Description: President William McKinley giving his last speech before he was assassinated, Buffalo, New York, September 5, 1901. McKinley was the twenty-fifth President, serving from 1897-1901. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00501
Subjects: Presidents--United States; Ohio History--Presidents and Politics
Places: Buffalo (New York); Erie County (New York)
 

Description: The title page of this edition of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" (East Aurora, New York: The Roycroft Shop, 1905) was designed by William Joseph (Dard) Hunter (1883-1966). Hunter was born in Steubenville, Ohio, where his father, William Henry Hunter, ran a newspaper business. The elder Hunter was an advocate of hand crafts and also an amateur woodcarver. Dard (a family nickname) learned typesetting at his father's business and the mechanics of papermaking at a paper mill near his home. In 1900 the Hunter family moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, to run another newspaper, and Dard was its staff artist. In 1904 Dard moved to East Aurora, New York, to join the Roycrofters, a community of craft workers and artists that was a branch of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the United States. Hunter created designs for books, leather, glass, and metal, and also tried his hand at pottery, jewelry, and furniture. He founded a correspondence school, the Dard Hunter School of Handicrafts.In 1910 he moved to Vienna, where he took courses in lithography, book decoration, and letter design. Afterward he settled in London, where he developed a fascination for papermaking. In 1912 Hunter and his wife, Edith, moved to Marlborough, New York, where he designed and built a water-powered paper mill and designed a distinctive font that bears his name. In 1919 Hunter and his family returned to Chillicothe, where he worked and lived for the rest of this life. He founded Mountain House Press, a letterpress printing studio where he wrote and published 20 books on papermaking. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05955
Subjects: Hunter, William Joseph, 1883-1966; Roycroft Shop; Mountain House Press; Arts and crafts movement; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists
Places: East Aurora (New York); Erie County (New York)
 

Description: Historiated initial "H" was designed by Dard Hunter for an edition of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" (East Aurora, New York: The Roycroft Shop, 1905, p. 42). A historiated initial is an enlarged initial letter containing a painting relating to the text. William Joseph “Dard” Hunter (1883-1966) was born in Steubenville, Ohio, where his father ran a newspaper business. At an early age the young Dard (a family nickname) learned about automatic typesetting machines at his father's business and about the mechanics of the modern paper mill across the street from his home. The elder Hunter, who was an advocate of hand crafts, was an amateur woodcarver and for a few years ran a pottery business with two partners. In 1900 the family moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, to run another newspaper business. Dard was its staff artist. Four years later he moved to East Aurora, New York, to join the Roycrofters, a community of craft workers and artists founded in 1885 by Elbert Hubbard. The Roycrofters were a branch of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the United States. Hunter created designs for books, leather, glass, and metal, and he also tried his hand at pottery, jewelry, and furniture. He founded a correspondence school, the Dard Hunter School of Handicrafts. In 1910 he moved to Vienna, where he took courses in lithography, book decoration, and letter design. Afterward he settled in London, where he developed a fascination for papermaking. In 1912 Hunter and his wife, Edith, moved to Marlborough, New York, where he designed and built a water-powered paper mill and designed a distinctive typeface that bears his same. In 1919 Hunter and his family returned to Chillicothe, where he worked and lived for the rest of his life. He founded Mountain House Press, a letterpress printing studio where he wrote and published 20 books on papermaking. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05956
Subjects: Hunter, William Joseph, 1883-1966; Roycroft Shop; Mountain House Press; Arts and crafts movement; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists
Places: East Aurora (New York); Erie County (New York)
 

