GIFT OF 
 Prof. F. L. Paxson 
 
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 COMMODORE, U.S.N. 
 
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 COMMODORE, U.S.N. 
 
 His Life and Letters 
 
 BY 
 
 CARROLL STORRS ALDEN, PH.D. 
 
 INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY 
 
 WITH PORTRAITS AND OTHER 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 TOUT BON fi^wJr oo fUEN 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON MlFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 1914 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY CARROLL STORRS ALDEN 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 Published March 1914 
 
 
TO 
 
 MRS. LARZ ANDERSON 
 
 DAUGHTER OF THE GALLANT OFFICER 
 WHO IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS WORK 
 
 M194424 
 
PREFACE 
 
 BECAUSE a young naval officer was con 
 stantly thinking of home and because his 
 family treasured his frequent letters, this book 
 has been possible. The letters were informal 
 and unstudied; being subject to constant inter 
 ruption and other unfavorable conditions, they 
 frequently did not possess literary distinction; 
 but they were ever full of hearty feeling, and 
 of keen interest in routine duty as well as the 
 stirring events of war and conflict. By reason 
 of their spontaneous, straightforward character 
 they have a value as history. 
 
 Miss Susan Perkins, who all her life had been 
 collecting the letters, edited them in 1886, with a 
 biographical sketch of her brother by Admiral 
 G. E. Belknap. The work was well done, and it 
 shows throughout a sister s love and admiration. 
 Still I have felt that there was a place for further 
 work. Miss Perkins s book was published pri 
 vately and reached the family friends rather 
 than the general public; as it was written thir- 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 teen years before the Commodore s death, it did 
 not deal with the last phase of his life and could 
 not treat with fulness many matters of a per 
 sonal nature. In my writing I have constantly 
 had Miss Perkins s book before me. At the same 
 time I have gone over the originals of most of the 
 letters she quoted, and have included some 
 others which had become accessible later; also I 
 have availed myself of the rich historical and 
 biographical material of a general character that 
 has appeared since her book was written, throw 
 ing light on the events in which Commodore 
 Perkins had a part. 
 
 Miss Perkins s noble life is ended, and to her 
 I cannot speak my gratitude. To Mrs. Perkins, 
 widow of the Commodore, to Mrs. Anderson, his 
 daughter, and to a score of others, his relatives 
 and friends, I hope the following pages will be 
 the best expression of my deep appreciation of 
 their assistance and encouragement in the vari 
 ous stages of this work. 
 
 ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, 
 February, 1914. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. Family and Boyhood i 
 
 II. At the Naval Academy . . .16 
 
 III. In Central and South American Waters 37 
 
 IV. On the West African Coast . . 71 
 V. The Capture of New Orleans . .107 
 
 VI. In the West Gulf Blockading Squadron 134 
 VII. The Battle of Mobile Bay . . .172 
 
 VIII. Later Service 206 
 
 IX. The Sailor-Farmer . . . .256 
 
 X. The Measure of the Man . . . 289 
 
 Index 297 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 George Hamilton Perkins (Photogravure) Frontispiece 
 
 From a daguerreotype taken in 1859 when he <was 
 twenty-three, and a master. 
 
 Birthplace of Commodore Perkins, Contoocook 
 (Hopkinton), New Hampshire ... 2 
 From a photograph. 
 
 Clara Bartlett (George) Perkins, mother of Com 
 modore Perkins . . . . .10 
 From a miniature by E. P. Foley. 
 
 United States Gunboat Cayuga . . .108 
 From a lithograph published in 1861. 
 
 Captain Bailey and Lieutenant Perkins facing the 
 Mob at New Orleans . . . .122 
 
 From Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper, Mayjf, 
 1862. 
 
 United States Monitor Chickasaw . . .174 
 
 From a war-time photograph, reproduced in A His 
 tory of the American People, by Woodro<w Wilson. 
 By permission of Harper and Brothers. 
 
xii ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Captain G. H. Perkins ..... 254 
 From a photography 1884. 
 
 Commodore G. H. Perkins .... 264 
 
 From the painting by Vinton. 
 
 U.S.S. Perkins. Launched, 1910 . . . 290 
 From a photograph t 
 
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 COMMODORE U.S.N. 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 
 
 F the laws of inheritance have a force in the 
 shaping of character, and a man s fortune is 
 thus in the making long before his birth, George 
 Hamilton Perkins was favored in his antecedents. 
 He was in direct line from the Reverend Wil 
 liam Perkins, who, sprung of an old Warwickshire 
 family, was born in London and came to Boston 
 in 1632. William Perkins, according to the early 
 records, was a "man of parts," and had unusual 
 versatility. He gave fifty pounds to the Massa 
 chusetts Bay Company and received in return 
 four hundred acres of land. He was elected repre 
 sentative to the General Court of Massachusetts. 
 Besides attacking the strongholds of evil from the 
 pulpit, he commanded a military company and 
 was a member of the Ancient and Honorable 
 Artillery Company in Boston. Still better, he had 
 a large family. His spiritual enthusiasm for the 
 
2 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 latter is not without a touch of humor for us, 
 when he writes on the marriage of Katharine, his 
 second daughter: "She was the first which the 
 merciful Providence of God gave me opportunity 
 to be disposed of in marriage." He died in 1682 at 
 the age of seventy-five. 
 
 Timothy, great-grandson of William Perkins, 
 married Hannah Trowbridge, and through her 
 George Perkins was descended from Thomas 
 Trowbridge, of Devonshire, who came to America 
 in 1636. Also through her he was descended from 
 Increase and Maria Cotton Mather. 
 
