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."

The Battle of Lake Erie!!

The Niagara

My current adventure has transported me off the shoreline and out onto the ISLANDS within our Great Lakes.


This Labor Day, I traveled to South Bass Island's Put-in-Bay to take part in the bicentennial reenactment of the Battle of Lake Erie. This naval engagement between the Americans and British was a turning point in the War of 1812.

Sixteen tall ships gathered in Lake Erie for this event which was the largest reenactment of a naval battle in American history.

Cannon fire!

My ship had a tiny cannon

It was fascinating to take part in this Great Lakes event.

The Lynx

The Niagara fires from both sides

"We have met the enemy, and they are OURS!"

Check out the video below for glimpses of the action!

{This experience will be part of my next book

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes

ISLAND ADVENTURE!

Due to be released in 2015.

The War of 1812...and the Great Lakes?

While hiking the shores of the Great Lakes in 2012, 

I kept passing through areas affected by the War of 1812.

This war took place two centuries prior to my adventure.

While on my journeys, I am always looking to explore and learn more about the history of this region and these inland seas.

Sign at the River Raisin Battlefield in Monroe, MI

Monument to American soliders killed at or after the Battle at the River Raisin

Perry Memorial, Put-in-Bay, Lake Erie

Perry Memorial on South Bass Island

Monument to Major-General Brock

A monument to Brock's faithful horse, Alfred

In my upcoming book, 

A 1000-MILE GREAT LAKES WALK,

I'll not only take you along the shores of 

the five Great Lakes, 

I'll also illuminate the story of the War of 1812

and how it impacted the region.

And so much more will happen along the way...

 Many people don't realize that the British hoped to take and hold some of the unsettled land in the Great Lakes region. They took forts at Detroit and Mackinac Island, burned the fort in Chicago (Fort Dearborn), and waged war on Lake Erie.

The invincible British navy was first, well, "vinced," on Lake Erie.

The American commander, Commodore Perry, was the first to defeat and capture an entire British squadron of ships. 








And along the Canadian side of 
the Niagara River, there are monuments to another pivotal battle in the War of 1812.

And, of course, a statue to the British commander's faithful horse, Alfred.