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

See Examples For:

We have met the enemy, and they are ours

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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 is said that when Commodore Perry wrote, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," after his memorable victory on Lake Erie, that one hundred sharpshooters from Kentucky had aided in the capture.

From Stories of Old Kentucky by Purcell, Martha Grassham

In sending news of his victory to General Harrison, Perry, in his hastily written dispatch, used the words which have been quoted thousands of times: "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

From The Greater Republic A History of the United States by Morris, Charles