Dickson Tavern

08/03/2026

John Dickson was a 13 year old powder monkey aboard the HMS Leander in the Battle of the Nile.

1st August 1798 – The Battle of the Nile begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.

07/30/2026

07/29/2026

John Dickson was a part of crew of the HMS Leander on August 18th 1789 when it was captured by the French ship Le Genereux. the following is a description of the event: Following Nelson’s victory at the Nile, he dispatched his flag captain Sir
Edward Berry to bring the news of the victory back to Britain. Berry travelled
in the 50-gun frigate Leander, which encountered Le Généreux once more on
18 August 1798. The smaller Leander was beaten despite stout resistance,
and Berry was captured along with the Leander’s crew. Berry and his
compatriots were treated poorly by their captors, with personal possessions
being seized and the Leander’s surgeon was left without tools to treat the
injured crew.

The giant flag of the french ship Le Genereux, which was captured by one of Admiral Nelson's captains Sir Edward Berry at the Battle of Malta Convoy in 1800. (With humans for scale)

More: https://bio.link/museumofartifacts

07/27/2026

October 9, 1812 saw one of the boldest naval raids of the War of 1812 when American sailors and soldiers crossed the Niagara River under cover of darkness to seize the British vessels HMS Caledonia and HMS Detroit near Fort Erie.

Led by Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott, around 100 Americans silently rowed toward the anchored ships before storming aboard in a surprise attack.

The British crews were caught off guard as fierce hand-to-hand fighting erupted across the decks in the darkness.

HMS Caledonia, loaded with valuable furs, weapons, and supplies, was successfully captured and pulled toward the American side of the river.

HMS Detroit, itself a former American vessel captured earlier by the British at Detroit, was also seized but quickly became trapped under heavy artillery fire after running aground in the Niagara River.

American forces fought off British attempts to retake the ship before ultimately burning HMS Detroit to prevent its recapture.

The daring operation gave the United States an important morale boost during the early months of the war and weakened British control on Lake Erie.

The captured Caledonia later joined the American fleet and helped pave the way for future victories on the Great Lakes, including the famous Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.

The raid became one of the earliest successful American naval strikes of the conflict and demonstrated how control of the Great Lakes could shape the war’s outcome.

07/27/2026

9th October 1812 – In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.

07/27/2026

By the morning of October 9, 1812 American forces successfully captured two British brigs in Lake Erie, the HMS Caledonia and the HMS Detroit.
The mission began on the evening of October 8 and was led by the U.S. Navy’s Jesse Elliott (right) and the U.S. Army’s Nathan Towson (left).

Images via Wikimedia Commons, public domain