 The first generations of Perkins in America lived 
 in Roxbury, Gloucester, Topsfield, and neighbor 
 ing towns in eastern Massachusetts. But as the 
 country became more thickly populated, there was 
 the reaching-out for more land. Roger Eliot Per 
 kins (1769-1825), grandfather of the subject of this 
 biography, moved from Middleton, Massachu 
 setts, to Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Building 
 there some lumber mills on the Contoocook River, 
 he established a profitable business. Prompted by 
 the English gentleman s pleasure in an estate, he 
 obtained large tracts of land reaching out from the 
 present village of Contoocook. Here, a few hun 
 dred yards from the river and mill, he built the 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 3 
 
 large and stately mansion that still stands on the 
 edge of the village. In this house Commodore 
 Perkins was born, and when a small boy he could 
 look out and see in all directions only the paternal 
 acres. This pleasure in land and farm country 
 does not seem to have been so strong in Hamilton 
 Eliot Perkins, father of the Commodore, but was 
 to reappear in the Commodore with undiminished 
 vigor. 
 
 Hamilton Perkins received his education at 
 Exeter, Norwich Military Academy, and Harvard 
 Law School. For many years he gave his attention 
 to lumbering at Contoocook where he owned one 
 or more mills. For sixteen years in the latter part 
 of his life he presided over the probate court of 
 Merrimac County and was known the country 
 about as Judge Perkins. Senator W. E. Chandler 
 says of him: "He was not only genial, full of 
 kindly humor, but he was brave and plucky a 
 positive man from whom George must have inher 
 ited much of his natural courage." 
 
 Clara Bartlett George, wife of Judge Perkins 
 and mother of the Commodore, was also of good 
 old English stock; her ancestor had come to 
 America in the seventeenth century, settled in 
 Haverhill, Massachusetts, and after the middle 
 
4 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 of the eighteenth century had moved to Hopkin- 
 ton. Her paternal grandmother was the daughter 
 of Captain Harriman, a skipper of Salem, 
 while her grandfather was Captain Benjamin 
 Emery, "Gentleman," who commanded a com 
 pany at the battle of White Plains in the Revolu 
 tion. Mrs. Perkins s brother was Captain Paul 
 R. George, long an intimate friend of General 
 Benjamin Butler. General Butler, knowing of 
 the remarkably efficient service of Captain George 
 as quartermaster of volunteers in the Mexican 
 War, immediately, on being given command of 
 the forces at New Orleans in 1862, requested that 
 Captain George be appointed quartermaster on 
 his staff; but because of political opposition in 
 Congress the nomination was not confirmed. 
 
 Mrs. Perkins had among her early devoted 
 admirers the talented young lawyer, Franklin 
 Pierce, later President of the United States. 
 Throughout his life Pierce continued a friend of 
 the family, and when the youngest son, John H. 
 George, on the death of his father, left Dart 
 mouth a year before graduation, Pierce took him 
 into his office; the youth thus favored later be 
 came one of the most brilliant lawyers in New 
 Hampshire. 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 5 
 
 Hamilton and Clara Perkins had two daughters 
 and six sons. The second child and the eldest son 
 was George Hamilton Perkins. He was born in 
 Hopkinton, New Hampshire, October 20, 1836. 
 Here in the house already mentioned as built by 
 his grandfather he spent his early years. 
 
 George Perkins was ever fond of this, the south 
 central part of New Hampshire, and to a large 
 extent it was the mould that shaped the man. 
 It is agricultural country and the land is still 
 extensively cultivated, being adapted especially 
 to dairy farming. Though lacking the austere 
 grandeur of the mountainous parts of the State, 
 Hopkinton and the adjoining towns of Warner 
 and Webster are not less varied and lovely. 
 Mount Kearsarge, Sunapee Mountain, Monad- 
 nock, Moosilauke, and on exceptionally clear 
 days the White Mountains are to be seen from the 
 hills the nearest of the mountains being twelve 
 miles distant. The hills, which in many less 
 rugged States would be honored by the names of 
 mountains, are so placed as to show their height 
 to advantage and they afford picturesque views 
 of the Contoocook River and smaller streams. 
 Contrasted with the rough hills and the heavy 
 woods are the rich intervales, where unsurpassed 
 
6 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 meadows and some good grain-fields are to be 
 seen. 
 
 George Perkins was an active youngster on the 
 farm. He was interested in whatever was being 
 done, and made friends and companions of all the 
 workers. He had a great liking for animals and 
 pets of all kinds, as had the others of his family; 
 indeed, this fondness for animals was so marked 
 that it may be regarded as a family trait and 
 seems to have come from the Georges. For horses 
 he had a veritable passion, and this lasted all 
 through his life. 
 
 One of his earliest recorded adventures was 
 with a horse, and the incident, which his sister 
 relates, is important because the child shows the 
 same characteristics that later were to make him 
 the superior officer. When scarcely as old as the 
 boy of to-day who wakes to consciousness of mas 
 culine dignity because of his first knee breeches, 
 he went to the pasture to catch one of his father s 
 colts. It was a spirited animal, full grown, and its 
 head was so high that the boy was not tall enough 
 to reach it. The colt eluded George for some time, 
 and then taking to the river crossed over to the 
 other side. As the field bordered on the Contoo- 
 cook above the dam, the stream was of some 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 7 
 
 depth and breadth. The small boy, however, did 
 not hesitate, but, throwing off his scanty attire, 
 he plunged in and swam to the opposite bank. 
 There he cornered the horse against a fence, and 
 by climbing the rails succeeded in fastening the 
 bridle, which he had placed about his own neck 
 on crossing the river. Then, swimming the animal 
 back, he put on his clothes and rode in triumph to 
 the stable. Just as later in the battles below New 
 Orleans and in Mobile Bay, he was without fear. 
 Difficulty and danger were for him like a game and 
 brought out his quickness in action and his ready 
 resource. 
 
