeals to the public, but the quiet, yet tireless energy, the sound judgment and the farsightedness that always precede, and sometimes follow a successful battle." * * * * There was among the younger officers of Chauncey's command Jesse D. Elliott, about three years older than Perry. He was from Pennsyl- vania and had been trained for the bar. He entered the navy in 1804 and became lieutenant in 1810. Captain Chauncey dispatched Lieu- tenant Elliott to take charge on Lake Erie. September 7. 1812, and establish a naval base at Buffalo. On the 14th Elliott reached Buffalo. He first built a temporary navy yard at Black Rock and there rudely equipped some schooners which he had bought. He captured from the British the brigs Caledonia and Detroit and brought the former into Black Rock, while the latter, having run aground as he attempted to bring her in, had to be fired. The gain of the Caledonia was encourag- ing, the failure to bring in the Detroit was disappointing; but it is certain that Elliott thus made a beginning of a lake navy and that his industry and efficiency helped to lay a foundation for Perry's later success. The services of Lieutenant Elliott on Lake Erie before Perry's arrival have been rather discredited because of the prejudice against him due to his strange conduct during the battle, when he was in com- 186 State of New York mand of the Niagara; but as nothing need be detracted from Perry's fame to do full justice to Elliott, more recent writers are inclined to drop the controversy that followed the battle and allow Elliott full credit for whatever he had done that was praiseworthy and excuse his conduct in the battle as an error of judgment and as due to lack of initiative. We are at least bound to be as patient Vfilh Elliott as Perry was, when he came aboard the Niagara, ran up his pennant, took command and dis- patched Elliott to bring up the lagging gunboats. Not long after the battle, in a spirited biographical sketch of Com- modore Perry, Washington Irving wrote : " The last roar of cannon that died away along her shores was the expiring note of British domination. Those vast internal seas will perhaps never again be the separating space between contending nations, but will be embosomed within a mighty empire, and this victory which decided their fate, will stand unrivaled and alone, deriving lustre and perpetuity from its singleness. In future times, when the shores of Erie shall hum with busy population; when towns and cities shall brighten where now extends the dark and tangled forests; when ports shall spread their arms, and lofty barks shall ride where now the canoe is fastened to the stake; when the present age shall have grown into venerable antiquity, and the mists of fable begin to gather around its history, then will the inhabitants look back to this battle we record as one of romantic achievement of the days of yore. It will stand first on the page of their local legends and in the marvelous tales of the border." " Tales of the border ! " How far away it seems to us at this moment ! TTiousands of us have gathered together on this occasion in the midst of this thickly populated section of the United States, and yet these words of the gifted writer tell a tale of the border which existed a century ago. The Perry's Victory Centenary 187 " Tales of the border! " What border? The extreme border of western civilization. At that time the principal town of the great lakes was Buffalo, a place of about five hundred inhabitants, consisting of about one hundred painted houses of wood, with stores cmd taverns. Next in importance was Detroit with its fort and high stockade and about a thousand souls. In between, along the southern shore of Lake Erie were other small towns, hardly more than settlements; Erie with about thirty houses; Cleveland, with sixteen and the small Indian settle- ment destined to become the flourishing city of Sandusky. All told, in 1813 there was a population in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan of a little over a million souls. The present states of Illinois and Wisconsin were not enumerated in the census of 1810, and the 5,000 credited to Michigan at that time were the estimates of Governor Hull and doubtless included the migratory fur traders. Along and around this chain of lakes there are today between thirty- five and forty million souls. On Lake Erie. Buffalo has grown to be a city of 423,715; Cleveland of 560,663; Detroit of 465,766; and Erie. Sandusky and Toledo are cities of from twenty to two hundred thousand population. ♦ ♦ * * The shores of Lake Michigan are lined with the thriving cities of Michigan and Wisconsin. Milwaukee has 373,857 souls. At the foot of Lake Michigan is the wonder of wonders, Chicago, the second city in the United States and fourth in the world. On September 10, 1813, the city of Chicago consisted of two houses. 188 State of New York The progress of the century in this great expanse of territory has not been recorded merely upon the shores of these great lakes. There are inland cities in all these states, scores of them, ranidng in size from a few thousand to nearly half a million. But the life of all our people is not lived in the cities and towns in this great lake region. There are thou- sands of farms of the finest quality that have been developed throughout these great states during the past century, producing for the year 1912: 1.073,128,000 bushels of corn; 139.941,000 bushels of wheat; and 216,41 7,000 bushels of potatoes — nearly a billion and a half bushels of our staple food products. TTiis reference to our cities and towns illustrates the material progress of the land which Perry saved for the United States. The city of Buffalo with ardent appreciation of the romance of lake navigation, times her celebration near the anniversary of the first voyage of the pioneer ship of the lakes, named the Griffon, which was built just above Niagara Falls for La Salle. She is supposed to have started on her western voyage from Black Rock harbor (near Buffalo) August 7. 1 679. Ralph G. Plumb, in his " History of Navigation on the Great Lakes " graphically describes the launching of this ship amidst the singing of Te Deums, her tow down to Black Rock harbor, her outfitting there for her commander. La Salle, with five cannon and small arms, and her momentous western trip. She reached Detroit in four days; she safely crossed Lake Huron; she was welcomed to Mackinac by booming cannon. She pursued her way in safety and reached Green Bay in September. The vessel was sent back with the cargo he had collected, to return with supplies for himself and his party. But the craft met an untimely fate. The manner of her disappearance was never knowm. The Perry's Victory Centenary 189 The War of 1812 was the last between the United States and the mother country. Great Britain, and the celebration which begins today is in honor not only of a battle and its heroes, be it remembered, but of a hundred years of peace between the mother country and the pros- perous and fortunate daughter. TTiis is of itself a great and inspiring fact to be brought home to the minds of all citizens, young and old, of the present day. This celebration should mark the beginning of other centuries not less peaceful. We are far enough away now from the inevitable prejudices of the day of conflict between the two great sea captains at Put-in Bay to join hands with the British people in the celebration of a hundred years of peace. We can pay a well-deserved tribute to their brave men who fought against our brave men as they in turn have in notable instances already done to some of the land fighters of that war whom we idolize. They lost the battle of Lake Erie, but not their manhood. The British have always been a people of courage, of hardihood and of patient endeavor. Simultaneously on the other side of the lakes, our neighbors have encountered frontier difficulties as appalling as any that have confronted our progenitors on this side, and they have won triumphs as enduring as any that brighten the pages of our history. They have subdued forests and drained swamps as places for their habitation; they have subjected rivers and lakes to the uses of their industry and commerce; they have opened their territory to settle- ment with transcontinental railroads; they have built towns and villages and imposing cities; they have established and equipped schools and colleges for the education of their citizenship and institutions for dis- pensing their generous charities. TTiey have both their social and in- tellectual centers and their centers of industrial and manufacturing 190 State of New York activities. As a people they have developed a type of character that we of this side of the great lakes may most hopefully and profitably emulate. We have strife with Canada today, not on the field of battle, nor on the man-of-war, but in the market-place, in the highways of com- merce, for the trophies of peace and in the field of high intellectual endeavor for the prizes of literature and science and art and charity. We both forget the past and face the future. * * * * Our minds will be turned also, if we view aright the lessons of the celebration and the Memorial ceremonies that shall engage our thought with reference to the heroes who died in this war, who were massacred in ambush, who were killed in the land battles, who died in the camp and on the march, during the terrible campaigns of the war, to the incomparably greater number of men and women who, after the victory, gave up their lives in the making of the country which Perry's victory saved. The brave fellows shot to death on the decks of these nine vessels on that September day were but an earnest of the unnumbered thousands of the devoted pioneers who were soon to come to the northwest in a ceaseless rush in the years following the famous victory and give up their lives, not in a moment of agony in battle, though such was the fate of myriads who died in the defence of their all, but in a life long struggle with hardship and sickness and toil, as they (slowly, as it then seemed to them; tremendously quickly, as it now seems to us) brought all this wild country into subjection and into the condition which we have always known and which now has so little to remind us of the pioneer and his life and experience when Perry was sailing out from Put-in- Bay to fight the battle that was to settle the destiny of all this northwest. The Perry's Victory Centenary 191 " We must learn to feel," as one of our leading scholars and leaders of thought has well Sciid, " both as individuals and as communities, that we have a place in history, that we stand in a long succession of men who have inherited principles and ideals from our fathers and who are to transmit to our children those principles and those ideals in greater fullness and strength. When we can really feel that we and those about us are a part of a great movement of human life from age to age, then, and not till then, do we feel the best of inspirations — that which comes of working for all time. We must learn to get hold of the best traditions of the past and really work them into our lives, because by this means we can get hold of ideas for the future which will make life worth living." The war of 1812 was picturesque, bloody, often barbarous, but not without sentiment. It was at times most perilous to the stability of the government of the United States, the peril arising quite as much from the internal dissensions of the people as from the external danger from the enemy. Its issues, in so far as they were really settled, related in the first instance to the west. Its results were at once most beneficial to the west, but in the long run the country as a whole gained much. It ended for all time the talk about the restoration of British sovereignty over the American states; it cemented the union of states more closely and secured time for the development of national spirit to such a degree of strength that when subsequent attempts were made to dissolve the Union, the Union had become so great that it could not be dissolved by debate nor by agreement nor could it be dismembered by the terrible shock of civil war. 192 State of New York Franklin said after the close of the Revolution that the country needed a second war for Independence. The War of 1812 served well to supply that need. It has so been mentioned in history, but strange to relate none of the putative causes of the war were adjusted in the treaty of Ghent. Great Britain did not agree, for instance, to cease impressing Americeui seamen. Still the war did actually settle this question, for no seeimen were ever afterwards impressed. Some other questions, boundaries and fisheries for example, were left to be settled formally later, though prac- tically they were settled when Barclay surrendered to Perry. The second War for Independence was, therefore, not wholly in vain from an international and diplomatic standpoint, for the United States was thereafter in the eyes of England, and Europe as well, an independ- ent nation competent and able to take care of herself and protect her citizens and their interests; and in her own estimation a Union of states one and inseparable, a nation among nations, a united people, wdth a com- mon heritage of liberty and institutions and country and a common destiny to be attained. ELISHA P. HUSSEY. M. D. Commodore, Buffalo Yacht Club, 1913 < 5 o S a: Uj o I, « < UJ Z UJ u a: UJ Z Cu COMMODORE GEORGE H. WORTHINGTON President General. Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners i^'t APPENDIX E AMERICA'S MESSAGE TO THE NATIONS Address by Dr. James A. MacDonaLD, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; at the celebration of the Centennial of the Battle of Lake Erie, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, September 10, 1913. 1»3 13 y- AMERICA'S MESSAGE TO THE NATIONS Address by Dr. James A. MacDonald, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; at the celebration of the centennieil of the battle of Lake Erie, Put-in-Bay, Ohio. September 10, 1913. ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY, within sight of the spot where we now stand, cind at this very hour, was being fought the battle of Lake Erie. In the light of modern naval warfare, judged by the standard of the superdreadnought and the submcirine, of the airship and the fourteen inch giui, that battle was a small affair. Nine small sailing vessels on one side, six on the other, not more than three out of the fifteen being of any account even in that day, and not a thousand men all told, of whom the major part were not seamen at all, such were the forces that met in the battle of Lake Erie. One gun from a modern man-of-war would throw more metal in one charge than their entire broadsides and would shatter both fleets in the twmkling of an eye. As a struggle between man and man, and an incident of the war in which it formed a part, the battle of Lake Erie has its own interest and its own importance. It deserves to be remembered. In the heroism displayed, heroism on both sides, heroism in the seasoned sailors, heroism among the raw men from the shore, it is worthy of a place of high honor in these centennial celebrations. Like the equally decisive battles in which the Canadians were victorious, the battles of Chrysler's Farm and of Chateaugay, this battle of Lake Erie, which gave victory to the Americans, had in it incidents of valor and endurance on both sides, of which neither country needs to be ashamed. 195 196 State of New York The Lessons of the War In the light of the hundred years through which we of today read the story of that one battle, and of that whole war, the lesson, the supreme and the abiding lesson, for the United States and for Canada is this: the utter futility and inconsequence of war as a means for the just settle- ment of disputes between these two nations. That lesson we both have learned. That war was our last war. It will remain our last. Never again will the armed troops of the United States and Canada meet except in friendly review, or, if the day ever comes, to stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder in the Armageddon of the nations. Wit- ness these great lakes for nigh a hundred years swept clean of every battleship, and this transcontinental boundary line for four thousand miles undefended save by the civilized instincts and the intelligent good- will of both nations. And having learned that great lesson, having proved its worth through a hundred years, the United States and Canada, these two English-speaking peoples of America, have earned the right to stand up and teach the nations. T What Lay Behind 1812? Go back to the battle of Lake Erie. Read the impartial story of that war. Mark how futile it was, how inconsequent, even how inglorious. See how it left unsettled the points alleged to be in dispute between Great Britain and the United States — the rights of neutrals in war, the right of search, the unfixed boundary, points which were settled after the war by agreement and treaty and not by brute force. What lay behind the War of 1812? That war was declared by the United States against Great Britain. Its primal causes however were The Perry's Victory Centenary 197 not American at all but European. The United States was involved only indirectly and Canada not at all. The vital issue lay rather in the struggle, in the age-long European struggle of free nationhood against the barbaric notions of world-empire. Great Britain stood for the rights of free nationhood. The dreaun of world-empire found its last tragic expression in the vaulting ambition and matchless brain of the great Napoleon. In that struggle Britain stood alone. Italy, Holland, Austria, Prussia, Speiin, one after another, all bowed low to Bonaparte's masterful will on bloody fields of war. Even Russia, apart and impregnable among her snows, cjune to terms. All the nations of Europe yielded up their strength for the service of Napoleon, and, obedient to his decrees, at Berlin and Milan they refused commercial relations with the one nation which defied the Colossus that bestrode the world. Had he won, had his despots' dream come true, then the glory of free nationhood, not for Europe alone, but for Britain and perhaps for the world, had passed, and it may be, had passed forever. Life or Death for Britain That struggle meant life or death for Britain. Had Napoleon suc- ceeded in throwing all of Britciin's foreign trade into neutral hands it could only mean death. In that struggle, as the statesmen of England saw it, there was no room for neutral trading nations. Neutral rights as manipulated by Napoleon, meant the immediate destruction of England's commercial independence. In the end it meant, not the prosperity of the neutrals, but Napoleon's domination of the world. 