US Brig Niagara (museum ship)

The modern U.S. Brig "Niagara" is a museum ship and sail training vessel located in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Erie Maritime Museum. The "Niagara" is a reconstruction of the first U.S. Brig "Niagara", a brig which played a pivotal role in the Battle of Lake Erie and the victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during the War of 1812. It is also one of last three ships remaining from the War of 1812, with the other two being the USS Constitution and the USS Constellation.cite web |title=The Brig Niagara |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/pevi/HTML/Niagara.html |accessdate=2008-08-01]

History

The original

The original "Niagara" was sunk in 1820 in Misery Bay on Presque Isle, PA for preservation. Owned successively by Benjamin H. Brown of Rochester, New York, and Captain George Miles of Erie, "Niagara" was raised but found to need such extensive restoration that she was again allowed to sink. She was raised again on March 6, 1913 and restored by the Perry Centennial Commission, which towed her from Buffalo, New York to Chicago, Illinois for exhibition at all the larger towns of Lakes Huron and Michigan during the commemoration of the Battle of Lake Erie. Returning to Erie on September 21, 1913, she was cribbed up just out of the water, deteriorating until 1929, when restoration was begun by the "Niagara" Association of Erie, aided by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The project halted for lack of funds in 1934, but was finally completed in 1963 for the sesquicentennial of her great victories.

Reconstruction

In 1988, a more extensive reconstruction was undertaken to restore the ship to sailing condition. The ship was completely rebuilt from the keel up, by Melbourne Smith, using period ship-building techniques. Some of the original wood was retained, but only in non-structural areas, leading many authorities to classify the current "Niagara" as a replica rather than a reconstruction (see Ship of Theseus.) The National Park Service, however, considers the vessel to be a reconstruction of the original. Today's "Niagara" is built to be "modernly historic," having the appearance and feel of the original, but meeting modern Coast Guard regulations, with water-tight bulkheads, modern emergency equipment, and twin diesel engines. On March 20, 2008, the "Niagara"'s yellow pine mast was replaced with one made of Douglas fir. [cite news|last=Weber|first=Sarah|title=Brig Niagara trades in yellow pine for Douglas fir|date=2008-03-20|publisher=Erie Times-News|accessdate=2008-03-20 |url=http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/NEWS02/803200421]

Today, the "Niagara" is used to educate the public on the War of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie. She serves as the flagship of the "Niagara" Fleet", with a crew of professionals and volunteers joining her on many of her voyages to distant ports.

She typically flies a War of 1812-era United States flag, the state flag of Pennsylvania, and Perry's famous "Dont [sic] Give Up the Ship" flag.

References

External links

* [http://www.brigniagara.org/niagara.htm U.S. Brig Niagara] , "Erie Maritime Museum"
* [http://www.nps.gov/pevi/HTML/Niagara.html The Brig Niagara] , "National Park Service"
* [http://usbrigniagara.com/ Reconstruction and Launch Photographs] , "Steven M. Hetrick"
* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/niagara.htm Historic Naval Ships Association]