 The father constantly encouraged him in self- 
 reliance. When he was six and it was imperative 
 to send some one through the deep snow to Con 
 cord, ten miles distant, George was tied in the 
 sleigh, and though all alone, made the trip without 
 mishap. Early he had a pony of his own, and with 
 his father he would take long rides over the rough 
 hills and through the heavy woods. At times they 
 would spend the night in a small and very old 
 house in Webster on a farm belonging to the 
 judge, and would fish in the beautiful little lake 
 which the farm overlooked, or hunt in the vicin 
 ity. The farmhouse, known as the "Box," in 
 
8 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 later years was to receive many additions, and 
 eventually became the summer home of the 
 Commodore. 
 
 When George was eight years old, his father 
 moved to Boston where he engaged in the West 
 African trade. The boy saw the extensive ship 
 ping, and doubtless had his imagination fired by 
 many a sailor s yarn as he roamed over the ves 
 sels his father was fitting out. Yet there is nothing 
 to indicate that the child or his parents recognized 
 that the sea was to be his profession. Indeed, 
 when two or three years later his father tired of 
 business cares and city life, it was a glad boy that 
 returned with the family to the large and com 
 fortable old home in Hopkinton. 
 
 George s education was early found to be a 
 serious problem. He did not take to books. 
 Augustus T. Perkins, who comes of an entirely 
 different branch, in writing of his own family, 
 notes what is fully applicable to the family of the 
 judge: "Of well-educated and accomplished men 
 and women we have a plenty, but almost no 
 scholarship in the strict sense of the word"; and 
 he mentions as their particular characteristics, 
 "The love of adventure, of field sports and of 
 athletics . . . together with an extraordinary vigor 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 9 
 
 of body, noticeable in the women as well as the 
 men." Thus it was that George, who loved action 
 and all outdoor life, had no enthusiasm for books 
 and study. 
 
 Because of this indifference he made little pro 
 gress, and the teachers commonly agreed that he 
 was dull. Had it not been for the faith and perse 
 verance of his mother, his distaste would have 
 crippled him for life, and there would have been 
 no public career. She took his education upon 
 herself, in spite of the many cares of a large 
 family and an extended circle of friends. Many a 
 spirited contest followed, for George would not 
 study and the mother would not let him shirk. 
 Frequent were the petitions for leniency. He was 
 not feeling well, he wanted to go with father to 
 Tilton to buy a horse, or he must see a litter of 
 pigs just arrived on a neighboring farm. Might he 
 not accompany Sister Hattie, who had shopping 
 to do in Concord? If he would work all day to 
 morrow, might he not go fishing this morning with 
 some of the older boys ? There were times when 
 undoubtedly he was not feeling entirely well. He 
 was not robust, and was quite alert enough to see 
 how this fact might be used to advantage. For 
 tunately, Mrs. Perkins had herself a liking for 
 
io GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 play and a lively appreciation of the importance 
 of the many interests connected with the farm. 
 Recreation was not forgotten because of study, 
 and most of the privileges desired were granted 
 if preceded by faithful application. Progress was 
 slow, but in the end the mother triumphed and 
 George gained some schooling. 
 
 There is still preserved a journal which Mrs. 
 Perkins induced George to write during his 
 eleventh year. It shows how many and active 
 were the interests of the busy, helpful boy; it also 
 expresses a pathetic lament that his mother 
 should hold him so strictly to his books. It was 
 hard for him to understand how she could be so 
 blind to the better things of life. The following 
 are some extracts (the form has been somewhat 
 modernized by Miss Perkins, sister of the Com 
 modore) : 
 
 Thursday. It has rained all day and taken off 
 some of the snow. I did my lessons and took care of 
 Black Hawk and the other horses, because the man 
 had to go away. In the afternoon I sold a horse, and 
 then I carried a man in the sleigh to Mr. Gould s on 
 business. 
 
 Friday. This afternoon I took Black Hawk and 
 Mr. Stanley, and Roger took Uncle Paul s horse and 
 David, and we went to the lower village to an exhibi 
 tion. We had a very pleasant time till we got most 
 
CLARA BARTLETT (GEORGE) PERKINS 
 Mother of Commodore Perkins 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD n 
 
 home, when the thills dropped down on Black Hawk s 
 heels and he tipped Mr. Stanley and me out of the 
 sleigh, and got away from us and ran almost home. I 
 took the other sleigh and went after him and led him 
 home, and the only harm done was he corked himself a 
 little. Thus closed the labors of the day! I lent four 
 chains to E. Burbank, two binding and two ox chains, 
 and one axe; and to William Leslie, two horse chains, 
 one ox chain, and a goad stick. 
 
 Monday. I did not expect to study any to-day, as 
 Frankie is sick, but mother saw me go by the window 
 and called me in, and of all the scoldings that she has 
 ever given me I got one to-day the worst. To-day I 
 have set some hens, and I expect to have a great flock 
 of chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese this year, for I 
 have set a good many. 
 
 Interesting as showing the practical methods 
 used to promote scholarship is this entry: 
 
 My mother solemnly agrees to give George H. 
 Perkins one loaf of cake, if the said George H. Perkins 
 goes through his geography in ten days. 
 
 MOTHER PERKINS. 
 
 George s further education was at the Hopkin- 
 ton and the Gilmanton academies, the latter one 
 of the three oldest in the State. He did nothing to 
 distinguish himself at either institution, and the 
 reports of scholarship were not flattering. The 
 teachers for the most part did not understand the 
 boy, and the routine of study failed to arouse his 
 interest. 
 
