ke Erie or the order of
its execution; not as he appeared the evening previous to the action
advising his subordinate commanders in the words of Nelson, "No captain
can do wrong if he places his ship alongside of that of an enemy;" nor
as he was opening the battle flag which bore upon its folds the dying
words of a gallant captain; not as he was leaving his wrecked ship with
the deck strewed with his dead and dying comrades, when by the received
cannons of naval warfare the Lawrence and the battle were lost; but as
he appeared in that supreme moment of his life, when he had just gained
the deck of the Niagara, before he had recovered his knocked-off cap,
and while in distinct succession he was giving orders to "Back the
main-top-sail," "Brail-up the main-try-sail," "Helm up" "Square the
yards," "Bear down on the enemy's line," "Set the top-gallant-sail,"
"Hoist the signal for close action," orders which infused new enthusiasm
into all the American crews; and as pendant answered pendant, from
mast-head to mast-head indicating the reception of the order to break
the enemy's lines, hearty cheers went up from the entire American force
with a fervor that presaged the result of the impending death struggle.

In contemplating this statue, we should consider the circumstances in
which Perry was placed, and the events impending when the artist has
undertaken to represent him, as well as in the light of Perry's conduct
thereafter and the results therefrom, reflected back upon this critical
juncture in his career. For the battle of Lake Erie did not create, but
illustrated and brought out in bold outline, the real character of the
man.

The crews of the American fleet were of a mixed character. Perry sent
from Newport one hundred and forty-nine men and three boys in three
detachments. Half of one of these detachments was detained by Commodore
Chauncey on Lake Ontario; but shortly before the battle Perry received
from that officer a considerable accession to his force. Upon his
arrival at Lake Erie, Perry found a few men in the service of the
Government on the Lake, and the remainder of his men were made up of new
recruits, with a contingent taken from the North Western army of men,
naturally brave but without experience on ship-board. Perry had arrayed
against him skillful officers who had been taught the art of war, and
the methods of victory under Nelson. Brave and highly disciplined seamen
in whose vocabulary defeat had had no