Oliver Hazard Perry - Newport, RI - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Born into a navy family on both sides, a naval career seemed all but inevitable for Oliver H. Perry (and his younger brother Matthew C. Perry). With his father’s help, Oliver was appointed midshipman in the U. S. Navy at the age of thirteen. Over the next ten years, Perry served aboard several navy vessels including ‘Old Ironsides,’ the USS Constitution. In 1809, Perry received his first seagoing command: a 14-gun schooner named Revenge.

When the War of 1812 broke out, Perry was placed in command of a tiny squadron of gunboats in Newport, RI. Believing this to be an insignificant backwater, he lobbied hard for a command on a front. His wish was granted when he received command of a new flotilla that was being built on Lake Erie which the British controlled. On September 10, 1813, Perry’s fleet scored a decisive victory over the British, securing the surrender of the entire British squadron. This victory on Lake Erie, along with his famous communique, ‘We have met the enemy, and they are ours,’ propelled Perry to the status of national hero, a promotion to captain and a Congressional Gold Medal.

In 1819, while on a diplomatic mission to Venezuela, Perry contracted yellow fever and died on his birthday near Trinidad. He was only 34. Initially buried in Port of Spain, his body was moved a couple of times before being finally interred at Island Cemetery in Newport. Oliver H. Perry has been honored with many place names and other memorials including the massive monument at Put-In-Bay, Ohio. As a nineteenth-century American hero, Perry was one of the first people besides George Washington or Benjamin Franklin to appear on U.S. postage stamps.
(Source: wikipedia.org, history.navy.mil)

Description: See Long Description above. Date of birth: 08/23/1785 Date of death: 08/23/1819 Area of notoriety: Military Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: none Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.