A frigate () is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.

In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built". These could be warships carrying their principal battery of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks (with further smaller carriage-mounted guns usually carried on the forecastle and quarterdeck of the vessel). The term was generally used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle, although early line-of-battle ships were frequently referred to as frigates when they were built for speed.

In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were usually as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square-rigged on all three masts (full rigged), but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort. In the definition adopted by the British Admiralty, they were rated ships of at least 28 guns, carrying their principal armament upon a single continuous deck—the upper deck, while ships-of-the-line possessed two or more continuous decks bearing batteries of guns.

Frigates did not carry any guns (or have any gunports) on their lower decks; confusingly, the lower deck was often referred to as the "gun deck" in the Royal Navy (in the US Navy, it was usually called the "berth deck"), even for frigates, where it did not carry any guns or have gunports. Both types could (and usually did) additionally carry smaller carriage-mounted guns on their quarter decks and forecastles (the superstructures above the upper deck). Technically, rated ships with fewer than 28 guns could not be classed as frigates but as "post ships"; however, in common parlance most post ships were often described as "frigates", the same casual misuse of the term being extended to smaller two-decked ships that were too small to stand in the line of battle.

In the late 19th century (beginning about 1858 with the construction of prototypes by the British and French navies), the armoured frigate was a type of ironclad warship and for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term "frigate" was used because such ships still mounted their principal armament on a single continuous upper deck. The later 19th century battleship thus developed from the frigate rather than from the ship of the line.

In modern navies, frigates are used to protect other warships and merchant-marine ships, especially as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. Ship classes dubbed "frigates" have also more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers and even battleships.

The rank "frigate captain" derives from the name of this type of ship.

Age of sail

Origins

The term "frigate" (Italian: ''fregata''; Spanish/Catalan/Portuguese/Sicilian: ''fragata''; Dutch: ''fregat'') originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galleass type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability.

In 1583, during the Eighty Years' War, Habsburg Spain recovered the Southern Netherlands from the rebellious Dutch. This soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sail-only vessels that came to be referred to as frigates. The success of these Dunkirker vessels influenced the ship design of the Dutch and other navies contending with them but because most regular navies required ships of greater endurance than the Dunkirker frigates could provide, the term was soon applied less exclusively to any relatively fast and elegant sail-only war ship. Even the mighty English was described as 'a delicate frigate' after modifications in 1651.

The navy of the Dutch Republic was the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates. The Dutch navy had three principal tasks in the struggle against Spain: to protect Dutch merchant ships at sea, to blockade the ports of Spanish-held Flanders to damage trade and halt enemy privateering, and to fight the Spanish fleet and prevent troop landings. The first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to fight against the Spanish fleet. The first of these larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn in Holland. By the later stages of the Eighty Years War the Dutch had switched entirely from the heavier ships still used by the English and Spanish to the lighter frigates, carrying around 40 guns and weighing around 300 tons.

The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most visible in the Battle of the Downs in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs.

The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as "frigates", the largest of which were two-decker 'great frigates' of the third rate. Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as big and capable as 'great ships' of the time; however, most other frigates at the time were used as 'cruisers': independent fast ships. The term "frigate" implied a long hull design, which relates directly to speed (see hull speed) and also, in turn, helped the development of the broadside tactic in naval warfare.

At this time a further design evolved, reintroducing oars to create the galley frigate such as the ''Charles Galley'' of 1676 which was rated as a 32-gun fifth rate but also had a bank of 40 oars set below the upper deck which could be used to propel the ship in the absence of a favourable wind.

In French, the term "frigate" became a verb, meaning 'to build long and low', and an adjective, adding further confusion. In Danish, the word "fregat" is often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns,such as HMS Falcon (1802) which the British classified as a sloop.

Under the rating system of the Royal Navy, by the middle of the 18th century, the term "frigate" was technically restricted to single-decked ships of the fifth rate, though small 28-gun frigates were classed as sixth rate.

Classic design

The classic sailing frigate, well-known today for its role in the Napoleonic wars, can be traced back to French developments in the second quarter of the 18th century. The French-built ''Médée'' of 1740 is often regarded as the first example of this type. These ships were square-rigged and carried all their main guns on a single continuous upper deck. The lower deck, known as the "gun deck", now carried no armament, and functioned as a "berth deck" where the crew lived, and was in fact placed below the waterline of the new frigates.