Description: This historiated initial "O" was designed by William Joseph "Dard" Hunter for an edition of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" (East Aurora, New York: The Roycroft Shop, 1905, p. 23). A historiated initial is an enlarged initial letter containing a painting relating to the text. William Joseph “Dard” Hunter (1883-1966) was born in Steubenville, Ohio, where his father ran a newspaper business. At an early age the young Dard (a family nickname) learned about automatic typesetting machines at his father's business and about the mechanics of the modern paper mill across the street from his home. The elder Hunter, who was an advocate of hand crafts, was an amateur woodcarver, and for a few years he ran a pottery business with two partners. In 1900 the family moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, to run another newspaper business. Dard was its staff artist. Four years later Dard moved to East Aurora, New York, to join the Roycrofters, a community of craft workers and artists founded in 1885 by Elbert Hubbard. The Roycrofters were a branch of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the United States. Hunter created designs for books, leather, glass, and metal, and he also tried his hand at pottery, jewelry, and furniture. He founded a correspondence school, the Dard Hunter School of Handicrafts. In 1910 he moved to Vienna, where he took courses in lithography, book decoration, and letter design. Afterward he settled in London, where he developed a fascination for papermaking. In 1912 Hunter and his wife, Edith, moved to Marlborough, New York, where he designed and built a water-powered paper mill and designed a distinctive typeface that bears his same. In 1919 Hunter and his family returned to Chillicothe, where he worked and lived for the rest of this life. He founded Mountain House Press, a letterpress printing studio where he wrote and published 20 books on papermaking. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05957
Subjects: Hunter, William Joseph, 1883-1966; Roycroft Shop; Mountain House Press; Arts and crafts movement; Cultural Ohio--Art and Artists; Literary Ohio
Places: East Aurora (New York); Erie County (New York)
 

Description: This photograph was taken facing northeast and shows the McKinley Memorial, on the grounds of Capitol Square, outside the Ohio Statehouse. The McKinley Memorial, located at the West entrance of Capitol Square, sits overlooking High Street at the site of the Old Neil House where he and his wife lived while in Columbus. An arc with a center pedestal is surmounted by a bronze statue of heroic size representing the martyred President, William McKinley, delivering his last address at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901. Bronze groups of allegorical figures at each end of the arc are connected with the pedestal by a granite bench. The memorial, sculptured by H.A. McNeil, was unveiled September 14, 1906, five years after the 25th President's assassination. Costs totaled $50,000 which came from legislation and public donations. The Ohio State Capitol, located at 1 Capitol Square, is a 2 acre building which stands in a 10-acre park bounded by High, Broad, State, and Third Streets, in downtown Columbus. Also known as the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus residents would often take advantage of the wide green lawns by allowing their cows and horses to graze there during the night. Legislative action ended the use of the building for a stable in 1878, but newspaper reports show that they remained through the 1880's. The beauty of the massive limestone structure depends principally upon simplicity and strength, emphasized by a row of Doric columns at each of its four entrances. The dome is the result of a compromise. The original design called for a dome surrounded by a colonnade that would harmonize with the general architecture, but the plan never was carried out because of bickering by legislators over cost and details of construction. The cornerstone was laid in 1839, and although the building was occupied by some State departments in 1857, it was not completed until 1861, 22 years after it was begun. When Henry Walter of Cincinnati was appointed supervising architect in 1839, numerous plans for the building were considered and the one finally adopted was a composite. Both convict and private labor were used, and limestone was hauled from a quarry northwest of Columbus, purchased by the State to ensure enough material, on a railroad especially constructed for that purpose. Delays in securing State appropriations, a severe cholera epidemic, and labor difficulties retarded construction work, which at one time ceased for six years. Before the building was completed, five architects had served during the administrations of 12 governors. It is considered one of the country’s outstanding examples of the Greek Revival style and at the time, it was the second largest building, behind only the United States Capitol building. The total cost of the capitol approximated $1,650,000. An annex, directly east of the capitol and connected with it by a stone terrace, was completed in 1901 at a cost of $450,000. The capitol proper is 504 feet long and 184 feet wide, with 12 – 15 inches thick foundation walls. The annex, 220 feet long and 100 feet wide, conforms architecturally with the main building. A flight of 12 steps from each of the four entrances to the capitol leads to a central rotunda. Offices of the governor and other State officials flank the four marble-floored foyers. Elaborately