3. Perry was promoted to Master Commandant in the Navy at age 28. After being a midshipman, he returned to Rhode Island and supervised the construction of a flotilla of small gunboats. In March 1812, he achieved the high rank of Master Commandant, something few as young as he achieved.
4. In 1813, he was given command of naval forces on the Great Lakes and appointed to supervise the construction of an American fleet on Lake Erie. His headquarters were at what is today Erie, Pennsylvania. When he arrived, there were no American ships and the British already had eight ships.
Despite the fact that he had no nearby resources other than trees, in short order he had nine vessels with the 490 ton brigs Lawrence and Niagara being the largest.
--Brock-Perry
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