Oliver Hazard Perry collection

This collection consists of photocopies of correspondence to Perry from various officers in the U. S. Naval Department (1799-1819) and, more significantly, from Perry to the Naval Department (1806-1819). Of special interest are communications related to the building of the Erie Squadron (1811-1813) and letters from various cruises upon which Perry embarked.

Content of the letters covers a wide range of topics: commissions, recommendations, officers lists, requisition and transfer requests, logistic concerns, strategy, personnel related material (e.g., courts martial), sailing orders, and private letters. One can trace Perry's movements by virtue of the correspondence's origins; tracing his career from Newport, Rhode Island, to being commissioned and given his first command, and on to various ships of war (USS REVENGE, ARIEL, JAVA, etc.) and ports of call (Newport, New York, Washington, etc.). The correspondence is available in paper and microfilm formats.

The miscellaneous material pertains mostly to the Battle of Lake Erie. For the nautical researcher, there is a souvenir program commemorating the raising and refitting of the USS NIAGARA which had lain on the bottom of Lake Erie for some eighty years.

The pamphlets written by Usher Parsons relate his remembrances of the Battle of Lake Erie. Also included is a pamphlet relating the little-known scandal concerning Perry and Captain Jesse Elliot, commander of the USS NIAGARA.