by Christine Lorraine Morgan ~ April 27, 2025
It’s time to sharpen your local history pencils and test your knowledge with this unique historical quiz that focuses on Erie’s military past. These are not easy questions to answer as local history is not taught in schools, and many of the answers are probably not easy to find in a google search. It is presented in a multiple-choice format so that every guess has a 25% chance of being correct.
You might choose to write down/keep track of your responses to see how you fared with the scoring guide beneath the quiz and answers. Good luck!
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1. Where was Civil War hero Colonel Strong Vincent born?
a. Weigelville
b. Waterford
c. Ripley NY
d. Marvintown
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2. What was the name of General Anthony Wayne’s horse?
a. Silverado
b. Valor
c. Birdie
d. Nancy
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3. What was used to cover the tables for a dinner to honor Lafayette when he visited Erie in 1825?
a. Silk placemats from the Erie Silkworm factory
b. Tablecloths made of flour sacks due to a shortage of fabric
c. The sails of the British vessels captured by Perry
d. Discarded clothing donated by local citizens
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4. What was the name of the military officer who oversaw the building of the first mill in Erie?
a. Captain Russell Bissell
b. Brigadier General Morton P. Salt
c. Major D. Cord
d. Commodore Ginger Baker
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5. What was name of the area in north Erie where troops built cabins in which to live during the winter of 1812?
a. New Carlisle
b. Pittsburghville
c. Stumptown
d. Sandyshore
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6. What was Captain Charles Gridley’s nickname?
a. “Salty”
b. “Steve”
c. “Sue”
d. “Samson”
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7. During the Battle of Lake Erie, Commodore Perry’s ship, the Lawrence, was badly damaged. Which ship did he secretly board to ambush the British, a move which helped win Battle of Lake Erie?
a. Wolverine
b. Lucitania
c. Niagara
d. Santa Maria
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8. After Dobbins’ fleet was built here in Erie, getting the ships out to the lake was hindered by a large sandbar. This massive obstacle was painstakingly overcome by using:
a. “floaters”
b. “camels”
c. “inflators”
d. “magnettas”
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9. What was said to be Erie’s “most formidable instrument of war” at the outbreak of the War of 1812?
a. A small iron boat howitzer
b. An oversized cannon that fired a 4′ cannonball
c. A massive trebuchet that could launch 200 medium-sized projectiles
d. A “weapon glider” that soared onto enemy ships carrying small explosives
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10. Most people know about the Wayne blockhouse near the Soldiers and Sailors home. Where was another blockhouse located around the time of the Battle of Lake Erie?
a. Federal Hill
b. Where the VA Medical center is now
c. Next to the Mill Creek tube near 30th and Glenwood Park Avenue
d. Presque Isle
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11. Why was Erie “occupied” by hundreds of Federal troops in 1863?
a. To fend off a supposed Confederate invasion from Canada
b. They needed to appropriate the dairy products this region produced
c. To inspect the small distilleries that were cropping up
d. It was rumored that the British were returning to Lake Erie to do battle
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12. During WWII, 1941-1945, what was produced at the Erie GE plant?
a. Color TV sets for newscasts
b. Strobe lights to use behind enemy lines
c. Electronic fishing poles/reels
d. Howitzers
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13. The USS Michigan was the first iron-hulled ship in the U.S. Navy. She was commissioned in Erie in 1845. What did Erie become known as because of the USS Michigan’s presence?
a. Iron City
b. A great place to have a Koehler brew
c. The mother-in-law of the navy
d. Sailor’s Delight
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14. “The Erie Regiment – Three Months.” This regiment was recruited under a call issued on the 21st of April, 1861, by Capt. John W. McLane. What was the area called where it set up camp near 6th and Parade Sts.?
a. Armory Corners
b. Fort Erietown
c. Camp Wayne
d. Regiment Square
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15. Where in Erie did Daniel Dobbins build the fleet of ships that enabled Commodore Perry to beat the British in the Battle of Lake Erie?
a. DonJon Shipbuilding, 220 E. Bayfront Parkway
b. Mouth of Cascade Creek
c. Put-in-Bay near where the Battle of Lake Erie took place
d. In front of the old Presque Isle blockhouse
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16. In the early 1800s, Pennsylvania adopted measures for the organization and drill of its militia. As time progressed, discipline grew slack and many of those involved carried:
a. Sticks, canes, brooms, corn stalks and light fence rails
b. Homemade grenades and stink bombs
c. Guns that were so old they didn’t work right anymore
d. railroad ties
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17. In 1862 during the Civil War, what was the bounty paid to each person who volunteered to make up the quota of 500 men required from Erie County?
