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After the court martial, Perry took a leave of absence from the Navy and on May 5, 1811 married Elizabeth Champlin Mason.  

After the court martial, Perry took a leave of absence from the Navy and on May 5, 1811 married Elizabeth Champlin Mason.  

==War of 1812==

==War of 1812==

Perry returned to active duty in May of 1812 when the threat of a war with [[Britain]] was looming. He was appointed to the position of master-commandant. One month later, the [[United States]] declared war on Britain, beginning the [[War of 1812]], and Perry took was put in command of a 12 gunboat fleet based at Newport, [[Rhode Island]] and New London, [[Connecticut]]. The job was not active enough for Perry's tastes however and he was on his request redeployed on February 1813 to the more active Sacket's Harbor, [[Lake Ontario]]. Two weeks later, Perry was once again redeployed to Erie, [[Pennsylvania]]. There he was in charge of an effort to build a small naval force to counter the British fleet already on the lake. By July of 1813, five months after he took control of the project, six vessels had been constructed despite an acute lack of resources or men. His six ships were soon joined by six more from Buffalo, [[New York]].

Perry returned to active duty in May of 1812 when the threat of a war with [[Britain]] was looming. He was appointed to the position of master-commandant. One month later, the [[United States]] declared war on Britain, beginning the [[War of 1812]], and Perry took was put in command of a 12 gunboat fleet based at Newport, [[Rhode Island]] and New London, [[Connecticut]]. The job was not active enough for Perry's tastes however and he was on his request redeployed on February 1813 to the more active Sacket's Harbor, [[Lake Ontario]].  

Two weeks later, Perry was once again redeployed to Erie, [[Pennsylvania]]. There he was in charge of an effort to build a small naval force to counter the British fleet already on the lake. By July of 1813, five months after he took control of the project, six vessels had been constructed despite an acute lack of resources or men. His six ships were soon joined by six more from Buffalo, [[New York]].

[[File:Perryflag2.jpg|200px|thumb|Earlier in the War of 1812, the American frigate USS ''Chesapeake'' fought a losing battle; and as Captain James Lawrence lay dying he cried out, "Don't give up the ship!"  His friend Oliver Hazard Perry put those words on a large blue flag created in time for the [[Battle of Lake Erie]]; the ''Perry Flag'' flew over USS ''Niagara'' to victory near Put-In-Bay, Ohio in September, 1813.]]

[[File:Perryflag2.jpg|200px|thumb|Earlier in the War of 1812, the American frigate USS ''Chesapeake'' fought a losing battle; and as Captain James Lawrence lay dying he cried out, "Don't give up the ship!"  His friend Oliver Hazard Perry put those words on a large blue flag created in time for the [[Battle of Lake Erie]]; the ''Perry Flag'' flew over USS ''Niagara'' to victory near Put-In-Bay, Ohio in September, 1813.]]

On the morning of September 10, 1813 the battle that would make Perry a American war hero began as his twelve ship squadron encountered the British squadron in a fierce battle on [[Lake Erie]]. In the battle, now known as the [[Battle of Lake Erie]], over 80% of the crewmen on Perry's flagship, the ''Lawrence'', were killed or wounded. The ship was in such bad condition in fact that in the middle of the battle, Perry transfered himself in a small rowboat to another vessel in his fleet the ''Niagara''. Now in command of a relatively unscathed ship, Perry attacked the weakened British fleet and after only 15 more minutes of fighting, the commander of the British fleet, Captain Robert Barclay, surrendered. The victory marked the first time in  history that an entire British squadron was captured and brought back to base as prizes. Perry is most remembered for his words that he wrote in a message to General William Henry Harrison immediately after the victory, "We have met the enemy and they are ours".

On the morning of September 10, 1813 the battle that would make Perry a American war hero began as his twelve ship squadron encountered the British squadron in a fierce battle on [[Lake Erie]]. In the battle, now known as the [[Battle of Lake Erie]], over 80% of the crewmen on Perry's flagship, the ''Lawrence'', were killed or wounded. The ship was in such bad condition in fact that in the middle of the battle, Perry transfered himself in a small rowboat to another vessel in his fleet the ''Niagara''. Now in command of a relatively unscathed ship, Perry attacked the weakened British fleet and after only 15 more minutes of fighting, the commander of the British fleet, Captain Robert Barclay, surrendered. The victory marked the first time in  history that an entire British squadron was captured and brought back to base as prizes. Perry is most remembered for his words that he wrote in a message to General William Henry Harrison immediately after the victory, "We have met the enemy and they are ours".

