Perry Monument on Presque Isle

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

I recently had a speaking engagement in Erie, Pennsylvania. The natural harbor there is formed by a long peninsula reaching out into Lake Erie.  

That peninsula is called Presque Isle which is French for "almost island." 
It is attached to the mainland by a thin strip of land.

Presque Isle is the green peninsula in map above

Looking back at the city of Erie from Presque Isle State Park

It was in this harbor that the Americans built 6 ships to battle with the British at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.

This was the first time that the British navy was defeated and all of their vessels were captured.

The American commander that day was Oliver Hazard Perry, and a monument to him stands out on the peninsula.

Perry Monument

Inscription reads:  "Erected by the State of Pennsylvania to commemorate the victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie"

Oliver Hazard Perry gave us the famous line:

"We have met the enemy, and they are ours."