340 British defeat on Lake Erie. [isis overpowered by the Indians and massacred, as neither Indians nor Americans gave quarter to one another. Even those Americans who surrendered to Proctor were not all saved, and 30 of their wounded were murdered by these British auxiliaries some, it is alleged, under circumstances of unusual atrocity which reflected the utmost discredit on Proctor. Harrison had previously been preparing to take the offensive, but on the news of this reverse he fell back ; and Proctor laid siege to Fort Meigs on the Maumee, but without success. After an indecisive action before this place the British retired to Canada. An attack on the American post of Fort Sandusky, later in the summer, was even more disastrous to the British cause, the British troops being repulsed with heavy loss. Command of Lake Erie being the essential factor of success in Upper Canada, it was natural that both sides should turn their attention to the provision of a powerful flotilla upon its waters. So far the British had had the advantage, and in consequence had been able to move their troops and supplies by water, while the Americans were compelled to resort to land-transport along tracks which at that date led through sparsely settled country. The American Commodore Perry, however, had been busily building ships at Presqu'Isle, now known as Erie ; and, as his resources were greater and near at hand, while he also had a large supply of good seamen and cannon, the ships which he produced were superior to the British. Commander Barclay, an officer of great capa- city and courage, was at work on the Canadian side of the frontier; but he was badly supported by the Canadian authorities, and, probably because the British navy could hardly find men enough for its sea-going ships, he did not obtain the seamen he needed to work his flotilla, while his guns were wretched little weapons of feeble calibre. In August the American flotilla was ready for service, and Perry issued from his harbour of Erie. Injudicious orders from Prevost and the want of supplies compelled Barclay to fight ; and on September 10 the two squadrons met in combat. On the American side were nine vessels with a total broad- side of 896 Ibs. ; on the British six, with a broadside of 459 Ibs., and so indifferently equipped that there were no locks for firing the guns. The action was fiercely contested, the commanders on either side behaving with the utmost bravery and resolution. Perry's flagship, the Lawrence, was knocked to pieces; but he shifted his flag and continued the action till his superior weight of metal made itself felt, and Barclay's force was compelled to surrender. Barclay himself received wounds so terrible that the sight of his shattered body and the remembrance of his bravery produced the unwonted effect of melting to tears the court- martial which tried him for his defeat. This encounter was decisive in the west. Lake Erie henceforth became American; the campaign on land turned in favour of the United States; and the American troops once more entered Upper Canada. On October 5 they inflicted a