The new sailing frigates were able to fight with all their guns when the seas were so rough that comparable two-deckers had to close the gun-ports on their lower decks (see the Action of 13 January 1797, for an example when this was decisive). Like the larger 74 which was developed at the same time, the new frigates sailed very well and were good fighting vessels due to a combination of long hulls and low upperworks compared to vessels of comparable size and firepower.

The Royal Navy captured a handful of the new French frigates during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) and were impressed by them, particularly for their inshore handling capabilities. They soon built copies and started to adapt the type to their own needs, setting the standard for other frigates as a superpower. The first British frigates carried 28 guns including an upper deck battery of twenty-four 9-pounder guns (the remaining four smaller guns were carried on the quarter deck) but soon developed into fifth-rate ships of 32 or 36 guns including an upper deck battery of twenty-six 12-pounder guns (with the remaining six or ten smaller guns carried on the quarter deck and forecastle). From around 1778, a larger "heavy" frigate was developed with a main battery of twenty-six or twenty-eight 18-pounder guns (again with the remaining ten smaller guns carried on the quarter deck and forecastle).

Royal Navy frigates of the late 18th century included the 1780-vintage ''Perseverance'' class, which measured around 900 tons burthen and carried 36 guns; this successful class was followed by numerous other classes that measured over 1,000 tons burthen and carried 38 guns. In 1797, three of the US Navy's first six major ships were rated as 44-gun frigates (or "super-frigates"), which operationally carried fifty-six to sixty 24-pounder long guns and 36-pounder or 48-pounder carronades on two decks; by all regards they were exceptionally powerful and tough. These ships were so well-armed that they were often regarded as equal to ships of the line, and after a series of losses at the outbreak of the War of 1812, Royal Navy fighting instructions ordered British frigates (usually of 38 guns or less) to never engage American frigates at any less than a 2:1 advantage. , preserved as a museum ship by the US Navy, is the oldest commissioned frigate afloat, and is a surviving example of a frigate from the Age of Sail. ''Constitution'' and her two sister ships (USS ''President'' and USS ''United States'') were created in a response to deal with the Barbary Coast pirates and in conjunction with the Naval Act of 1794. The three big frigates, when built, had a distinctive building pattern which minimised "hogging" (in which the centre of the keel rises while both ends drop) and improves hydrodynamic efficiency.

The hull was designed so that all the weight from the guns was upon the keel itself. Joshua Humphreys proposed that only live oak, a tree that grew only in America, should be used to build these ships. The method was to use diagonal riders, eight on each side that sat a 45 degree angle. These beams of live oak were about two feet wide and around a foot thick and helped to maintain the shape of the hull, serving also to reduce flexibility and to minimize impacts. They were based on a pre-war ''Oberkommando der Marine'' concept of vessels which could fill roles such as fast minesweeper, minelayer, merchant escort and anti-submarine vessel. Because of the Treaty of Versailles their displacement was officially limited to 600 tons, although in reality they exceeded this by about 100 tons. F-boats had two stacks and two 105 mm gun turrets. The design was flawed because of its narrow beam, sharp bow and unreliable high pressure steam turbines. F-boats were succeeded in operational duties by Type 35 and Elbing-class torpedo boats. ''Flottenbegleiter'' remained in service as advanced training vessels.

It was not until the Royal Navy's Bay class of 1944 that a British design bearing the name of frigate was produced for fleet use, although it still suffered from limited speed. These anti-aircraft frigates, built on incomplete Loch-class frigate hulls, were similar to the United States Navy's destroyer escorts (DE), although the latter had greater speed and offensive armament to better suit them to fleet deployments. American DEs serving in the British Royal Navy were rated as frigates, and British-influenced ''Tacoma''-class frigates serving in the USN were classed as patrol frigates (PF).

Guided missile role

The introduction of the surface-to-air missile after the Second World War made relatively small ships effective for anti-aircraft warfare: the "guided missile frigate." In the USN, these vessels were called "ocean escorts" and designated "DE" or "DEG" until 1975 - a holdover from the World War II destroyer escort or "DE". The British Royal Navy maintained the use of the term "frigate"; likewise, the French Navy refers to missile-equipped ship, up to cruiser-sized ships, by the name of "frigate", while smaller units are named ''aviso''. Soviet Navy used the term "guard-ship" (''сторожевой корабль'').

