How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X

Washington, D.C., August 28, 1812. Partially-printed military commission on vellum, signed by President James Madison, appointing Oliver Hazard Perry Master Commandant in the United States Navy; counter-signed by Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton. Engraved vignette at top and bottom, paper seal with ribbon intact at bottom. Creasing from old folds; lightly soiled.

A year before his pivotal victory at Lake Erie that would make him a national hero, Oliver Hazard Perry is appointed Master Commandant in the United States Navy, a promotion that would ultimately place him in command of that critical battle.

By June 1812, following years of British harassment against American merchant vessels, President Madison declared war on Great Britain. At the time, 27-year-old Lieutenant Perry, one of the Navy's most promising officers, had recently returned to Newport, Rhode Island to oversee gunboat construction after a brief furlough following the wreck of the USS Revenge, his first command. For a year, he waited for an opportunity to return to sea. With war now declared, he saw his chance to regain a command and prove his worth. The disastrous American campaign to invade Canada later that year exposed the army's severe unpreparedness and resulted in the British capture of the Detroit frontier. More alarmingly, the British seized control of Lake Erie, exposing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the western territories to invasion.

Perry recognized the strategic importance of the lake and aggressively lobbied for a command in the region, but his numerous requests to Washington went unanswered for months. In October 1812, he received the present commission as Master Commandant, which strengthened his resolve for a command. Early in 1813, Secretary of the Navy William Jones finally granted his request, ordering Perry to the Lake Erie region to oversee the construction of a fleet capable of challenging British supremacy and assert American control over the northern and western theaters of the war.

When Perry arrived at Presque Isle Bay (present-day Erie, Pennsylvania) in March 1813, construction of a nine-ship fleet was already underway. Constructed with materials sourced largely from Pittsburgh, the fleet took shape over the summer. It was led by two large brigs: the flagship USS Lawrence, commanded by Perry, and its sister ship, the USS Niagara, helmed by Jesse Elliott. These were supported by seven smaller sloops and schooners. Perry’s British rival, Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, led an outnumbered six-ship fleet. In July, Barclay attempted to disrupt the American construction but was thwarted by a sandbar protecting the bay's entrance. Forced to retreat by late July due to supply shortages and poor weather, Barclay's withdrawal gave Perry the opening he needed, and he immediately moved his completed flotilla across the sandbar. He then proceeded to Sandusky to recruit the necessary crew, and then anchored at Put-in-Bay, Ohio. There, he enforced a five-week blockade on Barclay’s fleet. By early September, with supplies nearly exhausted, Barclay had no choice but to engage.

On the morning of September 10, Perry spotted Barclay’s fleet approaching. The Lawrence, named for Perry’s friend Captain James Lawrence, who had died in battle earlier that year, flew a flag emblazoned with Lawrence’s final words, the battle-cry, "Don't Give Up The Ship." Although the British fleet's cannons had greater range, they lacked the devastating firepower of Perry’s short-range 32-pounder carronades. To close the distance, Perry ordered the Lawrence and the Niagara to set full sail directly toward the British line. As they advanced, the Niagara inexplicably lagged behind, a failure that would spark a bitter feud between Perry and Elliott for years to come. Consequently, the Lawrence bore the brunt of the British fire. Perry later commented about the battle, “In this situation she [Lawrence] sustained the action upwards of two hours, within canister shot distance, until every gun was rendered useless, and a greater part of the crew either killed or wounded.” After his last cannon was wrecked, Perry refused to surrender, and in a dramatic maneuver under heavy fire, he abandoned the disabled Lawrence and transferred to the Niagara via rowboat. Taking command of the Niagara, Perry renewed the assault, supported by his smaller vessels. Riding favorable winds, he led his fleet to utterly decimate the British flotilla. With the lake secured, Perry sent his now-famous dispatch to General William Henry Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

Perry's victory stands as one of the most celebrated naval triumphs in U.S. history, and despite being one of the smallest battles, it altered the course of the war. It provided a desperately needed boost to national morale, and marked a rare instance of a complete Royal Naval squadron surrendering. The victory triggered a cascade of strategic gains: it forced the British to withdraw from Fort Detroit, secured the Northwest Territories and Pennsylvania from invasion, and contributed to the eventual defeat of Tecumseh’s Indian Confederacy. The United States held control of the lake for the remainder of the war.

Following the battle, Perry returned to Newport to oversee gunboat construction and was promoted to Captain later that fall, the highest rank in the Navy at the time. In July 1814, he was offered command of the new 44-gun frigate Java, though it never saw action in the war. His final major command came a few years later, leading an expedition to South America, where he tragically succumbed to yellow fever at the young age of 34.

Never before offered at auction, this document represents one of the most significant military commissions still in private hands.