Jesse Duncan Elliott (14 July 1782 – 10 December 1845) was a United States naval officer and commander of American naval forces in

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, especially noted for his controversial actions during the Battle of Lake Erie.

Early life

Elliott was born in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

. His childhood home, the Elliot-Bester House, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. He enlisted in the US Navy as a midshipman in April 1804 and saw action in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

during the

Barbary Wars The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) and Morocco of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had bee ...

between 1805 and 1807, serving on board the USS ''Essex'' under Commodore James Barron. In June 1807, Elliott was on board USS ''Chesapeake'' when Commodore Barron was forced to allow a search of the ship by HMS ''Leopard''.

War of 1812

Elliott won promotion to lieutenant in April 1810 and was assigned to

to oversee construction of the US naval squadron on Lake Erie upon the outbreak of the War of 1812. On 8 October 1812, he and Army Captain Nathan Towson captured the British brigs and , formerly the United States brig ''Adams'', anchored near the British Fort Erie in the upper reaches of the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

. ''Caledonia'' escaped to an American port with a load of furs and became the USS ''Caledonia''. ''Detroit'' was swept down the Niagara River into range of the British guns. Elliott battled the shore emplacement until his ammunition ran out and then beached the ship on Squaw Island (today known as Unity Island) and fled to the American side of the river. British and American guns destroyed the beached ship. Elliott and Towson were later commended for this action by Congress. In February 1813, however, Elliott was replaced as commander of the Lake Erie squadron by Master Commandant Oliver H. Perry. Transferred to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, Elliott served under Commodore Isaac Chauncey as captain on board the flagship the , and took part in the

Battle of York The Battle of York was a War of 1812 battle fought in York, Upper Canada (today's Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on April 27, 1813. An American force, supported by a naval flotilla, landed on the western lakeshore and captured the provincial capital ...

on 27 April 1813 and the Battle of Fort George on 27 May. He was promoted to master commandant in July and reassigned to the Lake Erie squadron, to serve as Commodore Perry's second-in-command. He felt Perry had insufficient combat experience, and was particularly critical of Perry's choice of Presque Isle for his shipyard.

Battle of Lake Erie

During the Battle of Lake Erie against a British squadron under Captain Robert Barclay on 10 September, Elliott commanded the brig . Perry commanded the ''Niagara''s sister-ship, . In the center of the American line of battle, the ''Niagara'' was astern of the ''Caledonia'' which in turn was astern of the ''Lawrence''. During the early stages of the battle, the ''Lawrence'' fought alone against several of the heaviest British ships while the ''Niagara'' was scarcely engaged. After the ''Lawrence'' was battered into a wreck, Perry took command of the ''Niagara'' while Elliott was dispatched by boat to urge the smaller American gunboats at the rear of the line of battle into closer action. The battle ended with the surrender of the entire British squadron. Elliott won distinction for his actions and official praise from Perry, and was given command of the Lake Erie squadron the next month. There was nevertheless controversy over his actions during the battle. Some (including Perry) suspected that he had deliberately held ''Niagara'' out of the battle in the beginning, and they would feud over this point to the end of their lives.

Honors

On January 6, 1814, both Elliott and Perry were each honored with a

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

, and the

Thanks of Congress The Thanks of Congress is a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress originally to extend the government's formal thanks for significant victories or impressive actions by United States, American military commanders and th ...

. (''See'' 3 Stat. 141.) This was in recognition of the first time in history when an entire British naval squadron had surrendered. (Compar
Congressional Gold Medal Honoring Jesse D. Elliott
an
Congressional Gold Medal Honoring Oliver Hazard Perry
) In addition to the medals, Elliott and Perry each received an equal share of the prize money ($7,140.00 apiece) for the capture of the British squadron at Lake Erie. In recognition of Perry's position as commodore of the squadron, Congress voted Perry an additional payment of $5,000.00, which became a source of consternation for Elliott. In 1818 Elliott was elected as an honorary member of the Maryland

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

Conflict between Perry and Elliott

Even before the medals were presented, Elliott and Perry became embroiled in a thirty-year-long controversy over their respective conduct and fault in the battle, extending even beyond Perry's death in 1819. Perry claimed that Elliott had failed to offer timely support; Elliott decried lack of communication and signals on Perry's part. In August 1818 Perry drew up a list of charges against Elliott but was, apparently, dissuaded by the Secretary of the Navy against formally filing them.Skaggs, David Curtis. ''Perry Triumphant'' (April 2009 Volume 23, Number 2)
Naval History Magazine

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds s ...

.National Park Service, Oliver Hazard Perry.
/ref> Perry left his list of charges and specifications with his friend Commodore

Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...

when he left on his diplomatic mission to Venezuela in 1819, during which he died. Elliott served as the second to Captain James Barron in the duel in which Barron killed Decatur in 1820. Decatur's widow published the charges made by Perry years later as she held Elliott to be at least partially responsible for her husband's death.

Later career

Elliott commanded the sloop USS ''Ontario'' during the Second Barbary War, and was promoted to Captain in 1818, serving on a naval commission selecting sites for navy yards, lighthouses, and other coastal fortifications, until 1822. In 1820, Elliott was second to Commodore James Barron when the latter fatally shot

in a duel. He was transferred to the Brazil Squadron in 1825, served as captain of the USS ''Cyane'' for two years, and later commanded the West Indies Squadron from 1829 to 1832. Elliott was appointed commander of the Boston Navy Yard in 1833 and of the frigate USS ''Constitution'' and the Mediterranean Squadron from 3 March 1835 to 18 August 1838. During the Mediterranean assignment, he was charged with minor offenses by several of his junior officers, including using his official position for personal gain and transporting animals he had purchased aboard ''Constitution''. Elliott was recalled to the United States in 1838. He was politically unpopular at the time (possibly stemming back to his performance during the Battle of Lake Erie and subsequent feud with Perry), and was convicted of these charges and suspended from duty for four years until the remaining charges were dismissed by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

in October 1843. Appointed commander of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in December 1844, Elliott remained there until his death on 10 December 1845. He is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia. After being overgrown for many years, his grave was re-identified in 2012.

Dates of rank

*Midshipman - 2 April 1804 *Lieutenant - 23 April 1810 *Master Commandant - 24 July 1813 *Captain - 27 March 1818

References

Sources

*McHenry, Robert. ''Webster's American Military Biographies'', Springfield, Mass.: G & C. Merriam Co., 1978. *Jesse D. Elliott, ''Address of Com. Jesse D. Elliot 'sic'' U.S.N., Delivered in Washington County, Maryland, to His Early Companions at Their Request, on November 24, 1843'' (Philadelphia: G.B. Zeiber & co., 1844).

an
here for other formats
* Burges, Tristam, 1770-1853.br>(1839) ''Battle of Lake Erie, with notices of Commodore Elliot's conduct in that engagement'' (Providence, Brown & Cady). Conners, William James, 1857-; Emerson, George Douglas. (1916) ''The Perry's victory centenary. Report of the Perry's victory centennial commission, state of New York'' (Albany, J.B. Lyon Company, Printers).
*Coles, Harry L; Borstin, Daniel J., Ed. August 1966 ''The War of 1812'' (Chicago:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

) . * Cooper, James Fenimore (1846
''Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers''

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an
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for American Library Association. * Dillon, Richard. (1978) ''We have met the enemy: Oliver Hazard Perry, wilderness commodore'' (New York: McGraw-Hill). . * Dutton, Charles J. (1935) ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' (New York: Longmans, Green and Co.) 308 pp. (Scholar's Bookshelf; First Edition—October 15, 2006) ; .
Downloadable resources regarding Oliver Hazard Perry, American Library Association.Eaton, Joseph Giles, 1847-1905. (1905) ''Perry's Victory on Lake Erie.'' Military Historical Society of Massachusetts (Boston, For the Society
by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

) at American Library Association.
Elliott, Jesse D., 1782-1845. Address of Com. Jesse D. Elliot, U.S.N., Delivered in Washington County, Maryland, to His Early Companions at Their Request, on November 24, 1843 (Philadelphia: G.B. Zeiber & co., 1844).
* *Lyman, Olin H. (1905) ''Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and the War on the Lakes''.
Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell, 1803-1848. (1915) ''Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry : famous American naval hero, victor of the battle of Lake Erie, his life and achievements'' (Akron, Ohio: Superior Printing Co.)Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell, 1803-1848. (1840) ''The life of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.'' (New York, Harper) Volume 1Volume 2
* Mahan, Alfred Thayer, 1840–1914. (1905
Power in Its Relation to the War of 1812'' (2 vols.)
(Boston: Little Brown) American Library Association.
Niles, John Milton (Bedford, Mass.: Applewood Books, 1830) ''The Life of Oliver Hazard Perry.''
*
Reid, George. (1913) ''Perry at Erie:how Captain Dobbins, Benjamin Fleming and others assisted him.'' (Erie, Pennsylvania: Journal publishing company).Skaggs, David Curtis. (October 2006) ''Oliver Hazard Perry: honor, courage, and patriotism in the early U.S. Navy.''
Annapolis, Maryland:

Naval Institute Press The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...

, ; .
Skaggs, David Curtis. ''Perry Triumphant'' (April 2009 Volume 23, Number 2)
Naval History Magazine

. *
White, James T. (1895) p. 288.
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography

External links

War of 1812 - People & Stories: Jesse Elliot
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=0v7UDE1GIXEC Jesse D. Elliott, Address of Com. Jesse D. Elliot, U.S.N., Delivered in Washington County, Maryland, to His Early Companions at Their Request, on November 24, 1843 (Philadelphia: G.B. Zeiber & co., 1844).] {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Jesse 1782 births 1845 deaths American military personnel of the First Barbary War United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812 Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) Congressional Gold Medal recipients People from Hagerstown, Maryland United States Navy officers Commanders of the USS Constitution