The grey curtain of morning mist rolled up from Lake Erie, where the British fleet stood out in battle array. A light breeze rippled the surface of the lake and filled the swelling sails. Barclay took advantage of the favourable wind and bore towards the American vessels, which were lying among a cluster of islands. He put forth every effort to reach them before they could sail clear of the islands to form their line. But the wind was so light that they had got away from their cramped quarters before Barclay could come near them. The enemy's fleet now bore towards the British, Perry leading in his flagship the _Lawrence_. From his mast-head flew a flag with the motto, 'Don't give up the ship'--the dying words of Captain James Lawrence of the _Chesapeake_, after whom the vessel was named. The British fleet, compactly formed and under easy sail, awaited the enemy's approach. Captain Barclay in his flagship _Detroit_ headed towards the south-west. The _Chippewa_, _Hunter_, _Queen Charlotte_, _Lady Prevost_, and _Little Belt_, in close column, followed in his wake. The breeze, still light, veered to the north-east, giving the Americans the weather gauge. About noon the action began. The roar of the _Detroit's_ twenty-four pounder, reverberating over the lake, told the anxious watchers on land that the battle had begun. The first shot fell short, but the second struck the decks of the _Lawrence_, dealing death and destruction. Perry's _Scorpion_ now opened fire with her long thirty-two, and the _Lawrence_ with her long twelves and her carronades. As soon as the two flagships were engaged, the battle was taken up by the _Scorpion_, _Ariel_, and _Caledonia_ opposed to the _Chippewa_, _Queen Charlotte_, and _Hunter_. For over two hours Barclay engaged Perry, until brace and bowline of the _Lawrence_ had been shot away. The American flagship's hull was rent by shot and shell and every gun on her fighting side dismounted. The condition of the Detroit was equally perilous. Masts and rigging were cut to pieces and her decks torn and splintered from the heavy fire of the _Lawrence_. Captain Barclay's remaining arm had been disabled in the early part of the action, and, weak from his wounds, he had been carried below. But the valiant crew, inspired by the courage and determination of their officers, stubbornly continued the fight.