History Fact Finder | War and Conflict: Pre-Twentieth Century - Who Said, "We Have Met The Enemy And They Are Ours"?

Who said, "We have met the enemy and they are ours"?

U.S. naval captain Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819) wrote these famous words in a letter to U.S. army general William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) after defeating the British navy at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. Only twenty-eight years old at the time, Perry was commander of a navy squadron (a group of navy vessels) that met and defeated the enemy during the War of 1812 (1812–15; an armed conflict between the United States and Great Britain). The message he sent to Harrison (who became the ninth U.S. president) was: "We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." As a result of this victory, Perry received a gold medal and an official commendation from Congress for the victory.

Further Information: Dillon, Richard. We Have Met the Enemy: Oliver Hazard Perry, Wilderness...

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