USS Caledonia was a brig, formerly , that the United States Navy captured during the War of 1812 and took into American service. The brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie, and was sold at the end of the war.
Caledonia was the first warship in the U.S. Navy to carry that name.
Capture of Caledonia
Caledonia was built for the Canadian North West Company at Malden, near Amherstburg in Upper Canada in 1807, for the North American fur trade on the Great Lakes.
For several months, British batteries on the other side of the Niagara prevented Caledonia and several other schooners which had been purchased by the Navy and were converted into gunboats from leaving Black Rock. On 26 May, the British were defeated at the Battle of Fort George at the foot of the river and were compelled to abandon Fort Erie and the nearby batteries. Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry had Caledonia and the other vessels towed by oxen up the fast-flowing river, an operation that took several days. He then sailed with them along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Presque Isle, where the other vessels of his squadron were being constructed.
thumb|Battle of Lake Erie, [[Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion|Ballou's Pictorial 1856]]
On 10 September, Caledonia played a key role in the decisive Battle of Lake Erie. Caledonia was commanded in this battle by Lieutenant Daniel Turner, 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 center of the battle.
Citations
References
- Buffalo News article