Condition Assessment of Main Structural members of the U.S. Brig Niagara

Abstract

The US Brig Niagara in Erie, Pennsylvania is a reconstruction of an early 19th century wooden warship of the United States Navy. One of six warships built to regain control of the upper Great Lakes from the British during the War of 1812, the hastily built Magara was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's relief flagship in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 1051813. In the battle, the entire British squadron of six warships was captured by Perry's nine ship squadron. This pivotal event in the war of 1812 secured the Northwest Territory, opened supply lines, and lifted the nation's moral. After the war, Niagara served as a station ship in Erie until she was scuttled in Presque Isle Bay in 1820. The wreck was raised and rebuilt in 1913 to commemorate the centennial of the battle and became part of the Erie Maritime Museum. Niagara was rebuilt again between 1933 and 1943 and placed ashore in downtown Erie. She underwent her third reconstruction, between 1988 and 1990, which enabled her to return to the water as an active Sailing ship. The testing results show no sign of decay on any of the cant frames and the knighthead tested. However, because the micro-drilling testing was very limited in the forepeak area, we can not conclude that all parts of the cant frames and the knighthead are free from decay.