a. $5
b. $50
c. $500
d. $5,000
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18. What were the French doing in southern Erie County in 1753 that prompted a visit from future president George Washington?
a. Expanding Fort LeBoeuf beyond its approved boundries
b. Stealing fish from Waterford residents who fished in Lake LeBoeuf
c. Naming local landmarks in French instead of English
d. Trespassing on British soil
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19. Where is this historical marker presently located?
a. Land Lighthouse
b. Veteran’s Memorial Stadium
c. Foot of Parade Street
d. Dobbins Landing
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20. What caused many injuries to the seamen who actively participated in the Battle of Lake Erie?
a. Hand-to-hand combat
b. Wood shrapnel
c. Sword fights
d. Naval guard dog attacks
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Answers
1. b – Waterford.
“Col. Strong Vincent (1837-1863) Civil War hero was born at the NW corner of First & Cherry Streets. A major turning point in the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg resulted from his independent and decisive action on July 2 in detaching his brigade (inlcuding the 83rd Pa. Regiment) to occupy and defend Little Round Top. Mortally wounded while rallying his men, he died July 7, four days after he had been promoted to brigadier general for gallantry.”
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2. d – Nancy.
Wayne’s birthday was New Year’s Day. Folklore is that at midnight on New Year’s Eve, Wayne calls to his horse, Nancy, and he rides through the night from here to Radnor, PA looking for his bones. It is said that while a family member was transporting Wayne’s bones home from Erie to Radnor, some of them fell out of the small sulky as it crossed the Pennsylvania wilderness.
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3. c – The sails of the British vessels captured by Perry.
In 1825 when Lafayette arrived in Erie, he was taken to Captain Daniel Dobbins’ home at the NE corner of 3rd and State streets before heading over to a big dinner in the visiting digntary’s honor. “The tables, which had been erected on a bridge over the ravine on Second street, between State and French, were 170 feet long, elegantly adorned and covered with an awning made of the sails of the British vessels captured by Perry.” Page 333 – “History of Erie County, Pennsylvania,” 1884 (What a great recycling idea).
Built in 1816, here is the home of Captain Daniel Dobbins in 1900 that was visited by Marquis de Lafayette in 1825. This historic two-story structure managed to stand until 1943, when it was demolished.
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4. a – Captain Russell Bissell.
“Some two hundred men from Wayne’s army landed at Presque Isle early in the spring of 1795, under command of Capt. Russell Bissell. They set to work at once, cutting timber for block-houses, of which two were erected on the bluff overlooking the entrance to the harbor, just east of the mouth of Mill Creek. They also cleared a good deal of land to raise corn for the use of the garrison… The troops under Bissell built a saw mill the next season at the mouth of Mill Creek, which was the first in Erie County, and gave name to the stream.” ~ History of Erie County 1884, pages 208, 209
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5. c – Stumptown.
“Stumptown grew up during the winter of 1812, when troops were called to Erie in the extreme cold weather… A large number of cabins were built by them for quarters, extending from Peach street to the gully of Lee’s Run, and that part of Erie was known, as late as 1825, by the name of Stumptown.” Page 520 History of Erie County 1884
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6. b. – Steve.
“…the young man who had somehow acquired the nickname of “Steve” Gridley…” Captain Charles Vernon Gridley was stationed in Erie from 1871 to 1875 aboard the USS Michigan, the only U.S. Navy ship on the Great Lakes at that point in history.
Capt. Charles Vernon Gridley, Library of Congress image
Hat tip to Timothy Patrick McLaughlin for his assistance with this question.
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7. c – Niagara.
page 306: “Perry took his fighting flag under his arm and passed in a row boat, accompanied by his brother and four men, to the Niagara, which was making an effort to gain the head of the enemy’s line … After passing through the British line, the Niagara rounded to under their lee, and sent one broadside after another into the entangled vessels, causing such fearful damage that in fifteen minutes from the time she bore up a white handkerchief was waved from the Queen Charlotte as a symbol of submission, shortly succeeded by one from the Detroit. The firing ceased almost instantly, after a struggle of almost three hours’ duration.”