198 State of New York The War of 1812 was declared by the United States for the purpose of asserting her trading rights as a neutral in a war that involved Europe. When the European situation was solved by the overthrow of Napoleon and his banishment to Elba, the alleged causes of the war between Britain and the United States became purely academic, and in the treaty of peace, signed in 1814, those points in dispute were not even mentioned. Indeed it was not until 1 856. in the Declaration of Paris, that the rights. the just rights of neutrals, were established among the nations. TTiis last war between the two great English-speaking world powers, was proved, proved in itself, proved by the history of its issues, to be fruitless for good to either nation, unless it be taken as convincing evidence of war's incurable futility. Undesigned Reactions of War Not only is war ineffectual as a mecuis for the just settlement of dis- putes betw^een civilized nations, but, by the very irony of fate, most weu-s have reactions quite the opposite of their original intentions. The un- designed reactions of war are the surprises of history. In the thirteenth century and after, the Dukes of Austria tried, by sheer brute power, to tighten their feudal grasp on the free peasantry of the Alpine valleys. The result of their wars was Austria's humiliation and shame. Out of the struggles for liberty was born a new Switzer- land, united, free, invincible. The battle of Bannockburn, in the fourteenth century, tells the same story. England's feudal king sought to lord it as sovereign over what had hitherto been the wild and divided north. Proud Edward's power was broken. Scotland was united. Out of oppression's woes and pains The Perry's Victory Centenary 199 comes a new and sturdy nation with its deathless slogan, " Scots wha hae." In the eighteenth century the aggressive war party in Britain, agciinst the better judgment and the finer instincts of the nation, and in the teeth of eloquent protests of Pitt and Burke, in the blindness of the mere bureaucrat, determined, by the sword if needs be, to coerce to their own policy the free-born colonies in America. Their folly went wide of the mark. TTiey failed as they were bound to fail. Instead of a larger domain, and more efficient power, Britain lost her first empire. Out of the storm and stress, the American colonies, north and south, just because they were sons of the British breed, arose, a welded nation, holding on high their Declaration of Independence. Similarly in 1812 the dominant war party in this new-born republic, blind to the real genius of the nation, deaf to the warnings of its highest instincts, and in defiance of the recorded protests of some of the greatest of its states, cherished the hope of shifting its northern boundary from the great lakes to the Arctic and making the republic coterminous with the continent. TTiey also failed. The fates were against them, too. The Canadian pioneers, they too, were men of British blood. TTie un- designed reaction of the War of 1812 is the Canada of today. Making Canada a Nation Let there be no mistake. The readings of history are plain. In the pangs of 1812 the soul of Canadian nationality began to be born. TTiat war was indeed Canada's national war. In it the United States was divided, Britain was reluctant, but Canada was in grim and deadly earnest. All Canadians — the French-Canadians in the valley of the 200 State of New York St Lawrence, the colonists from Britain, and the loyalists from New EnglcUid and the south — all these for the first time made common cause. To the French-Canadian, who cared nothing about the cry " free trade and sailors' rights " the American appeared as an invader, the despoiler of his home, the enemy of his people, and under De Sala- berry at the battle of Chateaugay the French-Canadian militiamen, fighting under the British flag, defeated the most extensive strategic move- ment of the whole war. From the St. Lawrence to the St. Clair the Canadian pioneers were the Loyalists of 1 776. For them the War of 1812 meemt a fight for their new homes against their old time enemies. The impact of that war drove into one Ccunp French-speaking and English-speaking, and out of that community of sympathies and interests emerged in due time Canadian nationality. The Beginnings of Empire That war did more. It not only welded together French-speaking jmd English-speaking, but it bound all Canada with ties stronger than steel to the motherland of Britain. Within one generation, Canadians, having defended their country side by side with British regulars against invasion from without, demanded from Britain self-government within; and they won not only representative institutions such as the United States inherited, but Britain's latest achievement, responsible government as well. When the scattered provinces of Canada gathered themselves together under one responsible Canadian government there appeared an absolutely new thing in the political achievements of the world: a new nation that had not severed its historic ties nor sacrificed its historic back- ground. TTiat new nation, loyal to the old flag, awakened in Britain a The Perry's Victory Centenary 201 new conception of empire, and led the way for Newfoundland cind Australia and New Zealand and South Africa into that civilized " Imperium " which constitutes the British Empire of today. A Hundred Years After Come back now to the War of 1812. Come back to the battle of Lake Erie. Call up the men whose blood reddened these waters, and whose valor gave that struggle all it has of glory. Let them all look up and see what we now behold. Let the Canadians rise, the men in whose hearts the fires of hate and fear burned hot. Let them look southward across the lake, far as the gulf and wide as from sea to sea. Let them multiply the eight million Americans of that day into the hundred millions of today, and count every man a friend. Let them see this great nation, greatest among the worlds republics, with power to achieve that it has greatly planned, standing four-square among the nations, pledged, irretrievably pledged, to the worlds freedom, good will and peace. What a glad surprise to the Canadians of a hundred years ago! Let the Americans rise, too. Let them come, officers and men, from Ohio, from Rhode Island, from Kentucky, who in the hour of victory. for them the hour of death, saw in vision their republic stretch as far as the northern sea. Let them look up and see the boundary line where it was a hundred years ago, but north of it a new nation, filling half a continent with people of proud resolve, self-dependent, resolute, free. Let them understand how that through this century of peace there have arisen in America two English-speaking nations, both sovereign, self- respecting, unafraid, and each with the other forming that marvelous unity of American civilization and standing for its integrity, prestige and 202 State of New York power. What a surprise, what a glad surprise, to the Americans of a hundred years ago. Principle of Nationhood Greatest surprise of all to those men from Britain, from Canada and from the United States, who here greatly fought and bravely died, would be to see that fights like theirs are now not only deemed impolitic, but are absolutely impossible between these nations. TTiat impossibility is not merely a matter of policy but is a fundamental principle. That principle is the rights of nationhood. All responsible statesmen in Britain, in the United States and in Canada agree in this, that not for themselves alone, but for all people, the rights of nationality are sacred and inviolate. Any and every people that desires to be free and is fit to be free, ought to be free, and must be free. Canning and Monroe Britain learned that lesson out of the wcir for American independence. The United States and Canada learned it in the struggle of 1812. In loyalty to that principle Britain withstood the despotic aggressions of Napoleon, and after him the not less despotic schemes of concerted monarchs of Europe against the rising democracies. When the concert of Europe planned war against the new Spanish democracy, Canning, the Foreign Secretary of Britain, asserted that principle in these words: " Our business is to preserve the peace of the world, and therefore the independence of the several nations that compose it; " and, again, in these words: " Every nation for itself and God for us all." When those plans of the autocratic monarchs of Europe threatened the Spanish colonies in America, Canning proposed to American Ambassador Rush The Perry's Victory Centenary 203 that Britain and the United States issue a joint declaration that " while neither power desired the colonies of Spain for herself, it was impossible to look with indifference on European intervention in their affairs." Immediately after that proposal. President Monroe, giving voice to the instinct and true policy of the United States, used those historic words to Congress: "With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence and main- tained it — we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them or controlling in any manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as a memifestation of an un- friendly disposition toward the United States." Principle of World Peace That sovereign principle has been the guiding star to the nations of Britain cuid America over many a troubled sea. It has changed for Britain the old centralized notion of Empire into the new idea of a world alliance of free nations, in which loyalty is not of compulsion but of love, and the ties, stronger than selfish bonds, are imperceptible and light as jiir. It has ranged the public opinion of Britain on the side of the struggling democracies of the world — of Greece, of Italy, of Belgium, of Hungary and even of the nations of the Orient. It civilized the boundary line between the United States and Canada, and inspires life in America with a new idea of internationalism. It determines the policy of the United States in its relations with the Philippines, with Cuba, vnlh Mexico and the Republics of South America, with Japan of a generation ago, and with the awakening democracy of China of today. 204 State of New York Not Yesterday But Tomorrow All this growth of nationhood, this sanctity of national aspiration, the commonplace among us today, had its beginning when through the smoke of battle Britain and America began to see eye to eye. TTie distance that vision has brought these two nations, the revolution it has wrought, may be measured by the difference between what happened on Lake Erie in 1813 and what happened in Manila Bay in 1898. The significance of the change is expressed in today's celebration. At this place and on this day, our deepest concern is not with the wars of the past but with the peace of the future; not with the triumphs or the defeats of yesterday but with the responsibilities and obligations of tomorrow ; not with the glory that either nation achieved a hundred years ago, but with the message which both nations, speaking in the name of our common North American civilization, shall give to the world through the hundred years to come. TTiat message, spoken by two voices, one from the United States, the other from Canada, is one message. It is America's message that on this continent, between two proud peoples, the barbarism of brute force has long yielded to civilized internationalism. It is the assurance that Canada's national standing on this continent binds the British Empire and the American Republic in one world-spanning English-speaking fra- ternity. On all continents and on all seas the power of America is the combined power of the United States and Canada, plus the power of Britain and of the British dominions on the South Atlantic and beyond the Pacific. These are all bound together, each with the others, for the maintenance of that principle of nationhood; any people that desires The Perry's Victory Centenary 205 to be free, and is fit to be free, ought to be free, and must be free. That principle means peace and freedom in the English-speaking world. National Honor and Vital Interests More than that. What this principle of nationhood has done for America and for the English-speaking fraternity it yet will do for the world. In the light of America's experience the international boundary lines of Europe are barbaric. They cannot long endure. In our own day war has begun to be seen not merely as cruel, burdensome, brutal, but as too futile and too foolish for sane and civilized people. The nations of civilization will yet leave war behind, as civilized men have left behind the street fight and the duel. As individual citizens have found the only sure vindication of personal honor and the only true protection of vital interests to be in respecting the personality and the personal interests of others and in trusting for justice to the law of their land, so are the nations learning that the only sure vindication of national honor and the only certain protection of vital interests is in respecting the nationality of others and in trusting for justice to the growing conscience of the race codified in international law and expressing itself through international arbitration. The Message of America On that, as on a sure foundation, rests the hope of the world's peace. Once men dreamed of peace through the world sovereignty of some master mind like Alexander or some ruling race like the Romans. But that dream of peace, the peace not of free men, but of weaklings and slaves, was doomed forever when Napoleon and his army staggered back through the snows of Russia under the curse of God. 206 State of New York But a new day has dawned, dawned for the statesmen, dawned for the nations. It is the day of national rights and national responsibilities. TTie two nations of America have seen the coming of the day, have seen it through these generations of peace, have seen it and are glad. We of to-day, standing on this historic boundary line, a boundary no longer of separation, but of union, are pledged, we and our nations with us, pledged to preach this gospel of freedom, good-will and peace. TTiis is America's vision, this America's message; this America's obligation to all the world. APPENDIX F PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMISSION STATE OF NEW YORK 207 COLONEL HENRY WATTERSON Vice-President General, Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners HON. A. E. SISSON Treasurer General, Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners WEBSTER P. HUNTINGTON Secretary General, Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners MACKENZIE R. TODD Financial Secretary, Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMISSION STATE OF NEW YORK (September, 1913) William J. Conners, Buffalo, N. Y., Chairman. Hon. William L. Ormrod. Churchville, N. Y., Vice-Chairman. George D. Emerson, Buffalo, N. Y., Secretary. William Simon, Buffalo, N. Y., Treasurer. Executive Committee Hon. John F. Malone, Buffalo, N. Y., Chairman. Hon. Robert F. Wagner. New York City. , Hon. Simon L. Adler, Rochester, N. Y. Hon. Edward D. Jackson. Buffalo, N. Y. Hon. Jacob Schifferdecker, Brooklyn, N. Y. William J. Conners, Chairman of Commission, ex-officio. Appointments by Governor (Concurrent Resolution 23, session of 1910) Ogden p. LeTCHWORTH, Buffalo, N. Y., July 20. 1910; resigned February 25, 1911. George D. Emerson, Buffalo, N. Y.. July 20, 1910. John T. MotT. Oswego, N. Y., July 20, 1910; resigned January 8, 1913. Clinton B. Herrick, M. D.. Troy. N. Y., July 20. 1910. Henry Harmon Noble, Essex, N. Y., July 20, 1910; resigned June 16, 1913. William Simon, Buffalo, N. Y., May 9, 191 I, vice Letchworth. resigned. William J. Conners. Buffalo, N. Y., January 8. 1913. vice Mott, resigned. William F. RaFFERTY, Syracuse. N. Y.. June 16. 1913, vice Noble, resigned. 209 14 210 State of New York Legislative Appointments (Section 5, Chapter 190. Laws of 1913) Hon. Martin H. Glynn, Lieutenant-Governor, April 3. 1913, became Governor October 16, 1913, and vacated membership on Gjmmission. Hon. Robert F. Wagner, New York City, October 16, 1913, Lieutenant- Governor, vice Glynn promoted to Governor. Term expired December 31, 1914. Hon. Edward Schoeneck, Syracuse, N. Y., January 1, 1915, Lieutenant- Governor. Term expires December 31, 1916. Hon. John F. Malone, Buffalo. N. Y., April 17. 1913. State Senator. Hon. William L. Ormrod, Churchville. N. Y., April 17. 1913, State Senator. Hon. Edward D. Jackson, Buffalo, N. Y.. April 9. 1913, Member of Assembly. Hon. Jacob Schifferdecker, Brooklyn, N. Y., April 9, 1913. Member of Assembly. Hon. Simon L. Adler, Rochester. N. Y., April 9, 1913, Member of Assembly. (Commissioner Clinton B. Herrick died March 23, 1915, and was succeeded by Mr. Charles H. Wiltsie of Rochester, N. Y. Hon. Edward Schoeneck of Sjrracuse, N. Y., Lieutenant-Governor, became a member of the Commission ex-ofido, January 1, 1915.) APPENDIX G PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE CITY OF BUFFALO. N. Y. 211 PERRVS VICTORY CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE CITY OF BUFFALO. N. Y. George D. Emerson. Chairman, resigned July 8. 1913. General Edgar B. Jewett. Vke-Chairman, elected chairman July 8. 1913. Harold J. Balliett. Secretary. General G. Barrett Rich. Treasurer. Ex-OFFicio Members Mayor of the city of Buffalo, Hon. Louis P. Fuhrmann. President of the Board of Councilmen. President of the Board of Aldermen. Members of New York State Commission residing in Buffalo. Appointed b^ the Ma))or (Pursuant to Joint Resolution of the Common Council) Charles R. Wilson General G. Barrett Rich Frederick J. Meyer Leslie J. Bennett Michael Nellany George C. Ginther Thomas Stoddart Henry C. Steul Hon. Henry W. Hill Representing Board of Aldermen George K. Staples Edward Sperry Colonel George J. Haffa William G. Humphrey George Vosseller George J. Burley John P. Sullivan Thomas H. McDonough Edward Stengel 213 214 State of New York Francis T. G)ppins B. Dorasewicz RepresenUng Board of Councilmen Horace C. Mills Charles L. WiUert M. Emmett Tabcr General Edgar B. Jewett William J. G)nners George D. Emerson Chamber of Commerce O. H. P. Champlin General Samuel M. Welch Captain Thomas E. Boyd Neiv York State Commission Hon. John F. M alone Hon. Edward D. Jackson William Simon £xecus: Section 1 . The sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($1 50,000) is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of enabling the State of New York to participate in the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Lake Erie, fought September tenth in the year eighteen hundred and thirteen, to aid in the construction of a memorial at Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie. State of Ohio, to the American commander. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, and the officers and men of his fleet killed dunng the battle; to aid in the celebration, including any entertainment or public function held within the State of New York during the said celebration in connection there- with, to defray the expenses of the State Commission. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, appointed pursuant to concurrent resolution number twenty-three of the legislative session of nineteen hundred and ten and this act. The said sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) shall be paid by warrant of the comptroller to the treasurer of the said State Commission. Perry's Victory Centenmal Commission, and be disbursed by the commission. Section 2. It shall be lawful for the said commission, at its discretion, to transfer and pay to the treasurer-general of the interstate board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, not exceeding the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) out of the said one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000), to aid in the erection of a suitable and permanent memorial on South Bass Island (sometimes called Put-in-Bay Island), in Lake Erie in the State of Ohio, in commemoration of the victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry at the battle of Lake Erie, provided that no part of the money hereby appropriated shall be MAIN STREET. BUFFALO. N. Y. u UJ u 1- 1-. < ^ o J O -c b > CQ -J Cu < _ < g Z S c Di O b z 1 « < ^ h- CQ < -o Q ^ 5 .J a. The Pee^^y's Victory Centenary 225 available for said memorial until the commissioners are satisfied that a sufficient sum has been appropriated by the United States and the states participating for the completion of said memorial, and provided also that the title to all the sites and memorials constructed thereon, pursuant to the provisions of this act, shall be vested in the United States of America. Section 3. It shall be lawful for the said Perry's Victory Centennial Com- mission, at its discretion, to transfer and pay from the said one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000), to the treasurer-general of the interstate board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, such amount as it may deem proper to aid in defraying the general expenses of said interstate board, only in connection with the celebration of Perry's victory. The State Commission shall file in the office of the comptroller, after the close of the celebration, vouchers for all sums expended, showing amounts paid, to whom paid and for what purpose. The terra expenses shall be held to include the actual and necessary expenses of the individual members of said commission in connection with the said celebration, including expenses incurred prior to this lime. Section 4. The said Perry's Victory Centennial Commission is hereby au- thorized to appoint a secretary, a stenographer, a director, and such other officers and employees as it may deem necessary, and it may also rent suitable office quarters and do any and all other acts for the proper discharge of its duties and the carrying on of the work entrusted to it. It shall have power to fix and determine the com- pensation of all such officers and employees and pay the same out of the money hereby appropriated. No salary hereby authorized shall continue after the thirty- first day of December, nineteen hundred and thirteen and no person shall be debarred from receiving pay for services rendered by reason of membership in the said commission. Section 5. The commission representing the State of New York m the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Lake Erie, as herein- before referred to. shall continue to be known as Perry's Victory Centennial Com- mission. Such commission shall consist of the five members heretofore appointed by the governor, the lieutenant-governor, two senators to be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, and three members of assembly to be appointed by the speaker of the assembly. If a vacancy occurs in the office of any member it shall be filled by the officer making the original appointment. Said commission 15 226 State of New York shall make an annual report of its expenses with the items thereof and the progress of the proceedings of the interstate board, to the governor and the legislature of the State of New York. Its officers shall be a chairman, a vice-chairman and a treasurer, elected by the commission, and it may make by-laws for its own government and for those in its employ. Section 6. This act shall take effect immediately. APPENDIX J REWARDING THE VICTORS 227 REWARDING THE VICTORS THE United States Congress of 1813-14 was not backward or niggardly in its expression of appreciation of the services of the officers and men of Commodore Perry's fleet on the memorable tenth day of September, 1813. On the sixth day of February, 1814, resolutions were adopted by Congress extending its thanks to the officers and men of the fleet for their services in the battle of Lake Erie and authorizing the President to have prepared and presented to Commodore Perry and to Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott each a gold medal with a suitable design of the battle. A silver medal of similar design was also authorized to be presented to each commissioned officer and a handsome gold sword to each midshipman and sailing master. Three months extra pay was voted to all the petty officers, marines, seamen, infantry, etc. Prize money based upon the value of the British vessels captured, totalling $234,020.53, was afterwards distributed to the officers and men of the fleet. According to the report of the prize agent he paid as having been connected with the fleet, on the morning of September 10, 1813; of all ranks and grades, including volunteers and men detailed from the army encamped on the mainland, 533 men. TTiese were distributed among the different vessels as follows: Lawrence, 137; Niagara, 143; Caledonia, 53; Ariel, 36; Scorpion, 35; Somers, 30; Ohio, 12; Trippe, 35; Tigress, 27; Porcupine, 25. The boat Ohio, with her twelve men. was on detached service the day of the fight and did not participate in the battle and 1 1 6 men were sick. The 533 men connected with the fleet, September 10th, and who shared in the prize money, in line of duty were divided as follows: 229 230 State of New York Commander, I ; master commandant, 1 ; lieutenants, 8 ; surgeons, 3 ; pursers, 2 ; sailing masters, 8 ; chaplain, 1 ; midshipmen, 1 5 ; masters' mates, 7; captains (U. S. Infantry), 2; lieutenants (U. S. A.), 5; lieutenant (marines), 1 ; quartermasters, 4; gunners, 2; sergeant marines, I ; boatswains, 2 ; carpenters, 2 ; pilots, 9 ; armorers, 2 ; masters-at-arms, I ; stewards, 9; coxswains, 2; seamen, 108; ordinary seamen, 81 ; lands- men, 45; boys, 15; sergeants' infantry, 6; corporals, I 1 ; musicians, 2; soldiers, volunteers and marines, 1 33 ; cooks, 5 ; quartermasters' mates, 3 ; quarter gunners, 1 2 ; gunners' mates, 1 ; boatsYt^ains' mates, 1 2 ; carpenters' mates, 1 1 . The prize money paid was allotted to each man according to rank and pay as per the following table : Commodore Perry $7, 1 40 00 Lieutenant Elliott 7.140 00 Lieutenants and sailing masters 2,295 00 Infantry captains 2,295 00 Other commissioned officers 1,214 29 Midshipmen and warrant officers 811 85 Petty officers and non-commissioned officers of infantry 447 39 Seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, private soldiers, etc 2 1 4 89 Commodore Perry was subsequently voted $5,000 additional by Congress. In the event of the death of an officer or other member of the fleet, prior to the distribution of the medals, swords and prize money, the award was, if possible to locate them, handed to some member of the feimily of the deceased. In addition to the 533 names which are borne on the prize agent's report, there appear the names of twenty-two men of various grades among the list of killed and wounded in the official report made by The Perry's Victory Centenary 231 Commodore Perry of the casualties in the battle of September 10th, 1813. The total amount of prize money voted by Congress for the capture of the British fleet, based upon a survey made by a board of naval officers and Henry Eckford, the noted shipbuilder, was $255,000, of which one-twentieth ($12,750) was allotted to the commander-in- chief, Commodore Isaac Chauncey, of Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., leaving $242,250 to be distributed to the officers and men of the fleet. Of this, as stated, the prize agent reports paying $234,020.53, leaving a balance of $8,229.47, which was undoubtedly the share of these twenty-two, uncalled for. TTie following is the text of the resolutions of thanks adopted by Congress : Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, that the thanks of Congress be and the same are hereby presented to Captain Oliver Hazard Perry and, through him, to the officers, petty officers, seamen, marines and infantry serving as such, attached to the squadron under his command, for the decisive and glorious victory gained on Lake Erie on the tenth day of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, over a British squadron of superior force. Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause gold medals to be struck, emblematical of the action between the two squadrons, and to present them to Captain Perry and Captain Jesse D. Elliott in such a manner as will be most honorable to them; and that the President be further requested to present a silver medal, with suitable emblems and devices, to each of the commis- sioned officers, either of the navy or army, serving on board, and a sword to each of the midshipmen and sailing masters, who so nobly distinguished themselves on that memorable day. Resolved, That the President be requested to present a silver medal, with like emblems and devices, to the nearest male relative of Lieutenant John Brooks, of the marines, and a sword to the nearest male relative of Midshipmen Henry Laub and Thomas Claxton, Jr., and to communicate to them the deep regret which Congress feels for the loss of those gallant men. whose names ought to live in the 232 State of New York recollection and affection of a grateful country, and whose conduct ought to be regarded as an example to future generations. Resolved, That three months pay be allowed, exclusively of the common allow- ance, to all the petty officers, seamen, marines and infantry serving as such, who so gloriously supported the honor of the American flag, under the orders of their gallant commander, on that signal occasion. The medal thus voted to Perry, when executed, bore on the face his bust, surrounded by the legend " Oliverus H. Perry, Princeps Stagno Erieon, Classem Totam Contudit " ; on the reverse a fleet closely engaged, with the legend, " Viam invenitvirtus autfaclt " ; and on the exergue, " Inter Class, Ameri. Et Brit. Die X Sept. MDCCCXIII ". Upon leaving the Lake Erie district and journeying east. Commodore Perry was also presented by the city of Albany, N. Y., with a gold sword, and on behalf of the municipality, the Mayor presented him with the freedom of the city enclosed in a gold box. He was also presented by the corporation of New York City with the freedom of the city, enclosed in a gold box, having on the top a beautiful picture in enamel of the battle of Lake Erie. In addition to this he was requested to sit for his portrait to be placed in the gallery at the City Hall. Other testimonials were a gold medal from the State of Pennsylvania, and an elegant service of silver from each of the cities of Boston, Mass., and Newport, Rhode Island. On February 19, 1 8 1 4, the following additional resolution was adopted by Congress: That the President of the United States be requested to present a sword to the nearest male relative of Midshipman John Clark, who was slain gallantly combating the enemy in the glorious battle gained on Lake Erie, under the command of Captain Perry and to communicate to him the deep regret which Congress feels for the loss of that brave officer. The Perry's Victory Centenary 233 MUSTER ROLL OF THE FLEET September 10. 1813 (Names on Report of Prize Money Agent) Brig Lawrence Oliver H. Perry, Commander John J. Yarnall, Lieutenant Dulaney Forrest, Lieutenant Samuel Hambleton, Purser Samuel Horseley, Surgeon William V. Taylor, Sailing Master Thomas Breese, Chaplain Usher Parsons. Acting Surgeon Thomas Claxton, Acting Masters' Mate Midshipmen Augustus Swartwout Henry Laub Peleg K. Dunham James Alexander Perry John Fox, Gunner • Joseph Cheeves, Boatswain Jonas Stone, Carpenter William Steers, Pilot Thomas Hammond, Armorer William C. Keene, Master-at-Arms John O. Vose, Steward Thomas Hill, Cook John Newen, Quartermasters' Mate Ezekiel Fowler, Quartermasters' Mate Francis Mason, Quartermasters' Mate John E. Brown, Quarter Gunner Henry Barker, Quarter Gunner William Lawson, Gunners' Mate John Williams, Boatswains' Mate 234 State of New York James Healan, Boatswains' Mate William Johnson, Boatswains' Mate Wilson Mays, Carpenters' Mate Joseph Southwick, Carpenters' Mate Daniel A. Brown, Carpenters' Mate John Lawton, Carpenters' Mate George Cornell, Carpenters' Mate Domingo Alvarez John Bordain John Brown John Burnham Samuel Brotherton John Barnes John Clay Nathan Chapman Joseph Denning William Daring William Dawson Stephen Fairfield James Green John Hoffman James D. Hammond Daniel Harris Lannon Huse Robert Hill Seamen James Jackson Daniel Johnson Joseph Jockins Peter Kinsley Andrew Matteson John Mullen James Moses Barney McCain Charles Pohig Benoni Price William Rowe Thomas Robinson Richard Smith Samuel Spywood John Schroeder William Thompson Cyrus Tiffany George Varnum David Wilson Ordinary Seamen James W. Allen Henry W. Brown William Cranston Benjamin Dring John H. Easterbrook Abraham Fish Newport Hazard Joseph Harcum James Hadley Westal Johnson John M. Packet! Thomas Reed Hezekiah Sanford Henry Stephens The Perry's Victory Centenary 235 William Simpson Charles VanDyke Jamei Waddington Nathaniel Wade George Williams Jesse Williams John Adams, Landsman Elijah Parlin, Landsman Samuel Lord, Boy Thomas Ford, Boy William Almy, Boy Jack Russell, Boy John Bodge, Boy Daniel Hull, Boy Anthony Johnson, Coxswain United States Infantry and Marines John Brooks, Lieutenant (Marines) James TuU, Sergeant William S. Johnson, Sergeant James McClure, Corporal Matthew Lynch, Corporal Philip Sharpley, Corporal Jehu Marsh, Corporal Joseph Mecias, Fifer George Gordon, Drummer Privatei William Baggs William Burnett Solomon Bardwell James Burd David Christie Eben Cunningham Dennis Doyle Jacob Frantz Samuel Garwood Jesse Harlan Charles Harrington William Insell Richard Johnson John Kennedy John Ludd Charles Newton John J. Packer William B. Perkins James Rankin Hosea Sergeant 236 State of New York John Sivers Henry Vanpool Abraham Reeves Frederich Smitley Thomas Tuft Abner Williams Richard Williams Brig Niagara Jesse D. Elliott, Master Commandant John J. Edwards, Lieutenant Joseph E. Smith, Lieutenant Nelson Webster, Acting Sailing Master Robert R. Barton, Surgeon Humphrey Magrath, Purser Richard O'Neil. Pilot Midshipmen John B. Montgomery Samuel W. Adams John L. Cumings Robert S. Tatem Charles Smith Simeon Warn Edward Bridgeport, Gunner Peter Barry, Boatswain George Southwick, Carpenter William Woodman, Steward John Coddington, Armorer John Murray, Coxswain Lemuel Palmer, Carpenters' Mate John Donnelly, Carpenters' Mate William Arnot, Boatswains' Mate John Feiton, Boatswains' Mate Edward Coffee, Boatswains' Mate George Adams, Quartermaster Jacob Webber, Quartermaster Charles Squires, Quartermaster John Gill, Quarter Gunner William Chapman, Quarter Gunner The Perry's Victory Centenary 237 Hector Holcomb Charles Dossen Daniel Bennett Owen Cathcarl Ebenezer Allen Henry Davidson George Piatt David C. Bonnell William D. Edwardj Gabriel Henburgh Benjamin Fleming James H. Lansford John H. Wingatc William White Reuben Taylor Japhta Southland Richard Deveaux John Deviney John Anthony Ethan Bancker Samuel Poole John James Moses Amos John Freeman Edwin Johnson Francis Bogle Nathaniel Sanford Colin Cobbins Anthony Levery Isaac Johnson Seamen John Smith John Lilley Edward Martin Summer Adams George BrowTi Thomas Justice James Timmons George Berry James Matthews James Bowden Benjamin Myrick David Birdsall John Wharfe John Haggerraan Stephen Slacey Ordinarif Seamen Bernard Crandle Andrew Norton Francis Cadans Jonathan Ford Peter Diest John Roderick John M. Strebeck John Colston John Frank Zephta Wood John Ewen Franklin Drew John Bryan Elias Wiley Henry Wbife John Starr John Bellamy 238 State of New York William Robinson Ansel Matthewson Roswell Hall Landsmen Elijah Burdine John F. Miller Israel Bailey William Snow John Manuel, Boy William Newton, Boy United States Infantry and Marines Henry B. Brevoort, Captain Infantry Jonathan Curtis, Sergeant Marines Sanford A. Mason, Sergeant Andrew D. Scott, Corporal Ezra Younglove. Second Corporal Privales George Scoffield John Reems Samuel Hadfield William Ellis Griffin Burnett John McCoy William Hockensmith Henry Tate John B. Duncanson James Bailey Charles Lyman Thomas Miller John Thompson John Osbum William Hocker Alexander Wright Henry Webster Charles Harten George McManomey Joseph Morris Frederick Miller Aaron Coats Frederick Vantruce Joshua Trapnell John Bromwell John Denton John H. George David Flagg William Murray William Blair William Henry Freeman West Samuel Cochran London Cochran Samuel McKenney Lyman Griswold David Maltzbocker William Gray The Perry's Victory Centenary 239 Brig Caledonia Daniel Turner, Lieutenant Commandant Jesse Weatherly, Masters' Mate J. E. McDonald, Acting Sailing Master Benjamin Tolman, Quarter Gunner Isaac Peckham, Carpenters' Mate John Rax, Boatswains' Mate Noah Gates, Steward James Walker, Cook John