he War of 1812 was the first war the new United States of America declared and arguably the most senseless. It was ill-conceived, ill-conducted, and the country was ill-prepared for it, yet into this morass would come a brave naval officer burning to be a hero.
The man was Captain Oliver Hazard Perry. He was an ambitious and patriotic 27-year old, obsessed with self perfection and self promotion. He had joined the Navy as a 13-year-old midshipman and had served well already in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. In 1813, he was given command of a fleet of ships that was being built on Lake Erie. His task: break the British stranglehold in the Northwest. It was a formidable job, but he drove the shipbuilders hard and within a few months he had a fleet of nine ships ready to oppose the British commander, Robert Barclay for control of the lake.
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