PERRY
PERRY
PERRY, Matthew Calbraith, naval officer,
was born in Newport, R.I., April 10, 1794; son of
Christoplier Raymond and Sarah (Alexander)
Perry. He was warranted a midshipman in the
U.S. navy through the inlluence of his fatlier,
and joined the schooner Revenge in January,
1809. He was transferred to the frigate President
under Captain Rodgers, in ISlO; ordered to the
friirate Cnifcd States in 1813; commissioned
lieutenant. July 24, 1818; returned to the Presi-
dent under Commodore Decatur in April, 1814,
and the same year transferred to the Cliippeioa.
He served at the Brooklyn navy yard, 1814-19;
was executive officer on tiie U.S. ship Cyane
under Captain Trenchard. and sailed for the coast
of Africa to aid the Colonization society in its
efiforts to found, on the island of Shebro, a free
negro colony, which, owing to the unhealthful-
ness of the location, was transferred to Liberia.
He was appointed to the command of the schooner
Shark in 1821, and engaged in the war against
the West Indian pirates, 1822-2.3. He was pro-
moted lieutenant-commander in 1822; was ex-
ecutive officer of the North Carolina, under Com-
modore Rodgers, and cruised in the Mediterranean.
He was commissioned commander, March 21,
1826, and until 1830 was on recruiting service
at Boston, Mass., where he founded the first naval
apprenticeship system in the United States. In
1830 he was in command of the corvette Concord;
conveyed John Randolph to St. Petersburg as
U.S. minister to Russia, this being the first
American man-of-war to enter Russian waters,
and he was offered, but declined, a high rank in
the Russian service. He was promoted master
commandant, Jan. 7, 1833; was detailed at the
Brooklyn navy yard, and during this service su-
perintended the school of gun practice at Sandy
Hook; organized the Brooklyn Naval lyceum;
assisted in founding the Naval Magazine; made
a study of the tides on the American coast; per-
fected plans for a steam naval service, and com-
manded the first steam war vessel of the U.S.
navy, the Fulton II., 1838-40. He was promoted
captain, Feb. 7, 1837. and declined the command
of the South Sea exploring expodition. He intro-
duced the Fresnel light at Navesink, and prepared
plans for the construction and equipment of the
Missouri and MississijiJ^i, the first steam frigates
built for the U.S. navj-. He was promoted com-
modore, June 12, 1841, and commanded the
African squadron sent out under the provisions
of the Ashburton treaty; commanded the 3Jis-
sissijijii in the squadron under Commodore Con-
ner, 1846; was in charge of a fleet of five ves-
sels sent against Tabasco, Mexico, and succeeded
in burning the town and destroying the Mexican
storehouses. He had directed the naval attack
against Tampico; succeeded to the command of
the Gulf squadron, and completed the Seige of
Vera Cruz, begun by Commodore Conner. In
March, 1852, he was placed in charge of the Japan
expedition with orders to secure a treaty with
that empire that would afiford protection for
United States seamen and ships wrecked on the
coast, and free access for the U.S. navy to one or
more ports for the protection of merchantmen
there for purposes of trade. This treaty was
signed, March 31, 1854, and Perry returned to the
United States. The state of Rhode Island pre-
sented him with a piece of plate for his services
in Japan, June 15, 18.")5; the city of Boston, a gold
medal; the merchants of the city of New York,
a silver dinner service, and the merchants of
Canton, China, a silver candelabrum. He is the
author of: The History of the Japan Expedition
(1854). In 1868 Mr. and Mrs. August Belmont
caused a bronze statue to be erected to his mem-
ory at Touro Park, Newport, R.I. He died in
New York city, March 4, 1858.
PERRY, Matthew Calbraith, naval officer, was born in 1821; son of Matthew and Jane (Slidell) Perry. He entered the U.S. navy as midshipman, June 1, 1835, and was ordered to the frigate Potomac. He served as acting master of the brig Somers, under Commander Alexander S. Mackenzie, and was one of the officers to recommend the immediate execution of three of their mutinous crew. He served in the Mexi- can war on the frigate Cumberland; was com- missioned lieutenant in the U.S. army, April 3, 1848, and served on the coast survey. He was commissioned captain, and was retired from active service, April 4, 1867. Pie died in New York city, Nov. 16, 1873.
PERRY, Nora, author, was born in Dudley, Mass., in 1841. She removed to Providence, R.I., with her parents in childhood, and was educated at home and in private schools. At the age of eight she wrote her first story, " The Shipwreck," which was never published, and in 1859 she be- gan to write for publication. Her first publisiied story appeared in a religious magazine; her first successful poem, " Tying Her Bonnet under Her Chin," in a newspaper in Wa-shingtoii. D.C., and her first serial story, "Rosalind Ne%vcomb," in Harper's Magazine, 1859-60. She then removed to Boston, Mass.; became the correspondent of