O'Neil, Pilot Hanson Folks, Boy Ezekiel Hatch, Boy John Barnes Benjamin H. Bailey Samuel Cazneau Joseph Frost Anthony Hysler Seamen Thomas Lisco Lewis Lane James Philips John McLane John Saunders William Treen Michael L. Brooks David Rooks Augustus Philips Ordinary Seamen John Cain Peter Fisher Peter Williams Thomas Green John McNitt William Shuler Landsmen Daniel Switzer John Hull George Grady United States Infantry and Marines Joseph Beckley, Orderly Sergeant James Artis, Second Sergeant Thornton Tolliver, First Corporal 240 State of New York David Bryant McCager Bland Thonaas H. Bradford Charles CoUrick John R. Cheetwood Joseph Davidson David Hickman Nathan Holbert Paul C. Benja Peter Fernandas James Jackson George Lewis George C. Poole Privates Parker Jarvis Richard Mitchell John McHowell William Nelson John Norris Garland Parker Isaac Perkins John Tucker Schooner Ariel John Packet, Lieutenant Commandant Thomas Brownell, Sailing Master Gamaliel Darling, Masters' Mate Mark Johnson, Quarter Gunner John Norton, Steward Asel Wilkinson. Pilot Samuel Lloyd, Cook Edward Storer, Seaman James Euer, Seaman George Hutchins, Seaman John Daniels, Seaman Ordinar^f Seamen Thomas Palmer James Scrivener Charles Thompson Charles Williams Samuel Williams John Beason John Cook John Chester John Lucas Lands Noble Lucas James Mitchell John Shirk William Slows en z ' . Z o 6 7. c 3 ^ ' m ^ r ■ a- < _ u 'c c r~ Q < HON. WILLIAM J. STERN Mayor ot Erie. Pa., Chairman, Intercities Committee, Perry's Victory Centennial Cele!)ration The Perry's Victory Centenary 241 United States Infantry Robert Anderson, Lieutenant Thomas Anderson Gilbert Bowman Francis Burns Privates Conrad King Richard Norris William Smith Alexander Matlin James Ross John Davis Caleb Diamond William Jackson 16 Schooner Scorpion Stephen Champlin, Sailing Master John W. Wendell, Midshipman John Clark, Midshipman Abner Enos, Pilot John Tisfill, Boatswains' Mate Simeon Price, Quarter Gunner John Johnson, Carpenters' Mate James Duncan, Steward William Jackson, Cook Anthony Bowne, Ordinary Seaman James Archer, Boy Thomas Gurney, Boy Landsmen James Sims John Sylhammer Jacob Toole Seamen Samuel Parsons Charles Ray John Yeokem Israel Weeks 242 State of New York Josiah Biggs John Clifford Henry Cook Joseph Delaney Isaac Devault United States Infantry and Marines Joseph Berry, Corporal Privates Philip Johnson Moses McGarvey William Reed Charles Smilhers Edward Welsh Peter Austin Heyden Armstrong Charles Ordeen Schooner Somers Thomas C. Almy, Sailing Master David C. Nichols, Midshipman George Stanley, Steward Clement Shannon, Boatswains' Mate Elliot Smith, Quarter Gunner Robert Craig, Quarter Gunner Eli Steward, Quarter Gunner Josiah Webster, Cook John Otto, Quartermaster Reuben Wright, Carpenters' Mate Isaac B. Seal, Pilot Anthony Williams, Boy Levi Branch, Ordinary Seaman Willard Martin, Ordinary Seaman Godfrey Bowman, Landsman William Pase, Landsman James Taneyhill, Landsman Seamen James Murray Peter Ozee John Johnson Ray John Smith, 2nd The Perry's Victory Centenary 243 United States Infantry and Marines E. L. Burling Hugh Larrimore Thomas Crossin John Smith Benjamin Hall Joseph Wright Sloop Trippe Thomas Holdup (Stevens) , Lieutenant Commandant Alexander McCully, Masters' Mate Patrick Fitz Patrick, Pilot John Brown, Boatswains' Mate William B. Brady, Steward John H. Smith, Masters' Male William Boyle, Seaman James Clark, Seaman Peter Dunn, Seaman James Gardner, Seaman Samuel Dunn, Ordinary Seaman Thomas Jones, Ordinary Seaman Palmer Sweet, Ordinary Seaman Thomas Folks, Landsman Henry McEwen, Landsman Alexander McKillup, Landsman Jeremiah Ryan, Landsman United States Infantry and Marines James Blair, Lieutenant (Infantry) John Henderson, Lieutenant (Infantry) Levi Ellis, Sergeant John Brown, Corporal Privates David L. Blaney Isaac Green William Bonner Andrew Holliday Sim Flaherty William Harrison 244 State of New York John Decker John McCarty Abraham Johnson Garrett Rush Ezra Killey Martin Sniff John Males* William Woods Schooner Ohio Daniel Dobbins, Sailing Master John W. Palmer, Masters' Mate John Cherry, Quarter Gunner William Anderson, Seaman James Benner, Seaman Abednego Hayes, Seanban John Daniels, Seaman William Ramsdell, Seaman James Fritz, Boy George Stockton. Captain (United States Army) James Coburn. Lieutenant (United States Army) John Heddelson, Lieutenant (United Slates Army) Schooner Tigress Augustus H. M. Conkling, Lieutenant Commandant Alexander C. Stout, Midshipman Hugh Nelson Page, Midshipman James Lee, Pilot John Mclntire, Steward Henry Griffith, Quarter Gunner Peter Brown, Boatswains* Mate Robert McGregor, Boy Elisha Atwood, Seaman Thomas Bradley, Seaman John Lewis, Ordinary Seaman The Perry's Victory Centenary 245 Martin Cronemiller Robert Eakin James Gray Landsmen Alexander McClaskey Daniel Phillips John Rupely Jesse Taylor John Bates George W. Drake John Hall H. C. Harrington United States Infantry and Marines William Webster, Corporal Privates John Martin Alexander McCord Joseph Poraeroy Lewis Vanway William Fisher Daniel Haley Schooner Porcupine George Senat, Acting Sailing Master Cornelius Denike, Masters' Mate Daniel Armitage, Boatswains' Mate William Barker, Steward Lewis Dugall, Pilot Josiah Goodrich, Carpenters' Mate Samuel Sweezey, Landsman Joseph Woods, Landsman Joseph Livingston, Landsman Alexander Anderson, Seaman Samuel Osborne, Seaman Ordinary Seamen John Lucas Joseph Robertson Charles Wilson 246 State of New York United States Infantry and Marines David Little, Corporal Privates Thomas Cavill Samuel Roof Lewis Gordon John Rodgers James McNealy Henry RoberU John Nesbit Samuel Thramin ADDITIONAL NAMES The following names appear in the official report of the killed and wounded in the battle of September 10th, 1813, submitted by Commodore Perry, but not on the list filed for the payment of prize money : Killed Christopher Mayhew, Quartermaster Brig Lamence John C. Kelly, Private Brig Lawrence John Smith, Seaman Brig Lawrence Joseph Kennedy, Seaman Brig Lawrence Andrew Michael, Seaman Brig Lawrence Nelson Peters, Seaman Brig Lawrence John Rose. Seaman Brig Lawrence James Jones, Seaman Brig Lawrence James Carty. Sailmakers' Mate Brig Lawrence Thomas Butler, Seaman Brig Lawrence Ethelred Sykes, Landsman Brig Lawrence Peter Morell. Seaman Brig Niagara Isaac Hardy, Ordinary Seaman Brig Niagara John White, Boatswains' Mate Schooner Ariel The Perry's Victory Centenary 247 Wounded Joseph Lewis, Quartermasters' Mate Brig Larorence Henry Schroeder, Ordinary Seaman Brig Lav>rence Francis Cummings, Ordinary Seaman Brig Lawrence Jeremiah Easterbrook, Seaman Brig Lawrence WilHam Davis, Ordinary Seaman Brig Niagara Thomas Wilson, Seaman Brig Niagara Charles Davidson, Seaman Brig Niagara Robert Wilson, Seaman Schooner Ariel Killed and Wounded September 1 0th, 1813 Killed Brig Lawrence John Brooks, Lieutenant Marines Henry Laub, Midshipman Christopher Mayhew, Quartermaster James W. Allen, Ordinary Seaman Joseph Kennedy, Seaman John C. Kelly, Private Soldier John Smith, Seaman William Cranston, Ordinary Seaman Andrew Michael, Seaman Charles Pohig, Seaman John Hoffman, Seaman Nelson Peters, Seaman James Jones, Seaman John Rose. Seaman James Carty, Sailmakers' Mate TTiomas Butler, Seaman Wilson Mays, Carpenters* Mate John Brown, Seaman Ethelred Sykes, Landsman 248 State of New York Philip Sharpley, Corporal Marines Jesse Harlan, Private Abner Williams, Private Brig Niagara Peter Morell, Seaman Isaac Hardy, Ordinary Seaman Schooner Ariel John White, Boatsv^^ains' Mate Schooner Scorpion John Clark, Midshipman John Sylhammer, Landsman Wounded Brig Lawrence John J. Yarnall, Lieutenant • Duianey Forrest, Lieutenant William V. Taylor, Sailing Master Samuel Hambleton, Purser Thomas Claxton, Midshipman (died of his wounds) Augustus Swartwout, Midshipman Jonas Stone, Carpenter William C. Keene, Master-at-Arms Francis Mason, Quartermaster John Newen, Quartermaster Joseph Lewis, Quartermaster Ezekiel Fowler, Quartermaster John E. Brown, Quarter Gunner Henry Schroeder, Ordinary Seaman Benoni Price, Seaman Thomas Robinson, Seaman Peter Kinsley, Seaman The Perry's Victory Centenary 249 Nathan Chapman, Seaman Thomas Hill, Cook Barney McCain, Ordinary Seaman William Dawson, Seaman Westal Johnson, Ordinary Seeunan Samuel Spywood, Ordinary Seaman Robert Hill, Seaman Francis Cummings, Ordinary Seaman Thomas Reed, Ordinary Seaman William Johnson, Boatswains' Mate James Healan, Boatswains' Mate George Cornell, Carpenters' Mate Thomas Hammond, Armorer William Thompson, Seaman George Varnum, Seaman James Moses, Seaman William Rowe, Seaman Joseph Denning, Seaman William Daring, Seaman John Clay, Seaman Stephen Fairfield, Seaman George Williams, Ordinary Seaman Lannon Huse, Seaman. James Waddington, Ordinary Seaman John Burnham, Seaman John Bordain, Seaman Andrew Mattison, Seaman Jeremiah Easterbrook, Seaman Charles Vandyke, Ordinary Seaman William Simpson, Ordinary Seaman Jesse Williams, Ordinary Seaman James Hadley, Ordinary Seaman James Burd, Marine William Burnett, Marine William Baggs, Marine David Christie, Marine Henry Vanpool, Marine 250 State of New York Thomas Tuft, Marine Ellijah Parlin, Landsman John Adams, Landsman Charles Harrington, Private William B. Perkins. Private Nathaniel Wade, Ordinary Seaman Newport Hazard, Ordinary Seaman Brig Niagara John J. Edwrards, Lieutenant John L. Cummings, Midshipman Edward Martin, Seaman (died of his wounds) William Davis, Ordinary Seaman (died of his wounds) Joshua Trapnel, Marine (died of his wounds) Roswell Hall, Landsman George Piatt, Seaman Elias Wiley, Ordinary Seaman Henry Davidson, Seaman John M. Strebeck, Ordinary Seaman John Freeman, Ordinary Seaman James H. Lansford, Seaman Thomas Wilson, Seaman Charles Davidson, Seaman Daniel Bennett, Seaman John Felton, Boatswains' Mate Sanford A. Mason, Sergeant of Marines Andrew D. Scott, Corporal of Marines Thomas Miller, Marine John Rumas, Marine George McManomey, Marine George Scoffield, Marine Samuel Cochran, Marine Brig Caledonia James Artis, Second Corporal Isaac Perkins, Private James Phillips, Seaman The Perry's Victory Centenary 251 Schooner Somen Charles Ordeen, Seaman Godfrey Bowman, Landsman Schooner Ariel William SIoss, Ordinary Seaman Robert Wilson, Seaman John Lucas, Landsman Sloop Trippe Isaac Green, Twenty-sixth Regiment John Maless, Seventeenth Regiment APPENDIX K OFFICIAL REPORTS. DESPATCHES AND LETTERS OF COMMODORE O. H. PERRY 253 OFFICIAL REPORTS. DESPATCHES AND LETTERS OF COMMODORE O. H. PERRY (To the Secretary of the Navy) U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister, Lake Erie. Sept. 10, 1813. Sir: It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United Slates a signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop have this moment surrendered to the force under my command after a sharp conflict. I have the honor to be. Sir. very respectfully. Your obedient servant, O. H. Perry. Hon. William Jones. Secretary of the Nav^. (To Major General William Henry Harrison) U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister. Lake Erie. Sept. 10. 1813. Dear General: We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop. Yours v«th great respect and esteem. O. H. Perry. Gen. Harrison. (To Major General William Henry Harrison) September II, 1813. Dear Sir: We have a great number of prisoners which I wish to land. Will you be so good as to order a guard to receive them and inform me of the place? Considerable 255 256 State of New York numbers have been killed and wounded on both sides. From the best information, we have more prisoners than we have men on our vessels. In great haste, Yours very truly, O. H. Perry. Gen. Harrison. (To the Secretary of the Navy) U. S. Schooner Ariel, Put-in-Bay, September 13, 1813. Sir: In my last I informed you that we had captured the enemy's fleet on this lake. I have now the honor to give you the most important particulars of the action. On the morning of the 1 0th instant, at sunrise they were discovered from Put-in- Bay, where I lay at anchor with the squadron under my command. We got under way, the wind light at southwest and stood for them. At 10 a. M. the wind hauled to southeast and brought us to windward; formed the line and bore up. At fifteen minutes before twelve, the enemy commenced firing; at five minutes before twelve the action commenced on our part. Finding their fire very destructive, owing to their long guns, and it being mostly directed at the Lawrence, I made sail and directed the other vessels to follow for the purpose of closing with the enemy. Every brace and bow-line being shot away, she became unmanageable, notwith- standing the great exertions of the sailing master. In this situation she sustained the action upwards of two hours within canister distance until every gun was rendered useless, and the greater part of her crew either killed or wounded. Find- ing she could no longer annoy the eneray I left her in charge of Lieutenant Yarnall, who I was convinced, from the bravery already displayed by him, would do what would comport with the honor of the flag. At half-past two, the wind springing up. Captain Elliott was enabled to bring his vessel, the Niagara, gallantly into close action. I immediately went on board of her, when he anticipated my wish by volunteering to bring the schooners which had been kept astern by the lightness of the wind, into close action. It was with unspeakable pain, that I saw, soon after I got on board the Niagara, the flag of the Larvrence come down, although I was perfectly sensible that she had been defended to the last, emd that to con- tinue to make a show of resistance would have been a wanton sacrifice of the remains of her brave crew. But the enemy was not able to take possession of her. BRIGADIER-GENERAL SAMUEL M. WELCH 4th Brigade, N. G., N. Y. Grand Marshal. Military Parade, Perry's Victory Centenary, Buffalo. N. Y. \ \ z d _i U, o o z o o D O U UJ X u '' •»-*««> COMMODORE STEPHEN CHAMPLIN United Stales Navy The Peeuiy's Victory Centenary 257 and circumstances soon perirulted her flag to again be hoisted. At forty-five minutes past two the signal was made for " close action." The Niagara being very little injured, I determined to pass through the enemy's line, bore up and passed ahead of her two ships and a brig, giving a raking fire to them from the starboard guns, and to a large schooner and sloop from the larboard side at half pistol shot distance. The smaller vessels at this time having got within grape and canister distance, under the direction of Captain Elliott, and keeping up a well directed fire, (he two ships, a brig and a schooner surrendered, a schooner and a sloop making a vain effort to escape. Those officers and men who immediately were under my observation evinced the greatest gallantry, and I have no doubt that all others conducted themselves as became American officers and seamen. Lieutenant Yarnall, first of the Larttrence, although several times wounded, refused to quit the deck. Midshipman Forrest (doing duty as lieutenant), and Sailing Master Taylor, were of great assistance to me. I have great pain in stating to you the death of Lieutenant Brooks of the marines, and Midshipman Laub, both of the Lawrence, and Midshipman John Clark of the Scorpiort; they were valuable and promising officers. Mr. Hambleton, purser, who volunteered his services on deck, was severely wounded late in the action. Midshipmen Claxton and Swartwout of the Larvrence, were severely wounded. On board of the Niagara, Lieutenants Smith and Edwards and Mid- shipman Webster (doing duty as a sailing master) behaved in a very handsome manner. Captain Brevoort of the army, who acted as a volunteer in the capacity of a marine officer, on board that vessel, is an excellent and brave officer, and with his musketry did great execution. Lieutenant Turner, commanding the Caledonia, brought that vessel into action in the most able manner, and is an officer that in all situations may be relied on. The Ariel, Lieutenant Packet, and Scorpion, Sailing Master Champlin, were enabled to get early into action, and were of great service. Captain Elliott speaks in the highest terms of Mr. Magrath, purser, who had been despatched in a boat on service previous to my getting on board the Niagara; and, being a seaman, since the action has rendered essential service in taking charge of one of the prizes. Of Captain Elliott, already so well known to the government, it would be almost superfluous to speak. In this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and judg- ment and since the close of the action, has given me the most able and essential assistance. I have the honor to enclose you a return of the killed and wounded together with a statement of the relative force of the squadrons. The captain and first lieutenant 17 258 State of New York of the Queen Charlotte and the first lieutenant of the Detroit were killed; Captain Barclay, senior officer, and the commander of the Lad]) Prevost, were severely wounded ; the commanders of the Hunter and the Cbippeivay slightly wounded. Their loss in killed and wounded I have not been able to ascertain; it must how- ever have been very great. Very respectfully, I have the honor to be. Sir, your obedient servant O. H. Perry. Hon. William Jones, Secretary of the Nav^. Statement of the Force of the British Squadron Ship Detroit, nineteen guns, one on pivot and two howitzers. Queen Charlotte, seventeen guns, one on pivot. Schooner Lad]) Prevost, thirteen guns, one on pivot. Brig Hunter, ten guns. Sloop Little Belt, three guns. Schooner Chippeway, one gun and two swivels — total sixty-three guns. Statement of the Force of the U. S. Squadron Brig Lawrence, twenty guns. Brig Niagara, twenty guns. Brig Caledonia, three guns. Schooner Ariel, four guns (one burst early in the action). Schooner Scorpion, two guns. Schooner Somers, two guns and two swivels. Sloop Trippe, one gun. Schooner Tigress, one gun. Schooner Porcupine, one gun — total fifty-four guns. The exact number of the enemy's force has not been ascertained, but I have good reason to believe that it exceeded ours by nearly one hundred men. The Perry's Victory Centenary 259 List of Killed and Wounded on Board the United States Squadron UNDER Command of Commodore O. H. Perry in the Action of I 0th of September, 1813. On board the Lawrence. — Killed, John Brooks, lieutenant of marines; Henry Laub, midshipman; Christopher Mayhew. quartermaster; eleven seamen, and one sail-maker, one carpenter, one corporal, one landsman, one private and three marines. WoUNDED, John J. Yarnall, ist lieutenant, slightly; Dulaney Forrest, 2nd do do; William V. Taylor, sailing master, do; Samuel Harobleton, purser, severely; Thomas Claxton, Augustus Swartwout, midshipmen, severely; Jonas Stone, carpenter, slightly; William C. Keen, master at arms, do; Francis Mason, John Newen, quartermasters, severely; Joseph Lewis, Ezekiel Fowler, quarter- masters, severely; John E. Brown, quarter gunner, severely; William Johnson, boatswains' mate, do; James Helan, do, slightly; George Cornell, carpenters' mate, do, and forty-five seamen and marines. (On the morning of the action, the sick list of the Larvrence contained thirty-one unfit for duty.) On board the Niagara. — Killed, Peter Morell, seaman, Isaac Hardy, ord. seaman — two. WoUNDED, John J. Edwards, lieutenant; John C. Cummings, midshipnsan; and twenty-three seamen and marines. (On the morning of the action, the sick list of the Niagara contained twenty-eight unfit for duty.) On board the Caledonia. — WouNDED, James Artus, Isaac Perkins, James Phillips, slightly — three. On board the Somers. — WoUNDED, Charles Ordeen, Godfrey Bowman — two. On board the Ariel. — Killed, John White, boatswain's mate — one. Wounded, William Sloss, ord. seaman, slightly; Robert Wilson, seaman, do; John Lucas, landsman, do — three. On board the Trippe. — Wounded, Isaac Green, soldier, 26th regiment, badly; John Failes. do I 7th. slightly — two. On board the Porcupine. None killed or wounded. On board the Scorpion.