Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial

Memorial to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and his sailors,
who defeated the British Royal Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie. 

This memorial is on Put In Bay, in Ohio.  Perry defeated the British against all odds that were stacked against the Americans. The British had more ships, more cannons and more experienced sailors, but Commodore Perry and his lesser ships and more-determined sailors were able to destroy the British ships, causing them to surrender. Perry said to "Put the

Captured Navy ships in Put in Bay." 

Perry is famous for two sayings still used today:  "Don’t Give Up the Ship," and for writing “We have met the enemy and he is ours.” 

It was a lesser known -- but very important -- battle that allowed the United States to control the Great Lakes and weaken the British Navy overall.

The Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates not only the Perry victory, but also more than a hundred years of peace between the U.S. and Canada.  At 352 feet tall, it is also the U.S.'s third tallest monument -- behind only the St. Louis Arch and the Washington Memorial.