OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 329 inscribed in large white letters, with the words of the dying Lawrence, " Don't give up the ship ! " He accompanied this movement with an appeal to his men. " My brave lads, this flag contains the last words of Captain Lawrence. Shall I hoist it ?" " Ay, ay, sir ! " was the willing response. In this way he cheered the men in the a%ful pause, " a dead silence of an hour and a half," preceding the action, for in the light breeze the vessels were long in overcoming the intermedi- ate distance of several miles. Perry, who knew the perils of the day, prepared his papers as if for death. He leaded the public documents in readiness to be cast overboard, and a touch- ing trait of these moments gave a hurried perusal to his wife's letters, and tore them to pieces lest they should be read by the enemy. The awful silence is suddenly broken by a bugle sounded on board the Detroit, and the cheers of the British seamen. A shot from that vessel fell short of its mark. The Lawrence bears on to meet the fire, accompanied by the other vessels of the command in appointed order, each destined for its appropriate antagonist. At noon the British fire from the superior long guns, was telling fearfully on the American force, when Perry made all sail for close quarters, bringing the Lawrence within reach of the Detroit. He maintained a steady, well-directed fire from his carronades, assisted by the Scorpion and Ariel. The destruction on the deck of the Lawrence was fearful. Out of lOo well men, says Mackenzie, who had gone into action, 22 were killed and 61 wounded. We shall not insult the humanity of the reader by the details of this fearful carnage. It has probably never been exceeded in the terrors of the " dying deck," in naval warfare. In the midst of this storm of conflict. Perry, finding his ship getting dis- abled, and seeing the Niagara uninjured at a safe distance, resolved to change his flag to that vessel. He had half a mile to traverse, exposed to the fire of the enemy, in an open boat. Nothing deterred, with the exclamation, " If a victory IS to be gained I'll gain it," he made the passage, part of the time standing as a target for the hostile guns. Fifteen minutes were passed exposed to this plung- ing fire, which splintered the oars and covered the boat with spray. The Law- rence, stripped of her officers and men, was compelled to surrender. Perry instantly bore up to the Detroit, the guns of which were plied reso- lutely, when she became entangled with her consort, the Queen Charlotte, and the Niagara poured a deadly fire into both vessels. This cannonade decided the battle in seven minutes, when the enemy surrendered. The American loss in this engagement was 27 killed and 96 wounded; that of the British 41 killed and 94 wounded. Gallant actions were performed and noble men fell on both sides. It was every way a splendid victory, placing the genius of Perry and his magnanimous, spirited conduct throughout, in the highest rank of naval exertion. The memorable letters, brief, at once eloquent and modest, which he wrote that afternoon announcing his victory, are too characteristic to be omitted in any personal account of the man. Addressing General Harrison, he writes : " Dear