From the 1950s to the 1970s, the USN commissioned ships classed as guided missile frigates which were actually anti-aircraft warfare cruisers built on destroyer-style hulls. Some of these ships—the ''Bainbridge''-, ''Truxtun''-, ''California''- and ''Virginia''- classes—were nuclear-powered. These were larger than any previous frigates and the use of the term '"frigate"' here is much more analogous to its original use. All such ships were reclassified as guided missile cruisers (CG/CGN) or, in the case of the smaller ''Farragut'' class, as guided missile destroyers (DDG) in 1975. The last of these particular frigates were struck from the Naval Vessel Register in the 1990s.

One of the most successful post-1945 designs was the British ''Leander''-class frigate, which was used by several navies. Laid down in 1959, the ''Leanders'' were based on the previous Type 12 anti-submarine frigate but equipped for anti-aircraft use as well. They were used by the UK into the 1990s, at which point some were sold onto other navies. The ''Leander'' design, or improved versions of it, were licence-built for other navies.

Nearly all modern frigates are equipped with some form of offensive or defensive missiles, and as such are rated as guided-missile frigates (FFG). Improvements in surface-to-air missiles (e.g., the Eurosam Aster 15) allow modern guided-missile frigates to form the core of many modern navies and to be used as a fleet defence platform, without the need for specialised anti-air warfare frigates.

Other uses

The Royal Navy Type 61 ''Salisbury'' class were "air direction" frigates equipped to track aircraft. To this end they had reduced armament compared to the Type 41 ''Leopard''-class air-defence frigates built on the same hull.

Multi-role frigates like MEKO 200, Anzac class frigate and Halifax class frigate are designed for navies needing warships deployed in a variety of situations that a general frigate class would not be able to fulfill and not requiring the need for deploying Destroyers.

Anti-submarine role

At the opposite end of the spectrum, some frigates are specialised for anti-submarine warfare. Increasing submarine speeds towards the end of the Second World War (see German Type XXI submarine) greatly reduced the margin of speed superiority of frigate over submarine. The frigate could no longer be slow and powered by mercantile machinery and consequently postwar frigates, such as the ''Whitby'' class, were faster.

Such ships carry improved sonar equipment, such as the variable depth sonar or towed array, and specialised weapons such as torpedoes, forward-throwing weapons such as Limbo and missile-carried anti-submarine torpedoes such as ASROC or Ikara. Surface-to-air missiles such as Sea Sparrow and surface-to-surface missiles such as Exocet give them defensive and offensive capabilities. The Royal Navy's original Type 22 frigate is an example of a specialised anti-submarine warfare frigate.

Especially for anti-submarine warfare, most modern frigates have a landing deck and hangar aft to operate helicopters, eliminating the need for the frigate to close with unknown sub-surface threats, and using fast helicopters to attack nuclear submarines which may be faster than surface warships. For this task the helicopter is equipped with sensors such as sonobuoys, wire-mounted dipping sonar and magnetic anomaly detectors to identify possible threats, and torpedoes or depth-charges to attack them.

With their onboard radar helicopters can also be used to reconnoitre over-the-horizon targets and, if equipped with anti-ship missiles such as Penguin or Sea Skua, to attack them. The helicopter is also invaluable for search and rescue operation and has largely replaced the use of small boats or the jackstay rig for such duties as transferring personnel, mail and cargo between ships or to shore. With helicopters these tasks can be accomplished faster and less dangerously, and without the need for the frigate to slow down or change course.

Further developments

Stealth technology has been introduced in modern frigate design. Frigate shapes are designed to offer a minimal radar cross section, which also lends them good air penetration; the maneuverability of these frigates has been compared to that of sailing ships. Examples are the French ''La Fayette'' class with the Aster 15 missile for anti-missile capabilities, the German F125 class and ''Sachsen''-class frigates and the Turkish TF-2000 type frigates with the MK-41 VLS.

The modern French Navy applies the term first-class frigate and second-class frigate to both destroyers and frigates in service. Pennant numbers remain divided between F-series numbers for those ships internationally recognised as frigates and D-series pennant numbers for those more traditionally recognised as destroyers. This can result in some confusion as certain classes are referred to as frigates in French service while similar ships in other navies are referred to as destroyers. This also results in some recent classes of French ships being among the largest in the world to carry the rating of frigate.