— KILLED. John Clark, midshipman; John Sylhammer, landsman — two. On board the Tigress. — None killed or wounded. (Two days previous to the action fifty-seven men were unfit for service m the small vessels.) 260 State of New York Recapitulation Lawrence Niagara Caledonia Sowers Ariel Trippe Scorpion Killed Wounded Total 22 61 83 2 25 27 3 3 2 2 1 3 4 2 2 2 2 27 96 123 S. Hambleton, Purser. o. H. Perry, Captain and senior officer. (Of the ninety-six wounded in the battle of Lake Erie, only four died: most of the wounded were fit for duty in a short lime.) Commodore Perry to General Harrison U. S. Schooner Ariel, September 15, 1813. Sir. — The very great assistance in the action of the tenth inst. derived from those men you were pleased to send on board the squadron, renders it a duty to return you my sincere thanks for so timely a reinforcement. In fact, sir, I may say, without those men the victory could not have been achieved, and equally to assure you, that those officers and men behaved as became good soldiers and seamen. Those who were under ray immediate observation, evinced great ardor and bravery. Captain Brevoort, of the 2nd company of infantry, serving on board the Niagara, I beg leave to recommend particularly to your notice; he is a brave and gallant officer, and as far as I am capable of judging, an excellent one. I am convinced The Perry's Victory Centenary 261 that you will present the merits of this officer to the view of the Hon. Secretary of War as I shall to the Hon. Secretary of the Navy. Very Respectfully, I am. Sir, Your obedient servant, O. H. Perry. Maj. Gen. W. H. Harrison Commander in chief of the N. W. Arm's ADDENDA BURIALS AT PUT-IN-BAY Officers killed at the battle of Lake Erie Each of the fleets engaged in the battle of Lake Erie, September 1 0, 1813, suffered a loss of three officers killed during the contest. The remains of these six officers, three American and three British, although all of the bodies were more or less mangled, were carefully taken ashore the second day after the engagement and buried in one grave, a short distance from the shore line, on South Bass Island, in the present village of Put-in-Bay, and in the immediate vicinity of the anchorage place of the American fleet when the approach of the British fleet was discovered, at sunrise, September 1 0. Funeral services of a solemn character, inter- mingled with the booming of minute guns from the fleet gathered in the bay, were held, attended by the survivors of both fleets who were able to be present. With the erection of the imposing Perry Memorial at Put-in-Bay. commemorating the centennial of the battle, provision was made for placing the remains of these six officers in a crypt within the central shaft. 262 State of New York and one feature of the celebration m September, 1913, was the transfer, with impressive ceremonies, of these remains to their permanent resting place. The officers thus honored were the following : American: Lieutenant John Brooks, brig Lamence; Midshipman Henry Laub, brig LaTprence; Midshipman John Clark, schooner Scorpion. British: Captain Robert Finnis, brig Queen Charlotte; Lieutenant John Garland, ship Detroit; Lieutenant James Garden, Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Midshipman Thomas Claxton. Jr., of the Lawrence, was badly wounded and died from his wounds October 7, 1813. George D. Emerson. APPENDIX L NAVAL OPERATIONS AROUND BUFFALO. N. Y. Capture of the Detroit and Caledonia, Etc., Etc. 263 Cuurtesy of Tht- UiiitL-d Status Histury t ln.in Avfiy :. History "f th« L'fiitid SUtf» tttxl iU Poople NIAGARA FRONTIER. NAVAL OPERATIONS AROUND BUFFALO. N. Y. Capture of the Detroit and Caledonia, Etc., Etc. IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1812, Commodore Isaac Chauncey, U. S. Navy, commanding a naval department made up of Lakes Erie and Ontario, with headquarters at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., despatched Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott, a young naval officer attached to his staff, to Buffalo for special service. In the latter part of the month Lieutenant Elliott arrived at the post assigned to him, vested with almost unlimited authority empowering him to purchase or construct (or both if necessary) vessels for the naval service on Lake Erie. He entered upon the task with energy and skill. By purchase he secured four small mer- chant vessels which were subsequently known as the Ohio, Trippe, Somers and Amelia. Lieutenant Elliott remained on duty in the Lake Erie sector, except a few months in the winter of 1812-13, until after the victory of September 10, 1813, in which engagement he commanded the brig Niagara until the fleet commander. Commodore Perry, came aboard from the disabled Lawrence and sent his own battleflag to the masthead. October 8, 1812, two good sized brigs, flying the British flag, were seen arriving at Fort Erie, a strong fortification on the Canadian shore, directly opposite Buffalo, and dropping anchor under the protecting guns of the fort. The attention of Lieutenant Elliott was called to these two vessels by a venerable Seneca Indian, Farmer's Brother, then eighty years of age but in earlier life a stalwart war chief, who suggested that they would make valuable additions to the proposed fleet. Lieutenant Elliott at once determined upon the capture of the two vessels, whose names were subsequently ascertained to be Detroit and Caledonia. The Detroit was 265 266 State of New York originally an American war vessel known as the Adams but surrendered by General Hull at Detroit in the preceding August, when that post was given up to the British. Lieutenant Elliott conferred with Colonel Winfield Scott, on duty at Buffalo with his regiment, the Second United States Artillery, and with the approval of the conmianding general. Captain Nathan Towson, with fifty men of the Second Artillery, were detailed as part of the force to cross the river in an attempt to seize the two brigs. During the same day a number of seamen, ship carpenters, etc., assigned to duty in the prepara- tion of the proposed fleet, arrived in Buffalo from New York and other points and of these Lieutenant Elliott drafted seventy-five for the dash across Niagara river. All being strangers to the waters around Buffalo, Captain James Sloan, living in the village of Black Rock, near Buffalo, and now a part of the city, a well known skillful and energetic lake cap- tain, was selected as the pilot of the expedition. At about one o'clock in the morning of the ninth (October) the force was assembled near the mouth of Scajaquada creek. Black Rock, and embarked on two large scows. Under Captain Sloan's leadership they successfully crossed the rough and rapidly flowing waters of Niagara river to the Canadian shore and were clambering over the rails of the two British brigs before dis- covered. A sharp fight ensued but Lieutenant Elliott and his men were successful in clinging to the vessels which were cut from their moorings. The Caledonia was brought across the river and beached near the foot of (present) Albany street, Buffalo. Not so with the Detroit, however. This boat drifted and finally went ashore on Squaw Island, some distance below. Daylight coming on, the British made repeated efforts to recap- ture her and were met by counter attacks from the Americans, even Scott The Perry's Victory Centenary 267 himself coming to the rescue. Finally in the melee the boat was purposely or accidentally fired and destroyed. In the early months of the war the control of the lakes was recognized as of immense importance and the solution of the problem anxiously con- sidered by the cabinet officers of both nations engaged in the war. The news of the bold exploit of Lieutenant Elliott was, as rapidly as con- ditions then permitted, transmitted to all parts of the country and received everywhere with exultation. General Brock, the British military com- mander in Upper Canada, soon to lose his own life in the first combat on the Niagara frontier, was prompt in acknowledging the great blow his cause had received. Congress took appropriate action. On the 29th of Jjmuary, 1813, resolutions were adopted recognizing the gallantry of Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott and the party which accompanied him, for their bold exploit on the night of October 9, 1812, in setting out from Buffalo and capturing from under the guns of Fort Erie on the Canadian shore directly opposite, the two British brigs, DelToit and Caledonia, which lay there at anchor. The Detroit was burned during the contest but Lieutenant Elliott retained the Caledonia, which subsequently became one of Commodore Perry's squadron, participating in the battle of Lake Erie in which Lieutenant Elliot commanded the Niagara. He was voted " an elegant sword with suitable emblems and devices in testi- mony of his gallantry and good conduct in boarding and capturing the British ships Detroit and Caledonia." July 13th following Congress awarded $12,000 prize money for the destruction of the Detroit. The captured brig Caledonia, together with the four merchant vessels which had been purchased by Lieutenant Elliott, were towed into 268 State of New York Scajaquada creek, now in the northern part of the city of Buffalo and in which stream at a short distance east of its junction with Niagara river was located a flourishing ship yard. TTie work of transforming the mer- chant vessels into warships was carried on through the winter under the direction of Henry Eckford, a noted ship builder and contractor. Lieu- tenant John Pettigrew of the Navy was placed in command of the yard. March 24. 1813, Lieutenant Conmiander Oliver Hazard Perry, United States Navy, reached Buffalo en route to Erie, Pa., which place, owing to the exposed position of Buffalo, had been designated as fleet head- quarters, and busied himself that day and the following one in inspecting the work on the vessels in the Scajaquada creek navy yard. Here com- menced that remarkable leadership which, culminating in the never-to-be- forgotten victory of the following tenth of September, through one battle, placed his name high on the roll of fame. Commodore Perry — as he was subsequently knowTi — reached Erie March 27, 1813, eind assumed command of naval operations on Lake Erie. Once in Scajaquada creek the five vessels were effectually bottled up and as useless as they would have been thousands of miles away. The British, besides strengthening Fort Erie, erected batteries along the Can- adian shore commanding the mouth of the creek and any attempt on the part of the five boats to emerge into the waters of Niagara river would have resulted in their almost immediate destruction. This condition pre- vailed until the first of June, 1 81 3. On the 27th day of May, Fort George, near the mouth of Niagara river, the largest and strongest fortifi- cation held by the British on the Canadian shore, was assailed and cap- tured by a combined American land and naval force, the former led by Colonel Winfield Scott and the sailors and marines by Commodore Perry. The Perry's Victory Centenary 269 The loss of this stronghold by the British was followed by the abandon- ment of their entire Niagara frontier line. Now came tf.e opportunity so long and anxiously looked forward to and advantage was at once taken of it. Leaving Fort George Commodore Perry hurried to Buffalo and with his usual inspiring energy made preparations for the transfer of the five Buffalo vessels to Erie where the balance of the fleet was at anchor. June first (1813) the vessels were hauled into Niagara river cind then came the incredibly hard task of warping the boats against the rapid current of the Niagara. Two hundred soldiers under the command of Captains Brevoort and Young were detailed to assist in the operation. With ropes over their shoulders and with ox teams as an additional motive power, also pulling on ropes attached to the boats, the mighty task was finally accomplished although nearly two weeks was required for its carrying out. June 13th, under personal command of Commodore Perry in the Caledonia as his flagship, the little squadron set sail for Erie and made the voyage in safety, reaching that port June 19th, where the five Buffalo vessels were merged with the six built at Erie, making eleven vessels of various sizes and armaments then under Perry's command. The boats built at Erie were the Niagara, Lawrence, Ariel, Porcupine, Tigress and Scorpion, and all of these were in the battle, September 10th following. Of the five Buffalo vessels one, the Amelia upon its arrival at Erie, June 19th, was found to be unseaworthy and scuttled in Misery Bay (Erie harbor) ; one, the Ohio, was at Erie on special detached service, September 1 0th ; the other three, the Trippe, Somers and the Caledonia participated in the battle of Lake Erie. After the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, Commodore Perry's fleet, including some of the British vessels captured September 1 0th, 270 State of New York was used for the transportation to Buffalo of the army under General William Henry Harrison, which had been ordered to the Niagara frontier for service. Buffalo was reached October 24th and after a well appointed banquet, on the following day, given by the citizens of Buffalo to the army and navy officers, Commodore Perry went east never to return to the scenes of his great triumph. One of the five designated Buffalo vessels, the Trippe, was built in the Scajaquada creek shipyard in 1804 and one, the Somers, in a shipyard at La Salle in Niagara county, New York, in 1809. The La Salle ship- yard is noted as the building place of the Griffon, the vessel of the great French explorer, Robert Cavelier De La Salle, the first boat other than an Indian canoe to traverse the waters of the great lakes, launched at that point May 22, 1679. APPENDIX M COMMODORE STEPHEN CHAMPLIN. United States Navy 271 CAPTAIN ROBERI 11. BARCLAY Royal Navy, Commanding British squadron at the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 COMMODORE STEPHEN CHAMPLIN UNITED STATES NAVY PROMINENT AMONG THE COMMANDERS of the vessels in Commo- dore Perry's fleet at the battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813. was Stephen Champlin, then holding the rank of sailing master, in which capacity he served on that memorable occasion as commander of the Scorpion to which vessel fell the distinguished honor of having fired the first shot and the last shot from an American vessel in the great battle. Champlin was a cousin of Commodore Perry and came with him from Rhode Island in the spring of 1813. In an engagement with the British off St. Joseph Island in the upper lakes, September 3, 1814, subsequent to the battle of Lake Erie, he was badly wounded in the left hip, an injury which caused him much pain and suffering all his life although he did not go on the retired list until September 13, 1855. He was commissioned sailing master in the navy. May 22, 1812, promoted to lieutenant December 9, 1814, to commander June 22, 1838, to captain, August 4, 1850, went on the retired list September 13, 1855, was pro- moted to commodore on the retired list, April 4, 1867, and died in Buffalo, N. Y., which had been his home for many years, on February 20, 1 870, in the eighty-first year of his age. Such is an outline but only an outline of his long, useful and honorable life. He was buried with all the honors due his rank and distinguished career and when the inter-cities committee of the Perry centennial cele- bration met in Buffalo. December 11, 1912, a graceful tribute was paid to his memory by the placing of a handsome wreath on his grave m Forest Lawn cemetery, in the name of the local committee. 