carved woods, marbles from many lands, and paintings and sculpture by noted American artists adorn the interior. In the center of the inlaid marble floor of the rotunda are 13 blocks, each representing one of the thirteen original States, surrounded by three circles and a sunburst of 32 points, one for each State at the time the marble was laid. One circle represents the unorganized territory at the time the Union was formed; another, the Louisiana Purchase; and the third, the territory acquired in the war with Mexico. A fourth circle, enclosing the sunburst, symbolizes the Constitution. Battle flags of Ohio – many of them shell-torn and bearing other service scars – are displayed in cabinets. Large historical murals by William Mark Young adorn the rotunda and the walls flanking the four main stairways. The rich decorations ascending the dome culminate in an illuminated reproduction, in art glass, of the Great Seal of Ohio. Tablets at the entrances to the rotunda pay tribute to Andrews’ Raiders of the Civil War; to Major General Benson Hough, Ohio soldier and jurist; to soldiers and sailors of the Civil War; and to 51 women leaders in the feminist movement, including several Ohioans. Other tablets commemorate the sesquicentennial (1937) of the Northwest Territory and the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (1899) in Columbus. Stairways lead from the floor of the rotunda to the Hall of Representatives and the Senate Chamber. At the head of the stairway on the north side stands the Lincoln Memorial, a bust of Lincoln executed by T.D. Jones. Directly to the east is a wall panel showing in relief a group of Union and Confederate officers who participated in the battle of Vicksburg. Outstanding among the capitol’s works of art is a large painting in the east foyer, Battle of Lake Erie, by William H. Powell. A copy of this paining is displayed in the nation’s Capitol. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F04B_015_1
Subjects: Capitol buildings; Memorials--Ohio; Capitol Square District (Columbus, Ohio); Governors--Ohio; Ohio. House of Representatives; Ohio. Senate; Walter, Henry; Sculpture, McKinley, William, 1843-1901
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image is a photograph of an engraved illustration of the Miami River Canal, which was a section of the larger Miami and Erie Canal system completed in 1830. The image is of the Dayton aqueduct crossing, ca. 1842. Aqueducts were constructed to transport waters of the Miami and Erie Canal over rivers and streams. New York's Erie Canal, completed in 1825, dramatically altered life in Ohio. Thousands of settlers utilized the canal to move to Ohio. Cities in northern Ohio, especially Cleveland and Toledo, grew quickly and became important ports. Farmers and industrialists in northern Ohio now had a relatively cheap and quick means of transporting their products to market. The success of the Erie Canal also prompted the Ohio government to invest in canals within Ohio, most notably the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal, both of which connected Lake Erie with the Ohio River. Constructed in stages between 1825 and 1845, the Miami and Erie Canal linked Lake Erie (at Toledo) to the Ohio River (at Cincinnati). At Junction, Ohio, the Miami and Erie Canal intersected with the Wabash and Erie Canal, which provided a link to Evansville, Indiana. The canal system greatly reduced the cost of transporting products and people. The cost of shipping goods from the East Coast to Ohio and vice versa dripped from $125 per ton of goods to $25 per ton. It took eighty hours to travel from Cleveland to Portsmouth along the Ohio and Erie Canal. Although travel on horseback was much faster, it also cost a great deal more. Passage on the canal boat was $1.70 per person. Most canals remained in operation in Ohio until the late 1800s. By the 1850s, however, canals were losing business to the railroads, which offered several advantages over the canals. Although railroads cost more to ship people and goods, they could deliver people and items much more quickly than the canals. Railroads also were not limited by a water source, as were canals. Because of these advantages, railroads quickly supplanted the canals. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06117
Subjects: Canals--Ohio--History--19th century; Miami Canal (Ohio); Miami and Erie Canal (Ohio)--History; Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio); Miami Canal (Ohio); Ohio Economy--Transportation and Development
