Editing Oliver Hazard Perry (section)

==War of 1812==

At the beginning of the War of 1812, the British [[Royal Navy]] controlled the [[Great Lakes]], except for [[Lake Huron]]. The United States Navy controlled [[Lake Champlain]].<ref>[[#Skaggs06|Skaggs, 2006]], p. 50</ref> The American naval forces were very small, allowing the British to make many advances in the Great Lakes and northern New York [[:File:Grlakes lawrence map.png|waterways]]. The roles played by commanders like Perry, at [[Lake Erie]] and [[Isaac Chauncey]] at [[Lake Ontario]] and [[Thomas Macdonough]] at Lake Champlain all proved vital to the naval effort.<ref name="potter">[[#Potter|Potter, 1981]], p. 106</ref>

Naval historian [[E. B. Potter]] noted that "all naval officers of the day made a special study of [[Horatio Nelson|Nelson's]] battles." Oliver Perry was no exception.<ref name="potter"/>
At his request, he was given command of the American naval forces on Lake Erie during the war. Secretary of the Navy [[Paul Hamilton (politician)|Paul Hamilton]] had charged prominent merchant seaman [[Daniel Dobbins]] with building the American fleet on [[Presque Isle Bay]] at [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], and Perry was named chief naval officer.<ref name="cyclopaedia"/><ref name="Bloom"/><ref name="National Portrait">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFUYAAAAIAAJ&pg=PT386 |title=The national portrait gallery of distinguished Americans |volume=1 |first1=James |last1=Herring |first2=James Barton |last2=Longacre |publisher=D. Rice & A.N. Hart |place=Philadelphia |year=1854 |access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref>

Perry knew battle was coming, and he "consciously followed Nelson's example in describing his battle plans to his captains."<ref name=potter/>{{rp|218}} Perry's instructions were:

{{blockquote|Commanding officers are particularly enjoined to pay attention in preserving their stations in the Line, and in all cases to keep as near the ''Lawrence'' as possible. ... Engage your designated adversary, in close action, at half cable's length. {{#Tag:ref|A "cable" is 720 feet in the Royal Navy, {{convert|600|ft|m|0}} in the U.S. Navy. "Half cable's length" would be less than {{convert|330|ft|m}}.|group=upper-alpha}}<ref name = altoff>{{cite book|last=Altoff|first=Gerard T.|title=Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie|publisher=The Perry Group|location=[[Put-in-Bay, Ohio|Put-in-Bay, OH]]|year = 1999 |isbn = 978-1-887794-03-9}}</ref> |Oliver H. Perry, General Order, USS Lawrence}}

===Hero of Lake Erie===
[[File:BattleofLakeErie.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Perry (standing) after abandoning ''Lawrence'', in a 1911 painting by [[Edward Percy Moran]]]]

On September 10, 1813, Perry's squadron fought the [[Battle of Lake Erie]] against a smaller Royal Navy squadron. It was at the outset of this battle that Perry famously said, "If a victory is to be gained, I will gain it."<ref name="Farmer">[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb__Od5AAAAMAAJ/page/n324 <!-- pg=283 --> Farmer, Silas. (1884) (Jul 1969) ''The history of Detroit and Michigan, or, The metropolis illustrated: a chronological cyclopaedia of the past and present: including a full record of territorial days in Michigan, and the annuals of Wayne County'', p. 283] and [https://openlibrary.org/works/OL161750W/The_history_of_Detroit_and_Michigan_or_The_metropolis_illustrate Various formats at] [[Open Library]].</ref> Initially, the exchange of gunfire favored the British. Perry's [[flagship]], {{USS|Lawrence|1813|6}}, was so severely disabled in the encounter that the British commander, [[Robert Heriot Barclay]], thought that Perry would surrender it, and sent a small boat to request that the American vessel pull down its flag.<ref name="auto1">
Dudley, William S., ed. ''The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History. vol.2'' (Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1992), p. 559.</ref><ref name=rooz/>