12 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 George s struggles suggest those of the British 
 naval officer and author, Captain Marryat. The 
 two in early and later life exhibit many charac 
 teristics in common. Marryat as a boy made 
 but slow progress under his schoolmasters, and 
 the unusual and desperate methods he resorted 
 to in the acquisition of knowledge are worthy 
 of a Yankee. It is related that in one of these 
 earnest endeavors to lay hold on truth, he was 
 discovered in an erect but inverted position, 
 feet high in air. When called sternly to account 
 for not studying his lesson, he explained, "Well! 
 I ve been trying for three hours to learn it on 
 my feet, but I could n t, so I thought I would try 
 whether it would be easier to learn it on my 
 head." 
 
 While George was studying at Gilmanton, 
 being fourteen years old, there came an unex 
 pected offer of an appointment to the United 
 States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Although 
 every boy is at heart a soldier or sailor, there is no 
 record that George had seriously thought of a 
 naval career before this. However, the history of 
 New Hampshire had been such as would enkindle 
 patriotism. The Granite State, though possessing 
 less than twenty miles of seacoast, early made 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 13 
 
 much of her one harbor, Portsmouth. Here in the 
 Revolution, the Ranger had been built, and the 
 crew, led on to victory by Paul Jones, were many 
 of them from the Piscataqua region. Here in the 
 War of 1812, the Enterprise was fitted out as she 
 sailed forth to capture the Boxer; and also the 
 second PFasp, which under the gallant Blakely 
 harried British commerce so fearlessly in the Eng 
 lish Channel, was built and provided with a crew. 
 And here in the Civil War the Kearsarge was to 
 be built, named after the mountain twelve miles 
 from Hopkinton. 
 
 It was the Hon. Charles H. Peaslee who offered 
 the appointment to the Naval Academy. He was 
 Congressman from the Concord District, and 
 having a vacancy to fill he sought out Judge and 
 Mrs. Perkins, he had been long a warm friend 
 of the family, making the suggestion that 
 George should go to Annapolis. There followed 
 some anxious deliberation and weighing of advan 
 tages. The parents recognized the value of the 
 thorough and practical education that the Acad 
 emy was already making a name for. They saw 
 that for one of George s active temperament a 
 naval career was in many ways admirably suited. 
 Yet they hesitated before taking a step that 
 
14 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 would remove their son, still a mere boy, from 
 their sight and influence. 
 
 When it was decided that George should accept 
 the appointment, he was withdrawn from Gilman- 
 ton and placed under a private tutor at Concord 
 to prepare for the entrance examination at the 
 Academy. This, like the examination for West 
 Point, was far less exacting than at the present 
 time. 1 It had been recognized that the test must 
 be of such a character that candidates from States 
 where the schools were not of the best might hope 
 to pass. Otherwise the charge would be made 
 that the institution was a rich man s school, for 
 which only those who had enjoyed unusual privi 
 leges could qualify. As we turn to the "Regula- 
 tionsof the U.S.Naval Academy, 1853," we read, 
 
 Candidates must be over fourteen and under sixteen 
 years of age at the time of examination for admis 
 sion; must be of good moral character, able to read 
 and write well writing from dictation, and spelling 
 with correctness and to perform with accuracy the 
 various operations of the primary rules of arithmetic, 
 viz.: numeration, and the addition, subtraction, mul 
 tiplication, and division of whole numbers. 
 
 An eccentric schoolmaster in Concord under 
 whom George studied before he went to Gilman- 
 1 Mahan, From Sail to Steam, p. 71. 
 
FAMILY AND BOYHOOD 15 
 
 ton seems to have been the only teacher besides 
 his mother who had the gift or the patience to dis 
 cern promise of unusual power in the boy. How 
 ever, he passed the mental examination for ad 
 mission to the Academy without difficulty, and 
 after undergoing the physical test with like suc 
 cess was enrolled as an acting midshipman. He 
 entered upon the first stage of his naval career at 
 the beginning of the academic year, October I, 
 1851. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 
 
 PERKINS S life at the Naval Academy cannot 
 be regarded as extraordinary. As in earlier 
 years, he showed indifference or aversion to 
 study, and more than once he but narrowly 
 escaped "bilging." l He was extremely popular 
 with his fellows, but because he was not aggres 
 sive he never constituted himself their leader. 
 To-day a man with his qualities would gain dis 
 tinction in athletics, dramatics, and like branches 
 of student activities which have an element of 
 seriousness in their character. In the absence of 
 such interests in the fifties, he doggedly pursued 
 his course and was graduated the lowest stand 
 man in his class. He was probably the last man 
 also that his companions would have picked as the 
 one to win distinction six years later for excep 
 tional efficiency and bravery. 
 
 The United States Naval Academy was at the 
 
 1 Bilging: the expressive term by which, in the fifties as now, 
 midshipmen refer to the untimely end of those seriously deficient 
 in scholarship, when their fate is that of a ship bilged; that is, run 
 on the beach, lying on her bilges, her bottom broken, a wreck. 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 17 
 
 time of Perkins s admission entering upon the 
 seventh year of its work. Previous to the found 
 ing of the sister institution at West Point, in 
 1802, the idea of a naval school constituting one of 
 the four departments of a military academy had 
 been suggested. This probably originated in the 
 fertile brain of Alexander Hamilton, but it came 
 to nothing. From the beginnings of our navy 
 until 1845 (the year the Academy was founded 
 at Annapolis), midshipmen acquired their slight 
 book education commonly from chaplains and 
 schoolmasters on shipboard. 
 