273 18 274 State of New York Commodore Champlin was born in South Kingston, R. I., November 1 7, 1 789. His mother and Commodore Perry's father were brother and sister, thus making the two heroes first cousins. He commenced his sailor life when but sixteen years of age. His main characteristics of action were admirably summarized by one of his biographers, who, in relating an incident in his career, said : " Here as seems to have been the case with everything he did, Champlin acted with more than ordinary promptitude, discretion and energy." While at Newport, Rhode Island, in the winter of 1812-13, in com- mand of a small flotilla of gunboats. Commodore Perry received orders to report for duty to Commodore Chauncey, at Sackett's Harbor, New York, then the naval commander on Lakes Erie and Ontario. One hundred and forty-six men attached to the fleet at Newport were detached to go with Perry and on the same day the orders were received, February 17, 1813, one-third of the men were started for Sackett's Harbor in charge of Sailing Master Thomas C. Almy; on the nineteenth another third was sent forward under command of Sailing Master Champlin; on the twenty-first the remainder were started. Sailing Master William V. Taylor in charge. Perry himself following on the twenty-second. All four officers finally reached Erie, Pa., passing en route through Buffalo, and were attached to the fleet organized and equipped during the spring and summer of 1813. Perry became commander of the fleet vsnth Taylor as his sailing master on the Lawrence, Champlin was assigned to the command of the Scorpion and Almy to the command of the Somers and all four occupied these positions at the time of the battle September 10, 1813. Although classed among the smaller vessels the Scorpion occupied a conspicuous position all through the fight. She was assigned to duty as a The Perry's Victory Centenary 275 flanking vessel to the Lawrence as the American fleet sailed toward the British fleet and this made her the nearest boat to the British when the first gun was fired from the British ship, the Detroit, at 1 1 .45 o'clock on the morning of September tenth. Ten minutes later the Detroit fired a second shot which struck the Lawrence and Commodore Perry directed Champlin to open fire from the Scorpion which was immediately done. TTiis was the first shot fired by an American vessel in the engagement. All through the fight the Scorpion maintained her position close to the British vessels. Champlin was a capable seaman, had been a sailor from boyhood and was a bold fearless fighter. All that could be accomplished with a small vessel and scant armament, only thirty-five men and two guns, was performed by him. The surrender of the British vessels took place shortly before 3 o'clock in the afternoon. During the confusion incident to the surrender and with a heavy cloud of battle smoke hanging over both fleets, the wind during the day having been very slight, two British vessels, the Little Belt and Chippewa, started to sail away. This maneouver was noticed by Champlin who signalled to Commodore Perry and in reply received orders to go in pursuit of the fleeing vessels. Taking the Trippe with the Scorpion, Champlin started immediately after the two British boats. That the chase was a long and hard one is seen in the fact that while the surrender took place a little before 3 o'clock in the afternoon it was 10 o'clock at night before Champlin returned to the fleet — but when he did return he brought the two vessels of the enemy with his own. The shots fired by the Scorpion in this long afternoon chase were the last shots fired in the engagement. 276 State of New York For his services in the battle of Lake Erie Commodore Champlin received a handsome gold sword from the United States which is in the possession of his grandson, Oliver H. P. Champlin of Buffalo, N. Y. He was also awarded $2,295 prize money. Subsequent to the War of 1812 shifts incident to the naval service brought Champlin to Buffalo, where on January 5, 181 7, he was married to a lady of that city, Minerva L. Pomeroy. After various tours of duty he returned to Buffalo in 1834 which thenceforward to this day was destined to be the home of himself and family except a period of service on the lakes, when he commanded the old time war vessel the Michigan, later knovm as the IVolverine and under that name used dur- ing the Perry centennial celebrations in towing the Niagara around the lakes. Full of years the honored hero died as he had lived, enjoying the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens but above all a thorough patriot and one of the old style, typical New England sea captains, of the class that carried the American flag to the four quarters of the globe and made it respected wherever they went. George D. Emerson. APPENDIX N OFFICIAL REPORT OF CAPTAIN ROBERT H. BARCLAY. ROYAL NAVY. COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH SQUADRON AT THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE 277 OFFICIAL REPORT OF CAPTAIN ROBERT H. BARCLAY, ROYAL NAVY, COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH SQUADRON AT THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE H. M. Late Ship Delroil. Put-in-Bay. Lake Erie, Sept. 12, 1813. Sir. — The last letter I had the honor of writing to you, dated the sixth instant, I informed you, that unless certain intimation was received of more seamen being on their way to Amherstburg, I should be obliged to sail with the squadron, deplorably manned as it was, to fight the enemy (who blockaded the port), to enable us to gel supplies of provisions and stores of every description. So perfectly destitute of provisions was the post, that there was not a day's flour in store, and the crews of the squadron under my command were on half allowance of many things, and when that was done there was no more. Such were the motives which induced Major-General Proctor (whom, by your instructions, I was directed to consult, and whose wishes I was enjoined to execute, as far as related to the good of the country) to concur in the necessity of a battle being risked, under the many disadvantages which I labored ; and it now remains to me, the most melancholy task, to relate to you the unfortunate issue of the battle, as well as the many untoward circum- stances that led to that event. No intelligence of seamen having arrived, I sailed on the ninth mstant, fully expecting to meet the enemy next morning, as they had been seen among the islands; nor was I mistaken. Soon after daylight, they were seen in motion in Put-in-Bay, the wind then southwest, and light, giving 279 280 State of New York us the weather-gauge. I bore up for them, in hopes of bringing them to action among the islands; but that intention was soon frustrated by the wind suddenly shifting to the southeast, which brought the enemy directly to windward. The line was formed according to a given plan, so that each ship might be supported against the superior force of the two brigs opposed to them About ten, the enemy cleared the islands, and immediately bore up, under sail, in a line abreast, each brig being also supported by the small vessels. At a quarter before twelve, I commenced the action, by firing a few long guns; about quarter-past, the American Commodore, also supported by two schooners, one carrying four long twelve-pounders, the other a long thirty-two and twenty-four pounder, came to close action with the Detroit; the other brig of the enemy, apparently destined to engage the Queen Charlotte, supported in like manner by two schooners, kept so far to windward as to render the Queen Charlotte's twenty-four- pound carronades useless, while she was, with the Ladv Prevost, exposed to the heavy and destructive fire of the Caledonia, and four other schooners, armed with long and heavy guns like those I have already described. Too soon, alas! was I deprived of the service of the noble and intrepid Captain Finnis, who, soon after the commencement of the action, fell; and with him fell my greatest support. Soon after, Lieutenant Stokoe, of the Queen Charlotte, was struck senseless by a splinter, which deprived the country of his services at this very critical period. As I perceived the Detroit had enough to contend with, without the prospect of a fresh brig : Provincial-Lieutenant Irvine, who then had charge of the Queen Char- lotte, behaved with great courage; but his experience was much too limited to supply the place of such an officer as Captain Finnis, hence she proved of far less assistance than I expected. The Perry's Victory Centenary 281 The action continued with great fury until half-past two, when I per- ceived my opponent drop astern, and a boat passing from him to the Niagara (which vessel, at this time, was perfectly fresh) ; the American Commodore, seeing that as yet that the day was against him (his vessel having struck soon after he left her) , and also the very defenceless state of the Detroit, which ship was now a perfect wreck, principally from the raking fire of the gun-boats, and also that the Queen Charlotte was in such a situation that I could receive very little assistance from her, and the Lad}) Prevost being at this time too far to leeward, from her rudder being injured, made a noble, and, alas! too successful an effort to regain it, for he bore up, and, supported by his small vessels, passed within pistol-shot, and took a raking position on our bow; nor could I prevent it, as the unfortunate situation of the Queen Charlotte prevented us from wearing. In attempting, we fell on board her. My gallant First Lieu- tenant Garland was now mortally wounded, and myself severely, that I was obliged to quit the deck. Manned as the squadron was, with not more than fifty British seamen, the rest a mixed crew of Canadians and soldiers, and who were totally unacquainted with such service, rendered the loss of officers more sensibly felt, and never, in any action, was the loss more severe, every officer commanding vessels, and their seconds, were either killed or wounded so severely as to be unable to keep the deck. Lieutenant Buchan, in the Lad^ Prevost, behaved most nobly, and did every thing that a brave and experienced officer could do, in a vessel armed with twelve-pound carronades, against vessels carrying long guns. I regret to state that he was severely wounded. Lieutenant Bignall, of the Dover, commanding the Hunter, displayed the greatest intrepidity; but his guns being small (two, four and six-pounders), he could be of much less service than he wished. 282 State of New York Every officer in the Detroit behaved in the most exemplary manner. Lieutenant Inglis showed such calm intrepidity, that I was fully con- vinced that, on leaving deck. I left the ship in excellent hands; and for an account of the battle after that, I refer you to his letter which he wrote to me for your information. Mr. Hoffmeister, purser of the Detroit, nobly volunteered his services on deck, and behaved in a manner that reflects the highest honor on him. I regret to add, that he is very severely wounded in the knee. Provincial Lieutenant Purvis, and the military officers. Lieutenants Garden, of the Royal Newfoundland Rangers, and O'Keefe, of the Forty-first Regiment, behaved in a manner that excited my warmest admiration. The few British seamen I had, behaved with their usual intrepidity; and, as long as I was on deck, the troops behaved with a calmness and courage worthy of a more fortunate issue to their exertions. The weather-gauge gave the enemy a prodigious advantage, as it enabled them to not only choose their position, but their distance also, which they did in such a manner as to prevent the carronades of the Queen Charlotte and Lady Prevost from having much effect, while their long guns did great execution, particularly against the Queen Charlotte. Captain Perry has behaved in a most humane and attentive manner, not only to myself and officers, but to all the wounded. I trust that, although unsuccessful, you will approve of the motives that induced me to sail under so many disadvantages, and that it may be hereafter proved that, under such circumstances, the honor of His Majesty's flag has not been tarnished. I inclose the list of killed and wounded. I have the honor to be, &c., R. H. Barclay, Commander and late senior officer. Sir James Lucas Yeo, &c., &c. The Perry's Victory Centenary 283 LIEUTENANT INGLIS TO COMMANDER BARCLAY H. M. Late Ship Detroit, Sept. 10. 1813. Sir. — I have the honor to transmit to you an account of the termina- tion of the late unfortunate battle with the enemy's squadron. On coming on the quarter-deck, after your being wounded, the enemy's second brig, at that time on our weather-beam, shortly afterwards look a position on our weather-bow, to rake us; to prevent which, in attempt- ing to wear, to get our starboard broadside to bear upon her. a number of the guns of the larboard broadside being at this time disabled, fell on board the Queen Charlotte, at this time running up to leeward of us. In this situation the two ships remained for' some time. As soon as we got clear of her, I ordered the Queen Charlotte to shoot ahead of us, if possible, and attempted to back our fore-topsail, to get astern, but the ship lying completely unmanageable, every brace cut away, the mizzentopmast and gaff down, all the other masts badly wounded, not a stay left forward, hull shattered very much, a number of the guns disabled, and the enemy's squadron raking both ships, ahead and astern, none of our own in a situation to support us, I was under the painful necessity of hailing the enemy, to say we had struck, the Queers Charlotte having previously done so. I have the honor to be. &c., George Inglis. To Captain Barclay. APPENDIX O TENTH NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT. UNITED SPANISH WAR VETERANS In Connection with THE PERRY'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION Held at Buffalo. N. Y. 285 TENTH NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT. UNITED SPANISH WAR VETERANS In Connection with the Perry Centennial Celebration. Held at Buffalo, N. Y. THE Tenth National Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans, a body composed of soldiers, sailors and marines, who served during the War with Spain, the Insurrection in the Philip- pine Islands, and the Boxer Uprising in China, was held at Buffalo, N. Y., on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of September, 1913, in connection with the Perry Centennial Celebration. Delegates were present from thirty-two states, from Alaska, Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippine Islands and the Panama Canal Zone, to the number of about six hundred. The en- campment was attended by about five thousand non-delegates, members of the organization. There was held at the same time and place, the annual convention of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the United Spanish War Veterans, which was attended by about three hundred delegates and about one thousand visiting members from substantially the same territory. The sessions were held at the Broadway Auditorium, which was placed at the disposal of the encampment by the authorities of the city of Buffalo. The usual business of the encampment was transacted, and the delegates and visiting comrades participated in the great parade held on Thursday, September 4th. About three thousand ex-soldiers and sailors were in line, including many officers of distinction, medal of honor men, survivors of the sinking of the Maine and others whose names and records as devoted and patriotic soldiers and sailors are well known. On Thursday evening, a banquet was tendered to the visiting dele- gates by the members of the Buffalo camps, at which formal addresses 287 288 State of New York were delivered by Representative Charles B. Smith. Major Henry W. Brendel, Elias W. Beach, Commander-in-Chief Oscar T. Taylor, and others. On Friday afternoon, all visiting delegates and comrades, including those attending the encampment of the Ladies' Auxiliary, were taken to Niagara Falls, and around the Gorge Route on special trains, and on Friday night, the Military Order of the Serpent, a fraternal organization deriving its membership from the United Spanish War Veterans, gave a fantastic parade, and initiation. TTie session concluded on Saturday, with the installation of John Lewis Smith, of Washington, D. C, as Commander-in-Chief. The Legislature of the State of New York appropriated the sum of $10,000 for the purposes of this encampment, which was disbursed under the direction of the Joint Buffalo City Board, composed of delegates from the Seyburn Liscum Camp No. 12, Buckey O'Neil Camp No. 15, and John P. Hughes Camp No. I 7. The action of the New York State Legislature and the hospitality of the city of Buffalo was greatly appreciated by the officers and members of the encampment. TTie organization numbers about fifty thousand, and the Buffalo Encampment was generally regarded as the most successful and satisfactory that had yet been held. The co-operation and assistance of the Perry Centennial Commission, and especially its Secretary, Mr. George D. Emerson, contributed in a large measure toward bringing about this desirable result. Hamilton Ward, Past Commander-in-Chief, U. S, W. V. IN MEMORIAM Clinton Bradford Herrick, M. D., Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York, Died, March 23, 1915 Whereas, Since the commencement of the present year, the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission has sustained a loss in the death of Dr. Clinton B. Herrick of Troy, who died March 23, 1915, and who was one of the original members of the Commission, appointed by Governor Charles E. Hughes, July 20, 1910. and Whereas, Our late associate was always an active, efficient member of the Commission, thoroughly in love with its work, and unceasing in his efforts to advance it in every way to its great consunamation ; therefore be it Resolved, That we the members of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, feeling a deep sense of loss in the death of our late associate, desire to express our regret at his passing away and that in the death of Dr. Herrick the Commission has lost a valued member, the state an upright, honorable and efficient official, and his family a kind husband and father. Resolved, That we extend to the widow and daughter of the deceased our sincere sympathies and direct that a copy of these resolutions be for- warded to them and spread in full upon the records of the Commission. Adopted, June 28. 1915 289 19 Ind ex 291 Ind ex Adams, American vessel, 1 1 7. Adler, Hon. Simon L., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5 ; member of executive committee, 5 ; executive committee. Interstate Board, 6; visits various celebrations, I 5 ; at official banquet, 79. Agricultural statistics, northwestern ter- ritory, 1 88. Almy, Thomas C, Sailing Master, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, sails wdth American fleet, 122; leaves New- port, Rhode Island, for Lake Erie. 129. Amelia, American vessel. Perry fleet. Lake Erie, 115, 118, 122. American fleet, battle of Lake Erie, losses in battle. 111, 153; under way, 122; strength, 123, 258; lack of crews, 132; sails from Erie 134; movements, 135, 136, 137, 1 40 ; crews, I 38, 1 39 ; prize money for. 229, 230; muster roll, 233-247. America's message to the nations, 193- 206. Appendices, 103-288. Appropriations by State of New York, 4; act making, 224. Armaments, American and British fleets. Lake Erie, compared, 123, 258. Ariel, American vessel, Lake Erie, 66, 122; at battle of Lake Erie, 124, 138, 141; officers and crew, 240, 241. 246. 247; killed in battle. 248; wounded in battle. 25 I . Arrival of the Niagara, Buffalo celebra- tion. 28. Automobile parade, Buffalo celebration, 87. B Baker, Mrs. Howard Hamilton, at public meeting. Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebration, 8 1 , 82. Balliett, Harold J., Secretary, Buffalo Perry Centennial Committee, 11. Balloon Ascensions, Buffalo celebration, 88. Bancroft, Hon. George, account battle of Lake Erie. 105, 128-155. Banquet, Buffalo Yacht Club, 13; official. 52-79. Barclay, Robert H., Captain, Royal Navy, commander British fleet, Lake Erie, 1 ; present to Com- modore Perry, 60; references to, 45, 65, no. 111. 112, 123; reports British losses, 153; fleet, 182; official report, battle of Lake Erie. 277, 279. 280. 281, 282. Beck, William and Sons Company, street decorations, Buffalo celebration, 88, 89. 293 294 Index Bell, Mrs. Dorcas, work on Perry battle flag, 121. Belmont. Hon. August, address at official banquet, 73. Bissell, Hon. Herbert P., address at official banquet, 74, 75, 76. Black Rock (Buffalo), New York, boats at, 116, I 17, 129, 131, 185; La Salle's vessel, the Griffon, 188. Boy Scouts, at Women's meeting, Buf- falo celebration, 5 1 . Brevoort, Henry B., Captain, U. S. Army, services, 1 1 7, 257, 269. Britain, Great, retains military posts, 58. 59; war with Napoleon, 197. British fleet. Lake Erie, 1, 65, 66; strength, 123, 258; surrenders, 125; losses at battle of Lake Erie. Ill, 126, 153; under sail, 132; discov- ered, 137; movements, 138, 140; crews, 1 39. Brooks, John, Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps, Lake Erie, recruiting for the Perry fleet, 122; mortally wounded. 143; burial, 184, 261, 262; congressional action, 231; report Commodore Perry, 257. Breakers Hotel, banquet at, 15. Brown, Mrs. C. Elwood, at public meeting. Daughters of 1812. Buffalo celebration, 82. Brown, Noah, shipwright at Erie, Pa., 64, 114, 119. 120. 129. Buehler House, Erie, Pa., Perry head- quarters, 1 19. Buffalo, City of. New York, celebra- tion dates, 10; references to, 53, 107, 115; banquet to Commodore Perry, 1 26 ; Lieutenant Elliott at, 1 85, 265 ; population, 187; celebration, 188; naval operations at, 263-270. Bufl^alo Chapter, Daughters of 1812, public meeting, Buffalo celebration, 80, 81, 82. Buffalo Perry's Victory Centennial Committee, I ; officers and members, 11, 211-214. Buffalo vessels for Perry's fleet, 65, 114, 117, 131; transferred to Erie, Pa., 118. Buffalo Yacht Club, Perry Centennial banquet, 1 3. Burial of officers at Put-in-Bay, 111, 153, 154, 184, 261, 262. Butler, Hon. Edward H., Chair- man of Citizens' Reception Committee, Buffalo celebration, greets the Perry flagship Niagara, 28; at official ban- quet, 78; reference to, 91 ; address at meeting of colored people, Buffalo celebration, 94. Caledonia, British vessel, captured, 1 3, 185, 263, 265. 266, 267; American vessel in Perry's fleet at battle of Lake Erie, 66; references to, 97, 115, 118, 122. 123, 131; position in battle of Lake Erie, 138, 140, 141, 145, 147, 151; officers and crew, 239, 240; wounded in battle. 250. Camels, use of at Erie, Pa., 120, 134. Canada, making a nation of, 199, 200. Index 295 Cant, Roderick J., presents flag to Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebra- tion, 81. Champlin, Stephen, Commodore, U. S. Navy, grave in Buffalo visited, I 3 ; sails with American fleet, I 22 ; (ires first shot at battle of Lake Erie, 124, 275; leaves Newport, Rhode Island, 129; arrives at Erie, Pa., 1 33 ; captures British vessel, Chip- pewa, 152; report Commodore Perry, 257; sketch of life, 271-276; lives in Buffalo, 276. Chauncey, Isaac, Commodore, U. S. Navy, conmiander on Lakes Erie and Ontario, 64, 65, 114, 115, 180; ac- cepts Perry's offer of service, 128, reference to, 1 32 ; correspondence with Commodore Perry, 1 33, 1 35 ; details Lieutenant Elliott to Buffalo, 185, 265. Chicago, Illinois, celebration dates, 10; reference to, 107 ; population, 187. ChippeTva, British vessel. Lake Erie, 65, 68, 118; captured by Commodore Champlin of Perry's fleet, 152. Citizens' Bank of Buffalo, designated depository of commission funds, 6. Clark, John, Midshipman, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, burial, 184, 261, 262; congressional action, 232; re- port of Commodore Perry, 257. Clarke, George H., Captain, U. S. Navy, History of U. S. Navy, 184 Clarke, George Rogers, reference to, 108. Claxton, Thomas, Midshipman, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, congressional action, 231 ; report of Commodore Perry, 257. Cleveland, Ohio, celebration dates, 1 ; reference to, 1 08 ; Perry monument at, 127, 155; population, 187. Colored people, meeting of, at Buffalo celebration, 93, 94, 95. Commissioners, New York State, for Perry's Victory Centenary, appointed, 4, 5 ; organization of, 5 ; officers and employees, 5; meetings, 16; officers and members. 174, 207, 209, 210. Committees, Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, 173. Conners, William J., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4 ; elected chairman of New York commission, 5 ; accom- panies escort for Perry flagship Niagara, around the lakes, 1 5 ; ad- dress at official banquet, 54, 55, 56; chairman of New York commission, 209. Conners, Miss Ruth, selected to un- veil Perry statue in Buffalo, 98. Cornell, Mrs. Dudley E., at pub- lic meeting. Daughter.-; of 1812, Buffalo celebration, 82. Court of Honor, Buffalo, N. Y., 89. Cutler, Harry, elected Auditor- General, Interstate Board, 6. 296 Index D Daughters of 1812, Niagara Frontier, Buffalo Chapter, public meeting, Buffalo celebration, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84. Davenport, Mrs. Esther C, ap- pointed chairman. Women's Commit- tee, Perry's Victory Centenary, Buffalo, N. Y., 12; presides at public meeting, 30; work of committee, 91, 92, 93; presented with silver set, 93; members of committee, 215, 217, 218, 219. Day, Moses, presented with medal, 93. Departure of the Niagara, Buffalo cele- bration, 89, 90. Detroit, British vessel burned at Buffalo, 185, 263, 265, 266; prize money for destruction, 267. Detroit, British vessel of Captain Bar- clay's fleet. Lake Erie, 65, 66 68, 122, 123, 124, 125, 136; begins battle of Lake Erie, 1 40 ; in the bat- tle. 141, 142, 146, 150. 151; sur- renders, 151 ; appearance after battle, 153. Detroit, Michigan, meeting at, 9; cele- bration dates, 1 ; surrender of, 58, 266; reference to, 107; populati n, 187. Dewitt Clinton train, 90. Dickson, C. A., presented with medal, 93. Dobbins, Daniel, Sailing Master, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, builds boats at Erie. Pa., 64, 114, 119, 120; ordered to Buffalo, 129; sails Laki Erie, 180, 181; services of, 181. Dobbins, Captain W., eulogizes Com- modore Perry, 127. Donovan, William J., Captain Com- pany " I " 1 St New York Cavalry, in military parade, Buffalo celebra- tion, 85. " Don't give up the ship," battle flag. Commodore Perry, 48, 66, 70, 121. 127, 136, 148, 157. Dow, Mrs. Charles M., address at Women's meeting, Buffalo celebra- tion, 50, 51. Doyle, James F., appointed chief of publicity bureau, Buffalo celebra- tion, 5. Duluth, Minnesota, reference to. 107. EcKFORD, Henry, boat builder, 114, 116, 117, 131, 181, 231, 268. Edwards, John J., Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, promoted, 123; re- port of Commodore Perry, 257. Elliott, Jesse D., Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, captures British vessels at Buffalo, 13, 115, 181, 263, 265, 266; joins Perry's fleet. 122; references to, 131, 185, 186; takes command of Niagara, 1 35 ; in battle of Lake Erie, 141, 145, 147. 1 49, 151; Sailing Master William V. Taylor's references to, 158; con- gressional action, 231, 267; report Commodore Perry, 257. Index 297 Emerson, George D., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centen- nial Commission, 4 ; elected Secretary, 5 ; legislative and publicity committee. Interstate Board, 6; at Interstate Board meeting, Washington, D. C, 7; elected chairman Buffalo Perry's Victory Centennial Committee, 1 1 ; address at banquet Buffalo Yacht Club, 1 3 ; visits various celebrations, 1 5 ; writer on Niagara frontier his- tory, 45 ; acknowledgments of Women's Committee, 5 1 ; at official banquet, 79; acknowledgments of United Spanish War Veterans, 288. Employees, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. Erie, Battle of Lake, references to, 1. 30, 57, 65, 66, 67. 68. 105. 111. 113. 124. 125. 128. 140, 142, 143, 195, 196; incidents, 145, 146, 147. 148, 149, 150, 151 : report of Commodore Perry, 256, 257, 258; report of Captain Robert H. Barclay, Royal Navy, 277. 279, 280, 281. 282. Erie Canal, cannon firing at opening, 81 . Erie, Pennsylvania, celebration dates, 10: references to, 108, 115, 116; Commodore Perry at, 119; building boats at, 120, 130; harbor of, 120, 133, 155; work of women, 121; American fleet at, 126; population, 187. Essex, naval gunboat, escorts Perry flag- ship Niagara around lakes, 14. Executive Committee, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, appointed. 5. Fairport, Ohio, celebration dates. 10. Farmer's Brother, Indian chief at Buffalo. 265. Financial statement, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 99, 1 00. FiNNis, Robert, Captain, Royal Navy, 1 32 ; killed at battle of Lake Erie, 146; burial at Put-in-Bay, 184. 261. 262; report Captain Robert Barclay. 280. FiNNUCANE. Hon. T. W.. at official banquet. 79. Firemen's parade. Buffalo celebration, 85 ; companies participating, 86, 87. Firemen's spectacular run, Buffalo cele- bration, 88. Fireworks display, Buffalo celebration, 84. Flag, Commodore Perry's battle. " Don't give up the ship," 48, 66, 70. 121, 124, 127, 136, 148, 157. Fleet, American, Lake Erie, losses in battle. 111, 153; under way, 122; strength, 123, 258; crews lacking, 132; sails from Erie, Pa., 134; movements, 135, 136. 137, 140; crews, 1 38, 1 39 ; prize money, 229, 230; muster roll, 233-247. Fleet, British, Lake Erie, losses at bat- tle of Lake Erie. Ill, 126. 153 under sail, 132; discovered, 137 movements. 1 38, 1 40 ; crews. 1 39 strength, 258. 298 Index Fleets, comparative strength, British and American, Lake Erie, 123. Ford, Cornelius, 93. Fort George, Canada, Niagara frontier, attack on, 64, 116, 131, 268. Forrest. Dulaney, Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, wounded at battle of Lake Erie, 143; report Com- modore Perry, 257. Freedlander, J. H., Architect, de- sign for Perry Memorial accepted, 7, 73; description of Memorial, 159. Fuhrmann, Hon. Louis P., Mayor of Buffalo, N. Y. Address at ban- quet, Buffalo Yacht Club, 13; ad- dress at opening exercises, Buffalo celebration, 29 ; address at of&cial banquet, 53. Fulton, Mrs. Robert, address at Women's meeting, Buffalo celebra- tion, 45, 46, 47, 48; presides at public meeting, Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebration, 81. Gardiner, Asa Bird, address at official banquet, 57-69. Garden, James, Lieutenant, Royal Newfoundland Regiment, killed at the battle of Lake Erie, 261 ; burial at Put-in-Bay, 184, 261, 262; report of Captain Robert H. Barclay, 282. Garland, John, Lieutenant, Royal Navy, Lake Erie, burial, 184. 261, 262 ; killed at the battle of Lake Erie, 261 ; report of Captain Robert H. Barclay, 281 . George, Fort, Canada, Niagara frontier, attack on, 64, 116. 131, 268. Glynn, Hon. Martin H., member Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sion, 4 ; appointed on executive com- mittee, 5. Goat Island, Niagara river, legends, 46, 47. Grady, Hon. Thomas F., favors leg- islation regarding Perry's Victory Centenary, 4. Green Bay, Wisconsin, celebration dates, 10. Greetings from the women of this cen- tury, 50, 51. Greve, Mrs. T. L. A., at public meet- ing. Daughters of 1812, Buffalo cele- bration, 82. Griffon, The, vessel of Robert Cavelier De La Salle, 188; building, 270. H Haffa, George J., Colonel, 65th Regiment Infantry, N. G. N. Y., in military parade, Buffalo celebration, 85 ; in firemen's parade, Buffalo cele- bration, 85. Hahn, Charles J., clerk to Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. Hamlin, Mrs. Harry, reception at home of, Buffalo celebration, 85, 92. Harris, Andrew L., Governor of Ohio, appoints Perry's Victory Cen- tennial Commissioners, 3. Harris, Thomas W., Lieutenant, Naval Militia, New York, in com- mand of naval gunboat Harvk. 1 4. Index 299 Harrison, William Henry, Major General, U. S. Army, references to, 57. 58, 65. 110, 111. 122, 123, 126. 130; at Buffalo. 90; visits Com- modore Perry, 1 35 ; message from Commodore Perry. 152. 255. 260. Hauenstein, Mrs. Alfred G.. Ode to Commodore Perry. Buffalo cele- bration. 37-44. Ha^k, naval gunboat, escorts Perry flagship Niagara around the lakes. 14; trip. 15. Herrick. Clinton B., M. D.. ap- pointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4; death. 4; member, executive committee. Inter- state Board, 6; visits various celebra- tions, 1 5 ; resolutions upon death, 289. Hill, Hon. Henry W., resolutions in New York Senate favoring Perry's Victory Centenary, 3, 221, 223. History, U. S. Navy, Captain George H. Clarke, 184. Holdup (Stevens) Thomas, Lieu- tenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, pro- moted, 123; in battle of Lake Erie, 151; captures British boat Little Belt. 152. Horton, Mrs. John Miller, Re- gent, Buffalo Chapter, Daughters or 1812, 83. Hughes. Hon. Charles E., Gov- ernor of New York, appoints Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, 4. Hull, William, Brigadier General U. S. Army, surrenders Detroit, 58. Hunter, British vessel. Lake Erie, 65, 118, 138; surrenders. 151. Huntington, Webster P., Ohio Commission, elected Secretary- General. Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners. 6. 171 ; poem. Priscilla, 175. I Illinois, state of. Perry's Victory Cen- tennial Commissioners, 3, 173: refer- ence to, 1 79. Indian raids, 59. Inglis, George, Lieutenant, Royal Navy, Lake Erie, report of Captain Robert H. Barclay, 280; letter to Captain Barclay, 283. Intercities Committee, Perry's Victory Centenary, meeting in Buffalo, 1 2 ; visits Commodore Champlin's grave and other places, 1 3. Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Cen- tennial Commissioners, organized, 6; meetings, 7, 8, 9; personnel, 169- 174: officers, 171, 172; committees, 172, 1 73; commissioners, 173, 174. Iroquois Hotel. Buffalo, N. Y., banquet of Buffalo Yacht Club, 13; official banquet, 52-79; reception at, 92. J Jackson, Hon. Edward D., ap- pointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5 : member of executive committee, 5. Jewett, General Edgar B., elected vice-chairman, Buffalo Perry's Vic- 300 Index tory Centennial Committee, 1 1 ; elected chairman of Buffalo commit- tee, 1 1 ; at opening exercises, Buffalo ceiebiation, 29. Jones, John Paul, reference to, 108. Jones, Mrs. Joseph T., action of, at Buffalo celebration, 92. Jones, Thomas, address at meeting of colored people, Buffalo celebration, 95. Jones, Hon. William, Secretary of the Navy, 1 1 6. K Kean, Rev. M. J., address at official banquet, 78. Keifer, General J. Warren, United States Commissioner, at official banquet, 79 ; Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sioners, 1 73. Kentucky, State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, 3, 1 74 ; recruits from, 122, 123, 136. Killed and wounded (American), battle of Lake Erie, 125, 247. 248, 259, 260. LaJjj Prevosi, British vessel, Lake Erie, 35, 65. 68; surrenders, 125; posi- tion in battle, I 38. Lake Erie, battle of, references to, 1, 30. 57, 65. 66, 67, 68. Ill, 113. 124, 125, 126, 140, 142, 143, 195, 196; incidents. 145, 146, 147, 1 48. 1 49. 150, 151: report of Com- modore Perry, 256, 257, 258; report of Captain Robert H. Barclay, Royal Navy, 277, 279, 280, 281, 282. La Salle, Robert Cavelier De, references to, 46, 80; builds the Griffon, 270. Laub, Henry, Midshipman, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, killed at the battle of Lake Erie, 146; burial, 184, 261, 262; congressional action, 231 ; report of Commodore Perry, 257. Laturence, flagship, American fleet. Lake Erie, 8; at battle of Lake Erie, 33, 66, 67, 74, 109, 111, 121, 122, 1 24 ; named, 1 32 ; references to, 1 34, 1 36 ; position in battle of Lake Erie, 1 38 ; participates in the battle of Lake Erie, 140, 141. 145. 147, 148. 153; officers and crevs^, 233, 234, 235, 236, 246, 247; killed in battle, 247, 248; wounded in battle, 248, 249, 250. Legislative proceedings. State of New York, Perry Victory Centenary, 22 1 , 223, 224, 225, 226. LetchwoRTH, Ogden p., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4 ; resignation, 4 ; vice- president general. State of New York, Interstate Board, 6. Little Belt, British vessel. Lake Erie, 65, 68, 118; position in battle of Lake Erie, 138; captured, 152. Livingston, Rev. J. W., chairman of committee for meeting of colored peo- ple, Buffalo celebration, 93. Lorain, Ohio, celebration dates, 10. Index 301 Louisiana, State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, 3, 1 74. LoWRY, George M., Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, comaninds Niagara, Perry Victory Centenary, 28. Mac-Mc MacDonald, Dr. James A., at Put- * in-Bay, 1 5 ; address at Put-in-Bay, America's message to the nations. 193-206. MacFarland, Monroe, Major, 29th Infantry, U. S. Army, opens Fort Porter, Buffalo, to Women's Com- mittee, Buffalo celebration, 92. McDonald, J. E., Masters' Mate, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, sails with American fleet, 122. McDonnell & Sons, Buffalo, N. Y.. erect statue to Commodore Perry at Buffalo, 97. M Madison, American vessel. Lake On- tario, 115. 116. Magrath, Humphrey, purser, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, sails with American fleet, 122; in battle of Lake Erie, 147. 257. Maiden, Canada. British headquarters, 57, 134, 136. Malone. Hon. Dudley Field, As- sistant Secretary of State, address at official banquet, 69, 70. Malone, Hon. John F., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4; elected chairman executive committee, 5 ; at reception of the Perry flagship Niagara, Buffalo celebration, 28; at official banquet, 52; proposes statue of Commodore Perry at Buffalo, 96. Mallory, John S., Colonel, 29th Regiment, U. S. Army, in parade, Buffalo celebration, 84. Mar^ Alice, pleasure yacht of William J. Conners, chairman New York Commission, escorts Perry flagship Niagara around the lakes, 15. Mason, Elizabeth Champlin. mar- ries Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, 63. Masonic ceremonies, Put-in-Bay, laying corner stone of Perry Memorial, 15. Mays, Wilson, carpenters' mate, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, brave action, 1 46. Mead, Major General, at Erie, Pa.. 181. Men's Club of St Philip's Church, Buf- falo, assists in meeting of colored peo- ple, Buffalo celebration, 93. Merritt, Hon. Edwin A., favors legislative action. Perry's Victory Centenary, 4. Message of America to the nations, 193- 206. Meyer. Samuel, employed by Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. Michigan, State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners appomted, 3, 173. 