Oliver Hazard Perry – The Hero of Lake Erie

"We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop" read the battle report submitted by Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819), older brother of the famous Commodore Matthew C. Perry, after his remarkable victory over the supposedly superior British Navy on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 during the War of 1812.

The son of a United States Navy Captain and related on his mother’s side to the hero of the First War of Scottish Independence, Sir William Wallace (whose exploits opposing Edward I of England have currently been popularized in the Mel Gibson film “Braveheart”) Perry was born to both sail and fight.

During the decisive battle of Lake Erie, which ended with the entire Ohio Valley being completely secure from British invasion, Perry’s flagship was so badly damaged that he had to row more than ½ mile in a small boat through a heavy barrage of enemy fire to transfer command to another vessel in his fleet. On that epic trip he carried his battle flag which bore more famous words “Dont Give Up The Ship” (sic).

The successful outcome of the battle for Lake Erie also made the British vulnerable to an American invasion into Canada which surely figured into their decision to seek peace with the United States rather than risk further damage to their empire.

Tragically, Perry’s life was ended on his 34th birthday not by enemy cannon fire but by the bite of a South American insect which had given him Yellow Fever during an expedition to Venezuela. Certainly this brave American sailor would have left more marks on history had he lived longer but what he did accomplish will not ever be forgotten by a grateful nation which might have disappeared from the face of the earth had he failed to protect Lake Erie.