In the German Navy frigates were used to replace aging destroyers; however in size and role the new German frigates exceed the former class of destroyers. The future German F125-class frigate will be the largest class of frigates worldwide with a displacement of more than 7,200 tons. The same was done in the Spanish Navy, which went ahead with the deployment of the first Aegis frigates, the F100 class frigates.

Some new classes of ships similar to corvettes are optimised for high-speed deployment and combat with small craft rather than combat between equal opponents; an example is the U.S. Littoral Combat Ship.

Gallery

See also

List of frigate classes

List of frigate classes by country

United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification

Lists

Note that Algerian, Tripolitan and Tunisian sail frigates are listed under Turkey. All Italian city-state frigates are listed under Italy.

Sail frigates(1640–1860)	Steam frigates(1830–1880)	Modern frigates(1940–present)	Current frigates
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References

Notes

Bibliography

Bennett, G. ''The Battle of Trafalgar'', Barnsley (2004). ISBN 1-84415-107-7

Constam, Angus & Bryan, Tony, British Napoleonic Ship-Of-The-Line, Osprey Publishing, 2001 184176308X

Gardiner, Robert & Lambert, Andrew, (Editors), ''Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815-1905'' (Conway's History of the Ship series), Book Sales, 2001

Gresham, John D., "The swift and sure steeds of the fighting sail fleet were its dashing frigates", ''Military Heritage'' magazine, (John D. Gresham, Military Heritage, February 2002, Volume 3, No.4, pp. 12 to 17 and p. 87).

Rodger, N. A. M. ''The Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649-1815'', London (2004). ISBN 0-7139-9411-8

Lambert, Andrew ''Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860'', published Conway Maritime Press, 1984. ISBN 0-85177-315-X

Lavery, Brian. ''The Ship of the Line, Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet, 1650–1850''. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87021-631-7.

Lavery, Brian. ''The Ship of the Line, Volume 2: Design, Construction and Fittings''. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN 0-87021-953-7.

Mahan, A.T., ''The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783'', Cosimo, Inc., 2007

Marriot, Leo. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983'', Ian Allan, 1983, ISBN 0-7110-1322-5

Rodger, N.A.M. ''The Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649-1815'', London (2004). ISBN 0-7139-9411-8

Sondhaus, L. ''Naval Warfare, 1815-1914''

Winfield, Rif. ''The 50-Gun Ship''. London: Caxton Editions, 1997. ISBN 1-84067-365-6, ISBN 1-86176-025-6

Lavery, B. ''Ship''. Dorling Kindersly, Ltd (2004). ISBN 1-4053-1154-1

External links

Frigates from battleships-cruisers.co.uk - history and pictures of United Kingdom frigates since World War II

Frigates from Destroyers OnLine - pictures, history, crews of United States frigates since 1963

The Development of the Full-Rigged Ship From the Carrack to the Full-Rigger

Category:Ship types

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Name	Oliver Hazard Perry
Birth date	August 23, 1785
Death date	August 23, 1819
Birth place	South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Death place	Trinidad
Placeofburial	Newport, Rhode Island
Placeofburial label	Place of burial
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch	United States Navy
Serviceyears	1799-1819
Rank	Commodore
Commands	USS ''Nautilus''USS RevengeU.S. Naval Forces, Lake Erie -USS ''Lawrence'' -USS ''Niagara''USS ''Nonsuch''
Battles	Quasi-War with FranceHaitian RevolutionFirst Barbary War- Battle of DernaWar of 1812 -Battle of Lake Erie
Laterwork	}}

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, the son of Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace. He was an older brother to Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry who compelled the opening of Japan to the West by threat of force. He served in the War of 1812 against Britain. After supervising the building of a fleet at Erie, Pennsylvania, at the age of 27 earned the title "Hero of Lake Erie" for leading American forces in a decisive naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, receiving a Congressional Gold Medal and the Thanks of Congress. His leadership materially aided the successful outcomes of all nine Lake Erie military campaign victories, and the fleet victory was a turning point in the battle for the west in the War of 1812. Perry became embroiled in a long standing and festering controversy with the Commander of the USS ''Niagara'', Captain Jesse Elliott over their conduct in the battle, and both were the subject of official charges that were lodged. In 1815, he successfully commanded the ''Java'' in the Mediterranean during the Second Barbary War. So seminal was his career that he has been heavily memorialized, and many places and ships have been named in his honor.

