USS Perry (1843)
Encyclopedia
USS Perry (1843) was a brig
commissioned by the Union Navy
prior to the American Civil War
. She was tasked by the Navy for various missions, including those related to diplomatic tensions with Paraguay
, the Mexican-American War, the slave trade, and the American Civil War
.
Perry was launched in May 1843 by the Norfolk Navy Yard; and commissioned 13 October 1843, Comdr. Samuel F. Du Pont in command.
, 3 December 1843, called at Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil, and proceeded via Cape Town
, South Africa, and the Straits of Sunda to Macau
, arriving 27 August 1844. There she embarked Caleb Cushing
, the first American Commissioner to China, and sailed via Hong Kong
for the coast of Mexico, arriving Mazatlán
, 4 November. Four days later she debarked Cushing at San Blas
, for an overland journey to Vera Cruz
, to catch a ship home.
Perry then sailed via Honolulu for the Society Islands
and the Marquesas where she helped win respect and fair dealing for American whalers. She departed Tahiti
16 April 1845; visited Valparaíso
, Chile; sailed "round the Horn", reached Norfolk, Virginia, 17 September; and decommissioned on the 25th.
to blockade Mexican ports. However, between Cuba
and the coast of Florida
, she was dismasted in a hurricane and returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, for repairs 4 December 1846.
, Brazil and Buenos Aires
, Argentina. Informed that suspected slavers were bound for the coast of Africa under false papers, she seized American bark Ann D. Richardson off Rio de Janeiro 16 December. Two days later, she took American brig Independence. Investigation proved that both ships had been engaged in the slave trade and were sent to New York City under prize crews. Perry returned from the Brazil Squadron to Norfolk 10 July 1849 and decommissioned there four days later.
15 February to serve in the expedition, commanded by Flag Officer William B. Shubrick, protesting an unprovoked attack on 1 February 1855. The task force
arrived at Asunción, Paraguay 29 January 1859 and quickly won James B. Bowlin
, the American Special Commissioner, a respectful hearing. Sea power here achieved what four years of diplomacy had failed to obtain: an apology, an indemnity for the family of an American sailor killed in the fight, and a commercial treaty advantageous to the United States. The brig returned to New York 5 June 1860 and decommissioned ten days later.
, where they landed on the 25th to reinforce the 7th Infantry Regiment
then moving South to reinforce the Nation's threatened capital. She then returned to New York City to prepare for duty as a blockader and steamed into Hampton Roads 18 May to join the newly established Atlantic Blockading Squadron
. A week later she stood out from Fort Monroe
and headed south for Fernandina, Florida. On the last day of May, she captured Confederate blockade runner Hannah M. Johnson about 15 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The brig took Confederate privateer 3 June, and subsequently turned two British ships away from the Southern coast before reaching her blockade station off the mouth of the St. Mary's river on the 11th.
. When word of the disaster reached the Washington Navy Yard
, the brig moved into the Potomac River
where her guns could command the approaches to Alexandria, Virginia
, against a possible Confederate advance against the Federal capital. A score of sailors from Perry landed to help man the batteries at Fort Ellsworth
. She continued to serve in the Potomac Flotilla
for the rest of the year and captured sloops Blooming Youth and Ellen Jane.
Sue, and on 1 May she took schooner Alma attempting to slip into Beaufort
laden with salt and herring from Bermuda
. She sailed North 13 August.
. 15 November. After serving off Murrell's Inlet, North Carolina, until 15 December and off Charleston, South Carolina
, during the siege, she sailed 28 January 1864 to blockade station off Fernandina, Florida, where she remained until the end of the Civil War.
, 29 April and was sold at public auction
there 10 August 1865.
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
commissioned by the Union Navy
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
prior to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She was tasked by the Navy for various missions, including those related to diplomatic tensions with Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, the Mexican-American War, the slave trade, and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Perry was launched in May 1843 by the Norfolk Navy Yard; and commissioned 13 October 1843, Comdr. Samuel F. Du Pont in command.
Pre-Civil War round-the-world cruise
The new brig departed Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, 3 December 1843, called at Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil, and proceeded via Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa, and the Straits of Sunda to Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, arriving 27 August 1844. There she embarked Caleb Cushing
Caleb Cushing
Caleb Cushing was an American diplomat who served as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce.-Early life:...
, the first American Commissioner to China, and sailed via Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
for the coast of Mexico, arriving Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
, 4 November. Four days later she debarked Cushing at San Blas
San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit.-City:San Blas is a port and a popular tourist destination, located about 100 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, and 40 miles west of the state capital Tepic. The town has a population of...
, for an overland journey to Vera Cruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
, to catch a ship home.
Perry then sailed via Honolulu for the Society Islands
Society Islands
The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...
and the Marquesas where she helped win respect and fair dealing for American whalers. She departed Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
16 April 1845; visited Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile; sailed "round the Horn", reached Norfolk, Virginia, 17 September; and decommissioned on the 25th.
