Perry, Oliver Hazard. Distinguished American naval officer. Born at South Kingston, RI, 1785. He entered the navy in 1799, served in war against Tripoli, and in 1807 was made lieutenant. In the celebrated Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, he defeated the British. He commanded the naval battalion in the Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813. These two victories restored Michigan to the United States, and established the supremacy of the Americans on the frontier. Died 1819.

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