Flagship City Kitties

The story of the US Brig Niagara is a gritty tale of American ingenuity and a desperate gamble on the shores of Lake Erie. During the War of 1812, the United States found itself strangled by British control of the Great Lakes. In response, a makeshift shipyard was established in the wilderness of Erie, Pennsylvania, where shipwrights worked frantically to build a fleet from "green" unseasoned timber. Among these vessels was the Niagara, a maneuverable brig that would soon find itself at the center of naval history.

On Sept. 10, 1813, the fate of the American frontier hung in the balance as Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry engaged the British fleet. The battle began disastrously; Perry’s initial flagship, the USS Lawrence, was shredded by enemy fire until it was a floating graveyard. In a moment of legendary defiance, Perry lowered his "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag and rowed through a hail of gunfire to the relatively untouched Niagara. Taking command, he steered her directly into the British line, unleashing a devastating broadside that forced the entire Royal Navy squadron to surrender -- a feat never before achieved.

In the years following the war, the Niagara was intentionally scuttled in Erie’s Misery Bay to preserve her wood, beginning a long cycle of decay and rebirth. She was raised and rebuilt for the battle's centennial in 1913, but it wasn't until the late 1980s that the current, highly authentic reconstruction was completed. Today, she serves as the Official Flagship of Pennsylvania, a sailing ambassador that carries the weight of that 1813 victory into the modern era.