The victory gave Americans control of Lake Erie, and forced the British army to flee. It was defeated at the [[Battle of the Thames]], and was unable to supply hostile Indians. The Americans thus achieved one of the maion goals of the war, ending the menace of Indian raids in the Northwest (what is now called the Midwest),.

Meanwhile in March 1813, Secretary of War John Armstrong sent Captain Thomas Sidney Jesup to Cleveland to construct troop transports. Jesup built 77 transports with an overall capacity of three to four thousand men. After Perry took control of the lakes these transports were used by U.S. troops led by [[William

Henry Harrison]] to invade Canada, forcing the British army to flee. Harrison caught up with the British and decisively defeated them and their Indian allies at the [[Battle of the Thames]]. The British were no longer able to supply hostile Indians. The Americans thus achieved one of the main goals of the war, ending the menace of Indian raids in the Northwest (what is now called the Midwest).

Historians in the dispute between Perry and Jesse Duncan Elliott have sided with Perry and dismissed Elliott's claims to distinction in the battle of Lake Erie, depicting Elliott as demented and narcissistic; however, these characterizations are overblown. Although Perry's written account of the battle for the Secretary of the Navy extolled Elliott, his second in command, for his bravery, judgment, and assistance, the relationship between the two men soured when Perry obtained a letter written by Elliott criticizing Perry's account of the battle and castigating Perry's leadership ability. Elliott exacerbated the rift by coercing naval officers who served in the engagement to write favorable accounts of his behavior. Upon Elliott's promotion to Master Commandant in 1818, Perry initiated federal proceedings against Elliott but eventually agreed with President Monroe's decision to let court martial charges die in 1819. While Elliott was a deceitful, vindictive, vainglorious man, he was not emotionally unstable. His behavior was characteristic of a society that stressed the defense of honor and was given to rhetorical exaggeration. While his contemporaries saw him for what he was, no one questioned his mental stability.<Ref> Lawrence J. Friedman and David Curtis Skaggs, "Jesse Duncan Elliott and the Battle of Lake Erie: The Issue of Mental Stability." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 1990 10(4): 493-516. 0275-1275 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3123625  in JSTOR]</Ref>

==Later career==

==Later career==

After the victory, in July of 1814, Perry was put in command of the then in construction, 44-gun frigate ''Java''. In 1815, the ''Java'' was deployed to the [[Mediterranean]] to deal with problems caused by Barbary pirates. After a number on strange incidents while in the Mediterranean, including two duels, President [[James Monroe]] put Perry in charge of a diplomatic mission to [[South America]]. It was while on this mission that he is believed to have been contacted with the fatal disease, [[Yellow Fever]]. After completing his diplomatic mission, Perry sailed to [[Spain]] where he died at the age of 34 on August 23, 1819 (his birthday) of Yellow Fever just two days after landing. He was buried in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In 1826, his remains were moved to Newport, [[Rhode Island]] where a monument honors his service to his country.

After the victory, in July of 1814, Perry was put in command of the then in construction, 44-gun frigate ''Java''. In 1815, the ''Java'' was deployed to the [[Mediterranean]] to deal with problems caused by Barbary pirates. After a number on strange incidents while in the Mediterranean, including two duels, President [[James Monroe]] put Perry in charge of a diplomatic mission to [[South America]]. It was while on this mission that he is believed to have been contacted with the fatal disease, [[Yellow Fever]]. After completing his diplomatic mission, Perry sailed to [[Spain]] where he died at the age of 34 on August 23, 1819 (his birthday) of Yellow Fever just two days after landing. He was buried in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In 1826, his remains were moved to Newport, [[Rhode Island]] where a monument honors his service to his country.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Oliver Hazard}}  

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Oliver Hazard}}  

[[Category:Military Commanders]]

[[Category:United States Navy]]

[[Category:United States Naval Officers]]

[[Category:United States Naval Officers]]

[[Category:War of 1812]]

[[Category:War of 1812]]