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Congressional Gold Medal.com |
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Congressional Gold Medal Recipients
Oliver Hazard Perry and Jesse D. Elliott
Oliver Hazard Perry b. Rocky Brook, near Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island, 20 August 1785
d. Orinoco River, near Angostura, Argentina, 23 August 1819
Jesse D. Elliott b. Hagerstown, Washington, Maryland, 14 July 1782
d. Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 December 1845
Thursday, 6 January 1814 Resolutions expressive of the sense of Congress of the gallant conduct of Captain Oliver H. Perry, the officers, seamen, marines and infantry acting as such, on board of his squadron. Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of congress be, and the same are hereby presented to Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, and through him to the officers, petty officers, seamen, marines, and infantry serving as such, attached to the squadron under his command, for the decisive and glorious victory gained on Lake Erie, on the tenth of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, over a British squadron of superior force. Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause gold medals to be struck, emblematical of the action between the two squadrons, and to present them to Captain Perry and Captain Jesse D. Elliott, in such manner as will be most honourable to them; and that the President be further requested to present a silver medal with suitable emblems and devices to each of the commissioned officers, either of the navy or army, serving on board, and a sword to each of the midshipmen and sailing masters who so nobly distinguished themselves on that memorable day. Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to present a silver medal with like emblems and devices to the nearest male relative of lieutenant John Brooks, of the marines, and a sword to the nearest male relatives of midshipmen Henry Laub and Thomas Claxton, jun., and to communicate to them the deep regret which Congress feel for the loss of those gallant men, whose names ought to live in the recollection and affection of a grateful country, and whose conduct ought to be regarded as an example to future generations. Resolved, That three months' pay be allowed, exclusively of the common allowance, to all the petty officers, seamen, marines, and infantry serving as such, who so gloriously supported the honour of the American flag, under the orders of their gallant commander on that signal occasion. 3 Stat. 141
Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry was born on Aug. 20, 1785, in South Kingston, Rhode Island. He had four brothers and three sisters. Oliver and his brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Christopher Raymond Perry, who was a naval officer. After schooling at South Kingston and Newport, Rhode Island, young Oliver was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy in 1799. He joined his father's ship, the General Greene. In the following years Perry fought in the naval war against France and against the Barbary pirates. He was made an acting lieutenant in 1803 and a permanent lieutenant in 1807. By 1811 he was commanding a gunboat flotilla from his headquarters at Newport. That year he married Elizabeth Champlin Mason. They had five children. As war with Britain approached, Perry asked for active duty. He was placed in command of naval operations on Lake Erie. In May 1813 he began to build and train his fleet at Presque Isle, near Erie, Pa. Perry took command of the brig Lawrence. In August the fleet sailed up the lake to meet the British. The rival fleets met on Sept. 10, 1813. The battle began just before noon with Perry sailing directly into the British. The Lawrence was shot to pieces. Perry had to abandon ship and take command of its sister brig, the Niagara. By 3 PM the British were defeated. In November, 1813 Perry resumed duties with the gunboat flotilla at Newport; however, his promotion to captain and his elevated status with the Navy Department and the country, assured that it would be a temporary assignment. The Battle of Lake Erie made Perry an instant hero. For the remainder of the war Perry worked closely with General Harrison, participating in the recovery of Detroit and in the battle of the Thames. In July, 1814 Perry was offered a posting commensurate with his new rank, command of the Java, a new 44-gun frigate under construction in Baltimore. While engaged in fitting out the Java, Perry participated in the defense of both Washington and Baltimore during the late summer British invasion of the Chesapeake Bay region. Ironically these land engagements would be Perry's swan song, peace was declared before the new captain could get his ship to sea. From 1814 to 1817 he commanded the Java in the Mediterranean. Perry was sent on a diplomatic mission to Venezuela in 1819, and on the return voyage at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, August 23, 1819 - on his 34th birthday - Oliver Hazard Perry died of yellow fever. For Perry the post war years were marred by controversy. The
Java cruised to the Mediterranean in 1815 to help quell continuing problems with the Barbary pirates. While anchored in Naples, an unseemly incident induced Perry to slap the