 Naturally the first years of the institution, for 
 which there was no model, were somewhat experi 
 mental, and the work was limited in its scope. 
 The school was merely a station where midship 
 men, during a few months respite from sea serv 
 ice, might with assistance study for the examina 
 tion confronting them as they sought promotion 
 to the grade of passed midshipman or of lieu 
 tenant. The Academy quickly demonstrated its 
 value, and in 1851 it was decided hereafter to 
 limit the sea duty of acting midshipmen to sum 
 mer practice cruises and to the period following 
 their training at Annapolis. Immediately on ap 
 pointment they were to enter upon a course of 
 
1 8 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 study at the Academy that should cover four 
 consecutive years the plan still followed. 
 
 The change that has come over the spirit of our 
 colleges in the past half-century does not have its 
 parallel in the Naval Academy. As has been fre 
 quently observed, studies in the former do not, as 
 of old, form the central and absorbing interest; 
 and reading and recreation, while in some phases 
 more healthy and sane, are for the most part less 
 aspiring and idealistic. In Annapolis, on the con 
 trary, the life has become more serious. As the 
 United States Navy has risen in self-esteem, and 
 the midshipmen are three or four years older on 
 admission, they seem to feel more fully the dig 
 nity of the service. It is certain that discipline is 
 superior to what it was fifty or sixty years ago; 
 courses of study have been broadened and a 
 greater degree of application is required. It 
 would be misleading, however, to suggest that 
 the earlier and younger midshipmen did not 
 work, and the final results speak well for their 
 training. 
 
 There were six departments of instruction 
 when Perkins entered the Academy, and two 
 years later they were increased to eight. The fol 
 lowing is a list: (i) Naval tactics and practical 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 19 
 
 seamanship. (2) Mathematics, navigation, and 
 astronomy. (3) Natural and experimental philoso 
 phy; mechanics; steam engines. (4) The theory 
 of gunnery, field artillery, and infantry tactics; 
 the art of defense, including fencing. (5) Ethics, 
 rhetoric, geography, history, international and 
 military law. (6) French. (7) Spanish. (8) 
 Drawing. 
 
 Among those permanently attached to the 
 academic staff at this time was Professor Henry 
 H. Lockwood, U.S.N. He had been at the Acad 
 emy since its founding and had been one of the 
 master spirits in organizing the courses. He began 
 with teaching mathematics and natural philoso 
 phy, but when Lieutenant Dahlgren after a few 
 lectures on gunnery gave up his department in 
 disgust, Lockwood (who was a graduate of West 
 Point and had served with distinction in the 
 Florida campaign of 1836-37) immediately took 
 up the more technical work. He drilled the mid 
 shipmen in light artillery and simple infantry 
 evolutions. This they strongly resented. The 
 traditions of the navy had all been against the 
 sailors touching even thus remotely upon the 
 domain of the soldiers. The experiment had been 
 tried with the bluejackets and their unwillingness 
 
20 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 had caused it to fail. Loud were the murmurings 
 of the midshipmen because of Lockwood s inno 
 vations, and on St. Patrick s Day they hanged 
 him in effigy from the Academy flagstaff. But he 
 kept on with the drills and finally succeeded. 
 
 There is an incident often related that shows 
 how spirited was the conflict, in which the mid 
 shipmen would obstinately slouch and stand on 
 one leg in the most unsoldierly fashion while 
 Lockwood sought to bring them up to West Point 
 standards. 
 
 One day, while drilling the midshipmen in field artil 
 lery, he started them off in the direction of the Severn 
 River. When the head of the column reached the 
 steep embankment on the shore, Lockwood tried to 
 give the command, "Halt!" but, unfortunately, his 
 tendency to stutter just at that moment asserted 
 itself. "Haw haw haw," he shouted, but the 
 word would not come. On went the battery over 
 the bank there was no sea-wall then and into the 
 river went the guns. The youngsters who manned 
 the drag-ropes were preparing to swim across when the 
 belated order at last arrived. 1 
 
 The regime had become better established by 
 185 1 when Perkins arrived on the scene, and prog 
 ress was marked during the latter part of his 
 course in Superintendent Goldsborough s admin- 
 1 Benjamin, The United States Naval Academy, p. 185. 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 21 
 
 istration. Still it was the youthful, scarcely 
 formed Academy of which he was a part. 
 
 Foremost among those who imparted sound 
 traditions, and at the same time aroused mischief, 
 were the "oldsters" midshipmen who, accord 
 ing to the early provisions of the Academy, came 
 after several years of sea service to prepare for 
 examination. They were senior by five or ten 
 years to the "youngsters" (those entered in 1851 
 or later and taking the four years consecutive 
 course), and some of them had served in the 
 Mexican War. It was chiefly owing to their influ 
 ence that there was no hazing (unlike West Point 
 and most of the colleges). But they had been 
 accustomed to considerable freedom and found it 
 hard to conform to Academy regulations. The 
 youngsters followed their lead and got in trouble 
 by card-playing, drinking, and "frenching" 
 leaving the Academy grounds without permis 
 sion, usually after nightfall, by scaling the walls. 
 
 Midshipman Perkins, with his active nature 
 and fondness for all kinds of fun, found much to 
 lure him from study. The influence of home and 
 his naturally high instincts kept him from dissi 
 pation, but in nearly all the innocent pranks he 
 seems to have had a part. He was reported for 
 
22 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 a fair number of offenses, but evidently for not 
 nearly all of those actually committed. He attri 
 buted his lucky escapes to the fact that he was 
 a little fellow and was quite hidden under "Old 
 Goldy s" huge figure, as the inquisitorial eye of 
 the stately Superintendent sought out the authors 
 of mischievous pranks and irregularities. 
 
 The following from the Conduct Roll, 1853-54, 
 are some of the reports made against him : " Room 
 not swept before prayers"; "Absent from roll 
 call " ; " Light in room after taps " ; " Playing chess 
 in room during study hours"; "Greasing the floor 
 of his room"; "Visiting after taps"; "Skylarking 
 when marching up to recitation " ; " Injury to pub 
 lic property (filing gas-burner)"; "Boxing in the 
 porch of mess hall"; "Ink spilled on floor of 
 room"; "Visiting the kitchen at 9.50 P.M." 
 
