Appointed a midshipman at 14, Perry served in both the West Indies and the Mediterranean until February 1813, when he was sent to Erie, Pa., to complete the building of a U.S. squadron to challenge British control of the Great Lakes.

By early autumn he had assembled a fleet of 10 small vessels and was ready to engage the enemy. When the battle was joined on September 10, Perry's fleet was greatly superior in short-range firepower but only slightly superior at long range; a light wind prevented him from closing in quickly on the six British warships commanded by R.H. Barclay. When Perry's flagship, the “Lawrence,” was disabled, he transferred to the “Niagara,” winning the battle within the next 15 minutes by sailing directly into the British line, firing broadside. In his official report of the British surrender he said, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”

Perry's successful action at Lake Erie helped ensure U.S. control of the Northwest; it also raised him to a position of national eminence and earned him promotion to the rank of captain. He commanded the “Java” in the Mediterranean (1816–17) and a small U.S. fleet sent to the South Atlantic (1819) to bring under control certain vessels that were preying on American shipping out of Buenos Aires and Venezuela. On the return trip he contracted yellow fever and died.