CLEVELAND — Two hundred fifty years ago, before the United States was even fully born, the Continental Congress voted to form a Navy -- a handful of ships to defend a brand new nation at war for its independence. On October 13, 1775 , the U.S. Navy set sail into history.

Two and a half centuries later, its wake reaches far beyond the oceans — all the way to the fresh waters of Lake Erie , where the Navy’s story has deep roots and lasting echoes.

If you’ve ever looked across the blue horizon from Put-in-Bay , you’ve seen the water that once decided the fate of the Northwest Territory. In September 1813, during the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry led a young American fleet against the British Navy in what became the Battle of Lake Erie .

Against the odds, Perry’s squa

See Full Page