Photo of the Perry Monument at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. US Naval Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry used Presque Isle Bay as a base of operations in the war of 1812 and built 6 of his 9 ship fleet there. In 1813 he defeated the British fleet at Put-In-Bay Ohio in the Battle of Lake Erie, one of the largest sea battles of the war. Perry returned and wintered his men at Presque Isle in a little bay near the mouth of the entrance which his men nicknamed "Misery Bay" because of the living conditions.