<P> On September 10, 1813, Perry's command fought a successful fleet action against a squadron of the Royal Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie . It was at the outset of this battle that Perry famously said, "If a victory is to be gained, I will gain it ." Initially, the exchange of gunfire favored the British . Perry's flagship, USS Lawrence, was so severely disabled in the encounter that the British commander, Robert Heriot Barclay, thought that Perry would surrender it, and sent a small boat to request that the American vessel pull down its flag . Faithful to the words of his battle flag, "DON 'T GIVE UP THE SHIP" (a paraphrase of the dying words of Captain James Lawrence, the ship's namesake and Perry's friend), Perry, with Lawrence's chaplain and purser as the remaining able crew, personally fired the final salvo, and then had his men row him a half - mile (0.8 km) through heavy gunfire to transfer his command to USS Niagara . Once aboard, Perry dispatched Niagara's commander, Captain Jesse Elliott, to bring the other schooners into closer action while he steered Niagara toward the damaged British ships . Like Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar, Niagara broke the opposing line . Perry's force pounded Barclay's ships until they could offer no effective resistance and surrendered . Although he had won the battle aboard Niagara, he received the British surrender on the deck of the recaptured Lawrence to allow the British to see the terrible price his men had paid . Perry's battle report to General William Henry Harrison was famously brief: "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop ." </P> <P> This was the first time in history that an entire British naval squadron had surrendered, and every captured ship was successfully returned to Presque Isle . </P> <P> Although the engagement was small compared to Napoleonic naval battles such as the Battle of Trafalgar, the victory had disproportionate strategic importance, opening Canada up to possible invasion, while simultaneously protecting the entire Ohio Valley . The loss of the British squadron directly led to the critical Battle of the Thames, the rout of British forces by Harrison's army, the deaths of Tecumseh and Roundhead, and the breakup of his Indian alliance . Along with the Battle of Plattsburgh, it was one of only two significant fleet victories of the war . </P> <P> In fact, Perry was involved in nine battles that led to and followed the Battle of Lake Erie, and they all had a seminal impact . "What is often overlooked when studying Perry is how his physical participation and brilliant strategic leadership influenced the outcomes of all nine Lake Erie military campaign victories:" Capturing Fort George, Ontario in the Battle of Fort George; Destroying the British munitions at Olde Fort Erie (see Capture of Fort Erie); Rescuing five vessels from Black Rock; Building the Erie fleet; Getting the ships over the sandbar; Blocking British supplies for a month prior to battle; Planning the Thames invasion with General Harrison; Winning the Battle of Lake Erie; and Winning the Battle of Thames . </P>

What was the importance of the battle of lake erie
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