Biography

As a boy, Perry lived in Rhode Island, sailing ships in anticipation of his future career as an officer in the US Navy. He was educated in Newport, Rhode Island, and was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy on April 7, 1799. During the Quasi-War with France, he was assigned to his father's frigate, the USS ''General Greene''. He first experienced combat on February 9, 1800, off the coast of the French colony of Haiti, which was in a state of rebellion.

During the First Barbary War, he served on the USS ''Adams'' and later commanded the USS ''Nautilus'' during the capture of Derna. Beginning in 1806, he commanded the sloop USS ''Revenge'', engaging in patrol duties to enforce the Embargo Act, as well as a successful raid to regain a U.S. ship held in Spanish territory in Florida. On January 9, 1811, the ''Revenge'' ran aground off Rhode Island and was lost. The following court-martial exonerated Perry, placing blame on the ship's pilot. In January 2011, a team of divers claimed to have discovered the remains of the ''Revenge'', nearly 200 years to the day after it sank.

Following the court-martial, Perry was given a leave of absence from the navy. On May 5, 1811, he married Elizabeth Champlin Mason, whom he had met at a dance in 1807, and enjoyed an extended honeymoon touring New England. The couple would eventually have five children, with one dying in infancy.

Hero of Lake Erie

At his request he was given command of United States naval forces on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. U.S. Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton had charged prominent merchant seaman Daniel Dobbins with building the American fleet on Presque Isle Bay at Erie, Pennsylvania, and Perry was named chief naval officer.

On September 10, 1813, Perry's command fought a successful fleet action against a task force of the Royal Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie. It was at the outset of this battle that Perry famously said, “If a victory is to be gained, I will gain it.” Initially, the exchange of gunfire favored the British. Perry's flagship, the USS ''Lawrence'', was so severely disabled in the encounter that the British commander, Robert Heriot Barclay, thought that Perry would surrender it, and sent a small boat to request that the American vessel pull down its flag. Faithful to the words of his battle flag, "DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP" (a paraphrase of the dying words of Captain James Lawrence, the ship's namesake and Perry's friend), Perry ordered the crippled ''Lawrence'' to fire a final salvo and then had his men row him a half-mile (0.8 km) through heavy gunfire to transfer his command to the USS ''Niagara''. Once aboard, Perry dispatched the ''Niagara's'' commander, Captain Jesse Elliot, to bring the other schooners into closer action while he steered the ''Niagara'' toward the damaged British ships. Breaking through the British line, the American force pounded Barclay's ships until they could offer no effective resistance and surrendered. Although he had won the battle aboard the ''Niagara'', he received the British surrender on the deck of the recaptured ''Lawrence'' to allow the British to see the terrible price his men had paid. Perry's battle report to General William Henry Harrison was famously brief: "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."

This was the first time in history that an entire British naval squadron had surrendered, and every captured ship was successfully returned to Presque Isle. Although the engagement was small compared to Napoleonic naval battles such as the Battle of Trafalgar, the victory had disproportionate strategic importance, opening Canada up to possible invasion, while simultaneously protecting the entire Ohio Valley. The loss of the British squadron directly led to the critical Battle of the Thames, the rout of British forces by Harrison's army, the death of Tecumseh, and the breakup of his Indian alliance. Along with the Battle of Plattsburgh, it was one of only two significant fleet victories of the war.

In fact, Perry was involved in nine campaigns that led to and followed the Battle of Lake Erie, and they all had a seminal impact. "What is often overlooked when studying Perry is how his physical participation and brilliant strategic leadership influenced the outcomes of all nine Lake Erie military campaign victories:" Capturing Fort George, Ontario in the Battle of Fort George; Destroying the British munitions at Olde Fort Erie (see Capture of Fort Erie); Rescuing five vessels from Black Rock; Building the Erie fleet; Getting the ships over the sandbar; Blocking British supplies for a month prior to battle; Planning the Thames invasion with General Harrison; Winning the Battle of Lake Erie; and Winning the Battle of Thames.

