Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
A 352-foot Doric column on South Bass Island commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie while deliberately facing a later achievement: enduring peace among the United States, Britain, and Canada.
Artwork inspired by August Biehle Jr.
The memorial holds two ideas in tension. Its rotunda names American casualties and contains the remains of six officers—three American and three British—who died in the 1813 battle. Yet the enormous column, completed a century later, was conceived as an international peace memorial, visible across an island landscape where the U.S.–Canada border runs through Lake Erie.
Begin in the visitor center with the battle film, armament, ship model, and explanation of why control of the lake mattered. Then cross the lawn slowly enough to read the column’s scale against boats and neighboring islands. Major rehabilitation can close the plazas, rotunda, elevator, and observation deck for extended periods; confirm current access before planning around the tower. Even then, the visitor center, grounds, programs, and lake views provide a meaningful experience.
- Column height
- 352 feet
- Battle date
- September 10, 1813
- Column access
- Seasonal; verify rehabilitation access
Quick guide
- Start with the film
- Fifteen minutes supplies the naval geography the lawn cannot.
- Stay at ground level
- Current rehabilitation closes the column interior and observation deck.
How to hold victory and peace together
- Orient at the lake
- Use the islands and shipping routes to understand the battle’s stakes.
- Read both commemorations
- Compare the casualty names below with the three-nation peace ideal above.
- Use the visitor center
- The film and ship material explain what the closed column currently cannot.
- Check construction
- Major rehabilitation can change access to the plazas, rotunda, elevator, and observation deck.
Good to know
The monument grounds and visitor center remain worthwhile when rehabilitation limits access, but the plazas, rotunda, elevator, and observation deck may be unavailable. Confirm the current project notice before planning the ferry trip around a tower ascent.
Notice these
- Lake Erie panorama
- Six officers’ memorial
- Three-nation peace symbolism