U.S. Brig Niagra

"And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."  (John Masefield)

This weekend the U.S. Brig Niagra visited Alpena.  A sailing school vessel, she is crewed by students who want to learn how to sail tall ships.  To this end she spends her summers visiting various Great Lakes ports as a living exhibit on the War of 1812.

Niagra's stop at Alpena coincided with this week's international competition for ROV (remotely operated vehicles) teams at the NOAA Shipwreck Sanctuary.  The event brought in competitors from around the U.S. and from several foreign countries.  Alas, I couldn't make it to the competition.

The U.S. Brig Niagra from across the Thunder Bay River.

Niagra is tied up at the NOAA's Great Lakes
Shipwreck Sanctuary.

I had to walk back quite a distance to get in the whole ship!

This tall ship is an echo of the War of 1812, that war we know so little about.  Niagra was the relief flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813.  Perry initially engaged the British ships Detroit and Queen Charlotte in his flagship Lawrence.  When that vessel was disabled, with most of her crew dead or injured, Perry transferred to the Niagra, ran up his "Don't Give Up The Ship" battle flag, and went at it again.

In close action Perry broke the British battle line and forced the opposing fleet's commander, Commodore Robert Heriot Barclay, to surrender.  He then famously reported to Gen. William Henry Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours...."  This victory on Lake Erie led to recapture of Detroit, which had been lost in the early days of the war.

A Niagra life ring.  "SSV" stands for School Ship Vessel.

At the tiller visitors listen as a member of the crew explains
how the ship is steered.

Looking toward the bow.

The current U.S. Brig Niagra is the third reconstruction of Perry's relief flagship.  It was built by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and was launched on September 19, 1988, as part of the 175th anniversary celebration of Perry's victory.  She is home ported at the Erie (PA) Maritime Museum.

I was told that the remains of the original ship were located early in the 20th century, raised, and put on display in the open air.  This was before we understood how the cold waters of the Great Lakes preserve the remains of wooden ships.  Removed from the preserving waters, the original Niagra simply rotted away.  This ship was intended to replace her, and to serve as a traveling exhibit on the Battle of Lake Erie.

The ship's bell at the bow.

Life below decks was not for the claustrophobic or the tall.
The clearance on the crew deck is only about 5 feet.

A crew member is seen aloft with a paintbrush.

Niagra is a two-masted, square-rigged vessel.  She originally carried a crew of 155 men and boys who manned her sails and fired her 18 carronades and two long guns.  In addition, Marines were assigned to the fighting tops on the masts where they could fire down on enemy ships.  While Niagra isn't a small vessel, it is hard for me to comprehend how 155 people could live, work, eat, and sleep on this ship.

A crew member told me there are about 150 separate lines which are used to raise, lower, and control the sails.  It takes several weeks for a trainee to learn how to work all these ropes.  In addition, crew members have to go aloft to secure the sails or ready them for use.  He assured me that even those who arrive on board with a fear of heights can master the exciting art (gulp!) of running up the rope ladders.

The flag as she would have been in 1813...

...and Perry's battle flag.

That was very reassuring, of course.  However, I decided to shoot all my photos from the deck! •••