he _Lawrence_ and the
_Niagara_. Apart from these, the battle squadron consisted of seven
small schooners and the captured British brig, the _Caledonia_. In size
and armament they were absurd cockleshells even when compared with a
modern destroyer, but they were to make themselves superbly memorable.
Perry's flagship was no larger than the ancient coasting schooners which
ply today between Bangor and Boston with cargoes of lumber and coal.

Through the winter and spring of 1813, the carpenters, calkers, and
smiths were fitting the new vessels together from the green timber and
planking which the choppers and sawyers wrought out of the forest. The
iron, the canvas, and all the other material had to be hauled by horses
and oxen from places several hundred miles distant. Late in July the
squadron was ready for active service but was dangerously short of men.
This, however, was the least of Perry's concerns. He had reckoned that
seven hundred and forty officers and sailors were required to handle and
fight his ships, but he did not hesitate to put to sea with a total
force of four hundred and ninety.

Of these a hundred were soldiers sent him only nine days before he
sailed, and most of them trod a deck for the first time. Chauncey was so
absorbed in his own affairs and hazards on Lake Ontario that he was not
likely to give Perry any more men than could be spared. This reluctance
caused Perry to send a spirited protest in which he said: "The men that
came by Mr. Champlin are a motley set, blacks, soldiers, and boys. I
cannot think you saw them after they were selected."

As the superior officer, Chauncey resented the criticism and replied
with this warning reproof: "As you have assured the Secretary that you
should conceive yourself equal or superior to the enemy, with a force of
men so much less than I had deemed necessary, there will be a great deal
expected from you by your country, and I trust they will not be
disappointed in the high expectations formed of your gallantry and
judgment."

The quick temper of Perry flared at this. He was about to sail in search
of the British fleet with what men he had because he was unable to
obtain more, and he had rightly looked to Chauncey to supply the
deficiency. Impulsively he asked to be relieved of his command and gave
expression to his sense of grievance in a letter to the Secretary of the
Navy in which he said, among other things: "I cannot serve under an
officer who has be