Local men say they've found wreck that 'changed course of U.S. history'

Westerly - The owner of Cottrell Brewery in Pawcatuck and a Colchester man plan to announce Friday that they have discovered in local waters the early 19th century wreck of a ship commanded by famed captain Oliver Hazard Perry.

Divers Charles Buffum of Stonington and Craig Harger of Colchester are scheduled to discuss their discovery at 3 p.m. Friday at the Ocean House in Watch Hill.

Buffum declined Wednesday afternoon to identify the ship that he and Harger have found but said it led to Perry's being given the command of a fleet in the Great Lakes. That fleet defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie, a major naval confrontation during the War of 1812.

"If he had not wrecked this ship, he would never have been sent to the Great Lakes," Buffum said Wednesday. "It changed the course of U.S. history."

The wreck the two men have found may be that of the Revenge, a 14-gun schooner commanded by Perry that sank on the reefs off Watch Hill on Jan. 8, 1811, while surveying southern New England harbors, including New London.

Perry faced a court-martial over the wreck but was eventually exonerated as blame fell on the ship's pilot. Because of the incident, however, the formerly fast-rising captain could not get command of a ship battling the British along the Eastern seaboard. Instead, he had to settle for the less glamorous position of commanding a fleet of warships in the Great Lakes.

It turned out, though, that Perry was in the right place at the right time.

On Sept. 10, 1813, while aboard the USS Lawrence in Lake Erie, Perry engaged the British squadron. On his ship was a battle flag bearing the now-famous saying, "Don't give up the ship."

The Lawrence was badly damaged in the initial fighting so Perry, carrying the battle flag, had his men row him a half-mile away to the USS Niagara, where he led the fleet to victory. It was the first time in history that a British naval squadron had surrendered, and it was a turning point in the war.

In his post-battle report to his superiors, Perry wrote another saying that is now famous: "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

It was a strange twist; if not for the wreck of the Revenge, Perry would likely have become the captain of a warship in the Atlantic Ocean, not in the Great Lakes to battle the British.

Buffum said that he and Harger plan to discuss how they found the ship and other details about the wreck, along with showing photos and video of it, on Friday.

j.wojtas@theday.com