Java's Marine officer, John Heath. Perry and Heath were both court-martialed and found guilty, but they received only mild reprimands. After the
Java returned to home waters matters were further complicated when Heath challenged Perry to a duel. The duel was fought on October 19, 1817 on the same field where Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton. The Marine fired first from four paces and missed; honor was satisfied when Perry refused to pull the trigger. It was during this same period that Perry found himself entangled once again with his old nemesis from Lake Erie - Jesse Duncan Elliott. Perry's return from the Mediterranean prompted an exchange of acrimonious letters, after which Elliott challenged Perry to a duel. Perry declined, honor notwithstanding, and instead he decided to once and for all lay this repugnant business to rest by filing formal court-martial charges against Elliott. Specifications filed by Perry against Elliott included, "Conduct unbecoming an officer," "manifesting disregard for the honor of the American flag," and failure to "do his utmost to take or destroy the vessel of the enemy which it was his duty to encounter." The Secretary of the Navy was dismayed by Perry's charges. Both officers had well-placed connections, and the secretary was all too aware of the scandal that would ensue, not to mention the divisiveness in the officer ranks engendered by a lengthy, sordid court-martial. Rather than make a decision the secretary abdicated responsibility and passed on the charges and relevant material directly to President James Monroe. Monroe, desiring to defuse the quarrel and unwilling to expose the Navy or the country to what he envisioned would be a deleterious encounter for all concerned, opted to suppress the whole matter. Thus ended the final opportunity to unearth the circumstances surrounding the
Perry-Elliott controversy. To placate and distract his impetuous young hero, Monroe selected Perry to preside over an important diplomatic mission to South America. Perry sailed on board the U.S. Frigate John Adams in June, 1819, arriving off the mouth of the Orinoco River on July 15. From there he transferred his flag to the USS Nonsuch. The Nonsuch would carry Perry up the Orinoco to Angostura, the capital of Venezuela, where yellow fever was said to be a problem, In 1865, artist William H. Powell illustrated Perry's victory in a painting which now hangs in Ohio's state capitol. Eight years later, he created this larger version in a temporary studio in the U.S. Capitol. The painting depicts the moment when Commodore Perry and a small contingent, in a daring move, rowed a half-mile through heavy gunfire to another American ship, the U.S.S. Niagara. Boarding and taking command, he brought the Niagara into battle and soundly defeated the British fleet. Perry summarized the fight in a now-famous message to
General William Henry Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." In the painting, Powell used actual sailors as models for the unknown oarsmen, and noted the diversity of Perry's crew by including an
African-American, seated toward the right. A memorial column on Put-in-Bay, South Bass Island, Ohio, was dedicated in 1913. In 1936 the site became a
national monument. Oliver Hazard Perry's decisive victory over the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie (Sept. 10, 1813) ensured American control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. In the battle, Perry's flagship, the U.S.S. Lawrence, was severely damaged and four-fifths of its crew killed or wounded. Commodore Perry and a small contingent, in a daring move, rowed a half-mile through heavy gunfire to another American ship, the U.S.S. Niagara. Boarding and taking command, he brought the Niagara into battle and soundly defeated the British fleet. Perry summarized the fight in a now-famous message to General William Henry Harrison:
"We have met the enemy and they are ours." In 1865, artist William H. Powell illustrated Perry's victory in a painting which now hangs in Ohio's state capitol. Eight years later, he created this larger version in a temporary studio in the U.S. Capitol. The work depicts the moment when Perry made his way from the Lawrence to the Niagara. Powell used actual sailors as models for the unknown oarsmen, and noted the diversity of Perry's crew by including an African-American, seated toward the right. After the war, the Navy intentionally sank both vessels in Lake Erie; the battle damage they had suffered was too extensive to repair. In 1875 the Lawrence was raised and moved to Philadelphia, where it was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Later that year the ship burned when the pavilion that housed it caught fire. Although the Niagara was raised and restored in 1913, it subsequently fell into disrepair. It was eventually disassembled and portions of it were used in a reconstructed Niagara, which is now on view in Erie, Pennsylvania. The frame features Perry's message to General Harrison in gold lettering at the top, and the name and date of the battle on the cartouche at the bottom. Powell's other Capitol work, Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto A.D. 1541, was installed in the Rotunda in 1855.
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