302 Index Military Day, Buffalo celebration, 84, 91. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, celebration dates, 10; population. 187. Minnesota, State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners appointed, 3, 173. Misery Bay, Erie harbor, Pennsyl- vania, 8, 269. Monroe, Michigan, celebration dates, 1 0. Monroe, James, President of the United States, announces death of Commodore Perry, 68. Moore, Caroline Perry, presents American flag to the city of Buffalo, 29; exercises at flag presentation, 29. Morrell, U. S. Revenue cutter, detailed for escort duty to the Perry flagship Niagara around the lakes, 1 4. MoTT, Colonel John T., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4; resigns, 4. Municipal Park Band, Buffalo, N. Y., services, Buffalo celebration, 88. Murphy, Clarence J., appointed stenographer to the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. Murphy, Edward P., assistant chief, Buffalo Fire Department, grand mar- shal, firemen's parade, Buffalo cele- bration, 85 ; in charge of firemen's spectacular run, Buffalo celebration, 88. Muster Roll, American fleet. Lake Erie, 233-247. N Napoleon, war with Great Britain, 197, 202, 205. Nash, Rev. J. Edward, address at meeting of colored people, Buffalo celebration, 93, 94. Nationhood, principles of, 202, 203. Newport, Rhode Island, welcomes Perry. 126. Newspaper assistance, Buffalo celebra- tion. 95. New York Central train, Buffalo cele- bration, 90. New York city, honors Perry and Har- rison. 127; public buildings decor- ated. 127. New York. State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners appointed, 3, 4; meetings of Commission. 16; members of Commission, 1 74. 207, 209. 210. New York State Senate, resolutions, 1, 2. New York, western, described, 75. Niagara, flagship American fleet, battle of Lake Erie, references to, 110, 1 I 5, 122, 134; building of, 121 ; in bat- tle of Lake Erie. 124, 125; station in battle, 1 36, 1 37; position changed, 137, 138; movements in battle, 140, 142, 153: officers and crew, 236, 237, 238, 246, 247; killed in battle, 248; wounded in battle, 250. Niagara, flagship, American fleet. Lake Erie. Perry's Victory Centenary, rais- ing and restoration, 8, 9; planning trip around the lakes, 9; schedule of Index 303 visits to lake ports, 10; leaves Erie. Pa., 14; escort, 14; arrives in Buf- falo, 28; greeting, 28; anchors at Buffalo Yacht Club, 28; references to, 33, 35. 36, 66, 67, 69, 70, 80; departure of, 89, 90 ; women's re- ception, 9 1 . Niagara Frontier, Buffalo Chapter, Daughters of 1812, public meeting, Buffalo celebration, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84. Niagara (river), along the historic, 45, 46, 47, 48. NiEHAUs, Charles Henry, design for Perry statue in Buffalo selected, 97; statue accepted, 98. Noble, Henry Harmon, appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4; resigns, 4; vice- president general for New York State, Interstate Board, 6. North, Mrs. Charles J., presenta- tion of American flag. Daughters of 1812, 81. o Officers and members. Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sioners, 1 73, 1 74. Officers and members, Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York, 4, 5, 7, 174, 207. 209, 210. Officers and members. Perry's Victory Centennial Committee, city of Buf- falo, 10, 11, 211, 213. 214. Official banquet, Buffalo celebration, 52-79. Ohio, American vessel, Lake Erie. 1 15, 118; on detached service, I 38, I 39 ; officers and crew, 244. Opening exercises, Buffalo celebration, 29. Orders in Council (Europe), 60. Ormrod, Hon. William L., ap- pointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4 ; elected vice-chairman, 5 ; vice-president gen- eral for State of New York, Inter- state Board, 6; sails with the naval gunboat Hawlf, escorting Perry flag- ship Niagara around the lakes, 14; at ofiBcial banquet, 79. O'Shaughnessy, Martin L., clerk to Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- Packet, John, Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, sails with American fleet, 122; promoted, 123; report Commodore Perry, 257. Park Band concerts, Buffalo celebration, 88. Parker, Alexander, 93. Parsons, Usher, Surgeon, American fleet. Lake Erie, 146. Parry, Harry, General Agent, N. "\'. C. R. R. exhibit, Buffalo celebration. 90. Payne, T. D.. 93. Peer, Benjamin L., appointed assist- ant chief of publicity. Buffalo cele- bration, 5. 304 Index Pennsylvania, State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 3, 173; re- cruits from, 1 22 ; reference to, I 79. Perry, James Alexander, accom- panies Commodore Perry, 1 29. Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay, adopted, 7 ; contracts for building, 7 ; cost, 8 ; cornerstone laid, I 5 ; New York's con- tribution, 96; description, 159-168; plaza, 162; stonework, 163, 164; interior, 1 65 ; surroundings, 1 66. Perry, Oliver Hazard, Commodore, American fleet. Lake Erie, 1 ; action. New York State Senate, 1,2; letter. Governor Tompkins, 2 ; answered by Commodore Perry, 3 ; original orders exhibited, 13; references to, 32, 33, 34,57,58,70,71, 73.74,80, 108, 109, 110, in, 112, 113, 114. 115, 116; ode to, 37-44; present from Captain Barclay, Royal Navy, 60; family history, 61, 62; life of, 62, 63, 64; death, 68; burial. 69; at Buffalo, 90; takes Buffalo boats to Erie, Pa., 118; at Erie, Pa.. 119, 1 20 ; difficulties encountered, 1 22 ; sails with American fleet, 122. 123, 124; after battle of Lake Erie. 126; honored at Buffalo, Albany and New York cities, 126; death and burial, 127; monument in Cleveland, 127; tender of services, 128; characteris- tics, 1 28 ; ordered to duty on lakes, 129; at Sackett's Harbor, Buffalo and Erie, 129; duties at Erie, 130; 131; arranges to forward boats at leaves for the attack on Fort George, Black Rock, 131; at Erie. 132; writes Commodore Chauncey, 1 33 ; on Lake Erie, 1 34, 1 35 ; at San- dusky, Ohio, 135; illness, 136; sum- mons commanding officers, 1 36 ; un- rolls battle flag and prepares for bat- tle, 1 39 ; advances with the Law- rence, 141; in battle of Lake Erie, 142, 143, 147, 148, 153, 158; transfers flag to Niagara, 1 48; on the Niagara, 149, 150; receives sur- render of British officers, 152; fleet, 181 ; despatches, 183; conduct, 183; sketch, Washington Irving, 186; thanked by Congress, 231 ; honors, 232; official reports and despatches, 253-261 ; at Buffalo, 268; at Erie, Pa., 268; transfers boats to Erie. 269; returns to Buffalo, 270; com- plimented by Captain Robert H. Barclay, Royal Navy, 282. Perry statue, Buffalo, N. Y., descrip- tion of, 97, 98; accepted, 98. Perry's battle flag, " Don't give up the ship," 48, 66. 70, 121, 124, 127. 148. 157. Perry's Victory (see battle of Lake Erie), 1; centenary inaugurated, 3; States participating, 3 ; action of New York State, 3 ; address, Hon. Peter A. Porter, 30; references to, 101, 179, 180. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, State of New York. 4. 1 6, 1 74, 207, 209; officers and members, 209, 210. Perry's Victory Centennial Commission- ers, Interstate Board, organized, 6 ; Index 305 meetings, 7, 8, 9 ; personnel, 1 69- ! 74 ; officers, 171, 1 72 ; committees, 172, 1 73; commissioners, 173, 174. Perry's Victory Centennial Committee, city of Buffalo, 1 ; officers and mem- bers, 11. 211, 213, 214. Pettigrew, John, Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, commanding navy yard at Black Rock (Buffalo). 115,268. Pike, Zebulon, Brigadier General, U. S. Army, reference to, 82. Pioneer moving, 75. Police arrangements, Buffalo celebration. 95. Pomeroy's Tavern, Buffalo, banquet at, 126. Porcupine, American vessel. Lake Erie, 122, 125; position in battle of Lake Erie, 138; officers and crew, 245, 246. Porter, Fort, Buffalo, N. Y., reception at, 85, 92. Porter, Hon. Peter A., address at banquet, Buffalo Yacht Club, 13; address at Women's meeting, Buffalo celebration, 30 ; reference to, 45 ; ad- dress at public meeting. Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebration, 80, 81. President of the United States, topic of address, 72. Priscilla. Yacht, Commodore George H. Worthington, president-general. 175. Principles of nationhood, 202, 203. Principles of world peace. 203. 204. Prize money for American fleet, battle of Lake Erie, 229, 230; for destruc- 20 tion of British vessel Delroil (at Buf- falo), 267. Proctor, General, British army, 136. 277. Programme, Buffalo celebration. Perry's Victory Centenary, 17-27. Publicity department established, Buffalo celebration, 5. Put-in-Bay, South Bass Island. Lake Erie, Perry's fleet at, 7, 33, 65; selected for site of Perry Memorial, 7 ; references to, 1 08, 111, 1 24, 126; recommended, 135; burials at, 153. 154, 184, 261, 262. Queen Charlotte, British vessel. Lake Erie, 35, 66, 68, 118; surrender of, 125, 151 ; references to, 136, 138, 152, 280, 281, 282; report of Lieu- tenant George Inglis, Royal Navy, 283. R Races, Boat, Buffalo celebration, 88. Rafferty, Hon. William F., ai>- pointed member. Perry's Victory Cen- tennial Commission, 4; visits various celebrations, 15; at official banquet. 79. Raymond, Rf.v. A. V. V., D. D., ad- dress at official banquet, 73; at pub- lic meeting. Daughters of 1812, Buf- falo celebration, 83. Reed, James, clerk to Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. 306 Index Regan. Michael, Superintendent of Police, Buffalo, 95. Regents, State, at public meeting. Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebra- tion, 82, 83. Resolutions, New York State, thanks to Commodore Perry and the officers and men of his fleet, I ; authorizing a Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sion, 3. 4, 221, 223. Resolutions, obituary, in memory of Commissioner Herrick, 289. Resolutions, United States Congress. 231, 232, 267. Results of the war of 1812, 61. Rewarding the victors, battle of Lak«- Erie. 227. 229, 230. Rhode Island. State of. Perry Centen- nial Commissioners appointed, 3, 1 74 ; reference to, 1 09. Rich, General G. Barrett, elected treasurer. Perry's Victory Centennial Committee, Buffalo, N. Y., II. Ridpath, John Clark, quoted, 109, 110. Roll, Muster, American fleet. Lake Erie, 233-247. Roosevelt, Theodore, compares armaments, American and British fleets. Lake Erie, 123. Ross, Mrs. William H., reminiscences of 1812. Women's meeting, Buffalo celebration, 49, 50. RozEwsKi, Michael, messenger to Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sion. 5. Sailors, American, impressment of, 59, 60. Sanborn, Hon. John P., Rhode Island Commission, 172, 173; ad- dress at banquet, Buffalo Yacht Club, 13. Sandusky, Ohio, celebration dates, 1 ; reference to, 1 07 ; population, I 87. Sayles, John, remarks, meeting of colored people, Buffalo celebration, 93. Scajaquada creek ship yard. Black Rock (Buffalo), N. Y.. 13, 114, 115, 116, 117, 268. ScATCHERD. JOHN N.. toastmaster at official banquet. 52. 57. 59. Schifferdeck'er, Hon. Jacob, ap- pointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 4 ; member of executive committee, 5 ; visits various celebrations, 15; at official banquet, 79. ScHOENECK, Hon. Edward, Lieuten- ant-Governor, ex-ofiicio member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sion, 5. Scorpion, American vessel. Lake Erie, 66, I 32 ; at battle of Lake Erie, 124. 138, 141; officers and crew. 241. 242 ; killed in battle, 248. ScoTT, WiNFIELD, Colonel, U. S. Army, at Buffalo, 266; attack on Fort George, 268. Seaton, Mrs. Catharine, presented with medal, 93. Index 307 Senat, George, Midshipman, U. S. Navy, Lcike Erie, sails with American fleet, 122. Senate, State of New York, Perry's Vic- lory resolutions, 1 . Severance, Frank H., address at banquet, Buffalo Yacht Club, 13; account battle of Lake Erie, 105, 113-127. Seymour, J. A., Jr., Architect, Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay, 7. Simon, William, appointed member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sion, 4 ; elected treasurer, 5 ; vice- president general. State of New York, Interstate Board, 6; at meeting of Interstate Board, Washington. D. C, 7 ; at official banquet, 79. SiSSON, Hon. A. E., Pennsylvania Commission, treasurer-general. Inter- state Board, 6, 8; reports cost of Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay, 96. Sloan, Captain James, pilot for Lieu- tenant Jesse D. Elliott, Buffalo, 266. Smith, Mrs. Charles H., at public meeting. Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebration, 82. Speakers' table at official banquet, 79. Spectacular features, Buffalo celebration, 84, 85. Stern, Hon. William J., Mayor of Erie. Pa., at banquet. Buffalo Yacht Club. 13. Stevens. Thomas Holdup. Lieuten- ant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie (see Lieutenant Thomas Holdup.) Stewart, Mrs. Margaret Foster, work on Perry's battle flag, 121. Stewart, Thomas, work in house. Erie. Pa.. 121. Stockmar, Joseph, clerk lo Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. Stokoe, Thomas, Lieutenant, British fleet. Lake Erie, 1 46 ; report ol Captain Robert H. Barclay, Royal Navy, 280. St. Philip's Church, Buffalo. Men'-. Club, Buffalo celebration, 93. Street Decorations, Buffalo celebration, 88, 89. SwARTWOUT, Augustus, Midship- man, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, report of Commodore Perry, 257. Taft, Hon. William H., former president, at Put-in-Bay. 15. Tate. Mont, 93. Taylor, William V., Sailing Master. U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, account bat- tle of Lake Erie, 105; leaves New- port, 129; arrives at Erie. 130; letter to brother, 1 56; sketch of, 156. 157; report Commodore Perry. 257. Tecumseh, Indian chieftain, reference.^ to, 57, 58. Territory affected by battle of Lake Erie.'l, 57. 58. Thames, battle of the, 58. Tigress, American vessel, Lake Erie. 122, 125; position in battle of Lake Erie. 138; officers and crew, 244. 245. 308 Index Toledo, Ohio, celebration dates, 10; reference to. 107 ; population, 187. Tompkins, Daniel D., Governor of New York, letter to Gjmmodore Perry, 2; answered, 3. ToziER, Mrs. Charles Burt, at public meeting Daughters of 1812, Buffalo celebration, 83. Trippe, American vessel. Lake Erie, 115, 118, 122, 123, 124; position in battle of Lake Erie, 1 38, 151; officers and crew, 243, 244 ; wounded in battle, 25 1 . Turner, Daniel, Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, sails with American fleet, 122; in battle of Lake Erie, 147, 158; report of Commodore Perry. 257. Tuscarora, United States revenue cutter, detailed to escort Perry flagship A^i- agara around the lakes, 1 4 Twentieth Century Club, reception, Buf- falo celebration, 9 1 . u United Spanish War Veterans, reference to, 16; in military parade, Buffalo celebration, 85 ; tenth national en- campment, 285, 287, 288. United States, declares war, 1 98. United States Perry's Victory Centen- nial Commissioners, 3, 173. V VeRBECK, Guido, Captain, N. G. N. Y.. in military parade. Buffalo celebration, 85. w Wagner, Hon. Robert F., Lieuten- ant-Governor, ex-officio, member of Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sion, 5. War. reactions of, 198, 199. Ward, Hamilton, Past National com- mander, U. S. W. V. report, 285. 287, 288. War of 1812, remarks upon, 189, 190, 191, 192; lessons of, 196; what lay behind, 196; declared by United States. 198; settlement of. 198; a hundred years after, 201. Watterson, Colonel Henry. Ken- tucky Commission, elected first vice- president general. Interstate Board. Perry's Victory Centennial Commis- sioners, 6; address quoted, 48; ac- count battle of Lake Erie, 105, 107- 112. " We have met the enemy and they are ours," message of Commodore Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison, 35, 110, 127, 152, 155, 182, 183, 255, 260. Weber, Henry J., clerk to Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, 5. Welch, General Samuel M.. Grand Marshal, military parade. Buffalo celebration, 84. Whitehead, Hon. John M., Wis- consin Commission, address at Put-in- Bay, 177-192. WiLTSiE. Charles H., appointed member of Perry's Victory Centen- nial Commission, 4. Index 309 Wisconsin, State of. Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners appointed, 3, 174; references to, 179. WiLLERT, Charles L., address at meeting of colored people, Buffalo celebration, 95. Williams, Anthony, at battle of Lake Erie, 93. Wilson, William, Colonel, 3rd Regi- ment, Infantry, N. G. N. Y., in mili- tary parade, Buffalo celebration, 85. Wolf, Charles J., Colonel, 74th Regiment Infantry, N. G. N. Y., in military parade, Buffalo celebration, 85. Wolverine, naval gunboat, escorts Perry flagship Niagara around the lakes, 1 4. Women's committee, Buffalo celebration, organized, 1 2 ; entertains on arrival of Perry flagship Niagara, 28; meeting at Women's Union, Buffalo celebra- tion, 30; work of, 91 ; various enter- tainments. 91, 92, 93; officers and members, 215. 217.218, 219. World peace, principles of, 203, 204. Worthington, Commodore Geo. H., Ohio Commission, elected presi- dent-general. Interstate Board, Perry's Victory Centennial Commissioners, 6; at official banquet, 79. Wounded at the battle of Lake Erie. 248. 249. Yacht Club, Buffalo, Perry's Victory Centennial banquet, 1 3 ; greetings to the Niagara. 28. Yaniic, naval gunboat, escorts Perry flagship Niagara around the lakes 1 4. Yarnall, John J., Lieutenant, U. S. Navy, Lake Erie, assumes command of the Laurence, battle of Lake Erie, 67, 148; promoted, 123; wounded in the battle, 143; report Commodore Perry, 257. York (Toronto), Canada, reference to. 116. Younce, Captain, U. S. Army, as- sists in moving Buffalo boats, 1 1 7, 269. H 28^^ »^ °o -; »»•%. vask; .^-^^ ^^s-; .^-^ -.aft: ^^. :»fe. „^ '• \/ f:5S*:V/ «K^ %/ f» * ■->°..../%••■■^^^^^,^^.A;•■•/..■./'^'>■■■■\^*.,»X y, t^ ' .fi. ■•;! -);,':. 'Ki, .<"■ * :^r^a! • ^ <=^^;-KT^>'_/- rO' .°U:; .^ c="°. y. •::--: ■ .^^ ^ ^^^»: > ^;i- 4- .^- % ,\^ <-. .-. '- .t' A% «•»•:•• / "-, .40. •Cr v^ '-:/>A 0^ ,-- 'f' o-.^ ^\.'!V':"-:-;-- .0-^ s^^ ^/^'i- ^s^ v-^. ;^'^%^v -^ "^ 'M:^^ ^ A .^^=^^^ ^ f )• \ .•S ■-'■-■. .. . , a''^" .^"<^.-''-,^ "^•>-^ r^^ HECKMAN BINDERY INC. i^ NOV 84 N. MANCHESTER. ./■\ .'./"• .0 ,0 ,^ ,^^ -<■ A- V -'■■■'A.- ^ ''-'^ ,0- ..v-2^ 0'