Niagara / Lawrence

Abstract

The city of Erie has become virtually synonymous with the Flagship Niagara, whose image presently appears on everything from license plates to coffee mugs. However, there is a strong likelihood that the ship preparing for her current summer cruise is the Lawrence, not the Niagara. The Battle of Lake Erie, which ended in a surprising U.S. victory, so epitomized the courage and bravery of the newly formed American navy that the heroic deeds of Oliver Hazard Perry have become legend, especially to the people of Erie. Years after the final shots were fired, this small town in northwestern Pennsylvania became the guardian of perhaps the most significant relics of that historic day: Perry’s flagship the Lawrence, and her sister ship the Niagara. Abandoned, then auctioned by the Navy, these decaying brigs lay in unmarked graves in the waters of Misery Bay. There they remained for years, known to a handful of souvenir hunters and fishermen, the last tangible evidence of Perry’s victory. Unfortunately, Perry’s legend is all that most people are familiar with. As former Erie Historical Museum Director, Charles Watkins noted, “so much of Erie history is hearsay history.”