On This Day

Our series highlighting a digital collection or item relevant to this day in history, by Monica Erives, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

A biography of Oliver Hazard Perry. Includes a reprint of his famous victory note.

It is not given to many men to win deathless fame before they are thirty. But Fate decreed that a youthful commander in the United States navy should be one of those favored mortals.

On this day in 1785, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, best known for his War of 1812 victory on Lake Erie, was born. Perry’s decisive victory, which he achieved with limited forces and a lack of resources, is remembered to this day and is where the famed military expression, “We have met the enemy and they are ours,” originates. Not long after his victory on the Erie, Perry succumbed to yellow fever and died on his thirty-fourth birthday, August 23rd, in 1819. Over the years, many have written about Perry, his naval upbringing, and the victories that gained him fame. The article pictured above, from the Canaan Reporter, commemorates Perry over a hundred years later in 1935.

This digital item comes from the Correspondence of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Collection, where you can find correspondence between naval officers, friends, family, and peers of Commodore Perry. The collection is conveniently indexed by subject and biographical period for those looking to explore particular aspects of his memorable life.