_Porcupine_, _Tigress_ and _Trippe_. The total guns carried were 54,
with a force of 490 men.

The British squadron consisted of six vessels, with an aggregate of 63
guns and 502 men. They were under the command of Commander Robert H.
Barclay, who had fought under Nelson at Trafalgar, and in another battle
lost an arm. It was less than three months before that the dying
Lawrence had uttered the appeal, "Don't give up the ship!" and Perry
hoisted a flag with the words displayed in large letters. As it floated
in the breeze from his vessel it was received with enthusiastic cheers.

It was on the 10th of September, 1814, that the two squadrons met at the
western end of Lake Erie. When a mile apart, the _Detroit_, the British
flagship, fired a shot to test the distance. It ricochetted past the
_Lawrence_. A few minutes later she fired a second shot, which smashed
into the starboard bulwarks of the _Lawrence_ and sent a cloud of
splinters flying. The reply to these was a 32-pounder from the
_Scorpion_. Then the firing became more rapid, the enemy possessing the
advantage at long range.

Most of the shots from the British vessels were directed against Perry's
flagship, which suffered considerably. He therefore made sail to get to
close quarters. His ship and the _Scorpion_ and _Ariel_ drew
considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet. As a consequence they
received the main fire of the enemy, which soon became concentrated on
the _Lawrence_, that was gallantly fighting against overwhelming odds.
Moreover, she was at a hopeless disadvantage with her short guns, and
soon became a wreck, with a large number of her men killed or wounded.

Gradually the boats drifted nearer and the Americans were able to make