1813 - During the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver H. Perry leads his fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie, flying his "Don't give up the ship" flag on the brig USS Lawrence, which is destroyed during battle. Rowing in open boat to Niagara with survivors, Perry brings the fleet into action and wins the engagement. Reporting on British squadron defeat, he writes: "We have met the enemy and they are ours...."
1846 - John Y. Mason becomes the 18th Secretary of the Navy, serving until March 1849. This term is marked by efforts to sustain the Navy's force in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast, to construct new steamers and an effort to obtain warships thorough the subsidization of civilian mail steamships.
1851 - The paddle frigate USS Mississippi carries Gov. Louis Kossuth and the other refugees of the overthrown government of the Hungarian Republic from Dardanelles to Gibraltar.
1861 - During the Civil War, USS Lexington and USS Conestoga support an armed advance at Lucas Bend, Mo. While supporting the advance, the vessels damage the Confederate gunboat, CSS Jackson, and silence a Confederate battery.
1944 - Submarine USS Sunfish (SS 281) torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant tanker, Chihaya Maru, east of Quelpart Island.
