From the pointing "Bottle ol Lotto Erie" bv Thotnes Birch (1779-18511. Courtesy of Pennsylvonio Acedemy ol the Fine Arts.

In the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, The Memorial Government. The memorial became 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry won a deci­ The memorial is constructed of pink Perry's Victory and International Peace sive victory over a British naval squadron Milford, Mass., granite. In large mass this Memorial National Monument on commanded by Capt. Robert H. Barclay. stone gives the appearance of purest white. July 6, 1936, and on October 26, 1972, That action (see the other side of this folder The shaft, built of 78 courses of granite, it was redesignated Perry's Victory and for the story) had far-reaching effects on the is a Greek Doric fluted column 352 feet International Peace Memorial. The grounds War of 1812 and the future of the high and 45 feet in diameter at its base. cover more than 25 acres on South United States, for it gave the Americans Its cap, reached by elevator, serves as an ob­ Bass Island in Lake Erie. control of Lake Erie and made possible a servation platform. Above this is a bronze successful advance into Canada by an urn, 23 feet high, 18 feet wide, and About Your Visit American army under the command of weighing 11 tons. When floodlit at night, South Bass Island is about 4 miles from the Gen. William Henry Harrison. the column presents a surpassingly brilliant mainland. From April through November, spectacle to both yachtsman and landsman. automobile ferries operate from Catawba The combined land and naval successes One of the world's greatest battle monu­ Point (4 miles) and Port Clinton (14 enabled the United States to hold the Old ments, the memorial is the most massive miles). In summer, ferries make frequent Northwest upon the conclusion of peace Doric column ever built. round trips daily from both Catawba Point by the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. Just and Port Clinton. There is year-round air 3 years later, the Rush-Bagot Agreement The rotunda is made of Tennessee and service from the Port Clinton airport. was signed, limiting the number of Italian marble, Indiana limestone, The memorial is open daily from late warships to be retained on the Great Lakes. and granite. Carved on the walls are the April until late October; it is closed the It was the first step toward permanent names of the American vessels and the rest of the year. killed and wounded in the Battle of Lake disarmament of the 4,000-mile boundary On a clear day from the observation between the United States and Canada. Erie. Beneath the floor, in a crypt, lie the remains of the three American and platform, you can see many points of three British officers killed in the action. interest, including nearby islands and the This area and its great Doric column (The enlisted men were buried at sea.) area, 10 miles west-northwest on the lake, commemorate not only the great naval For a century the officers had lain where where the battle took place. The boundary victory about which Perry made his famous they were interred on the shore of Put-in-Bay between the United States and Canada report ("We have met the enemy and they after the battle. They were removed and is 5 miles distant. are ours"), but they also memorialize placed in the memorial with impressive the principle of maintaining peace among services on September 11, 1913. In the west A dministration nations by arbitration and disarmament, doorway of the rotunda is a bronze tablet Perry's Victory and International Peace a principle now long symbolized by the containing the 150-word Rush-Bagot Memorial is administered by the unfortified boundary between two great Agreement of 1817. By this simple device, National Park Service, U.S. Department North American neighbors. naval armaments on the Great Lakes of the Interior. A superintendent were limited. With some modifications, whose address is P.O. Box 78, Put-in-Bay, the spirit of the agreement is followed OH 43456, is in immediate charge. today between the United States and As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Canada. Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest The movement for Perry's Victory Memorial use of our land and water resources, protecting was started in 1908 by the State of Ohio. our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental By 1911, eight more States—Pennsylvania, and cultural values of our national parks and Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, historical places, and providing for the enjoyment For Your Safety of life through outdoor recreation. The Department Rhode Island, Kentucky, and Massachusetts During your visit to the Memorial, be alert assesses our energy and mineral resources and —and the Federal Government had joined works to assure that their development is in the to all hazards and observe all safety precau­ the enterprise. best interests of all our people. The Department tions. When on the Observation Platform, also has a major responsibility for American Indian keep your feet on the floor or benches and reservation communities and for people who live Constructed between 1912 and 1915 in Island Territories under U.S. administration. closely supervise your children. While walk­ under the direction of the Perry's Victory ing on the seawalls, sidewalks, or in the Centennial Commission, the memorial cost National Park Service Memorial, be cautious of wet spots which nearly $ 1 million, which was shared by U.S. Department of the Interior may be slippery and hazardous. the participating States and the Federal FrGPO 1978-261 212/16 Reprint 1978 , ' ? ' i J•.'/••••••; / •••'.' €' j /£ ',-/ ' ufV.vv'u/f f ' y'V'V'',-' r

