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The US Brig Niagara is a museum ship and sail training vessel located at the Erie Maritime Museum. It is a replica of the original US Brig Niagara, which played a pivotal role in the Battle of Lake Erie and the victory of Commodore Oliver Harzard Perry during the War of 1812.
The original Niagara was sunk in 1820 in Misery Bay, Pa. for preservation. Owned successively by Benjamin H. Brown of Rochester, New York, and Captain George Miles of Erie, Niagara was raised but found to need such extensive restoration that she was again allowed to sink. She was raised again on March 6, 1913 and restored by the Perry Centennial Commission, who towed her from Buffalo, New York to Chicago, Illinois for exhibition at all the larger towns of Lakes Huron and Michigan during the commemoration of the Battle of Lake Erie. Returning to Erie on September 21, 1913, she was cribbed up just out of the water, deteriorating until 1929, when restoration was begun by the Niagara Association of Erie, aided by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The project halted for lack of funds in 1934, but was finally completed in 1963 for the sesquicentennial of her great victories.
In 1988, the original replica having fallen into disrepair, a second replica was constructed. The National Park Service calls the vessel a reconstruction, not a replica.
Today, the Niagara is used to educate the public on the War of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie. She served as the flagship of the "Niagara Fleet", with a half-professional and half-volunteer crew joining her on many of her voyages to exotic ports.
The Niagara is recognized around the world for its famous "Don't Give Up the Ship" flag.
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