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8. b – camels.
“…the ship was lifted over the bar by the aid of “camels” invented by Mr. Brown. One “camel” was floated on each side of the Lawrence and sunk to the level of the port holes. Timbers were thrust through, on which the vessel rested, the plugs were re-inserted in the bottoms of the ”camels,” and the water was pumped out of them, raising the Lawrence as it was discharged.” pages 302-303 History of Erie County, 1884
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9. a – A small iron boat howitzer.
“So utterly defenseless was Erie at the outbreak of the war, that it could and probably would have been easily captured by the British had they known its actual situation. The only semblance to a fortification was an old, almost ruined block-house on the eastern part of the peninsula, built in 1795, which was without a soldier, a gun, or a pound of ammunition. The most formidable instrument of war in the town was a small iron boat howitzer, owned by Gen. Kelso, which was used in firing salutes on the Fourth of July, and other patriotic and momentous occasions.” page 293-94
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10. d – Presque Isle
This map shows locations of the present Wayne Blockhouse and the 1812 blockhouse on Presque Isle.
Map courtesy of GC68
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11. a – To fend off a supposed Confederate invasion from Canada.
It was called a bloodless campaign: “…the Civil War also visited Erie for several days in November 1863 when the city of some 9,000 residents was occupied by hundreds of Federal troops in response to a supposed Confederate invasion from Canada.”
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12. d – Howitzers. “On machines previously used for making electric motors for s treet cars and locomotives, skilled machinists at the General Electric Erie Plant are producing the latest 75-millimeter pack howitzers for the United States Army.” ~~ https://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2013/05/ge-made-howitzers-in-erie-during-wwii.html#google_vignette~~
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13. c – The mother-in-law of the navy.
“Michigan was launched in 1843 and commissioned in Erie in 1845 … So many sailors from the ship married Erie girls, the city became known as the “mother-in-law of the navy.” https://www.eriehistory.org/blog/eries-iron-ship-part-4-uss-michigan-becomes-wolverine
USS Michigan was renamed USS Wolverine in 1905 ~ wikipedia. This segment of the Wolverine is all that is left of the ship, and it can be observed at Erie’s Maritime Museum.
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14. c – Camp Wayne
“… It went into camp on a piece of vacant ground in Erie City, on the east side of Parade street, near the intersection of Sixth, which was duly christened Camp Wayne.” Page 479 History of Erie County, 1884
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15. b – The mouth of Cascade Creek.
“In 1813, Daniel Dobbins established a shipyard at the mouth of the creek where the flagships Lawrence and Niagara were built. The military shipyard later became a commercial boat building center. “
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16. a – Sticks, canes, brooms, corn stalks, and light fence rails.
“Every member was expected to have a gun and bring it along for inspection, but as the system weakened in popular estimation, the discipline grew more slack, and many carried sticks, canes, brooms, corn stalks, and even, light fence rails.” page 491 History of Erie County
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17. a – $50
“1862—August 5—A bounty of $50 voted to each person who will volunteer to make up the quota of 500 men required from Erie County to make up the call of the President.” Page 476 History of Erie County
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18. d – Trespassing on British soil.
“In December 1753, George Washington came here with notice from the Governor of Virgina to the French that they were trespassing on British soil,” as stated on this historical marker in Waterford.
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19. c – Foot of Parade Street
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20. b – Wood shrapnel.
This wood shrapnel display at the Erie Maritime Museum was created intentionally in a realistic way to show what damage to ships might have looked like during the Battle of Lake Erie.
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Scoring Guide
15 – 20 correct ~ HistoERIE Military Hero
10 – 14 correct ~ HistoERIE Military Expert
4 – 9 correct ~ HistoERIE Military Sharpshooter
1 – 3 correct ~ HistoERIE Military Marksman
xtinethewriter.com ~ Where Creativity Lives in Words and Pictures 
17 correct.
I had a good laugh at some of the offered answers.
Aaah, I should have known you would earn the rank of “HistoERIE Military Hero.” Excellent. As far as the bogus answers, sometimes I cracked myself up as I was creating them, glad to know I’m not the only one who found them amusing. “Major D. Chord” and “stink bombs” are my two favorites. Thank you so much for taking the quiz!