Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

George Hamilton Perkins (October 20, 1836 – October 29, 1899) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Biography

Born in

Contoocook, New Hampshire Contoocook () is a village and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Hopkinton in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,427 at the 2020 United Sta ...

, in the northern part of Hopkinton to the Honorable Hamilton Eliot Perkins, George was appointed as acting

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in October 1851 and graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

with the class of 1856.

Early career

During the rest of that decade Midshipman Perkins served on at sea on the

sloop of war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

Cyane Cyane (; from ) was a naiad in Greek mythology who tried to prevent Hades from abducting Persephone, her playmate. Mythology Cyane (sometimes anglicized as "Kyane") was a naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydria ...

'', the storeship ''

Release Release may refer to: * Art release, the public distribution of an artistic production, such as a film, album, or song * Legal release, a legal instrument * News release, a communication directed at the news media * Release (ISUP), a code to i ...

'' and the steamer '' Sumpter''. He attained the ranks of master in 1859 and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in February 1861, on the eve of the Civil War. Perkins spent the conflict's first several months in the ''Sumpter'', operating on anti-

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

patrols. In early 1862 he was assigned as executive officer to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron (WGBS) Unadilla-class gunboat under its commanding officer Lieutenant N.B. (Napoleon Bonaparte) Harrison in which he performed distinguished service during the 1862 campaigns to capture

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and the lower

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. During Admiral Farragut's assault up-river towards

April 24–25, the ''Cayuga'', with Lt. Perkins at the wheel through the storm of shot and shell, was the first warship to pass forts Jackson and St. Phillip. The ''Cayuga'' found itself alone north of the forts and being assailed by eleven Confederate vessels, including the sloop rigged steamer C.S.S. ''Governor Moore'' which the ''Cayuga'' sank, and the ram C.S.S. ''Manassas'', whose attack narrowly missed the ''Cayuga's'' stern. Once the fleet lay at anchor in the river off

, Lieutenant Perkins accompanied Captain Theodorus Bailey, U.S.N., in the first boat sent ashore, to demand the surrender of the city (which was refused). He was next

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the steam sloop ''

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

'', receiving promotion to lieutenant commander at the end of 1862. His service on the Mississippi and in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

continued in 1863–1865, including command of gunboats '' New London'' and '' Sciota'', and the

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

''. While in the latter ship, his aggressive and effective conduct during the August 1864

Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fle ...

was a major factor in the capture of the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

''.

Post-Civil War

In the years immediately following the Civil War, Lieutenant Commander Perkins was superintendent of iron-clads at New Orleans, executive officer of the steam sloop '' Lackawanna'' in the

North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, and had ordnance duty at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

. Reaching the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in early 1871, he spent the next decade as commanding officer of the storeship ''

Relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

'' and gunboat '' Ashuelot'' and had further shore duty at

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Perkins was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1882 and commanded the Pacific Station

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

during the mid-1880s. Captain Perkins' subsequent active service was limited to

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

duty. He was transferred to the Retired List in October 1891, but in 1896 received a Congressionally authorized promotion to the retired rank of commodore in recognition of his gallantry and skill during the Battle of Mobile Bay three decades earlier. Commodore Perkins died at Boston on 28 October 1899. Perkins was a First Class Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

Family

The commodore married a daughter of

William Fletcher Weld William Fletcher Weld (April 15, 1800 – December 12, 1881) was an American shipping magnate during the Age of Sail, Golden Age of Sail and a member of the prominent Weld family. He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied hi ...

, a multimillionaire from

's famous

Weld Family The Weld family is an ancient English family, and their possible relations in New England, an extended family of Boston Brahmins. An early record of a Weld holding public office is the High Sheriff of London in 1352, William. In the 16th and 17th ...

. Their daughter,

Isabel Weld Perkins Isabel Anderson (March 29, 1876 – November 3, 1948), , was a Boston heiress, author, and society hostess who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. Life Early life Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's B ...

, married

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later ''chargé d'affaires ...

, a wealthy businessman who served as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Japan under

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

. Among the homes they maintained was Perkins Manor, the commodore's birthplace. The Andersons' legacy to the public includes Anderson House,

Anderson Memorial Bridge Anderson Memorial Bridge (commonly but incorrectly called Larz Anderson Bridge) connects Allston, Massachusetts, Allston, a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge. The bridge stands on the site ...

Larz Anderson Auto Museum Larz Anderson Auto Museum is located in the Anderson Carriage House on the grounds of Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts and is the oldest collection of motorcars in the United States. The museum is a non-profit educational institu ...

, Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection and Larz Anderson Park.

Ships named after Perkins

The U.S. Navy has named three

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s in honor of George H. Perkins, including: * USS ''Perkins'' Destroyer # 26, later DD-26 of 1910–1935 * USS ''Perkins'' (DD-377) of 1936–1943 * USS ''Perkins'' (DD-877, later DDR-877 and DD-877) of 1945–1973.

References

Perkins Manor, Contoocook Village QuiltProject Gutenberg EBook of The Bay State Monthly - Volume 1, Issue 4, April, 1884Cornell University Library photos of The Bay State Monthly - Volume 1, Issue 4, April, 1884
;Attribution * *

External links

* This source gives his birthday as December 20. {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, George 1836 births 1899 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni People of New Hampshire in the American Civil War United States Navy commodores Union Navy officers People from Hopkinton, New Hampshire