We have met the enemy, and they are ours

Cultural  

1. A message sent from the naval Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, announcing a victory for the United States. The naval commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, addressed the words to the American land armies.

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Example Sentences

During the war, however, the U. S. Canadian operations were a dismal failure, relieved chiefly by Perry's famed "We have met the enemy and they are ours" victory on Lake Erie.

From Time Magazine Archive

Oliver Hazard Perry made American history with his famous phrase, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," after his defeat of the British squadron on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813.

From Time Magazine Archive

It seems to me that the words ascribed to Perry ran: "We have met the enemy, and they are ours."

From Time Magazine Archive

Perry at once wrote to General Harrison, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours."

From A Brief History of the United States by Barnes & Co.

We have met the enemy and they are ours.

From Four American Naval Heroes Paul Jones, Admiral Farragut, Oliver H. Perry, Admiral Dewey by Beebe, Mabel