The Dont Give Up The Ship flag traces its origin to the death of Captain James Lawrence, who was mortally wounded aboard the USS Chesapeake during a naval engagement with HMS Shannon off the coast of Boston, Massachusetts, on June 1, 1813, after which his reported final command, “Dont give up the ship,” quickly became a rallying cry for the United States Navy. Later that year, in September 1813, the phrase was sewn onto a large blue battle flag and flown by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry from the USS Lawrence during the Battle of Lake Erie, fought near Put in Bay in present day Ohio, where Perry famously transferred the flag to the USS Niagara after his flagship was disabled and went on to secure a decisive American victory over the British squadron. The flag thereafter became a lasting symbol of naval perseverance and sacrifice, closely associated with Perry’s victory on Lake Erie and later preserved through naval tradition, ultimately becoming one of the most recognizable motto flags in United States naval history.
