Capture of HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia on the Niagara River

Background. Detroit had begun as the American brig Adams, launched in 1798, and was the only American government vessel on the upper Great Lakes at the war's outbreak, intended as a transport for supplies to outposts such as Fort Mackinac. After General William Hull surrendered Detroit on 16 August 1812, the British captured and renamed her, taking her into the Provincial Marine.

The Raid. On 8 October 1812, Detroit and the North West Company's brig Caledonia lay anchored off Fort Erie in the upper Niagara River. Lieutenant Jesse Elliott, commander of US naval forces on Lake Erie, spotted them and organized a cutting-out operation. A force of about 100 men left Buffalo Creek after dark, and with Army Captain Nathan Towson he captured both brigs.

Aftermath. The captors made for Black Rock, but the wind died and Detroit became unmanageable, sweeping downriver into range of British guns. She grounded on the southern tip of Squaw Island while under artillery fire; Elliott fought the shore battery until his ammunition ran out, then beached the ship and escaped to the American side. To prevent recapture, he ordered Detroit burned. Caledonia arrived safely.

Recognition. Elliott's role in the capture was later honored: on 6 January 1814 he and Oliver Hazard Perry each received a Congressional Gold Medal and the Thanks of Congress, and each received an equal share of $7,140 in prize money from the captured British ships.