There were approximately 65 ships in the Revolutionary War. Only 11 survived.
The United States had 22 commissioned vessels and just three frigates ready for action at the start of the War of 1812. Both the British and Americans new the key to victory was naval dominance over the Great Lakes. The U.S. Navy started building a squadron of gunboats and two frigates in Erie, Pennsylvania on the shores of Lake Erie. The British were also building ships in Amherstburg and Kingston, Ontario. At the end of a fierce battle between Master Commander Oliver Hazzard Perry and British Commander Robert Heriot Barclay Perry was successful in defeating Barclay. During this encounter Perry carried a banner that read "Don't Give up the Ship" and also "coined" the phrase "We have met the enemy and they are ours".
