Camp Perry in Ohio

I wrote about this camp in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog earlier today.  Camp Perry is named after War of 1812 naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and has received a $271,000 federal funding to redo its historical lighting system.

From the September 21, 2021, Sandusky (Ohio) Register "Camp Perry receives federal funds" by Andy Ouriel.

**********************

HISTORY:

**  Camp Perry was the primary training center for the Ohio National Guard for much of the 20th century.

**  It is located close to Port Clinton, Ohio, and consists of 640 acres.

**  Established in 1907, it is named for Oliver Hazard Perry.  The main reason it is located where it is is to allow the Ohio National Guard to practice rifle and artillery firing into Lake Erie.

**  The camp has the largest outdoor rifle range in the world.

**  While originally intended for use by the Ohio National Guard, during World War I to train officers and marksmen.  During World War II, Italian and German  prisoners were held at the camp.

**  Beginning in the 1960s, use of Camp Perry began to decline.

**  Today, several units continue to be housed at the camp.  They include the  213th Ordnance Company, the 200th Civil Engineering  Squadron, the 372nd  Missile Maintenance Company (DS) and the Ohio Naval reserve.

**  In addition to military usage, Camp Perry has also been  the site of the World Series of the Shooting Sports since 1907.  This event is sponsored by the National Rifle Association, and marksmen and women from around the world participate in the competition.

--Cooter

U.S. Ships Named Vixen

You've probably never heard of a U.S. Navy ship named the Vixen.  I am a big Navy fan and I sure hadn't.  But right now, I am writing about Edward Simpson, a Navy officer during the Civil War who also fought in the Mexican War.  This is in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog (you can find those posts by clicking on the My Blogs section to the right of this).

During the Mexican War, he was on the USS Vixen during the fighting.  One of his commanders was Matthew C. Perry, brother of Oliver Hazard Perry and a War of 1812 veteran himself (probably better known for the opening of Japan).

From Wikipedia.

There have been several USS Vixens in the U.S. Navy.

The first two were in the War of 1812 and both captured by the British.

Simpson was on the third USS Vixen, which strangely enough, had been built in the United States for purchase by Mexico, before the Navy got the ship.

Then there was a Civil War gunboat.  The fifth Vixen was the former monitor USS Neosho, which temporarily was renamed Vixen in 1869

The next Vixen was  a tender commissioned in 1917 during World War I.

The last Vixen was a gunboat during World War II.

And, That's It for Da Vixens For Now.  You Vix Me.  --DaCootVix

Top Ten Navy Sailors of All Time-- Part 1

From April 1, 2018, Navy Times by John Fannin, American Grit.

Photographs and information are with each man.

1.  John Paul Jones  "The Father of the U.S. Navy"  American Revolution  Tie

1.  John Barry   Also known as "The Father of the U.S. Navy."   Tie

3.  Chester W. Nimitz  World War II

4.  Oliver Hazard Perry   War of 1812   Battle of Lake Erie

5.  Michael M. Murphy   Medal of Honor recipient and Navy SEAL   Killed in Afghanistan

Little Known Facts About the First Barbary War-- Part 4: James Lawrence "Don't Give Up the Ship"

JAMES LAWRENCE also rose to great fame during the War of 1812.  As commander of the USS Hornet, he captured the HMS Peacock and was promoted to captain.  On June 1, 1813, as commander of the 48-gun frigate USS Chesapeake, he fought the HMS Shannon and was mortally wounded.  As he lay dying, he told his men:  "Tell them to fire faster and not give up the ship, fight her till she sinks!"

In honor of Lawrence, a group of women stitched the words "Don't Give Up the Ship" into a flag and presented it to Oliver Hazard Perry, who flew it on his USS Lawrence named in Lawrence's honor in the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie.

Since then, the Navy has named many ships in Lawrence's honor and his words, "Don't Give Up the Ship" have become the motto of the U.S. Navy.

--Cooter

War of 1812: Perry's Lost Ship

From Feb. 11th AP "200-year-old shipwreck off Rhode Island is researched."

Well, actually this was before the War of 1812, but this shipwreck led to Oliver Hazard Perry's somewhat disgrace and caused him to be in command on Lake Erie which led to his return to glory.

It is located a mile off shore by a treacherous reef, but, a US Navy vessel is seeking to confirm that the wreck is that of the USS Revenge, Perry's former command that was lost on a stormy day in 1811.

The ship has largely forgotten to history now, but it weighed heavy on Perry's career when it sank off Rhode Island's Block Island Jan. 9, 1811.

Perry was 25 and in command of the Revenge en route from Newport, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut, when he hit a reef in the fog. He ordered cannons to be thrown overboard to lighten the ship, but it wouldn't budge and became a total wreck.

No one died, but Perry was court martialed, exonerated, but his career was in the toilet until his posting to command in the Great Lakes during the war and, of course, the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie and "We have met the enemy...."

Two private citizen divers found the wreck. On their third dive, they found a cannon. They kept it secret for five years, during which time they have found more cannons around the wreck, located in 10-15 feet of water.

The US Navy wants more proof.

The Story Before the War. --DaCoot