This Brilliant Deed

An excerpt from the Correspondence in relation to the capture of the British brigs ... Elliott, Jesse D. (Jesse Duncan), 1782-1845:

Correspondence Of The Commodore

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Even though the war was over, the military continued on.  See the Correspondence between Commodore Jesse D. Elliott, and Gharles [!] G. Loring:

In Concert With Scott

Source - Fort Erie

The life and military and civic services of Lieut.-Gen. Winfield Scott: complete up to the present period :


"The little troop moving on Niagara had noble incentives to duty."

"...Lieutenant Elliott and a company of seamen to Black Rock where in concert with Scott he conceived the project of cutting out two British brigs of war just arrived from Detroit, and then lying snugly under the guns of Fort Erie--a British fortress opposite Buffalo. This enterprise of great daring was gallantly executed on the morning of October 9th. (1812)."

A Devastating Event In Commodore Elliott's Early Years

From a Speech of Com. Jesse Duncan Elliot  ...:

It is known to many in this respected audience that the honor of a Marylander's birth-right was derived from parents, both of whom were Pennsylvanians, and that in the ninth year of my age, my father [Robert Elliott] was killed by a party of Indians, on the Muskingum, on his route to join the array of Gen. Wayne, to which he was attached as a Commissary.

Robert Elliott's Orders from General Anthony Wayne (a month before Elliott's death):

Plaque Commemorating Fort Hamilton (near Cincinnati, Ohio)

"In 1794, Colonel Robert Elliott, a quartermaster for the army, while traveling with his servant from Fort Washington to Fort Hamilton, was ambushed by the Indians and killed...". [Source]

In Search Of The Enemy

[Partial] Scene Of The Naval Operations - Great Lakes

Map and information taken from A history of the United States Navy, from 1775 to 1893; ...:


After equipping their vessels the Americans cruised several days between Erie and the Canadian shore in search of the enemy, but Commander Barclay had put into Malden to await the completion of the 19-gun ship Detroit. On the 9th of August Master-Commandant Jesse D. Elliott arrived at Erie with one hundred men and was assigned to the Niagara, and three days later the American squadron put to sea in a double line of battle.

A Noble Young Lad Named Hatfield

Source - Fold3

From the Speech of Com. Jesse Duncan Elliot, U.S.N., delivered in Hagerstown, Md. (1843) ...:

I [Commodore Elliott] may here relate a deeply affecting scene which occurred at that time [at Sacketts Harbor]. I had scarcely set my foot upon the deck of the Conquest, when a noble young lad named Hatfield, about 15 years of age, observed to his fellow-midshipman Clarke, "My dream is up! I dreamed that Captain Elliott came on board, and that I was killed." And true enough, the little fellow was killed! His leg was taken off just below the knee by a shot from the shore, while we were working up to the battery, against an opposing wind, the magazine of which was exploded on Gen. Pike's brigade; and while I was tying up his leg, and endeavoring to stop the blood, he said it was of no use, for he must die. I replied to him that he should not die, but live to be an admiral. He asked me if he had done his duty, and if I was satisfied with him? I told him I was, and that he was a brave little fellow. He then asked me if I would call on my way home, and tell his father and mother that he had been faithful. I did so. His father was an industrious mechanic, at Albany.

Commodore Elliot's Speech

Speech of Com. Jesse Duncan Elliot, U.S.N., delivered in Hagerstown, Md. (1843) ...


Early in the spring I returned to Sackets Harbor...we proceeded accompanied by the whole fleet and 1200 men to York, Upper Canada... . ...with his [Commodore Chauncey's] permission I would like to lead all the schooners to the assault on the batteries. He assented, with the emphatic remark: "Do so; but be sure you bring your head back on your shoulders!"

Post-War Charges Preferred Against Elliot

"I ask this injustice as a junior officer assailed by the secret espionage of a superior."  [Charles Crillon Barton]

Taken from the Manifest of the charges preferred to the Navy department and subsequently to Congress, against Jesse Duncan Elliot: esq., a captain in the navy of the United States, for unlawful conduct while commodore of the late Mediterranean squadron; and a refutation of the recrimination raised by that officer .

