Oliver Hazard Perry
Master Commandant, U.S. Navy
"We have met the enemy and they are ours."
Biography
Oliver Hazard Perry was twenty-seven years old when he achieved the most complete American naval victory of the war. Assigned to the backwater post of Lake Erie in early 1813, Perry found no ships, few sailors, and no supplies. He essentially built a fleet from scratch in the forests of Ohio, felling trees and constructing brigs in a matter of months. At the Battle of Lake Erie, his flagship USS Lawrence was shot to pieces and more than eighty percent of her crew killed or wounded. Rather than surrender, Perry rowed through enemy fire to USS Niagara, resumed command, and won a total victory. His dispatch — 'We have met the enemy and they are ours' — became one of the most quoted military dispatches in American history.
Did you know?
Perry died on his thirty-fourth birthday from yellow fever contracted during a diplomatic mission to Venezuela. His personal flag bore the dying words of Captain James Lawrence: 'Don't Give Up the Ship.'
Key Battles
Battle of Lake Erie
United States victorySeptember 10, 1813 · 258 total casualties
Control of Lake Erie severed the British supply line to Detroit and the western theater, making General Harrison's offensive into Upper Canada possible. The victory enabled the subsequent Battle of the Thames and the death of Tecumseh, effectively ending organized Native American resistance in the Northwest.
Life Journey
Timeline
August 23, 1785
🌅 Birth
Born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island
1799
career
Entered U.S. Navy as midshipman, age 13
March–August 1813
event
Built a fleet from scratch at Erie, Pennsylvania
September 10, 1813
⚔️ Battle
Defeated British squadron; won control of Lake Erie
August 23, 1819
✝️ Death
Died of yellow fever in Trinidad on his 34th birthday