Commodore Perry Flag 3’x 5′

Commodore Perry Flag

This flag, one of the most historic in the annals of the United States Navy, was commissioned by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and flown in his flagship, the USS Lawrence, during the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. The slogan “Don’t give up the ship” came from the last words of the vessel’s namesake, Captain James Lawrence, as he lay mortally wounded on the deck of the USS Chesapeake three months earlier.

In what was certainly the most famous shifting of flags ever carried out in U.S. naval history, Perry took this battle flag along with his commodore’s broad pennant from the sinking Lawrence and hoisted them in the USS Niagara before going on to capture the entire British squadron on the lake, HMS Detroit, HMS Charlotte, and four smaller vessels mounting a total of 63 guns to Perry’s 54. This flag is now in the possession of the United States Naval Academy.