Battle of Lake Erie
As Naval battles go, this battle was on a much smaller scale than many of the other naval battles in this series, however this battle in many ways was a turning point in the War of 1812 providing the American’s the naval superiority and control of not just Lake Erie, but the straits of Detroit, and control of the upper Great Lakes including Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior. The outcome of this battle also had a significant impact on North America’s first nations and was closely watched from shore by Chief Tecumseh himself.
After the American Revolution the grand strategy of Great Britain was to preserve the peace by establishing an Indian buffer state. This was to be achieved by defending British North America and by encouraging the various Indian nations to form a confederacy in the west. By acting together these two powers could keep the new nation in check and peace would be preserved.
With the majority of its land and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars, the British used a defensive strategy in the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, repelling initial American invasions. Most of the mighty British Navy was tied up in Europe or the Atlantic, protecting convoys carrying supplies from the colonies as well as more strategic locations along the St. Lawrence including Quebec City.
The British navy ruled the St. Lawrence River. Lake Ontario was a standoff: the two navies, the British based in Kingston and the American in Sackett’s Harbour, NY, never fought one another; each patrolled its side of the lake. There were occasional raids, notably the American attack on York, now Toronto, which had consequences for the Battle of Lake Erie as the cannon intended for the HMS Detroit, which was being built in Amherstburg, were seized and carried off. The British navy controlled Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and, with a fort on St. Joseph Island, the entrance to Lake Superior. With the surrender of Michigan and the island of Michilimackinac, the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan and the entire shoreline of Lake Huron were now British. With a fort on St. Joseph Island at the entrance to Lake Superior, they now, in Wellington’s words controlled ‘the navigation of the Lakes’
If you would like to read about the Battle of Lake Erie, you can find a detailed account in the book “War Drums along the river” by Michael Gladstone White. (Chapter 5). I have also included a link on the cache page.
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