 Entertaining his friends or visiting after taps 
 was a particularly common offense on George s 
 part, for he was ever sociable. "Greasing the 
 floor" was incidental to some rich "feed" in 
 dulged in after the officer-in-charge had presum 
 ably gone to his rest. 
 
 Admiral Marian, who entered the Academy the 
 same year Perkins was graduated, remarks on the 
 manner with which the officers at the naval school 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 23 
 
 treated the midshipman pranks. 1 Probably most 
 of them, although recognizing the duty of enforce- 
 ing regulations, sympathized with the youthful 
 exuberance of spirit; and considered the matter of 
 detection and reporting as a game in which they 
 did not mind being occasional losers, provided that 
 the midshipmen did not trespass on the stand 
 ards of a gentleman. On the other hand, the 
 midshipmen had no personal feeling against the 
 officer catching them, provided he used only what 
 they regarded as fair means. The lieutenant who 
 inspected at unusual hours, or put on rubber shoes 
 so as to give no notice of his approach, was the 
 subject, in the private conversations of the mid 
 shipmen, of much condemnatory eloquence. In 
 sharp contrast was such an officer as John Taylor 
 Wood. It is related that as he came into a build 
 ing he would tap on the steam pipes and then 
 wait a few minutes before beginning inspection. 
 It is needless to say Wood found little to report, 
 and perhaps enough midshipmen appreciated his 
 generous treatment so that the number of 
 offenses was not really increased. 
 
 What object Midshipman Perkins had in filing 
 his gas-burner, for which he was twice reported, 
 1 Mahan, From Sail to Steam, p. 56. 
 
24 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 we can only conjecture. There was some game 
 connected with it, perhaps of the character which 
 Dick Prentiss, killed at Mobile, is said to have 
 taught his classmates. He would place a handker 
 chief over the burner, and, blowing into the pipe 
 until he was black in the face, put out the gas in 
 the rest of the building. 1 
 
 We get an idea of the daily routine to which 
 Perkins had to adapt himself on entering the 
 Academy from the report of the Board of Exam 
 iners, October 10, 1851:- 
 
 Before breakfast the students are required to make 
 up their beds, and clean out their rooms. ... At 7.15 
 A.M. the students attend prayers, and at 7.30 go to 
 breakfast. At 8 A.M. recitations commence and con 
 tinue until I P.M.; are resumed at 2, and continue till 
 4 P.M. From 4 P.M. until sunset, exercises either at 
 great guns, small arms, sword, or field artillery. Im 
 mediately after dress parade the students go to supper. 
 Dinner at I P.M. during the session. Study hours from 
 8 A.M. to I P.M., arid from 2 to 4 P.M., and from 7 to 9.30 
 P.M.; at 10 P.M. the lights are put out. 
 
 There are no academic studies on Saturday, but the 
 forenoon of that day is devoted to military exercises. 
 The afternoon is devoted to recreation, one half the 
 students being permitted to visit the city, and the 
 other half allowed to sail or row boats, or amuse them 
 selves about the grounds of the Academy. 
 
 1 Davenport, On a Man-oj-War, p. 240. 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 25 
 
 In general the daily programme of the early 
 fifties is that of the present. Midshipmen are 
 now roused by the morning gun and reveille at 
 6.30, end their study with the evening gun at 9.30, 
 and, putting out their lights, turn in as taps 
 sounds at 10. The one important innovation is the 
 period of liberty from 5 to 6.30 in the afternoon, 
 when nearly all the midshipmen engage in some 
 form of athletic sports. Whatever may be the 
 opinion as to the benefits or injuries of the great 
 contests in football and rowing, there can be no 
 question as to the excellent results of the recrea 
 tion period at the Academy. It has tended to 
 strengthen and purify the life, and, while increas 
 ing the general happiness and contentment, has 
 not on the whole detracted from study. 
 
 In Perkins s time outside sports in the limited 
 hours when they were permitted consisted chiefly 
 of sailing, canoeing, and swimming. Parties would 
 often be organized to go sailing, and young ladies 
 daughters of the officers or friends living or 
 visiting in town added piquancy to the small 
 adventures. 
 
 In their times of freedom in the evening the 
 midshipmen would get together behind the Bat 
 tery, smoke "contrabands," tell stories, and sing 
 
26 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 songs of their own devising. The poetic muse was 
 not very strong, and but few of the songs were 
 worth recording. One of the most popular and 
 spirited was that in anticipation of the long leave 
 of absence which comprised the whole of the 
 second summer of the course, sung to the tune of 
 "The Wearing of the Green": - 
 
 Come all ye gallant middies 
 
 Who are going on furlough, 
 
 We ll sing the song of liberty, 
 We re going for to go. 
 
 Take your tobacco lively 
 
 And pass the grog around, 
 We ll have a jolly time to-night 
 
 Before we re homeward bound. 
 
 Our sweethearts waiting for us, 
 With eyes brimful of tears, 
 
 Will welcome us back home again 
 From an absence of two years. 1 
 
 Occasionally there was a dance held in the 
 Lyceum, a room above the mess hall, and there 
 were various little parties given on Saturdays and 
 holidays in the charming Southern homes of the 
 old Maryland capital. Midshipmen were per 
 petually hungry and the kindly mothers and 
 winsome daughters knew what would please. 
 
