Combat· War of 1812
Loss of Ohio and Somers
A small but stinging American loss in the waters where Perry had triumphed the year before.
The schooners USS Ohio and USS Somers lay at anchor off Fort Erie at the eastern end of Lake Erie, supporting the American army's operations on the Niagara, when on the night of 12 August a British boat party rowed out under cover of darkness and boarded them. The surprise was nearly complete; after a brief, confused struggle both schooners were carried and taken away as prizes. Marines were among the small crews that fought during the boarding. The captures embarrassed the Americans on a lake they had controlled since Lake Erie, and they cost the army on the Niagara two of the vessels it relied on for fire support and supply along the shore.
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Record no. 237