Editing Oliver Hazard Perry (section)

===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>

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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)"
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