 1 Quoted by Benjamin, The United States Naval Academy, p. 214. 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 27 
 
 The close relationship between officers families 
 and midshipmen has since the foundation of the 
 Academy been one of its happiest features. Most 
 of the officers are furnished quarters in the yard, 
 and no matter how stern and distant the elderly 
 gentlemen in uniform may be, they do not pre 
 vent the youngsters from delighting in the 
 friendly cheer of the milder members of the 
 family. Permission to visit officers quarters is 
 subject to regulation and limited to certain days 
 and hours. It is regarded as one of the privileges, 
 and it has never lost this character by being made 
 too common. The wives and daughters have thus 
 been a strong moulding influence at Annapolis. 
 This has been more marked than at the leading 
 colleges because the lives of the midshipmen are 
 more sequestered. 
 
 George Perkins, with his light heart and happy 
 temperament, could join in the social gayeties of 
 Academy life with no ordinary enthusiasm. He 
 was good at sailing a boat, and he particularly 
 excelled in dancing. Indeed, in the latter it is said 
 that, when he had for his partner Miss Kate Ray, 
 a sparkling belle and a great friend of George, 
 there was such poetry in the motion that many 
 another dancer thought it worth while to stop and 
 
28 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 look on. If the hops were simpler than at the 
 present time, they were scarcely less spirited. 
 Elderly women, the beauties of ante-bellum days, 
 indeed uniformly affirm that they were much 
 more attractive: the programme was not so set 
 and formal, and the company was small enough 
 so that practically every one could know every one 
 else. "Little Puck," as Miss Ray had dubbed 
 Perkins, was as popular with the girls as he was 
 with the midshipmen, and if there had been no 
 such thing as study, he would have been su 
 premely happy. As it was, he did not allow low 
 marks to make him noticeably serious or melan 
 choly. 
 
 When George had been a year at the Academy, 
 he found an agreeable change in duties afforded 
 by the summer practice cruise. The sloop of war 
 Preble had been given to the naval school a few 
 months previous, that the midshipmen might 
 have what would correspond to West Point s 
 annual encampment. The Preble, under Lieu 
 tenant Thomas T. Craven, the commandant, went 
 on the first practice cruise to the West Indies and 
 the Madeiras. Next summer George sailed again 
 under the same officer to Horta, on the island 
 of Fayal; then to Corunna, on the north coast of 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 29 
 
 Spain; and then to Funchal, Madeira. According 
 to instructions, Lieutenant Craven kept at sea as 
 much time as possible, making short visits at a 
 few ports only as it was necessary to obtain 
 supplies. 
 
 After eight months of continuous routine and 
 classroom work, the midshipmen hailed the cruise 
 as a welcome relief. The prospect was doubly 
 attractive to those who had never traveled, yet 
 who looked upon the sea as their own particular 
 element. Much followed, however, quite out of 
 harmony with the romance of the sailor s life. 
 The food was the regulation navy ration and of 
 so poor a quality that the midshipmen went half 
 starved. Since they were given practically no 
 spending money, it was not uncommon as they 
 touched at a foreign port for them to sell articles 
 of clothing or even their sextants to buy something 
 to eat. It took time to adjust themselves to sleep 
 ing in a hammock, compared with which the 
 hardest bed at the Academy was luxury. But if 
 the midshipmen s affection for their hammocks 
 lacked strength during the first days of the cruise, 
 it grew very rapidly when they were summoned 
 at midnight, or at four in the morning, to climb 
 the ratlines and reef a sail while the ship was 
 
30 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 pitching and all was cold and dark. The midship 
 man occupied rather an anomalous position; he 
 was neither an officer nor a sailor, but he was 
 given most of the duties of both. Admiral Mahan 
 says : 
 
 Ashore or afloat, we made our own beds or lashed 
 our own hammocks, swept our rooms, tended our 
 clothes, and blacked our boots; our drills were those of 
 the men before the mast, at sails and guns; all parts 
 of a seaman s work, except cleaning the ship, was re 
 quired and willingly done. 1 
 
 Hardships had to be encountered, and it is not 
 certain that the officers did not permit some that 
 were rather unnecessary, that the youngsters 
 might be weaned from luxuries and taught endur 
 ance. There is a story told of a midshipman of the 
 old time who approached Commodore Thomas 
 Ap Catesby Jones and ventured humbly to re 
 mark that the quarters in the steerage were 
 uncomfortable. 
 
 "Uncomfortable, sir, uncomfortable!" thun 
 dered the grim old warrior. "Why, what blanked 
 fool ever joined the navy for comfort?" 
 
 There was also the other side. Whales, dol 
 phins, and other monsters of the deep, strange 
 sails and occasional glimpses of strange people, 
 
 1 Mahan, From Sail to Steam, pp. 101, 102. Copyright, 1906, 
 1907, by Harper & Brothers. 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 31 
 
 made the young sailors forget their sorrows. 
 Most of the midshipmen knew little of the waters 
 and lands they visited. In consequence the yarns 
 spun in the animated groups that collected, during 
 the hours of freedom, on the forecastle were all the 
 more wildly imaginative. With these tales were 
 joined some fragments of real information that 
 came from the few bluejackets and warrant offi 
 cers on board; they treated the midshipmen in a 
 respectful manner, for these lads might soon be 
 their commanding officers, yet there was also 
 considerable friendliness and familiarity between 
 them. 
 
 The drills varied from day to day according 
 to the watch the midshipmen belonged to. All 
 during the cruise they received their training in 
 knotting and splicing, in making and taking in 
 sail, in heaving the lead, etc. Also they were re 
 quired to make drawings of yards, masts, and 
 sails, explaining the position and use of each rope. 
 They had practice in preparing the ship for 
 action; they were organized in gun crews and had 
 almost daily gun drills with a fair amount of 
 target practice. In the second summer, the first 
 class men, who had the experience of the previous 
 cruise, were instructed in the duties of sailing- 
 
32 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 master. During the day they took charge of the 
 deck, and gave orders for tacking, wearing, or 
 boxhauling. They made their observations, and 
 calculated the latitude and the longitude. On 
 reaching Chesapeake Bay they had frequent 
 practice in bringing the ship to anchor and getting 
 her under way. 
 
