Brig Niagara 36"

Ready for Immediate Display - Not a Model Ship kit 

With exquisitely fine craftsmanship, unmatched features and careful attention to every detail, these scale replica tall ship models of the USS Niagara are certain to please even the most discriminating enthusiast of naval history. Whether the highlight of an office or den, or the centerpiece of a nautical themed meeting room or family living room, the US Brig Niagara will evoke wonder at her manifest detail and inspire historical pride with her indomitable spirit. 

36" Long x 11" Wide x 26" High (1:64 scale)

• Built from scratch over hundreds of hours by master artisans
• High quality woods include cherry, birch, maple and rosewood
• Individual wooden planks used in hull construction
• Extensive rigging features over 200 blocks and deadeyes
• Metal anchors weigh aside the bow
• Cannon carriages tied-down to deck to reduce recoil
• Other Amazing Details, including:
  • Planked deck with nail holes
  • Authentic scale lifeboats
  • Rudder chains, cannonball racks
  • Solid brass cannons and metal anchors
  • Additional deck details such as cannon balls, barrels, etc.
  • Masterfully stitched, heavy canvas sails hold shape and do not wrinkle
  • Taut rigging with varied thread gauge and color
• Meticulous painting accurately matches the actual USS Niagara
• Wooden display base features four arched dolphins
  • Pictured with marble base (available for purchase)
• Extensive research of original plans, historical drawings and paintings as well as actual photographs ensures the highest possible accuracy

The first US Brig Niagara was a brig in the United States Navy during the War of 1812.

Niagara was built at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, along with her sister ship, the Lawrence by Adam and Noah Brown under the supervision of Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins and Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, and was launched early in the summer of 1813.

Niagara and the other ships of Perry's squadron were held at Erie both by British blockade and lack of crews, until August 1, when the British squadron retired. The draft of the Niagara and the Lawrence was deeper than the depth of water over the bar at the mouth of the harbor. This necessitated striping all armament and stores of the ships and the ingenious use of camels (essentially large, strap-on ballast tanks) in order to get over the bar. Niagara reached deep water on August 5, and four days later her commanding officer, Captain Jesse D. Elliott, arrived with some 100 officers and men to take command. The squadron sailed in search of the British on August 12, located it in the mouth of the Detroit River, and waited for its sortie.

On 1813-09-10, the two fleets met in the Battle of Lake Erie. Perry led the US fleet aboard the Lawrence, which drew concentrated fire from the British until Lawrence became an unmanageable wreck. He then transferred to Niagara which had not closed the enemy in the earlier stages of the action. When Perry arrived on Niagara, he took command and brought Niagara into the attack. From her deck he regrouped his squadron and came down through the enemy line, Niagara pouring broadsides into the British ships until victory was secured, and with it control of Lake Erie, freeing the upper lakes from the threat of invasion.

Niagara covered the landings at the mouth of the Detroit River which captured Malden on September 23, then covered the Army's advance up the Detroit to Lake Saint Clair as they pursued the retreating British. After wintering at Erie, she returned to patrol and convoy operations which included the capture of British ships Mink, Nancy, Perseverance, and Batteau. She wintered at Erie once more in 1814, then served as receiving ship there until sunk in Misery Bay for preservation in 1820.