Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Battle of Lake Erie. Testimony of Messrs. Turner, Parsons, Stevens, Forrest, Cnamplin, Breese, Brownell and Taylor. The next witnesses are the officers who furnished affidavits to the Committee of the Legislature of Rhode Island. The first in order of these is the affidavit of Lieutenant Turner, who commanded the Caledonia, a ship, be it always remembered, for which the American Navy was indebted to Captain Elliott, who gallantly took it from the British about one year previously. In this affidavit, he says that the signal made by Commodore Perry was for every one to engage as he came up, each against the enemy's vessel, which made the Niagara the antagonist of the Queen Charlotte, the third ship in the enemy's line. Here he disagrees with Lieutenant Forrest, who says before the Court of Inquiry, that the Niagara was just astern of the Lawrence. He says it was the general opinion of the American officers, that Captain Elliott did not do his duty in the battle as a gallant and faithful officer. Here he disagrees with Lieutenant Forrest, who says, as already cited, that Captain Elliott did every thing becoming a brave and meritorious officer in that action. Lieutenant Turner also says that the Niagara might have relieved the Lawrence from the Queen Charlotte's fire, if she had made proper exertions to bring her to close action; but by Appendix E. I. keeping her maintopsail aback and her jib brailed up, she kept at too great a distance from the enemy to do him any injury, and sustained scarcely any herself until the Commodore took command of her, who immediately bore up and passed through the enemy's line, firing both his broadsides with such tremendous effect, as caused him instantly to surrender. By this he means that the maintopsail was kept aback ...