Perry-Elliott controversy

In his initial report, Perry praised Captain Elliott's role in the American victory at lake Erie. Once news of the battle spread, Perry and Elliott were both celebrated as national heroes. Soon after, however, several junior officers publicly criticized Elliott's performance during the battle, charging that Elliott allowed the ''Lawrence'' to suffer the brunt of the British fire while holding the ''Niagara'' back from the fight, and that he had only come to the aid of the ''Lawrence'' once he believed that Perry was dead. Elliot rejoined that there had been a lack of effective signaling. Charges were filed but were not officially acted upon. Attempting to restore his honor, Elliott and his supporters began a 30-year campaign that would outlive both men and ultimately leave his reputation in tatters.

Congressional Gold Medal

On January 6, 1814, Perry was honored with a Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, and a promotion to the rank of Captain. This was one of 27 Gold Medals authorized by Congress arising from the War of 1812.

Obverse -- bust of Perry facing right surrounded by ''Oliverus H. Perry Princeps Stagno Eriense.'' ~ ''Classam Totam Contudit''.

Reverse depicts a sea battle scene with inscriptions:

::''Viam Invenit Virtus Aut Facit ::''Inter Class. Ameri.'' ::''Et Brit Die X. Sep.'' ::''MDCCCXIII'' :(Valor finds or makes a way. Between the Fleets of America and Britain September 10, 1813.)

Elliott was also recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal and the Thanks of Congress for his actions in the Battle of Lake Erie. This recognition would prove to fan the flames of resentment on both sides of the Elliott-Perry controversy.

Later commands and controversies

In July 1814, Perry was offered command of the USS ''Java'', a 44-gun frigate which was under construction in Baltimore. While overseeing the outfitting of the ''Java'', Perry participated in the defenses of Baltimore and Washington, DC during the British invasion of the Chesapeake Bay. In a twist of irony, these land battles would be the last time the career naval officer saw combat. The Treaty of Ghent was signed before the ''Java'' could be put to sea.

For Perry, the post-war years were marred by controversies. In 1815, he commanded the ''Java'' in the Mediterranean during the Second Barbary War. While moored in Naples, Perry was provoked into slapping the commander of the ship's Marines, John Heath. The ensuing court-martial found both men guilty but levied only mild reprimands. After the crew returned home, Heath challenged Perry to a pistol duel, which was fought on October 19, 1817, on the same Weehawken, New Jersey, field where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton. Heath fired first and missed. Perry refused to fire, satisfying the Marine's honor.

Perry's return from the Mediterranean also reignited the feud with Elliott. After an exchange of angry letters, Elliott challenged Perry to a duel, which Perry refused. He instead decided to file formal court-martial charges against Elliott, including "conduct unbecoming an officer," and failure to "do his utmost to take or destroy the vessel of the enemy which it was his duty to encounter." Wishing to avoid a scandal between two congressionally decorated naval heroes, Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson and President James Monroe suppressed the matter by offering Perry the rank of Commodore and a diplomatic mission to South America in exchange for dropping his charges against Elliott. This put an official end to the controversy, though it would continue to be debated for another quarter century.

Death and legacy

In 1819, after a successful expedition to Venezuela's Orinoco River to consult with Simon Bolivar about piracy in the Caribbean, Perry contracted yellow fever from mosquitoes while aboard the USS ''Nonsuch''. Despite the crew's efforts to reach Trinidad for medical assistance, the Commodore died as the ship was nearing Port of Spain. He was 34 years old. After being buried in Port of Spain, his remains were later taken back to the United States and interred in Newport, Rhode Island. After resting briefly in the Old Common Burial Ground, his body was finally moved to Newport's Island Cemetery, where his brother Matthew C. Perry is also interred.

His family's descendants include Commander John Rodgers, the second person to become a United States naval aviator, and well known civilian aviator Calbraith Perry Rodgers, the first person to fly an airplane - the ''Vin Fiz'' - across the United States.

Oliver Hazard Perry La Farge (December 19, 1901 - August 2, 1963) was an American writer and anthropologist, best known for his 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Laughing Boy.

Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (November 12, 1858 – June 10, 1908) was an American socialite and United States Representative from New York.

Geographical namesakes

Many locations, both in Rhode Island and near Lake Erie, are named in his honor, including:

Counties and municipalities (organized by state)

Most of the ten Perry counties in the U.S. See also Perry (disambiguation)

The City of Perryville, Arkansas.

