Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry: 1799-1819

After constructing a squadron of ships, Commodore Perry defeated a British squadron at the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 near Put-in-Bay. Perry’s victory secured American control of Lake Erie for the remainder of the war and allowed Major General William Henry Harrison’s Army to reclaim American posts on the Ohio and Michigan frontier, opening those territories to American settlement after the war. Flying a flag with the words of the mortally-wounded Captain James Lawrence "Don't Give up the Ship!", he totally defeated the British squadron and reported to General Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours..."