June 23, 2021

June 23, 2021

From Maumee, OH we drove across the Maumee River to Perrysburg, OH to visit Fort Meigs Historic Site. Meigs was built for protection by General W H Harrison after the loss at River Raisin. It was sited on the opposite bank from the British Fort Miamis. After Commodore Perry won his Lake Erie naval victory, Harrison used this fort as a base to pursue the retreating British forces into Canada. The fort was reconstructed in the 1960’s.

From Perrysburg we drove an hour east to Port Clinton on Lake Erie. This is Walleye capital of the world. In my prior life I took customers on fishing trips out of this harbor. It is here I landed the trophy Walleye that graces my office wall at home. After parking we find the area swarming with Mayflies. Apparently they all hatched yesterday and are now dying en masse. They are harmless but gross as their dead bodies cover every surface.

We buy tickets for the Jet Express ferry that carries us the fifteen miles to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. On a narrow isthmus sits the 352-ft tall Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial. After landing we walk to the Visitor Center and peruse the nice exhibits and watch the park film. The British controlled Canada and transportation on the Great Lakes. To defeat the British in the War of 1812, the US needed to neutralize that supply advantage. Building warships and recruiting seamen in the wilderness was difficult. Oliver Hazard Perry got the assignment and built a fleet in record time. He then anchored his flotilla here in Put-in-Bay cutting off British supply lines.

With their food supply diminishing, the British fleet attacked. Fortune and good planning prevailed and Perry captured the entire enemy fleet. The movie did a good job describing a sea battle. Being bombarded with cannon shells and flying debris with nowhere to escape must have been horrifying.

With the British army now in retreat, Harrison pursued them into Canada, defeating the British and their Indian allies at the Battle of the Thames. The Indian leader Tecumseh was also killed in the action.

We walked around the massive memorial built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this crucial naval victory. We finished with a nice Lake Perch lunch at a harbor side restaurant. After a little window shopping we took the return ferry and drove east to Cleveland.

In a Cleveland suburb we made a brief stop at David Berger National Memorial. Berger was an American weightlifter who emigrated to Israel. He was one of eleven athletes killed during the 1972 Munich Olympics by Palestinian terrorists.

We finished by driving to Erie, PA. This is where Oliver Hazard Perry constructed his ships before the battle.