The City of Perry, Georgia

The City of Perrysville, Indiana. Perry County, and its county seat Hazard, Kentucky. and the city of Perryville in Boyle County as well. Kentuckians were assigned as sharpshooters in the battle. The City of Perry and Perry Township, Michigan. The Village of Perrysburg and the surrounding township; and the Village of Perry, New York and the surrounding township,

The Cities of Perrysburg and Perry; and Perry County, Ohio.

The borough of Perryopolis and Oliver Township, within Perry County, Pennsylvania.

The Village of Perryville in the Town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

Perry County, Tennessee

Other places

Perry Hall at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

Perry Square and Perry Street in Erie, Pennsylvania

Camp Perry at Port Clinton, Ohio.

Oliver Hazard Perry Schools in: Erie, Pennsylvania; San Diego, California; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland and Euclid, Ohio; Boston and South Boston, Massachusetts; Brooklyn, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Providence, Rhode Island; and Lajas, Puerto Rico (built in 1904 and 1907) two classrooms.

Perry Highway

* 20px|link= U.S. Route 19 from Meadville to Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania

* 20px|link= Pennsylvania Route 505 in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Monuments

Monuments to Perry are located in many locations, including: Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-In-Bay, Ohio — 352 foot (107 m) monument — the world's most massive Doric column — was constructed in Put-in-Bay, Ohio by a multi-state commission from 1912 to 1915.

Perry Monument at Misery Bay, Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania

Front Park, in Buffalo, New York

Wade Park in Cleveland, Ohio

Perry Square in Erie, Pennsylvania

Island Cemetery in Newport, RI

Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton — the 14th Governor of Indiana, a famous Republican politician and U.S. Senator who was a leader among the Radical Republican reconstructionists — was named in his honor.

Eponymous ships

Commodore Perry has been repeatedly honored with ships bearing his name. , a sailing brig 1843–1865. USS Commodore Perry (1859) was an armed side wheel ferry built in 1859 by Stack and Joyce, Williamsburg, N.Y. and purchased by the Navy 2 October 1861; and commissioned later in the month, Acting Master F. J. Thomas was in command. , ''Bainbridge''-class destroyer 1900–1919. , a ''Clemson''-class destroyer converted into a high speed minesweeper and re-designated DMS–17 effective 19 November 1940. Served 1921–1944; sunk in Battle of Peleliu. Oliver Hazard Perry - USAT 2725 a Liberty ship. ''See,'' List of Liberty ships: M-R. , was a Gearing class destroyer 1945–1970. , a guided-missile frigate 1976–1997 and Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates are named in his honor. ''See also'' USS Perry. SSV Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island Educational Tall ship. When completed, it will measure , will be a three-masted Square-rigged vessel, making it the largest privately-owned tall ship in the United States. Scheduled to set sail in 2012, it is intended to be a 'good will ambassador' for the State of Rhode Island, and a "floating classroom." It is being financed through a tax exempt 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, and public subscription. Ironically, "The ship, as it existed [when acquired by the Rhode Island trust was] a steel hull, which [was] bought from an organization in Ontario for $325,000. It had cost almost $3 million to build, but the Canadian group derailed before the ship--intended to be a replica of the [20 gun] British ship HMS Detroit [captured by the flotilla commanded by Commodore Perry -- not the six gun sloop HMS Detroit (1812) destroyed by Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott in the War of 1812] -- could be completed."

See also

List of books about the War of 1812

References

Further reading

Axelrod, Alen; Phillips, Charles. ''The MacMillan Dictionary of Military Biography'' (New York: MacMillan, 1998.) p. 343.

Bancroft, George, 1800-1891; Dyer, Oliver, 1824-1907. (1891) ''History of the battle of Lake Erie: and miscellaneous papers'' (New York : R. Bonner's sons) 292 pp. at American Library Association.

Barnes, James, 1866-1936 (1898) ''The hero of Erie (Oliver Hazard Perry)'' (microform) (1898) New York: D. Appleton Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography at Internet archive and here for other formats.

Burges, Tristam (1770-1853) Brown & Cady)">(1839) ''Battle of Lake Erie, with notices of Commodore Elliot's conduct in that engagement'' (Providence, Brown & Cady) at Internet Archive.

