"Prelude to Battle: Lake Erie; 1813" original oil painting by Peter Rindlisbacher

Oil on canvas; 24” x 36”

Prior to the Battle of Lake Erie, Commodore Perry’s squadron lookouts sighted the British at dawn, and make sail in pursuit. The bulk of that morning was spent tacking to windward in frustrating airs, trying to get at the enemy. The scene shows the squadron just before the pivotal wind shift, which gave them their “weather gage” and the victory that followed.