A brief description of the incident that lead to the above.

Commodore Elliott's Deeds

Source

Correspondence in relation to the capture of the ... . Elliott, Jesse D....:

"...a brave military character of our own country...and then his remarkable deeds: first, in the Mediterranean, second, on Lake Erie, thirdly, on the coast of Brazil, and lastly, on the seaboard of South Carolina...in all which it appears that Jesse D. Elliott conducted to the entire satisfaction of the Congress of the United States, and its President. His being selected to carry despatches to Mr. Pinckney, our Minister at the Court of Great Britain, is not worth mentioning, were it not to show that there was something about Mr. Elliott that elicited patronage; for he stood alone in the world, his father. Captain Robert Elliott, having been slain in battle with the Indians, when under the command of Gen. Wayne. He left a widow and nine children.

Unrecognized Heroics

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From A Sketch Of The Life Of General Towson...

Colonel Scott, to whom Captain Towson naturally looked for a report of his participation in the affair, was made prisoner at Queenstown, immediately after, and before he had an opportunity of mentioning the gallant achievement of the Captain.

The only report of the capture of the brigs therefore was made by the naval commander to whom the credit is due of originating the scheme. Lieut. Elliott received the thanks of Congress, while no notice was taken of Captain Towson; although the latter boarded and carried the Caledonia and afterwards by his persevering intrepidity saved her under circumstances of difficulty and danger, not less than those that caused the destruction of the other brig.

On the return of Lieut. Colonel Scott from captivity, some months afterwards, we are told he obtained a promise from Mr. Armstrong, then Secretary of War, to brevet Captain Towson for his highly distinguished part in that affair, but for reasons with which we are unacquainted, that promise was never fulfilled.

Avoiding A Duel

"Although Perry spoke very highly of Elliot in his official report and Congress decorated him, rumors of Elliot's animosity against his commander and observations from both British and United States experts that Elliot had not backed Perry's boldness as he should created a simmering controversy.  Various accusations and cross accusations in the press, including a defense by James Fenimore Cooper, resulted in Elliot challenging Perry to a duel and then facing a court-martial, a situation that the Cabinet desperately wished to avoid." [Source]

Indiana University has included a copy of Elliott's vindication as well as a brief summary of the feud between Perry and Elliot(t) :
THE PERRY-ELLIOTT CONTROVERSY
Alexander Murray. Opinion of the Court of Inquiry on the conduct of Jesse Duncan Elliott in the Battle of Lake Erie. 1815. (copy)  A handwritten copy of the court opinion clearing Jesse Elliott of any wrong-doing in the Battle of Lake Erie.

This site has a cast copy of Captain Jesse Elliott's Tribute Medal to James Fenimore

Cooper (the Fenimore Art Museum also has a copy of the medal online).

Request To Correct The Record? The Capture Of Detroit And Caledonia

Source

Correspondence in relation to the capture of the British brigs Detroit and Caledonia, on the night of October 8, 1812. Now first published.

Main Author: Elliott, Jesse D. 1782-1845.
Other Authors: Towson, Nathan, 1784-1854.
Published: Philadelphia, United States book and job printing office, 1843.
Note: Controversy between Commodore Elliott and Gen. Towson.

From the correspondence below:  "...I cannot, after a lapse of nearly a quarter of a century, undertake, upon the evidence of a single and not uninterested witness, to alter an official report....".

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Jesse Duncan Elliott

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A link to a Jesse Duncan Elliot file here.

An issue about Elliott's persona raised by the article, Jesse Duncan Elliott and the Battle of Lake Erie: The Issue of Mental Stability (only a preview of the article is available to read for free).

1812 View Of Buffalo, New York

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THE SECOND OLDEST VIEW OF BUFFALO

Published in Philadelphia, 1845, From An Original Sketch by Lt. Jesse D. Elliott Accompanying His Report To The Secretary Of The Navy On The Capture Of The Detroit And Caledonia, 

Dated Black Rock, Oct. 9, 1812

Portrait Of Jesse Duncan Elliott

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See a bio of Commodore Jesse Duncan Elliott.

An earlier post that featured Jesse D. Elliott here.