Got My Battle of Lake Erie Stamps-- Part 5

With several surviving sailors, Perry boarded a small boat and made his way to the Niagara through a hail of gunfire. (This is the scene depicted on the stamps.) Famously, he took with him the private flag displaying the words Captain Lawrence spoke as he lay mortally wounded, 'Don't Give Up the Ship.'

"After taking command of the Niagara, Perry sailed across the enemy line. While attempting to maneuver in response, the Detroit and Queen Charlotte collided and became entangled in their rigging. Niagara could now fire down the length of both ships, making the situation for the British hopeless. The Royal Navy's four largest ships surrendered and Pery's smaller vessels captured the other two.

"In his after-action report to General William Henry Harrison, Perry penned perhaps the most memorable phrase of the war: 'We have met the enemy and they are ours."

A Good Account of the Battle. --Brock-Perry