Seize control of Lake Erie! This overriding goal was the primary concern of Commodore Isaac Chauncey on New Year's eve 1812, and the reason for his inspection trip to Presque Isle Bay at Erie, Pennsylvania. Four small gunboats were already under construction at Erie, and Chauncey was personally interested in the building project's progress. As the overall commander of Great Lakes naval operations for the United States, Chauncey was fully aware of the strategic significance of Lake Erie, and the need to take action.

The war was not progressing well for the United States. Ship-to-ship victories by vessels like the U.S. Frigate Constitution and the U.S. Frigate United States over the vaunted Royal Navy were more than offset by the disasters at Queenston Heights, Fort Michilimackinac, Fort Dearborn, and Fort Detroit. Also surrendered at Detroit, in addition to an entire U.S. army, was the only American naval vessel on Lake Erie.

One of the major reasons for the debacle at Fort Detroit was the inability of U.S. forces to secure a line of supply. American strategists were cognizant that before any successful land campaign could be conducted in the Detroit River region it would first be necessary to establish a dependable line of communications. Considering the ability of Britain's Indian allies to interdict vulnerable wilderness supply routes, the only means by which the U.S. could insure a safe line of communications would be to wrest control of Lake Erie from the British. Hence the import of Chauncey's visit to Erie.

Viewing the tiny vessels on the stocks at Erie, it was painfully obvious to Chauncey that the four diminutive gunboats being constructed by Daniel Dobbins would be unequal to the task ahead. With this in mind, Chauncey informed Secretary of the Navy William Jones on January 8, 1813 of his intent "to procure materials at Erie this winter to build a Brig of about 300 Tons...which will enable me to seek the Enemy upon this lake." Yet it was not until six weeks later that Chauncey's plans were finalized. On February 18, 1813 Chauncey penned instructions to shipwright Noah Brown in New York City, "I wish you to proceed with all possible despatch for Erie...and there build in the shortest time possible 2 Brigs capable of mounting 18-32 pounders (sic) carronades & 2 long 9's." Chauncey also communicated to Dobbins that Brown would take over supervision for the entire construction project.

Brown arrived at Erie in early March and immediately went to work. The original construction site for the gunboats near Lee's Run would not support the deeper draft of two large brigs, so an alternate locale was selected at the mouth of Cascade Creek. Writing to Chauncey on March 14, Dobbins declared that, "Mr. Brown has been here but a few days and...(work) has gone very fast, the keels of the two brigs are laid or ready to lay and a number of frames are made..."

Once the keels were in place work on the brigs progressed at a remarkable pace. On April 11 Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, who had arrived at Erie in late March, conveyed to Navy Secretary Jones that the "frames of the two Brigs have been up several days," and less than two weeks later the Lake Erie commodore informed his superior at Sackets Harbor that "We have commenced planking the Brigs and next week will have all their beams in."

Even though the actual building process was moving swiftly, the headaches for Perry and Brown were far from removed. Wood for the ships, although uncured, was plentiful, but many ancillary materials required for both building and fitting the vessels were in desperately short supply. Not only did he dispatch his subordinate officers, but Perry himself traveled as far as Buffalo and Pittsburgh, urging both federal agencies and contractors to expedite shipment of such basic items as cannon, small arms, ammunition, anchors, oil, oakum, paint, canvas, cordage, cables, etc. Skilled craftsmen - carpenters, blockmakers, sailmakers, caulkers, blacksmiths, etc. - were also in short supply. It was even necessary to carefully husband the meager supply of iron, forcing the builders to use treenails instead of iron nails. Through the months of April and May, the haggard Perry literally worked himself into a sickberth.

Perry's diligent efforts paid off. By the second week of May many of the needed articles and artisans were beginning to roll in, and on May 9 the Rhode Islander framed a request to Chauncey; "I beg you will inform (me) what names those Brigs are to bear, they will be launched as soon as we get cables and anchors to moor them, which I hope will be in a fortnight." On Saturday, May 22, Perry reported to Chauncey that, "On Monday morning one of the Brigs will be launched, and as soon as the ways can be shifted the other will be also." Unfortunately the May 24 launching of the first brig had to be aborted when, after moving only a few feet, it stuck on the ways. It was not until June 10 that both brigs were finally launched.