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows sailboats cruising along the shores of Lake Erie, ca. 1960s or 1970s. The sailboat in the foreground has two occupants. Its main sail displays the image of a star and the number 1605. Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes, forms most of Ohio's northern boundary. During the 1700s and 1800s, Lake Erie provided a quick means of transportation for fur traders as well as settlers hoping to improve their fortunes in the Ohio Country. Its importance grew during the 1810s and the 1820s as Americans began to build canals. The completion of the Erie Canal, which connected the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie, provided the first navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Upper Midwest. The Erie Canal system gave Ohio farmers a relatively quick and inexpensive route to transport their products to market. Thanks to its location on Lake Erie, Cleveland quickly grew to become one of the state’s leading industrial centers. During the War of 1812, both the English and the American armies and navies hoped to gain exclusive control over the lake. The side that controlled Lake Erie would have an easier time sending troops and supplies in an invasion of the enemy's territory. On September 10, 1813, at the Battle of Lake Erie, an American fleet under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet, securing control of the lake for the United States. The victory eliminated England's threat to the American Northwest. Lake Erie also served as parts of boundaries in treaties between the United States and the Indians during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Among the most important of these agreements was the Treaty of Greeneville (1795). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06655
Subjects: Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Great Lakes (North America); Boats; Lake Erie Islands (Ohio); Sailboats; Sailing
Places: Marblehead (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a sailboat cruising along the shores of Lake Erie, ca. 1960-1970s. The shoreline and trees frame the image of the lone sailboat, which is seen at a distance. Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes, forms most of Ohio's northern boundary. During the 1700s and 1800s, Lake Erie provided a quick means of transportation for fur traders as well as settlers hoping to improve their fortunes in the Ohio Country. Its importance grew during the 1810s and the 1820s as Americans began to build canals. The completion of the Erie Canal, which connected the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie, provided the first navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Upper Midwest. The Erie Canal system gave Ohio farmers a relatively quick and inexpensive route to transport their products to market. Thanks to its location on Lake Erie, Cleveland quickly grew to become one of the state’s leading industrial centers. During the War of 1812, both the English and the American armies and navies hoped to gain exclusive control over the lake. The side that controlled Lake Erie would have an easier time sending troops and supplies in an invasion of the enemy's territory. On September 10, 1813, at the Battle of Lake Erie, an American fleet under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet, securing control of the lake for the United States. The victory eliminated England's threat to the American Northwest. Lake Erie also served as parts of boundaries in treaties between the United States and the Indians during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Among the most important of these agreements was the Treaty of Greeneville (1795). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06654
Subjects: Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Great Lakes (North America); Boats; Lake Erie Islands (Ohio); Sailboats; Sailing
Places: Marblehead (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Perry Memorial, located in Put-in-Bay (on South Bass Island), about 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world. It was first dedicated September 10, 1913, at the centennial celebration of Perry’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, and symbolizes the peace that prevailed thereafter between the United States, Canada and Great Britain. The towering Milford granite shaft rises from a terraced plaza to a height of 352 feet and is the world's most massive Doric column. Beneath the stone floor of the monument lie the remains of three American officers and three British officers. The open air promenade at the top can accommodate 50 people. From it can be seen the green mass of Middle and North Bass Islands, the other islands of the archipelago, the Marblehead Peninsula, Cedar Point, the buildings of Sandusky, and Lake Erie. On clear days the shore lines of Michigan and Canada are visible. The memorial, which cost nearly $500,000, was erected under the joint sponsorship of the Federal Government and the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Although substantially completed in 1915, funding problems prevented the proper completion of a fully realized memorial complex. In 1919 the federal government assumed control of the monument and provided additional funding. The official dedication was celebrated on July 31, 1931. On September 11, 1938, the monument and the 14-acre park surrounding it were dedicated as a National Park by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. In 2002, 2.4 million dollars was spent on a new visitor center. Established as Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial National Monument by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 2, 1936 (Proclamation No. 2182); redesignated a National Memorial and renamed on October 26, 1972. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It is the only peace memorial within the National Park Service. The Memorial had been closed for most of the summer of 2006 after a 500 pound (230 kg) piece of granite broke off the southeast face of the observation deck, falling 315 feet (96 m) and leaving a crater in the plaza in June. No one was injured. Following a structural assessment that deemed it safe for visitors, the memorial reopened on August 26, 2006, with a fence surrounding it. The monument closed on September 30, 2009 for 2 years. Renovations will be done in 3 phases, with the observation deck first, then the column, then the entrance and rotunda receiving attention. The repairs to the observation deck are estimated at $7,000,000. Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819) was in command of a flotilla at Newport, Rhode Island, when the War of 1812 broke out. In March of the following year he was given command on Lake Erie. By summer he sailed with a squadron built for him at Erie, Pennsylvania, put in at the harbor of South Bass Island (whence the name, Put-In-Bay), and awaited the coming of the British vessels for an anticipated encounter. Sighting them on the morning of September 10, Perry sailed northwest towards the Sister Islands. The Americans had 54 guns and two swivels; the British had 63 guns, 4 howitzers and two swivels. About noon Perry’s flagship, the Lawrence, was fired upon, and bore the brunt of the attack because the other ships were becalmed at a distance. Her guns pounded into silence, the Lawrence was abandoned, and Perry and his men rowed to the Niagara. In the meantime his other ships had come up, and the Americans swooped down upon the English warships. Maneuvering the Niagara between four of the enemy’s boats, the Americans poured broadsides at close range into time; and at 3 o’clock in the afternoon the British flagship Detroit lowered her flag, signaling surrender. Perry’s laconic message to General William Henry Harrison was: ‘Dear General – We have met the enemy, and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem, O. H. Perry.’ Perry’s victory gave the Americans control of Lake Erie and enabled Harrison to invade Canada, the latter’s success at the Battle of the Thames ending the War of 1812 in the Northwest. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F09_016_1
Subjects: Monuments & memorials--United States--1900-1940; Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial (Put-in-Bay, Ohio); Perry, Oliver Hazard, 1785-1819; National Park Service (U.S.); National Register of Historic Places
Places: Put-in-Bay Township (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "River Traffic. Ore boat being towed up river from Superior Ave. bridge looking south. District #4, Cleveland, Ohio. Neg. File #215. Project Photographer: Frank Jaffa, 1940." Signs visible in this photograph include Huron Cement, Central National Bank (800 Superior Ave), Fries & Schuele, and Lederer Terminal. The CLEVELAND & BUFFALO TRANSIT CO. (C&B), a popular steamship line and later a trucking firm, was established by Morris A. Bradley in 1885 and incorporated in 1892, with Bradley as president. Passenger and freight service was initiated between Cleveland and Buffalo on the "State of Ohio" and the "State of New York," leaving Cleveland from the foot of St. Clair Ave, and in 1896, the "City of Buffalo" was added. The "City of Erie" replaced the "State of Ohio" in 1898, providing night service from Cleveland to Toledo. In 1914 Cedar Point and Put-in-Bay were added to the C&B route. As passenger service became increasingly popular, the luxurious "SEEANDBEE," a costly sidewheel passenger steamer, began regular trips between Cleveland and Buffalo in 1913. At that time, the C&B and the Detroit & Cleveland (D&C) line obtained a 50-year lease from Cleveland for property at the foot of 9th St. for $55,000. There the two companies built the E. 9th St. Pier and a new lake terminal, dedicated in 1915; in exchange, the city built a bridge over the E. 9th St. railroad tracks, paved the E. 9th St. approach, and provided a street railway to the pier.The destruction of the steamship "City of Buffalo" by fire in 1938, along with the Depression and increasing competition from trucks and railroads, caused the bankruptcy and liquidation of Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co. in 1939. Their E. 9th St. Pier was transferred to the Lederer Terminal Warehouse Co., and both the "Goodtime" and the "City of Erie" steamers were sold for salvage. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F08_25_01
Subjects: Cleveland(Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Cuyahoga River (Ohio); Central National Bank; Steamships