During the epic struggle between France Elliot, with the Queen Charlotte; and and Great Britain from 1793 to 1815, the so on. At 10 a.m. the battle flag youthful United States was caught between of the Lawrence was raised. Upon the hammer and the anvil of British and L /ft- KJames Lawrence, the Her rights were violated by both countries. €(&~ &H2 etfccvrO bore the brunt of the fight, as Perry took June 18, 1812. On land, during the first part his flagship with its short-range carronades of the war, American military operations p/p/iVy- to close quarters with the enemy. The left much to be desired. Despite brilliant Niagara, ordered to support him, held back, individual victories by American ships probably because of the light wind. The in duels with British vessels, the American Lawrence, with four-fifths of its crew coastline was placed under an effective casualties, became a floating wreck by blockade. 2:30 p.m. But the Niagara had at last come up. Seeing a chance to snatch victory At the start of the War of 1812 the British from apparent defeat, Perry transferred in had control of Lake Erie, a vital lifeline an open rowboat to Elliott's ship and for troops and supplies. A British squadron continued the desperate fight. under Barclay blockaded Erie, Pa., where Oliver Hazard Perry was building ships to In another 15 minutes the battle was over. contest British domination of the lake. A Finding the Niagara "very little injured," low sandbar protected Erie harbor. The Perry gave orders to drive through the long-awaited opportunity came early in British line. The Detroit and Queen August 1813 when Barclay relaxed his Charlotte ran into each other trying to avoid watchfulness for a few days. Perry floated the raking fire of the American gunboats. his ships across the bar, and the fleet was With his flagship now a "perfect wreck," free for action. After Jesse D. Elliot arrived his other ships badly disabled, and himself with additional reinforcements, Perry wounded, Barclay surrendered at 3 p.m. sailed to western Lake Erie. The British fleet From the deck of the Niagara, Perry retreated to Fort Maiden (Amherstburg), wrote to Harrison: "We have met the enemy on the Detroit River. Perry made the and they are ours: Two Ships, two Brigs, harbor on South Bass Island his head­ one Schooner & one Sloop." Thus, quarters. From this island base he could modestly and concisely, was this great watch Barclay and establish contact with victory announced to the world and an Harrison, who was then in northern Ohio. immortal sentence in American naval history given to the Nation. On September 9, Barclay left his base and sailed into the lake. The next morning, The American squadron had lost 27 men the two fleets met about 10 miles west- killed and 96 wounded, two-thirds of northwest of South Bass Island. Perry had CommoOc, Oliver Hazard Perry, by Gilbert Stuart It8t8) these on board the Lawrence. Barclay lost nine vessels, the largest being the brigs Courtesy ot Toledo Museum ot Art 41 men killed and 92 wounded. The Bat­ Lawrence and Niagara, each about 110 feet tle of Lake Erie turned the tide of events long. Six warships made up the British in the Old Northwest in favor of the fleet. The Detroit and Queen Charlotte were Americans. With control of the lake about the same size as the American regained, Perry transported General brigs. At close range Perry had twice the Harrison's army to Canada, where it went firepower of the enemy, and even at long on to victory over the British and Indians range he had the edge. Each fleet had at the Battle of the River Thames. about 440 men. About 25 percent of the American force was black.

Perry had assigned to each of his captains an enemy vessel to fight. His flagship, the Lawrence, was to close with the Detroit, the enemy's flagship; the Niagara, under

When the Lawrence was riddled by British fire, Perry transferred to the Niagara. Both ships were scuttled after the battle, but a cen­ tury later the Niagara was raised and rebuilt. The ship is shown here in 1913 after her reconstruction. Today a replica of the Niagara, containing a 78-foot section of the original black keel, rests in Niagara Park, Erie, Pa.