USS Caledonia was a brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

, formerly HMS Caledonia, which was captured by the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 and taken into American service. The brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

, and was sold at the end of the war.

Caledonia was the first warship

Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...

 in the U.S. Navy to carry that name.

Capture of Caledonia

Caledonia was built for the Canadian North West Company

North West Company

The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

 at Malden, near Amherstburg

Amherstburg, Ontario

Amherstburg is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario. It is approximately south of the U.S...

 in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 in 1807, for the North American fur trade

North American Fur Trade

The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition, exchange, and sale of animal furs in the North American continent. Indigenous peoples of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era, but Europeans participated in the trade beginning...

 on the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

.

In 1812, the brig was taken into military service with the Provincial Marine

Provincial Marine

Provincial Marine was a coastal protection service in charge of the waters in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and parts of Lake Champlain under British control. While ships of the PM were designated HMS, they were operated in more of a coast guard manner than as a full fledged navy....

, a naval transport and protection service in Canada. It played a major part in the Battle of Mackinac Island

Battle of Mackinac Island (1812)

The Siege of Fort of Mackinac was one of the first engagements of the War of 1812. A British and Native American force captured the island soon after the outbreak of war between Britain and the United States. Encouraged by the easy British victory, more Native Americans subsequently rallied to...

, transporting artillery which was used to force the American garrison of the island to surrender.

After the American garrison of Detroit surrendered after the Siege of Detroit

Siege of Detroit

The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit, or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the Anglo-American War of 1812...

, Caledonia and the brig Adams

Adams (brig)

HMS Detroit was a 6-gun brig of the Royal Navy. She served on Lake Erie during the War of 1812, giving the British control of the lake. She was briefly recaptured by the Americans, but came under heavy fire and had to be abandoned...

 which had been captured at Detroit, were engaged in transporting troops and stores from Detroit and Amherstburg to the Niagara River

Niagara River

The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...

, where an American attack was anticipated.

On 8 October, 1812, the two brigs were anchored near Fort Erie

Fort Erie, Ontario

Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....

 at the head of the Niagara River. The Caledonia carried two 4-pounder guns on pivots, and had a crew of twelve. There were also ten American prisoners aboard, and a cargo of furs worth approximately $200,000, a considerable sum of money at the time.

A boarding party of American sailors under Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott and soldiers under Captain Nathan Towson boarded and captured both brigs. The Adams ran aground under artillery fire on an island in the river and was eventually set on fire to prevent it being recaptured. The Caledonia was taken successfully to the navy yard at Black Rock, New York. During the boarding one American sailor was killed and four seriously wounded by a volley of musketry. The twelve Canadian crew members were made captive.

Service in the War of 1812

The Caledonia was formally purchased by the U.S. Navy on 6 February, 1813, and was fitted with two long 24-pounder guns and one 32-pounder carronade. This gave Caledonia an impressive broadside

Broadside

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...

 of 80 pounds of shot. For several months, the Caledonia and several other schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

s which had been purchased by the Navy and were converted into gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

s were prevented from leaving Black Rock by the British batteries on the other side of the Niagara. On 26 May, the British were defeated at the Battle of Fort George

Battle of Fort George

The Battle of Fort George was a battle fought during the War of 1812, in which the Americans defeated a British force and captured the Fort George in Upper Canada...

 at the foot of the river and were compelled to abandon Fort Erie and the nearby batteries. Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry

United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...

 had the Caledonia and the other vessels towed by oxen up the fast-flowing river, an operation which took several days. He then sailed with them along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Presque Isle

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

, where the other vessels of Perry's squadron were being constructed.

On September 10, Caledonia played a key role in the decisive Battle of Lake Erie

Battle of Lake Erie

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...

. Caledonia was commanded in this battle by Lieutenant Daniel Turner

Daniel Turner (naval officer)

-Biography:Probably born at Richmond on Staten Island, Turner was appointed a midshipman in the Navy on 1 January 1808. Following brief duty at the New York Naval Station, he served in Constitution on the North Atlantic Station...

, who was praised by Perry for his conduct. For much of the early part of the battle, the other major American vessels were outranged, and only Caledonias long guns could engage the British flagship and the other British vessels at the centre of the battle.

Following the American victory, Caledonia transported American troops to Detroit and Amherstburg, which had been abandoned by the British Army.

In 1814, Caledonia was part of the expedition to Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

, which attempted to recover Mackinac Island.

Post-war disposition

The brig was sold at Presque Isle

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

in May, 1815. Refitted as a commercial ship, she was named the General Wayne, and reportedly sank in the 1830s in Lake Erie. However, a 1934 article in the Canadian history magazine "The Beaver" claimed the ship did not sink, but was dismantled in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Fate+1812+shipwreck+playing+courts/3513772/story.html#ixzz0zcIyK4Ds

On 24 July, 2009, a story appearing in the Buffalo News mentioned the discovery of an 85 foot schooner on the bottom of Lake Erie, which may be Caledonia. The American company Northeast Research Ltd proposed raising the well preserved wreck and putting it on display near Buffalo, New York. In May 2010 a New York magistrate ruled that this would violate New York's "in situ preservation" policy of leaving shipwrecks intact, and where they are found. The decision has been appealed, and in September 2010 the case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara.