Pocket Chronometer, 1813
Joseph Johnson
Liverpool, England
This unique pocket chronometer was presented to Oliver Hazard Perry by the United States government after his victory on Lake Erie in 1813. The 18K gold case was apparently damaged at some point and in 1866, Dr. L.D. Fleming who then owned the watch, had the case remade and transposed the original transcription.
The movement is numbered #508 and uses a helical hairspring with beautiful detent chronometer escapement. The balance and overall layout is the same design as a pocket chronometer made by C. Haley of London.
The case is hallmarked and signed by T. Robjohn, listed as a watchmaker in New York, c.1840.
Oliver Hazard Perry (b.1785, d.1819) is most famous for his efforts during the War of 1812. Following in his father's footsteps, Perry had joined the Navy when he was 14. In 1813 he was sent to Lake Erie, Pennsylvania to battle the British for control of the Great Lakes. He summed up his victory on the Flagship Niagara in his official report of the British surrender: "We have met the enemy and they are ours."
Donated in Memory of Shorty LaRose, NAWCC#9110
by S. LaRose, Inc and the LaRose Family.