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American sailors captured HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia on Lake Erie in 1812 by
1812 Event

October 9

American Forces Capture Two British Ships on Lake Erie

American sailors captured HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia on Lake Erie in 1812 by rowing quietly alongside them at 3 a.m. and boarding before the British crews woke up. Lieutenant Jesse Elliott led 100 men in two boats. They took both ships without firing a shot. Detroit had been the American brig Adams before the British captured her at Detroit two months earlier. Elliott sailed her back to American lines and renamed her. She'd switched sides twice in ten weeks.

October 9, 1812

214 years ago

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