The Perry Battle Flag Button

Although the Commodore Perry Battle Flag is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the 'Hero of Lake Erie', the actual story behind the flag begins with a lesser known name. Captain James Lawrence wasn't from a traditional naval background, and studied Law before joining the Navy as a midshipman in 1798. He gradually moved up the ranks, becoming a Captain in 1813. However, just two months after becoming a captain, he sailed the USS Chesapeake out of Boston straight toward the blockading HMS Shannon. During the intense, but brief battle, Lawrence was mortally wounded. As his crew rushed him below deck, his dying commands were 'Don't give up the ship!' A good friend of Lawrence, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, was inspired by these dying words and ordered a large blue flag to made, emblazoned with that infamous command, and flown on a newly renamed ship: the USS Lawrence. Later that year, in the Battle of Lake Erie, Perry captained the Lawerence in the Battle of Lake Erie, and stayed true to the inspirational words on the flag. Heavily outgunned by the British, the USS Lawrence was quickly disabled, but Perry wasn't about to give up the fight. Perry and his men commandeered another warship, the USS Niagara, and took the fight back to the British. Somehow, they overcame the odds and won the battle, destroying the British flotilla. Perry and his men eventually reboarded the Lawrence, and accepted the British surrender on the damaged ship, all while the words 'Don't give up the ship' remained flying on the ship named after his good friend, Captain Lawrence.