Perry himself missed the actual launching. Discovering that Chauncey and Major General Henry Dearborn were planning an assault on Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara River, Perry hastened to Fort Niagara to join the fray. The American capture of Fort George on May 27, 1813 also forced the evacuation of Fort Erie, located at the headwaters of the Niagara River. Neutralization of Fort Erie released to Perry the five converted gunboats previously blockaded in the Black Rock Naval Yard by Fort Erie's guns.

When Perry sailed the Black Rock flotilla into Presque Isle Bay on June 18, he was pleased to note considerable progress with the brigs. The following day he apprised Secretary Jones that, "The Sails of both Brigs are nearly finished, and the rigging of one fitted, and guns mounted. The other will be rigged very shortly and the guns mounted." Apparently Perry received no satisfaction from his earlier request to Chauncey about names for the brigs since in this same communication to Jones he penned the appeal; "Allow me Sir to ask the favour of knowing the names you intend for the two Brigs."

Unlike Chauncey, Jones' response was expeditious. Replying to Perry with a newsy letter on July 3, Jones, almost as an afterthought, appended at the very end; "One of the Sloops of war, (the first ready) is to be called the Lawrence, after our brave countryman, Captain James Lawrence, late of the United States Navy, the other the Niagara." The Brig Niagara presumably was named for the recent American victory on the Niagara peninsula.

On July 19 Perry reported to Jones that the vessels at Erie were ready. Only two factors now prevented Perry from sailing. In order for Perry to clear the harbor at Erie, it would first be necessary to heave the brigs over the sandbar at the mouth of the harbor. In late July, 1813 the bar was only five feet under the surface, a factor which prevented the British from attempting to sail in to destroy the partially built American ships. Ironically, that same sandbar also prohibited Perry's brigs, which drew nine feet, from leaving the harbor. But even before Perry could attempt to clear the bar he would first have to find sufficient men to crew his squadron, and on July 19 Perry revealed to Chauncey that the Erie Station could muster only 120 men fit for duty.

Perry's July 19 letter was only one in a series of messages to Chauncey which constituted an acrimonious correspondence over manning the fleet. Eventually three drafts of men were shipped to Erie from Sackets Harbor. Two levies of reinforcements arrived in late July, although the numbers were far too few to crew all of the American ships. Then a surprise British move diverted Perry's attention from his manpower woes.

At the beginning of August the British vessels blockading Erie mysteriously disappeared, enabling Perry to haul his ships over the obstructing sandbar, an exacting effort which required three days of incredibly arduous toil. Perry's presence on the lake forced British Commander Robert Heriott Barclay - now outnumbered - to retreat to Port Dover. Perry pursued a day later with eight of his vessels, including the Niagara, but he arrived at the small Canadian town too late, Barclay had already withdrawn his fleet to his Amherstburg base.

Upon his return to Presque Isle, Perry learned that the third contingent of reinforcements would soon arrive. Appearing the next evening, this last group included an officer who would become indelibly linked with the U.S. Brig Niagara as the vessel's commander during the Battle of Lake Erie, and the focal point of later controversy - Master Commandant Jesse D. Elliott.

A second British invasion of western Lake Erie pressured Perry to sail somewhat prematurely since his fleet was still seriously undermanned. On August 12 the American flotilla, ten vessels strong, left Erie astern. The commanders of the American Northwest Army and the American naval squadron linked up at Sandusky Bay four days later. Discovering that Perry was in need of additional men, William Henry Harrison called for volunteers from his army, and at least 130 soldiers responded to the general's plea. The American crews were now complete. The complement of the U.S. Brig Niagara totaled approximately 155 men, more than 50 of whom were soldiers. Over the next two weeks Perry made two reconnaissance cruises to Fort Malden, but he opted not to attack. From this point Perry need only train his hybrid crews at his Put-in-Bay base, and simply wait for the British to sail. The British, with their supply line severed due to Perry's presence at Put-in-Bay, were now forced to fight.

