42°8′14″N 80°5′15″W / 42.13722°N 80.08750°W
![]() US Brig Niagara near Put-in-Bay, Ohio in June 2009
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History | |
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Name | Niagara |
Owner | Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |
Operator | Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |
Ordered | 31 December 1812 |
Launched | June 13, 1813 |
Sunk: | 1820 |
Raised: | 6 March 1913 |
Restored: | 1913, 1931–1943, 1963, 1988 |
In service | Active |
Homeport | Erie, Pennsylvania |
Status | Sea-going museum ship |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Niagara-class snow-brig |
Displacement | 297 long tons (302 t)[1] |
Length | 110 ft 8 in (33.7 m) LBP |
Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Height |
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Depth | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
Sail plan | 12,665 sq ft (1,177 m2) on two masts[1] |
Boats & landing craft carried | 2 cutters, 1 yawl[2] |
1813: | |
Tons burthen | 492 60⁄95 tons[1][3] |
Complement | 155 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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1998: | |
Tonnage | 162 GT[1] |
Installed power | 2 × 200 bhp (150 kW) diesel engines |
Crew | 20 professional, 20 volunteer[1] |
Armament | 2 × 32-pounder carronades |
U.S.S. Niagara | |
![]() Brig Niagara firing its cannons, off of Put-in-Bay, Ohio | |
Location | Erie, Pennsylvania |
Coordinates | 42°07′46″N 80°05′07″W / 42.129561°N 80.085214°W |
Area | Less than one acre |
Architectural style | Snow-brig |
NRHP reference No. | 73001628[4] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 11 April 1973 |
Designated NHL | 11 April 1973 |
USS Niagara, commonly called the U.S. Brig Niagara or the Flagship Niagara, is a wooden-hulled snow-brig[b] that served as the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. As the ship is certified for sail training by the United States Coast Guard, she is also designated SSV Niagara. Niagara is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in downtown Erie in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania as an outdoor exhibit for the museum. She also often travels the Great Lakes during the summer, serving as an ambassador of Pennsylvania when not docked. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated the official state ship of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1988.
Niagara was constructed from 1812 to 1813 to protect the vulnerable American coastline on Lake Erie from the British and played a pivotal role in the battle for the lake. Along with most warships that served in the war, Niagara was sunk for preservation on Presque Isle in 1820. Raised in 1913, it was rebuilt for the centennial of the Battle of Lake Erie. After deteriorating, the restoration of Niagara was started again in the 1930s, but was hampered by the lack of funds caused by the Great Depression and remained uncompleted until 1963. A more extensive restoration was carried out in 1988 in which much of the original ship was largely destroyed. The incorporation of new materials and modern equipment makes it ambiguous as to whether it is or is not a replica.