Friends Good Will Sloop Seized by the British

Frontier Schooner That Sailed Into War

On this day in history, June 19, 1812, a seemingly routine voyage out of Detroit would become an unforgettable moment in Great Lakes history. It will serve as a cautionary tale of how international politics can turn entrepreneurial dreams into wartime disasters. The vessel at the center of it all was Friends Good Will, a topsail sloop built by Massachusetts-born merchant Oliver Williams.

Williams was no stranger to risk. Born in 1774 in the Revolutionary-era village of Roxbury, Massachusetts, he came of age alongside the fledgling American republic. By 1808, he was deep in the Michigan Territory frontier, running a dry goods business in Detroit. Getting merchandise from the East Coast to Detroit was grueling. The twice-yearly overland trips were long, costly, and exhausting. So, in true frontier fashion, Williams made a bold move: he built a ship.

The ship was constructed at the River Rouge on the Detroit River, adjacent to the Federal shipyard. The 47-tonne sloop was launched in early 1811 and was named Friends Good Will. Perhaps in homage to a vessel that carried early Irish immigrants to Boston in 1717. This new Friends Good Will was designed to bypass the bottlenecks of frontier commerce. It was set to sail directly from Buffalo to Detroit, using the Great Lakes as a watery highway to prosperity.

Headed for Mackinac

With seasoned captain William Lee at the helm, Friends Good Will hauled goods across Lakes Erie and Michigan, chartering government cargo and transporting supplies to the far reaches of the Northwest Territory. But fate had other plans. On June 19, 1812, the ship departed Detroit for Mackinac Island. Unaware that war between the United States and Great Britain had been declared just one day earlier.

The sloop reached Mackinac safely, offloaded cargo, and picked up supplies bound for Fort Dearborn (present-day Chicago). After a successful run, the crew returned to Mackinac on July 17. There they met with a brutal surprise.

Flag of Deception

The British had captured the island just days earlier and knew that word wouldn’t have reached many of the ships sailing into Mackinac. Friends Good Will sailed into what they thought was friendly territory under the American flag. It was all a trap. The American banner flying above the fort was a deception, and the ship was seized as a prize of war.

Oliver Williams, Captain Lee, and the crew were taken as prisoners and paroled back to Detroit. Their beloved ship was renamed Little Belt. The British armed the sloop with cannon, and conscripted into service. A devastating loss—financially, emotionally, and symbolically for Williams.

Recapturing on Lake Erie

Friends Good Will still had more history to make. On September 10, 1813, during the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry recaptured the ship. She would go on to serve in the U.S. Navy, transporting General William Henry Harrison’s troops across Lake Erie for the successful invasion of southern Ontario. Her second act, however, ended when she was run aground during a storm and later burned by British raiders in December 1813.

Today, a replica of Friends Good Will sails out of the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. Serving as an enduring reminder of the entrepreneurial spirit that built her, the war that claimed her, and the Great Lakes saga she helped write.