Posted on 06/04/2014 4:09:32 AM PDT by Master Zinja
June 4th is the date of the death of Captain James Lawrence, who died of wounds received on the USS Chesapeake during the battle with HMS Shannon on June 1st, 1813. As the Chesapeake was being attacked, Lawrence gave his final command, "Don't give up the ship." Lawrence's friend, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, had the words stitched into a blue ensign, and flew this flag during his victory at the Battle of Lake Erie. The original is now on display at the Naval Academy Museum.
The interesting thing is that the last surviving participant in the battle was a certain Lt Provo Wallis who took Command of the Shannon after its captain, Phillip Broke was incapacitated following his victory over the Chesapeake. Wallis eventually became head of the Royal Navy and technically served for 96 years before dying as a centenarian in 1892:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provo_Wallis
Senior officers from as late as WWII remember serving under Wallis as young cadets.
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