Faithful to the words of his [[Naval Ensign|battle flag]], "DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://go.navyonline.com/blog/dont-give-up-the-ship|title=Don’t Give Up the Ship!|website=www.gonavyonline.com}}</ref>   a paraphrase of the dying words of Captain [[James Lawrence]], the ship's namesake and Perry's friend,<ref name="quotes">{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/trivia02.htm |title=Famous Navy Quotes: Who Said Them and When |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=September 3, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070923044759/http://www.history.navy.mil/trivia/trivia02.htm |archive-date=September 23, 2007}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> Perry, with ''Lawrence''{{'}}s [[chaplain]] and [[purser]] as the remaining able crew, personally fired the final [[salvo]].<ref name=rooz>{{cite book|last=Roosevelt|first=Theodore|author-link=Theodore Roosevelt|title=The Naval War of 1812 Or The History of the United States Navy during the Last War with Great Britain to Which Is Appended an Account of the Battle of New Orleans|publisher=G. P. Putnum's Sons|edition = Tenth|location=New York|year = 1889|page=266 <!--|isbn=0-375-75419-9-->|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9104}}</ref> He then had his men row him a half-mile (0.8&nbsp;km) through heavy gunfire to transfer his command to {{USS|Niagara|1813|6}}. Once aboard, Perry dispatched ''Niagara''{{'s}} commander, Captain [[Jesse Elliott]], to bring the other schooners into closer action while he steered ''Niagara'' toward the damaged British ships. Like Nelson's {{HMS|Victory||2}} at Trafalgar, ''Niagara'' broke the opposing line.

Perry's force pounded Barclay's ships until they could offer no effective resistance and surrendered. Although he had won the battle aboard ''Niagara'', he received Barclay's surrender on the deck of the recaptured ''Lawrence'' to allow him to see the terrible price Perry's men had paid.<ref name="Farmer"/> Perry's battle report to General [[William Henry Harrison]] was famously brief: "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."<ref name="quotes"/>{{#Tag:Ref|The British order of battle was actually two ships, ''one'' brig, ''two'' schooners and one sloop.<ref name=rooz/>{{rp|260–261}} "Perry's message was inaccurate."<ref name = altoff/>{{rp|Note 129, p. 97.}}|group=upper-alpha}} The six captured ships were successfully returned to Presque Isle.<ref>[[#Skaggs00|Skaggs, 2000]], p. 147</ref><ref name="Skaggs">{{cite journal |url=http://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2009-04/perry-triumphant |last1=Skaggs |first1=David Curtis |title=Perry Triumphant |date=April 2009 |volume=23 |journal=[[Naval History (magazine)|Naval History Magazine]] |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] |access-date=September 3, 2011 |issue=2}}</ref>

[[File:DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP flag.svg|200px|thumb|{{center|Perry's battle flag}}]]

Although the engagement was small compared to Napoleonic naval battles such as the [[Battle of Trafalgar]], the victory had disproportionate strategic importance, opening Canada up to further American invasions, while simultaneously protecting the entire [[Ohio Valley]].<ref name="Bloom"/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=q_HIcc8n3K4C&pg=PA48 Symonds, Craig L; Clipson, William J. (April 2001) ''The Naval Institute historical atlas of the U.S. Navy'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press 264 pp], {{ISBN|978-1-55750-984-0}}, p. 48.</ref> The loss of Barclay's squadron directly led to the critical [[Battle of the Thames]], a victory over British and Indian forces by Harrison's army, the deaths of [[Tecumseh]] and [[Roundhead (Wyandot)|Roundhead]], and the breakup of [[Tecumseh's confederacy|his confederacy]].<ref name="Skaggs"/> Along with the [[Battle of Plattsburgh]], it was one of only two battle of the war in which an entire squadron was defeated.<ref name="Bloom"/>

Perry was involved in nine battles that led to and followed the Battle of Lake Erie, and they all had a seminal impact. "What is often overlooked when studying Perry is how his physical participation and brilliant strategic leadership influenced the outcomes of all nine Lake Erie military campaign victories:

<blockquote> Capturing [[Fort George, Ontario]] in the [[Battle of Fort George]]; Destroying the British munitions at [[Olde Fort Erie]] (see [[Capture of Fort Erie]]); Rescuing five vessels from Black Rock; Building the Erie fleet; Getting the ships over the sandbar; Blocking British supplies for a month prior to battle; Planning the Thames invasion with General Harrison; Winning the Battle of Lake Erie; and Winning the Battle of Thames.<ref name="Bloom"/><ref name="Skaggs"/></blockquote>

<gallery>
File:Men of Toledo (And Their Neighbors)" presented in cartoon with a historical preface from "official" data - DPLA - 0d0f8c371cbf6d8687013bd10d051e76 (page 18) (cropped).jpg|A caricature of Perry's victory on Lake Erie from the 1906 book "Men of Toledo (and Their Neighbors)"
</gallery>

===The Battle Flag===
[[File:USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) flies a “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag. (49966895161).jpg|thumb|{{USS|Theodore Roosevelt|CVN-71}} flies a replica "Dont Give Up the Ship" flag in 2020.]]

"Dont give up the ship!" became the battle cry of Oliver Hazard Perry. The phrase was uttered by Captain James Lawrence as he died after being wounded by enemy fire aboard the ''Chesapeake'' on June 1, 1813. Perry learned of Lawrence's demise at Presque Isle. He honored Lawrence with the name of a brig, called ''Lawrence''. A battle flag was needed, and the words of Perry's good friend were suited for the coming days.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Skaggs |first=David Curtis |date=2013 |title=The Battle of Lake Erie and Its Aftermath |url=http://muse.jhu.edu.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/chapter/890518 |location=Ohio |publisher=The Kent State University Press |page=220}}</ref>

Margaret Forster Steuart was enlisted to make the battle flag.<ref name="auto"/> She was a resident of Erie Pennsylvania, wife of Army Captain Thomas Steuart and sister to Thomas Forster, both friends of Perry's. Forster was the commander of the Erie Light Infantry that had guarded the fleet.<ref name="auto"/> With the help of her two daughters, three nieces, and a cousin, she had the flag ready for Perry within just a few days.<ref name="auto"/> As of July 2009, Perry's flag, Steuart's work, and Lawrence's dying words can be seen today, with the flag on display in [[Bancroft Hall]]'s [[Bancroft_Hall#The_Rotunda_and_Memorial_Hall|Memorial Hall]] at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

===Perry–Elliott controversy===
[[File:NH&HC43575.jpg|thumb|450px|Mural: ''Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813.'' (1959) by Charles Robert Patterson and Howard B. French, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. ''Niagara'' joins the battle. ''Detroit'' and ''Queen Charlotte'' at right.]]
While Nelson had [[Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood|Collingwood]], Perry had Jesse Elliott, and was considerably less well served. Elliott, while serving with [[Isaac Chauncey]] at Lake Ontario, was tasked to augment Perry's squadron with 11 officers and 91 men, "and none were sent but the worst."<ref name=altoff2>Quoted in {{cite book|last=Altoff|first=Gerard T.|title=Deep Water Sailors Shallow Water Soldiers: Manning the United States Fleet on Lake Erie – 1813|publisher=The Perry Group|location=[[Put-in-Bay, Ohio|Put-in-Bay, OH]]|year = 1993 | pages= 23–24| isbn = 978-1-887794-01-5}}</ref> Subsequently, detailed by Chauncey to command ''Niagara,'' Elliott stated "that if he could have foreseen that he himself should be sent to Lake Erie, his selections would have been different."<ref name=altoff2/> Elliott then appropriated the "best of the worst" for ''Niagara''; and Perry "in the interest of harmony" accepted the situation, though with growing ill-will.<ref name=altoff2/>

In his initial post-action report, Perry had praised Captain Elliott's role in the American victory at Lake Erie; and as news of the battle spread, Perry and Elliott were both celebrated as national heroes. Soon after, however, several junior officers publicly criticized Elliott's performance during the battle, charging that Elliott allowed ''Lawrence'' to suffer the brunt of the British fire while holding ''Niagara'' back from the fight. William Vigneron Taylor, Perry's [[sailing master]], in a letter to Taylor's wife, put it thus:

