History of Presque Isle - War of 1812

War of 1812

Presque Isle played a part in the victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812. Oliver Hazard Perry commanded the fleet in battle. He strategically used the peninsula’s Presque Isle Bay as a pier and, a place to construct six out of nine of the ships in his fleet. Using this location protected the men by creating an obstacle for potential attackers because they would have to travel all the way around the peninsula to reach them. The small bay near the tip of the peninsula (next to the current Perry's Monument) was later named Misery Bay, because of the hardships that took place there after the men returned from battle, during the winters of 1812–1814. Many men suffered from smallpox and were kept in quarantine in the area of the bay. A great deal of the infected died and were buried in a pond now called Grave Yard Pond.

In 1926, the Perry monument was built to commemorate Oliver Hazard Perry on his victory over the British in the battle on Lake Erie. The monument is a 101 feet (30.8 m) obelisk located at Crystal point on Presque Isle.