Combat· War of 1812
Cutting-out of HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia
A bold small-boat operation on the Niagara River that opened the naval war on the upper lakes well.
In the early hours, Lieutenant Jesse Elliott led a party in two boats out to two British brigs, the Detroit, the former American Adams captured at the fall of Detroit, and the Caledonia, anchored under the guns of Fort Erie. The boarders rowed in under fire, swarmed onto both vessels, and carried them in fierce close fighting, with Marines among the party. The Caledonia was brought off safely, but the Detroit ran aground under the enemy batteries and had to be burned where she lay. The action cost the British two warships and gave the Americans an early lift on a frontier where the news was mostly bad. It also marked Elliott, later prominent and controversial at the Battle of Lake Erie.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 249