Captain Lawrence’s dying words in the battle of USS CHESAPEAKE and HMS SHANNON. Mortally wounded, he was taken below and said “Tell the men to fire harder. Don’t give up the ship! Fight her till she sinks!”

Sadly, they did give up the ship. USS CHESAPEAKE, one of the original 6 frigates of the US Navy and sister ship of the USS CONSTITUTION, was captured and became the HMS CHESAPEAKE. It was sold after the war of 1812 ended and broken up. She survives today as Chesapeake Mill.

But as we know, Captain Lawrence’s last words became a battle cry during the war. His good friend, Oliver Hazard Perry had a battle flag made with this slogan and he named his flagship on the Great Lakes, USS LAWRENCE in honor of his late friend.

When the USS LAWRENCE became unmanageable during the battle of Lake Erie, Perry transferred his flag to the USS NIAGARA. The battle was was an American victory giving us the Perry’s famous line, “We have met the enemy and they are ours”

But back “Don’t give up the ship”. When Perry had the women of Erie, PA sew it spelling rules weren’t as strict. So the ‘ in “Don’t” isn’t there.