Don't Give Up the Ship: The Battle of Lake Erie
Narrator 1: It is September 10, 1813. The War of 1812 is raging, and control of Lake Erie is critical for both the United States and Great Britain.
Narrator 2: Twenty-seven-year-old Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry leads the American fleet near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. His flagship is named the Lawrence, in honor of a brave captain who recently fell in battle.
Commodore Perry: (Pointing to his blue battle flag) Look at these words stitched in white letters: "Don't Give Up the Ship!" Today, men, we carry Captain Lawrence’s memory into battle!
Sailor James: Look on the horizon, Commodore! The British fleet is approaching! Six heavy warships are heading straight toward us.
Narrator 1: Cannon fire erupts across the water. Thick black smoke fills the air over Lake Erie as the British ships focus their heavy fire directly upon the Lawrence.
Sailor James: (Coughing through the smoke) Commodore! Our ship is taking severe damage! Most of our cannons are destroyed, and the ship is sinking!
Commodore Perry: We will not surrender! Hand me that blue battle flag!
Narrator 2: Perry makes a daring decision that will go down in naval history. With his flagship nearly ruined, he lowers a small wooden rowboat directly into the middle of the raging battle.
- fleet:
- A group of ships sailing together or operating under one military command.
- flagship:
- The main ship in a fleet that carries the commanding officer.
- surrender:
- To stop fighting and admit defeat to an enemy force.
- vessel:
- A large boat or ship used for traveling on water.
- squadron:
- A group of warships assigned to a specific naval mission.
More sheets from this passage
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fix the sentence
Sentences from the passage with the capitals and punctuation removed — rewrite each one correctly.
vocabulary worksheet
Match the passage words to their meanings, then fill the missing words back into real sentences.
writing prompts
Two writing tasks that build on the passage, with plenty of lines to write on.
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About this reader's theater passage for Upper Elementary
“Don't Give Up the Ship: The Battle of Lake Erie” is a reader's theater reading passage about Battle of Lake Erie, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (418 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.