The life of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry

Alexander Slidell Mackenzie

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Glass_Jc:3ii3 Book___A /- THE LIFE COMMODORE OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. MACKENZIE,ALEX. SLIDELL U.S.N. TWO VOLUMES.IN VOL. L N EW-Y ORK: & CLIFF-STREET.IIAKPRR BROTHERS, 82 18 43. L.353 acf-'jnliiig to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, bv^f^iitpi-pii, liAKPEK & Brothers, L'li^-iv"s UlRce of the Southern District of INew-York.In the T^»..nnff shot at a broadside 1 These naval gentlemen must have known full well that the advantage was on their side while making their misstatements. They also knew that the cir- cumstances under which the battle was fought gave to the British the full benefit of their substitution of length of gun for calibre. AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.220 to close action. The second in command of the American squadron was Captain J. D. Elhott, who superseded Lieutenant D. Tur-had recently evener in the command of the Niagara, on the of saihng from Erie. The other officers were very young men, of little experience though of great promise, and sailing-masters taken from the mer- chant service, selected by Captain Perrychiefly from all ofamong his fellow-townsmen, and whom did great credit to his selection, and proved most worthy of his confidence. The whole force in offi- cers and men ofour squadron amounted to four hun- dred and ninety; of these, one hundred and sixteen were different vesselson the sick-lists of the on the morning of the action, seventy-eight cases being of bilious fever.

Sujets

• Cooper
• Perry

Informations

• Publié par: les_archives_du_savoir
• Nombre de lectures: 66
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

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Glass_Jc:3ii3
Book___A/-
THE LIFE
COMMODORE OLIVER HAZARD PERRY.
MACKENZIE,ALEX. SLIDELL U.S.N.
TWO VOLUMES.IN
VOL. L
N EW-Y ORK:
& CLIFF-STREET.IIAKPRR BROTHERS, 82
18 43.L.353
acf-'jnliiig to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, bv^f^iitpi-pii,
liAKPEK & Brothers,
L'li^-iv"s UlRce of the Southern District of INew-York.In the
T^»..nnf<»t
Pj
^JU^L
PREFACE.
was undertaken at the re-The following work
Champlin Perry, the eldestquest of Doctor Grant
perceiving in theson of Commodore Perry, who,
Naval History of Mr. J. F. Cooper an attempt to
diminish that admiration with which the people of
States have been accustomed to regardthe United
with a view of raising thethe memory of Perry,
second in command in the battlestanding of his
desirous that a full accounton Lake Erie, was
his father's life and services.should be published of
This request having been willingly assented to, he
accordingly forwarded to the writer the papers of
his father, consisting almost entirely of public cor-
respondence and log-books of various cruises, of
which, however, the series was incomplete, and a
vast mass relating to the battleof documents of
Lake Erie, the whole forming rather materials for
writing the history of that event than the life of
Commodore Perry. The writer has had no ac-
cess, either directly or through extracts, to Perry's
corraspondence with his immediate family, whichIT PEEFA C E.
would have afforded not only great assistance m
carrying on the thread of the narrative, but also a
better insight than could be otherwise obtained
into his thoughts, his feelings, and affections.
While reverencing the motive which led to this
sacred treasuring from the public eye of all that
remains of such a husband and father, he cannot
but regret, as his biographer, the want of access to
such valuable sources of information.
Compelled to seek materials when he had be-
lieved that his only task would be to make use of
those which, through a long series of years, had
been collected, the writer addressed himself forth-
with to the living friends and companions ofCom-
modore Perry, and to others who could lend him
his undertaking. kind-assistance in He has been
those towhomly and generously aided by most of
he applied. To the sister of Commodore Perry,
nearest his own age, he is indebted for materials
used in detailing the incidents of his early life,
have occasionally been incor-and her own words
To Lieutenant A. A.porated in the narrative.
of the neigh-Harwood, of the Navy, a resident
was born,bourhood in which Commodore Perry
obligations for anecdotes of thehe is under great
obtained among the com-commodore's early life,
description of thepanions of his youth, and for a
Stephenfamily homestead. From Commander
Thomas Brownell he has re-Champlin and Mr.PREFACE.
personal explanations on various minorceived
relating to the Lake Erie squadron, con--points
the printed and writtencerning which document;^Jf
silent. To Doctor Usherwere obscure or Par-
medicalsons, of Providence, the only officer in the
Erie squadron who was able to peform dutyLake
immediately after the battle, and whoduring and
of the Javawhenwas subsequently surgeon under
writerPerry's command, the has to acknowledge
himself under great obligations for a variety of
facts communicated in a series of interesting notes,
intelligent opinions with regardand just and to
and acquirementsthe character, manners, of Perry.
He has also to acknowledge the valuable commu-
he has received from the Honourablenication
of Kentucky, anJohn Chambers, aiddecamp of
duringGeneral Harrison the campaign of 1813,
containing several interesting anecdotes of Perry,
which, with little change of the language in wliich
they were communicated, will be found incorpo-
narrative. In additionrated in the to the various
facts illustrative of the battle of Lake Erie, and
of Captain Elliott's course towards Commodore
Perry, subsequent to his succeeding him in the
the highly intelligentcommand, obtained from and
interesting letters of Samuel Hambleton, Esq., pur-
ser of the Lawrence, to Commodore Perry, Mr.
Hambleton has kindly placed at the writer's dis-
posal all the letters of Commodore Perry to him-
AVI PREFACE.
duringself, a long period of friendly correspond-
ence and has,moreover,; obligingly favoured him
with extracts from his journal when onLake Erie,
and readily answered the various questions ad-
dressed to him. From his intelligent friend, C.
O. Handy, Esq., secretary of Commodore Perry
when on board the Java, and subsequently purser
of the John Adams on his last cruise, the writer
has received the heartiest assistance and valua-
ble critical aid in the prosecution of his underta-
king.
The writer has made occasional use of the val-
uable life ofPerry published in 1821,by the Hon-
ourable John M. Niles ; also of the masterly and
beautiful sketch on the same subject, from the pen
of Mr. Washington Irving, in the Analectic Mag-
azine, and of various other works tending to throw
a light on the subject he has also carefully5 con-
sulted Niles's Register, and a few contemporary
newspapers. With few exceptions, however, the
present life is entirely written from original docu-
ments and materials collected expressly for the pur-
pose, and the utmost care has been taken in the
verification of the facts. With regard to the tone
of the book, it has been unavoidably rendered
more controversial than the taste of the writer
would have dictated ; but the assaults made by
Captain ElUott against the character of Commo-
dore Perry thehave been so notorious, and at-