The Battle of Lake Erie was fought on September 10, 1813. During the conflict's initial stages the Niagara was not engaged. However, after two hours of desperate fighting the U.S. Brig Lawrence, Perry's first flagship and the Niagara's sistership, had been battered into a defenseless hulk. Perry then transferred his battle flag to the Niagara and assumed command. Sailing the Niagara between the British battle line, Perry utilized his new flagship's firepower to the fullest, ravaging the enemy fleet and compelling the entire British force to surrender. For her efforts the Niagara lost 2 men killed and 25 wounded. Perry's aggressive action and the Niagara's heavy guns together tolled the death knell over British dominance of Lake Erie.

The Battle of Lake Erie proved to be the zenith of the Niagara's brief career. Following the battle the brig assisted with transporting Harrison's army to the Canadian shore, and her guns covered the landing of American troops. After the Battle of the Thames the Niagara returned to Erie and wintered in Presque Isle Bay. Attrition of the brig's officers while encased in the 1813-14 winter blanket of ice was much heavier than during the tumult of battle; two died from disease and one committed suicide. In 1814 the Niagara participated in the ill-starred raid at Port Dover, Upper Canada, and the ill-fated campaign against Fort Michilimackinac, but her glory days were over. The Treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Eve, 1814, ending any real demand for warships on Lake Erie. Need for the gun brigs was rendered even more pointless after the Rush-Bagot Agreement was signed with Great Britain in 1818, a treaty which called for disarmament on the Great Lakes. For the next two years the Niagara served as a station ship at Presque Isle, but when the Erie Naval Station was phased out there was nothing that could be done to save the once proud brig. Built specifically as a shallow draft gun platform, it was impractical to sell the Niagara for conversion to a merchant vessel. Besides, it was possible the brig might be needed at some future point in the event hostilities again erupted with Canada. Thus the U.S. Brig Niagara was sunk for preservation purposes by the U.S. Navy in Misery Bay at Erie.

The Niagara remained at the bottom of Misery Bay for the next ninety-three years. Then in 1913, as part of the Battle of Lake Erie centennial, the Niagara was raised and restored by a group of Erie citizens. Original plans could not be found at either the Navy Department or the National Archives, so the restoration was based on a design conceived by the noted naval historian Howard I. Chapelle. The reconstructed Niagara was then towed to different ports on the Great Lakes for a variety of centennial activities.

In 1931 the Niagara became the property of the State of Pennsylvania, which initiated another restoration. The Great Depression and budgetary difficulties so hampered and delayed the project that it was not actually finished until 1963. At that time the vessel was out of the water on concrete blocks at the foot of State Street in Erie.

By the late 1980's the Niagara had again fallen into a state of disrepair. Ship designer Melbourne Smith was hired to draw plans and oversee another restoration. The ship was dismantled in 1987 and reassembled during 1988. Launching ceremonies were held on September 10, 1988, the 175th anniversary of the battle. The Niagara was then moved to the foot of Holland Street, where by 1990 the renovation was completed.

The U.S. Brig Niagara is a fully restored sailing ship owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. She is one of only three United States vessels remaining from the War of 1812 - the others being the U.S. Frigate Constitution and the U.S. Frigate Constellation - and the Niagara is the only remaining vessel of her class from the War of 1812.

Statistics of note pertaining to the Niagara are:

Hull length at water line............................110 feet, 8 inches

Beam .......................................................30 feet, 6 inches

Draft at sternpost .................................................... 9 feet

Mast heights above water line:

Foremast................................................113 feet, 4 inches

Mainmast...............................................118 feet, 4 inches

Armament................................eighteen 32-pdr. carronades

...................................................... two 12-pdr. long guns

Crew (1813)..........................................approximately 155