Making of the Flag "Don't Give Up the Ship"
Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Steadfast in the face of war in the summer of 1813, seven brave Erie women stitched the flag that Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry carried into battle. British ships were on Lake Erie poised for attack. Although many fled south, Margaret Forster Steuart, her sister Dorcas, and five nieces remained to complete this rallying banner. The flag is preserved at the US Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Md., and its words have become a Navy motto.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the summer of 1813, with British warships massing on Lake Erie, seven Erie women stayed behind while others fled south and stitched the battle flag Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry would fly at the Battle of Lake Erie. Led by Margaret Forster Steuart and her sister Dorcas, the seamstresses emblazoned it with the dying words of Perry's friend James Lawrence: "Don't Give Up the Ship." The banner survives at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, and its motto endures across the Navy.
Why it matters
The flag ties women's home-front labor to one of America's decisive War of 1812 victories, giving the young Navy a rallying cry that still echoes today.
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Related people
- · Oliver Hazard Perry
- · Margaret Forster Steuart
Related events
- · Battle of Lake Erie
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
African American Sailors in the Battle of Lake Erie
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When Oliver Hazard Perry's squadron met and captured a British fleet on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, African American sailors were among the skilled seamen who made the victory possible. Their labor and seamanship were critical to one of the young United States' most decisive naval triumphs in the War of 1812. This marker at Erie, where much of that fleet was built and based, restores their names to the record of that day.
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Captain Daniel Dobbins
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