USS Ariel (1813)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | Ariel |
| Builder: | Adam and Noah Brown, Presque Isle Bay, Pennsylvania |
| Launched: | April 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Schooner |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 70 feet (21 m) |
| Sail plan: | Gaff rig |
| Complement: | 36 |
| Armament: | 4 × 12-pounder long gun |
The second USS Ariel was clipper schooner built on Lake Erie at Presque Isle Bay, Pennsylvania, in 1813, by Adam and Noah Brown. She was launched in April 1813 and commissioned sometime during the ensuing summer, Lt. John H. Packett in command.
She was 70 feet (21 m) 70-long-ton (71 t) and armed with four 12-pounder long gun mounted on pivots. One cannon was forward of the foremast, two were between the masts, and one was abaft the main. Ariel was very sharp and had a reputation for speed.
At the outset of her service, Ariel was blockaded in the harbor at Presque Isle by the British squadron under Captain Robert Heriot Barclay, Royal Navy, until 2 August. However, when the English warship sailed away that day, Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry at once moved to get his squadron out into the lake. That action necessitated removing the guns from the two largest vessels of the squadron, the 20-gun brigs Lawrence and Niagara, and literally carrying them over the shallow bar at the entrance to the harbor. Lawrence passed over the bar early on the morning of 5 August. At about 8:00 that morning, the British squadron reappeared and traded long-range gunfire with Ariel and other small units of the American flotilla. Apparently Barclay did not realize that the two heaviest units in the American force were still without guns and undermanned for, after trading a few rounds with Ariel and her colleagues, he drew off and gave the Americans time to rearm and bring their complements up to strength. Soon thereafter, Niagara also crossed the bar; and the Americans began preparations for battle.
...
Wikipedia