his wife's letters, and tore them to pieces lest they
should be read by the enemy.

The awful silence is suddenly broken by a bugle sounded on board the
Detroit, and the cheers of the British seamen. A shot from that vessel
fell short of its mark. The Lawrence bears on to meet the fire,
accompanied by the other vessels of the command in appointed order,
each destined for its appropriate antagonist. At noon the British fire
from the superior long guns, was telling fearfully on the American
force, when Perry made all sail for close quarters, bringing the
Lawrence within reach of the Detroit. He maintained a steady,
well-directed fire from his carronades, assisted by the Scorpion and
Ariel. The destruction on the deck of the Lawrence was fearful. Out of
100 well men, says Mackenzie, who had gone into action, 22 were killed
and 61 wounded. We shall not insult the humanity of the reader by the
details of this fearful carnage. It has probably never been exceeded
in the terrors of the "dying deck," in naval warfare.

In the midst of this storm of conflict, Perry, finding his ship
getting disabled, and seeing the Niagara uninjured at a safe distance,
resolved to change his flag to that vessel. He had half a mile to
traverse, exposed to the fire of the enemy, in an open boat. Nothing
deterred, with the exclamation, "If a victory is to be gained I'll
gain it," he made the passage, part of the time standing as a target
for the hostile guns. Fifteen minutes were passed exposed to this
plunging fire, which splintered the oars and covered the boat with
spray. The Lawrence, stripped of her officers and men, was compelled
to surrender.

Perry instantly bore up to the Detroit, the guns of which were plied
resolutely, when she became entangled with her consort, the Queen
Charlotte, and the Niagara poured a deadly fire into both vessels.
This cannonade decided the battle in seven minutes, when the enemy
surrendered. The American loss in this engagement was 27 killed and 96
wounded; that of the British 41 killed and 94 wounded. Gallant actions
were performed and noble men fell on both sides. It was every way a
splendid victor, placing the genius of Perry and his magnanimous,
spirited conduct throughout, in the highest rank of naval exertion.

The memorable letters, brief, at once eloquent and modest, which he
wrote that afternoon announcing his victory, are too characteristic to
be omitted in any personal account of the man. Addressing