ERIE, Pennsylvania — Long before the furthest-left corner of the Commonwealth began welcoming millions of sunbathers, Presque Isle State Park served as a critical shield for a young nation.

During the War of 1812, the peninsula's natural, 5.8-square-mile harbor provided the perfect sanctuary. Master mariner Daniel Dobbins recognized that a shallow sandbar across the bay's entrance would protect American shipbuilders from deep-draft British warships.

Under the cover of Presque Isle's dense forests, Commander Oliver Hazard Perry constructed a formidable naval squadron. In September 1813, Perry sailed this fleet out of the bay to win the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie, securing the Northwest Territory for the United States.

Perry himself did not coin the phrase "Don't give up the ship," as popular legend has it. In fact, they were uttered three months earlier by his close friend, Captain James Lawrence, who was mortally wounded. And his dying command to his crew actually was, "Don't give up the ship! Fight her till she sinks!"

Perry had women in Erie stitch the phrase in white bold letters across a large blue battle flag, then hoisted the banner aboard his flagship, using it as a visual battle cry to inspire his fleet to a historic American victory.

That battle cry is immortalized everywhere here: on the sides of buildings, beer bottles, school slogans and festivals. There is even a flagship district, making it the defining cultural and commercial brand of the entire region.

Decades after its military service concluded, the peninsula transformed into a vital ecological escape hatch for the region's industrial backbone.........

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