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Commodore Perry (U.S.)

Historical

by Joe McMillan, 16 January 2000

Commodore Perry
Free Trade and Sailors Rights

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Flags with writing on them were rather common aboard both merchant vessels (as identification flags) and naval vessels (as battle flags) in the early years of the United States.

Commodore Perry

The flag is blue and inscribed "Don't Give Up the Ship" which were the dying words of Captain James Lawrence aboard USS Chesapeake in her fight with HMS Shannon on June 1, 1813.

This was the battle flag of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, first aboard USS Lawrence and then aboard USS Niagara at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. In that battle, the U.S. squadron consisting of Lawrence, Niagara, and 7 smaller vessels captured the British squadron (HMS Detroit, HMS Charlotte, and 4 smaller vessels, apparently the only time in history an entire squadron of the Royal Navy has been captured intact. Perry's original flag is preserved at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The image is based on a photograph of a reproduction at the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Joe McMillan, 16 January 2000

Free Trade And Sailors Rights

by Joe McMillan, 16