USS Niagara is a window to the past

This story was featured in the Festival of Sail special section included inside the Thursday, June 30 Sandusky Register. SANDUSKY — A sailing ship whose history stretches back to the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 will anchor in Sandusky Bay during the Festival of Sail. The USS Niagara, also known as the US Brig Niagara, is a two-masted, former warship from the Age of Sail. The ship played a pivotal role in the Battle of Lake Erie which was fought between the navies of the United States and the United Kingdom. The battle, an American victory, played out on September 10, 1813 with Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in command of the American squadron of nine ships. During the battle, Perry's flagship, Lawrence, was severely damaged. "Every brace and bowline was shot away, and the hull was so riddled that it looked like a sieve," wrote Theodore Roosevelt in William Laird Clowes' "The Royal Navy." Perry transferred his command to the Niagara and raised his battle flag emblazoned with the phrase, "Don't Give Up The Ship." After raking the British ships with broadsides with Niagara's carronades, Perry captured the entire opposing force. "The Americans were left in complete control of Lake Erie, which they maintained until the end of the war," according to Charles Oscar Paullin's "The Battle Lake Erie." A ship is born After years of rising tensions with the United Kingdom, President James Madison signed a declaration of war on June 18, 1812. With Canada in the UK's possession, control of the Great Lakes was seen as a path to victory. In September 1812, Madison's Secretary of the Navy, Paul Hamilton ordered four gunboats to be constructed to protect the American shore of Lake Erie. In Denys Knoll's "Battle of Lake Erie: Building the Fleet in the Wilderness," he says Captain Isaac Chauncey, commander of U.S. naval forces on Lake Ontario, inspected the plans, made some changes and authorized the construction of two brigs in addition to the gunboats. Those two brigs would become Niagara and her sister ship the Lawrence. The brigs were constructed under the direction of New York shipbuilder Noah Brown, according to naval architect William Avery Baker. Niagara was launched on Independence Day 1813. Post-war fate After the war, Niagara served as a receiving ship at the Port of Erie, according to William Dobbins' "History of the Battle of Lake Erie." Receiving ships housed new naval recruits before they were assigned to an in-service vessel. In the 1820s, Niagara was scuttled, or purposely sunk, in Misery Bay near Presque Isle, Pennsylvania for preservation. The ship was refloated and rebuilt in 1913 for the centennial of the Battle of Lake Erie. Niagara, which severely deteriorated over the following seven decades, was given a thorough refurbishment starting in 1988. "Renowned shipbuilder Melbourne Smith was hired by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to construct the fourth and current version of Niagara During this restoration," according to Flagship Niagara League's website. Much of the original vessel was destroyed and new timbers were used to reconstruct the brig. Many now consider the ship a replica because it contains so much new wood. Most of the ship is constructed from yellow pine and Douglas fir. Sails and rigging are made from synthetic materials like Dacron and polyester. During the war, her sails would have been made from canvas and riggings from hemp. Niagara was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973. Under a designation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, USS Niagara is the Keystone State's official flagship. Niagara is available for day sails, school trips, corporate team building, and private bookings, according to Flagship Niagara League's website. The vessel has been designated as a sailing school vessel by the U.S. Coast Guard since 2005. Because of this certification and with safety in mind, the ship is now outfitted with diesel engines, radar, lifeboats, long-range navigation and radio. Niagara participated in a reenactment of the Battle of Lake Erie in 2013. The vessel sails the Great Lakes as an ambassador of Pennsylvania and her home port of Erie. Niagara was most recently in Sandusky during the city's bicentennial celebration in 2018. Day-to-day management of the vessel is carried out by Flagship Niagara League which is based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Ship description from FNL website Type: Snow brig Displacement: 302 tons Length: 110 feet 8 inches Beam (width): 32 feet Main mast height: 118 feet 4 inches Armament (1813): 18, 32-pound carronades and 2, 12-pound long guns Armament (current): 2, 32-pound carronades Crew complement (1813): 155 officers and crew Crew complement (current): 20 officers and sailors and 20 volunteers