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads, "Sail and Steam." The Eastern States, D&C passenger steamer pulls in back of the City of New York, Byrd ship at the 9 street docks. District #4, Cleveland Project Photographer: John Steinke, 1940" This is a photo of a passenger steamer pulling up behind a traditional schooner on Lake Erie. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F02_006_001
Subjects: Passenger ships; Lake Erie; Boats and Boating; Cleveland (Ohio)--Pictorial works; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Perry Memorial, located in Put-in-Bay (on South Bass Island), about 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world. It was first dedicated September 10, 1913, at the centennial celebration of Perry’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, and symbolizes the peace that prevailed thereafter between the United States, Canada and Great Britain. The towering Milford granite shaft rises from a terraced plaza to a height of 352 feet and is the world's most massive Doric column. Beneath the stone floor of the monument lie the remains of three American officers and three British officers. The open air promenade at the top can accommodate 50 people. From it can be seen the green mass of Middle and North Bass Islands, the other islands of the archipelago, the Marblehead Peninsula, Cedar Point, the buildings of Sandusky, and Lake Erie. On clear days the shore lines of Michigan and Canada are visible. The memorial, which cost nearly $500,000, was erected under the joint sponsorship of the Federal Government and the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Although substantially completed in 1915, funding problems prevented the proper completion of a fully realized memorial complex. In 1919 the federal government assumed control of the monument and provided additional funding. The official dedication was celebrated on July 31, 1931. On September 11, 1938, the monument and the 14-acre park surrounding it were dedicated as a National Park by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes. In 2002, 2.4 million dollars was spent on a new visitor center. Established as Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial National Monument by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 2, 1936 (Proclamation No. 2182); redesignated a National Memorial and renamed on October 26, 1972. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It is the only peace memorial within the National Park Service. The Memorial had been closed for most of the summer of 2006 after a 500 pound (230 kg) piece of granite broke off the southeast face of the observation deck, falling 315 feet (96 m) and leaving a crater in the plaza in June. No one was injured. Following a structural assessment that deemed it safe for visitors, the memorial reopened on August 26, 2006, with a fence surrounding it. The monument closed on September 30, 2009 for 2 years. Renovations will be done in 3 phases, with the observation deck first, then the column, then the entrance and rotunda receiving attention. The repairs to the observation deck are estimated at $7,000,000. Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819) was in command of a flotilla at Newport, Rhode Island, when the War of 1812 broke out. In March of the following year he was given command on Lake Erie. By summer he sailed with a squadron built for him at Erie, Pennsylvania, put in at the harbor of South Bass Island (whence the name, Put-In-Bay), and awaited the coming of the British vessels for an anticipated encounter. Sighting them on the morning of September 10, Perry sailed northwest towards the Sister Islands. The Americans had 54 guns and two swivels; the British had 63 guns, 4 howitzers and two swivels. About noon Perry’s flagship, the Lawrence, was fired upon, and bore the brunt of the attack because the other ships were becalmed at a distance. Her guns pounded into silence, the Lawrence was abandoned, and Perry and his men rowed to the Niagara. In the meantime his other ships had come up, and the Americans swooped down upon the English warships. Maneuvering the Niagara between four of the enemy’s boats, the Americans poured broadsides at close range into time; and at 3 o’clock in the afternoon the British flagship Detroit lowered her flag, signaling surrender. Perry’s laconic message to General William Henry Harrison was: ‘Dear General – We have met the enemy, and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem, O. H. Perry.’ Perry’s victory gave the Americans control of Lake Erie and enabled Harrison to invade Canada, the latter’s success at the Battle of the Thames ending the War of 1812 in the Northwest. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F09_018_1
Subjects: Monuments & memorials--United States--1900-1940; Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial (Put-in-Bay, Ohio); Perry, Oliver Hazard, 1785-1819; National Park Service (U.S.); National Register of Historic Places
Places: Put-in-Bay Township (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)