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.
Good synopsis of the battle here, with some depictions of ship positions during the course of the engagement.The Erie Maritime Museum is the homeport of a replica of the brig Niagara, and also contains a replica of a portion of Perry’s original flagship, the brig Lawrence.
Benson J. Lossing's pictorial history of the battle here.
Another good history by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission here.
Imperial hegemon United States winning its first ever fleet engagement ping.
reference bump
Do you know of anyone that keeps a Navy ping list?
Interesting thread, thanks and bump.
bump!
We need more stories like this so that our undereducated kids know what our ancestors went through to establish this country!
If there is such a ping list, I want on it.
Had Pelosi and Reid been observing such, they would have concluded that the battle was lost to the Brits...
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Years ago while walking through the Capital Building (you could do that then) I found that painting (Battle of Lake Erie) in one of the huge stairwells. It was an amazing thing to discover there. I don’t know if it is still hanging there or not.
My understanding is that it’s still hanging there, although it may have come down for restoration a while back.
indcons?
Most certainly...thank you for the ping.
GO, NAVY !
Leni
Ping of interest!
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Good thread!
Thanks for the ping! The Niagara was “parked” along State Street throughout my childhood. In recent years it has been made, well, lakeworthy once again. We had my high school reunion at the Erie Maritime Museum, and toured the Niagara. Our guide was a re-enactor with a degree in maritime history. He likes giving the tours, but they live to sail the vessel.
http://www.hnsa.org/ships/niagara.htm
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