Conners, William James, 1857-; Emerson, George Douglas. (1916) ''The Perrys victory centenary. Report of the Perry’s victory centennial commission, state of New York'' (Albany, J.B. Lyon Company, Printers).

Coles, Harry L; Borstin, Daniel J., Ed. August 1966 ''The War of 1812'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) ISBN 978-0-226-11350-0.

Cooper, James Fenimore (1846) ''Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers'' Google Books and here for American Library Association.

Cooper, James Fenimore, ''History of the Navy'' (1839).

Dillon, Richard. (1978) ''We have met the enemy: Oliver Hazard Perry, wilderness commodore'' (New York: McGraw-Hill). ISBN 978-0-07-016981-4.

Dutton, Charles J.(1935) ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' (New York: Longmans, Green and Co.) 308 pp. (Scholar's Bookshelf; First Edition. October 15, 2006) ISBN 0-945726-36-8; ISBN 978-0-945726-36-4.

Downloadable resources regarding Oliver Hazard Perry, American Library Association.

Houghton Mifflin)">Eaton, Joseph Giles (1847-1905) (1905) ''Perry's Victory on Lake Erie.'' Military Historical Society of Massachusetts (Boston, For the Society, by Houghton Mifflin)at American Library Association.

Elliott, Jesse D. ''Address of Com. Jesse D. Elliot, U.S.N., Delivered in Washington County, Maryland, to His Early Companions at Their Request, on November 24, 1843'' (Philadelphia: G.B. Zeiber & co., 1844) 137 pp. at Google books.

Hickey, Donald R. (1990) ''The War of 1812: The Forgotten Conflict'' Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. National Historical Society Book Prize and American Military Institute Best Book Award. ISBN 0252060598; ISBN 978-0252060595.

Hickey, Donald R. (2006) ''Don't Give Up the Ship! Myths of the War of 1812''. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) ISBN 0-252-03179-2.

Lyman, Olin H. (1905) ''Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and the War on the Lakes''.

Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell 1803-1848. (1915) ''Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry : famous American naval hero, victor of the battle of Lake Erie, his life and achievements'' (Akron, Ohio: Superior Printing Co.) at Internet archive.

Mackenzie, Alexander Slidell, 1803-1848 (1840) ''The life of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.'' (New York, Harper) Volume 1, Volume 2.

Mahan, Alfree Thayer (1840–1914)(1905) Power in Its Relation to the War of 1812'' (2 vols.) (Boston: Little Brown) American Library Association.

Morton, Edward Payson (1869-1914) ''Lake Erie and the story of Commodore Perry'' Chicago: Ainsworth & company Internet Archive digitized by Google.

Niles, John Milton (Bedford, Mass.: Applewood Books, 1830) ''The Life of Oliver Hazard Perry.''

Reid, George. (1913) ''Perry at Erie:how Captain Dobbins, Benjamin Fleming and others assisted him.'' (Erie, Pennsylvania: Journal publishing company).

Skaggs, David Curtis. (October 2006) ''Oliver Hazard Perry: honor, courage, and patriotism in the early U.S. Navy.'' Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 302 pp. ISBN 978-1-59114-792-3; ISBN 1-59114-792-1.

Skaggs, David Curtis; Altoff, Gerard T. Altoff ''A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-1813'' (Naval Institute Press), winner John Lyman Book Awards 1997. ISBN 9781557508928.

Skaggs, David Curtis. ''Perry Triumphant'' (April 2009 Volume 23, Number 2) Naval History Magazine United States Naval Institute.

White, James T. (1895) p. 288. National Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

External links

Bibliography .

Perry @ the National Park Service.

Perry @ the Naval Historical Center.

Perry's account of the Battle of Lake Erie (See Further reading, Pauilin, supra.)

"Log of the Battle of Lake Erie" by Sailing Master William Taylor.

US Brig ''Niagara''

Commodore Perry I.P.A. and Tasting guide, Commodore Perry India Pale Ale by Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Perry Monument, Buffalo Historical Markers and Monuments website.

Oliver Hazard Perry at Rootsweb.

Category:1785 births Category:1819 deaths Category:United States Navy officers Category:American Commodores Category:American people of the War of 1812 Category:Perry family Category:American people of Irish descent Category:People from Newport, Rhode Island Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island Category:Traditions and history of the United States Navy Category:United States Navy images Category:United States Navy ship names

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