…Perry with his little fleet engaged the enemy on Lake Erie. A call was made for 150 picked Kentucky volunteers to man the fleet. Among these were three men known to be from Christian, Ezra Younglove, John Anderson and Washington Dunkerson, who were assigned to the ship Niagara. It is related of one of them, perhaps Dunkerson, that in the hottest of the fight, and when the colors had been shot away, he climbed into the rigging and re-nailed them to the mast, in the face of a murderous fire from the enemy. Years afterward, and while Col. George Poindexter was a member, the Legislature of Kentucky voted a gold medal to each of these heroes. On the obverse of this medal was the name of one of the soldiers. and on the reverse the ship Niagara in action, and the date of the engagement.
[From: http://www.kyseeker.com/christian/perrin/chap7.html]
Muster of U.S. Brig “Niagara” in War of 1812:
http://www.brigniagara.org/muster.htm
Brig Niagara – Page from the National Park Service:
http://www.nps.gov/pevi/HTML/Niagara.html
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