Waves and War: A Short Story

September, 1813

The United States' second war with Great Britain has thus far been disheartening for the young country. The American invasion of Canada from New York has been thoroughly repelled. The U.S. Navy has suffered a string of embarrassing defeats along the Atlantic Seaboard. Entire swaths of the Northwest Territory are now under His Majesty’s control. But the Americans are not without hope.

Crewman Joshua Nelson is serving his country aboard the USS Niagara, the flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. The American fleet has the dangerous yet pivotal opportunity to wrest Lake Erie from British hands and with it the supply line for their troops in the Northwest Territory.