LAKE ERIE, BATTLE OF

(Sept. 10, 1813), major U.S. naval victory in the War of 1812, ensuring U.S. control over Lake Erie and precluding any territorial cession in the Northwest to Great Britain in the peace settlement. On Sept. 10, 1813, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet of nine ships engaged six British warships under Capt. Robert Heriot Barclay in Lake Erie. After Perry's flagship, Lawrence, had suffered heavy casualties and had been reduced to a defenseless wreck, he transferred to a sister ship, the Niagara, and sailed directly into the British line, firing broadsides and forcing its surrender. The British lost 40 men, with 94 wounded; the Americans, 27 killed and 96 wounded. The destruction of the British squadron on Lake Erie reversed the course of the northwest campaign and forced the British to abandon Detroit.