Recommissioned for the war with Mexico
Perry recommissioned 16 May 1846, three days after war was declared on Mexico, and four days later sailed for the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to blockade Mexican ports. However, between Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and the coast of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, she was dismasted in a hurricane and returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, for repairs 4 December 1846.
Capturing ships engaged in the slave trade
Perry got under way from Philadelphia 16 May 1847 to join the Brazil Squadron protecting American interests between Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina. Informed that suspected slavers were bound for the coast of Africa under false papers, she seized American bark Ann D. Richardson off Rio de Janeiro 16 December. Two days later, she took American brig Independence. Investigation proved that both ships had been engaged in the slave trade and were sent to New York City under prize crews. Perry returned from the Brazil Squadron to Norfolk 10 July 1849 and decommissioned there four days later.
Recommissioned to fight the continuing slave trade
Perry recommissioned 17 November 1849 and sailed for the west coast of Africa to help suppress the slave trade. But for a period in ordinary in New York City, 26 December 1851 to 27 April 1852, the brig continued this duty until returning to Norfolk 14 July 1854 and decommissioning on the 20th.Recommissioned to show a Naval force in Paraguay
With the exception of a month in commission, 20 March to 27 April 1855, Perry remained in ordinary at Norfolk until recommissioning 21 January 1858. She departed Hampton RoadsHampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
15 February to serve in the expedition, commanded by Flag Officer William B. Shubrick, protesting an unprovoked attack on 1 February 1855. The task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
arrived at Asunción, Paraguay 29 January 1859 and quickly won James B. Bowlin
James B. Bowlin
James Butler Bowlin was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.Born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, Bowlin apprenticed to a trade, but abandoned it to teach school.He received a classical education....
, the American Special Commissioner, a respectful hearing. Sea power here achieved what four years of diplomacy had failed to obtain: an apology, an indemnity for the family of an American sailor killed in the fight, and a commercial treaty advantageous to the United States. The brig returned to New York 5 June 1860 and decommissioned ten days later.
Recommissioned to serve the Union Navy in the Civil War
Perry remained inactive until the outbreak of the Civil War, recommissioning 23 April. She headed south the same day escorting three transports carrying some 3,000 troops to Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, where they landed on the 25th to reinforce the 7th Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The United States Army's 7th Infantry Regiment, known as "The Cottenbalers" from an incident that occurred during the Battle of New Orleans, while under the command of Andrew Jackson, when soldiers of the 7th Infantry Regiment held positions behind a breastwork of bales of cotton during the...
then moving South to reinforce the Nation's threatened capital. She then returned to New York City to prepare for duty as a blockader and steamed into Hampton Roads 18 May to join the newly established Atlantic Blockading Squadron
Atlantic Blockading Squadron
The Atlantic Blockading Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to enforce a blockade of the ports of the Confederate States...
. A week later she stood out from Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
and headed south for Fernandina, Florida. On the last day of May, she captured Confederate blockade runner Hannah M. Johnson about 15 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The brig took Confederate privateer 3 June, and subsequently turned two British ships away from the Southern coast before reaching her blockade station off the mouth of the St. Mary's river on the 11th.
Protecting Washington, D.C., by taking position on the Potomac
With water running low and needing repairs, Perry sailed north 8 July, reaching Washington the 21st, eve of the Union defeat in the first Battle of Bull RunFirst Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
. When word of the disaster reached the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
, the brig moved into the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
where her guns could command the approaches to Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, against a possible Confederate advance against the Federal capital. A score of sailors from Perry landed to help man the batteries at Fort Ellsworth
Fort Ellsworth
Fort Ellsworth was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed west of Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Built in the weeks following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Fort Ellsworth was situated on a hill north of Hunting Creek, and...
. She continued to serve in the Potomac Flotilla
Potomac Flotilla
The Potomac Flotilla, or the Potomac Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to disrupt Confederate communications and shipping in the...
for the rest of the year and captured sloops Blooming Youth and Ellen Jane.
Showing the "colors" in Colombia
Late in December, Perry sailed for Aspinwall, Colombia, where she arrived 14 May 1862. The brig headed home 13 November, and decommissioned at New York 3 January 1863 for repairs.Recommissioned to patrol the North Carolina coast
Perry recommissioned 28 February and a month later took station off New Inlet, North Carolina. On 31 March she captured schoonerSchooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Sue, and on 1 May she took schooner Alma attempting to slip into Beaufort
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...
laden with salt and herring from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. She sailed North 13 August.
Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockade
Following repairs at Boston, Massachusetts, the brig joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Port Royal, South CarolinaPort Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
. 15 November. After serving off Murrell's Inlet, North Carolina, until 15 December and off Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, during the siege, she sailed 28 January 1864 to blockade station off Fernandina, Florida, where she remained until the end of the Civil War.
Post-Civil War decommissioning and sale
Perry decommissioned at Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, 29 April and was sold at public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
there 10 August 1865.