{{blockquote|The ''Lawrence'' alone rec'd the fire of the whole British squadron 2 1/2 hours within pistol shot—we were not supported as we ought to have been. Captain Perry led the ''Lawrence'' into action & sustained the most destructive fire with the most gallant spirit perhaps that was ever witnessed under similar circumstances.<ref>
{{cite book | last =Taylor | first =William V. | title =Logbook of the USS ''Lawrence'' | publisher =Newport Historical Society | year =1813 | location =[[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport, RI]]}}</ref>|William Taylor, September 15, 1813}}

The meeting between Elliott and Perry on the deck of ''Niagara'' was terse. Elliott inquired how the day was going. Perry replied, "Badly." Elliott then volunteered to take Perry's small boat and rally the schooners, and Perry acquiesced.<ref name=altoff/>{{rp|49}} As Perry turned ''Niagara'' into the battle, Elliott was not aboard. Elliott's rejoinder to history's criticism of inaction was that there had been a lack of effective signaling. Charges were filed, but not officially acted upon. Attempting to restore his honor, Elliott and his supporters began a 30-year campaign that would outlive both men and ultimately leave his reputation in tatters.<ref name=Skaggs/>

In Perry's report to Secretary of the Navy [[William Jones (statesman)|William Jones]], written three days after the battle, he mentioned Elliott in what, at first, seem to be complimentary terms, but, when read carefully, betray his disdain for Elliott.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} Perry wrote, "In this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and judgement; and, since the close of the action, has given me the most able and essential assistance."<ref>American State Papers. Naval Affairs. Volume 1. p. 295.</ref>

===Congressional Gold Medal===

On January 6, 1814, Perry was honored with a [[Congressional Gold Medal]],<ref name=Medal>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/medallichistoryo02loub/medallichistoryo02loub_djvu.txt |author=J. F. Loubat, LL.D. (1831–1927)|others=Illustrated by Jaquemart, Jules Fredinand (1837–1880)|year=1888|title=The Medallic History of the United States of America, 1776—1876. Volume II|publisher=N. Flayderman & Co. |access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref> the [[Thanks of Congress]], and a promotion to the rank of [[Captain (naval)|Captain]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wcarr1/Lossing2/Chap18.html |last1=Lossing|first1=Benson J. |title=Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812 |chapter=XVIII – Events on the Northern and Niagara Frontiers in 1812 |year=1869|access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/goldMedal.html |publisher=Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives |title=List of Congressional Gold Medal Recipients |access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref> This was one of 27 Gold Medals authorized by Congress arising from the War of 1812.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%270E%2C*PL%5B%3C%230%20%20%0A |last1=Glassman |first1=Matthew Eric, Analyst for the Congress |date=June 21, 2010 |title=Congressional Gold Medals, 1776–2009 |page=3 |access-date=September 3, 2011}}</ref>

* '''Obverse''' – bust of Perry facing right surrounded by ''Oliverus H. Perry Princeps Stagno Eriense.'' ~ ''Classam Totam Contudit''.
* '''Reverse''' depicts a sea battle scene with inscriptions:
::''Viam Invenit Virtus Aut Facit''
::''Inter Class. Ameri.''
::''Et Brit Die X. Sep.''
::''MDCCCXIII''
:(Valor finds or makes a way. Between the Fleets of America and Britain September 10, 1813.)<ref>[http://www.baxleystamps.com/litho/medal_ohp.shtml Congressional Gold Medal Honoring Oliver Hazard Perry].</ref>{{sfn|Snowden|1861|pages=83–84}}

Elliott was also recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal<ref name=Medal/> and the Thanks of Congress for his actions in the battle. This recognition would prove to fan the flames of resentment on both sides of the Elliott–Perry controversy.<ref name=Skaggs/>

In recognition of his victory at Lake Erie, in 1813 Perry was elected as an honorary member of the New York [[Society of the Cincinnati]].{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

<gallery>
File:Perry medal lg front.gif|The front of the Perry medal
File:Perry medal back.gif|The back of the Perry medal
</gallery>