Posted on 09/10/2007 8:55:48 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
With these words, 28 year old Oliver Hazard Perry gave notice that the British would never again be a naval power on the Great Lakes, and would be forced to resupply Fort Detroit (earlier lost by the U.S.--in fact, you could say that the British were kicking our butts up and down the continent) by land, through what now is Ontario.We have met the enemy and they are ours:
Two Ships, two Brigs, one Schooner & one Sloop.
Yours, with great respect and esteem
O.H. Perry.
Apart from his decisive, and strategic, victory Perry is remembered for transferring his flag under fire from his brig Lawrence*, itself shot to pieces with devastating casualties and later surrendered, to the brig Niagara upon which he fought the battle to its conclusion. This event is depicted by William Henry Powell's oil painting, hanging in at the head of the east stairway in the Senate wing of the Capitol.
*The flag itself, in a twist of irony, bore the words of the Lawrence's namesake, "Don't Give Up the Ship" and not the Stars & Stripes depicted by the artist. No one knows one way or the other whether Perry's rowboat was flying a flag of any kind.
Ahh, that is a pretty ship ntnychik! I knew the ping would interest you.
.
Great ship
Only 31’ wide
Brave men in dangerous times
Valcour Island [Revolutionary War]. Although Arnold wound up scuttling the remainder of his ships, he drove the British back up Lake Ticonderoga. First strategic victory.
But tactical defeat, I think. Or am I incorrect?
Right.
Right.
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