The Coolidge examiner., 1935-08-16
81 ELMO SCOTT WATSON

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~ wiu dcathless fame before they
are thirty Bot Fate dccreed that
a youthful commander 30 the United States navy
should be- one % those favored mortals Nor
wus q blind chance or a mere stroke ~ lock
which brouEh; him bis reuown. When bis big
opportunity came be- was trained and ready for
A. The result was one of The most brilliant vic.
tories in the history % naval wnrfare-hls Dc
feat and capture ~ q British feet on Lake Erie
September 10. 1913 That plus bis triumpha
announcement the laconc quality % which Is
o. keeping with the hriefness 81 hls career. has
made the name % oliver Hazard Perry one o.
tie best known Ia American history.
n ever there Was an American family which
ercmpliucs a naval heritage" u was the Pcrrys
% Rhode Island That heritage began with
Christopher Raymond Perry who was only ihir-
teen years old when the Revolution began. Bui
be Immediately enlisted ia the Kingston Reds
and served valiantiy In the Continental army
tie next served nn a priyateer. then on board the
Militia vas captured by the British and Tor
three months endured the horrors % the British
prison ship Jersey. Escaping from the Jersey.
Perry enlisted ou the Trumbull under Capt
james Nicholson and had part 10 the victory
over the British pgisaicer. Watt In i5'a Later
he Was captured again and sent 10 Ncwry. Ire
land q prisoner of war.
There b. became acquainted with Sarah Alex
ander a pretty Scotch girl whose grandfather
had red from scotland 10 ireland and who had
been LEFT an orphan IN hes childhood At the
close % the war Christopher shipped as sea
man on a British ship bound FOR America. Sarah
Alexander was passenger on the same ship aud
upon her arrival nc the home ~ pr. benjamin
Rush In Philadelphia Christopher sought her out
and they were married lie took his bride 10
the Perry homestead At Wakefield X. l.. house
that locked oct toward the sea and from which
her husband and her sons 10 ~go down 10
the sea In ships and become officers In the
United States navy.
There were nye OF thcm-ollyer Hazard Ray
naoud ~ J. Matthew Calbraith. James Alexander
and Nathaneal Hazard As II this contribution
to her adopted country's forces was not
enough tw0 ~ her three daughters married naval
officers. Capt. George ". Rodgers and pr VIII
liam Better,
The influence of this mother on her sons had
much 10 do with their later fame. She told them
stories of her warrior ancestors In Scotland; she
closely supervised their education. she fitted
them 10 command by teaching them to obey" and
when still in their teens they answered the call
of the sea. she sent them forth cheerfully. She
in the service % their country and two of them
TO become famous-0llver Hazard as the victor
In the Battle OF Lake Erie and Matthew Cal
braith as the commander OF the expedition which.
IN 1854. opened the ports OF Japan and started
that nation on the rise 10 It's present position
among the world powers.
Oliver Hazard Perry entered the United States
navy at the age OF fourteen as a mIdshlpman.
That was In l7as when war with France seemed
Inevitable But II was not until the war with
Tripoi. when Commodore Preble sent 10
subdue the Barbary pirates. that young Perry
saw his first active service. In 1910 he was com
mlssIoned lieutenant and placed In command
OF the schooner Revenge The Revenge was
wrecked or Watch HIN. near his home. but
naval board OF inquiry not only cleared him OF
all blame for the disaster but also praised him
for his conduct on that occasion
BY the time the second war with England be
Ean. Perry was known as one OF the best ord
nance officers In the navy and early in 1872 be
was placed In command OF a hotlla OF gunboats
in Newport harbor. But before he had chance 10
distinguish himself with this command. certain
significant events took place in the West which
determined that he would win his fame on our
inland seas rather than on the broad Atlantic
In July. 1872. General Huh surrendered to the
British at Detroit and II became apparent that
control OF Lake Erie would be vital factor In
the war. Immediately both Americans and Brit
ish began construction OF war vessels and
thrilling race with time ensued. There was
feverish activity In the British shipyards at
Maiden, opposite Detroit. and far to the east In
the harbor of Presque Isle (now Erie, Pal there
was a similar bustling about. An American fleet
was 10 be built there under the direction OF
young Oliver Hazard Perry who was 10 take
command OF It, wrest control OF Lake Erie from
the British and cooperate with Gen. William
Henry Harrison. commander in chief of the
American military forces in Ohio. then threat
ened with invasion by the British and their
Indian allies.
Making his way through the wilderness in a
sleigh, Perry arrived at PreSque Isle in Febru-
AIRY. 1913. and found what seemed TO be hope
less task on his hands. Only the materials for