The men from the army were animated for a desperate exertion; with
them the slaughter at the river Raisin was to be redressed, and its
repetition in the northwest was to be made impossible. In this
disposition for redress the seamen heartily sympathized, for the war was
a contest for Sailors' Rights. The American Flag then trailed in the
dust, but it was to be restored to its appropriate place in the esteem
of the men in that section of the country. With a crew animated by these
motives, Perry went into action with the Lawrence and fought the enemy
almost single-handed until all the guns of his ship were dismounted, and
all but eight of her gallant crew that he left on board, were either
killed or wounded, when with a boat's crew he left the Lawrence, boarded
and took command of the Niagara, and it is at this moment in the
conflict the artist has undertaken to represent him.
Barclay said in his report to the British Admiralty, that when Perry
boarded the Niagara, that vessel was fresh in action.
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