Oliver Hazard Perry

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This article is about the naval officer. For the U.S. Navy frigate, see Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate.

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Oliver Hazard Perry

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the War of 1812 against Britain and earned the nickname "Hero of Lake Erie" for leading American forces in a decisive naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.

He was the son of Captain Christopher Raymond Perry (December 4, 1760 - June 8, 1818) and Sarah Wallace Alexander (1764 - December 4, 1830), and his younger brother was Matthew Calbraith Perry. Oliver and Matthew were able to trace their ancestry back to William Wallace of Scotland, through their maternal lineage.

Educated in Newport, Rhode Island, Perry was appointed a midshipman on 7 April 1799 and assigned to his father's frigate, General Greene. He first experienced combat on 9 February 1800 off Haiti. During the First Barbary War, he served on the Adams and commanded Nautilus during the capture of Derna.

At his request during the War of 1812 he was given command of U.S. Naval forces on Lake Erie. He supervised the building of a small fleet at what is now Erie, Pennsylvania. On September 10, 1813 Perry's fleet defended against an attacking British fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie. During the battle Perry's flagship the Lawrence was destroyed and Perry rowed a half-mile through heavy gunfire to transfer command to the Niagara, carrying his battle flag which read "DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP" [sic], the famous final words of Captain James Lawrence. His battle report after victory is famous: "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop".

Perry's battle flag

The final words of Captain Lawrence painted onto the USS Lake Erie, seen here during a 2008 missile launch

While this opened Canada up to possible invasion, it simultaneously protected the entire Ohio Valley. It was one of only two significant fleet victories of the war. See Battle of Plattsburgh for the other.

In 1819, during an expedition to the Orinoco River in Venezuela, he died of yellow fever contracted from mosquitos while aboard the Nonsuch. His body was originally buried in Port of Spain, Trinidad but his remains were later reinterred in Newport, Rhode Island. After briefly resting in the Old Common Burial Ground in Newport, his body was moved a final time to Newport's Island Cemetery where his brother Matthew Perry is also buried.

[edit] Monuments and memorials

Among the many cities and towns named in his honor are Hazard and Perryville, Kentucky; Perry, New York; Perry, Maine, Perry and Perrysburg,Ohio, and Perry, Iowa. All ten "Perry Counties" in the following U.S. states are also named in his honor: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. There is also Perryopolis, a borough located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

Perry was honored on 90-cent postage stamps of the late 19th century; this one is from 1879.

A memorial was erected at his grave site in Newport. There are also monuments dedicated to Perry in Put-in-Bay, Ohio; at both Presque Isle State Park and in downtown's Perry Square in Erie, Pennsylvania; and in Perrysburg, Ohio. Perry was honored in 1978, when his second flagship USS Niagara was relaunched as a floating museum. Today, it is the State ship of Pennsylvania

Various schools and school districts throughout the country are named in Perry's honor. Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School can be found in the Commodore's home state in Providence. The long name is often shortened to Perry Middle School or simply OHP. There are also Perry Middle School in Worthington, Ohio and Perry Elementary School in Erie, Pennsylvania. Perry Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh, PA has the Commodore as its mascot.^[1] The Commodore Building in Perrysburg, Ohio was previously an elementary school, and now its use as a community center is being discussed by the local school board and the Commodore Preservation Partnership. School districts in the United States named for him include the Commodore Perry School District in Hadley, Pennsylvania, the Perry School District in Perry, Ohio, and the West Perry School District in Perry County, Pennsylvania.

During the 20th century, the United States Navy named the lead ship of a class of guided missile frigates after Perry, the Oliver Hazard Perry class. When it was commissioned, the students of the Oliver Hazard Perry Elementary School at the US. Naval Communication Station San Miguel, in the Republic of the Philppines, presented the crew with an "OHP Flag." A copy of the flag flew at the school until the U.S. Navy closed the base. (Prior to that the school flew a copy of the Perry Battle Flag.) See USS Perry for other ships named for him.

Great Lakes Brewing Company based out of Cleveland, Ohio features a "Commodore Perry India Pale Ale" bottled beer in honor of Perry, a testament to his reputation in the region.