 The general excellence of the midshipmen in 
 target practice was a surprise to Lieutenant 
 Craven and to the Navy Department. In this, 
 Perkins distinguished himself. His exceptional 
 skill occasioned an article in a Baltimore paper 
 and the article was copied in the New Hampshire 
 journals. I quote, however, from a letter George 
 wrote to the home people : 
 
 We had target practice one day, and it came my 
 turn to shoot. There was quite a swell on at the time, 
 which made it difficult to get any kind of a shot, but 
 when I fired, I hit the target, which was a barrel with a 
 small flag on it, thrown out about three quarters of 
 a mile distant. Such a thing as hitting a target at sea 
 with the ship in motion and a swell on is considered 
 almost impossible, so they all said it was luck. But 
 another target of the same size was put out at the same 
 distance, and when I fired again I tore this all to pieces. 
 Then the crew all cheered and made quite a hero of 
 me, but still some said it must be luck; so a third 
 target was put out, of exactly the same kind, and in 
 exactly the same manner. This one I did not quite hit, 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 33 
 
 but my shot fell so near that all agreed that it was not 
 luck, but that I was a first-rate shot with broadside 
 guns. ( Since then I have been looked upon as having a 
 very correct eye for distances, and am always called 
 upon to fire whenever experiments are made. 
 
 The academic year began the 1st of October. 
 In returning from the first cruise the Preble 
 sped along under favorable winds and reached 
 Hampton Roads about September 1 1. Lieutenant 
 Craven, however, was enjoined by Superintendent 
 Stribling to continue the practice and drills in 
 Chesapeake Bay and not to arrive in Annapolis 
 before September 27. This precaution was taken 
 to guard against numerous requests for leave that 
 midshipmen or their parents might be tempted to 
 make. 
 
 Instead of making the month of September one 
 of liberty, that midshipmen might annually visit 
 their homes, the present system, the plan 
 introduced in 1854 was to grant one leave during 
 the four years, a leave that should include a whole 
 summer, commonly at the end of the second year. 
 One can imagine the ecstasy of the little home- 
 loving George Perkins on receiving this long 
 leave, June 15, 1854, when he had been away 
 from home nearly three years. 
 
 He should at that time have been within a year 
 
34 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 of graduation, but alas, he had undergone many 
 tribulations. He was not blind to the fact that 
 poor scholarship was likely to sever once for all 
 his connection with the navy. His letters home 
 frequently intimated that he expected to "bilge." 
 He spoke of the unhappy prospect, however, 
 without melancholy, and cheerfully proceeded to 
 discuss various other possible careers. 
 
 In February, 1853, the semiannual examina 
 tions were "stiffer than ever before," and later 
 there were many dark forebodings expressed of 
 what would follow. On the 25th of that month the 
 expected doom descended. Secretary of the Navy 
 Kennedy, in a letter to Superintendent Stribling, 
 directed that those midshipmen who had been 
 found deficient at the late examination the 
 enumeration was of considerable length and in it 
 appeared the name of George H. Perkins 
 should be "dropped from the list and returned tG 
 their friends." 
 
 Nor did misfortunes come singly to Perkins. 
 Just before this he had met with an accident, of 
 the nature of which we are not informed, and was 
 taken to sick quarters. This accident, however, 
 had the fortunate result of delaying matters at a 
 critical time. Superintendent Stribling writes to 
 
AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY 35 
 
 Secretary Kennedy on February 28: Perkins "re 
 ceived a severe injury more than a week ago, and 
 is unfit to travel ; I have withheld his letter of dis 
 missal until I could submit his case to you." 
 
 There was a reconsideration, and Perkins, in 
 stead of being "returned to his friends," was 
 directed to continue his studies with the next 
 lower class. This lengthened his course at the 
 Academy a year, but fortunately for the navy he 
 was graduated in 1856. 
 
 Another midshipman of this time, who later 
 was to attain great distinction, was also having 
 a hard struggle. George Dewey, who entered in 
 1854, came very near leaving in consequence of 
 his first June examination. He was unsatisfactory 
 in conduct, geography, and history. A moder 
 ately good grade in mathematics saved him. 
 
 Commodore Phythian, one of Perkins s class 
 mates, and later superintendent of the Academy, 
 tells of Perkins s career as a midshipman :- 
 
 He should not have been turned back; he had 
 ability but did not study. He was the most popular 
 man in the Academy, full of life and spirits. Because 
 of his superabundant life he was always breaking 
 regulations and getting into scrapes. Indeed, at times 
 he seemed almost reckless and daredevil. 
 
 While Perkins was the most pouplar man in the 
 
36 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Academy, he was the most modest. He lacked confi 
 dence especially in his mental abilities. For example, I 
 remember he put a problem on the board correctly; 
 but as he turned about and saw a classmate laughing 
 as he thought at his mistake, he rubbed his work out. 
 
 George Perkins s lack of success at the Acad 
 emy was because he had not learned to grapple 
 with the disagreeable and win the sweet pleasure 
 of mastering what unmastered must be continu 
 ous annoyance and vexation. He had to undergo 
 the discipline of long and dreary cruises in Central 
 American and West African waters before he 
 stood forth the strong and efficient man. Perhaps 
 the most significant incident of his career as 
 acting midshipman was his success in target 
 practice on the summer cruise. It showed the 
 sharp eye and the cool nerve that were to mean 
 so much a few years later at New Orleans and 
 Mobile Bay. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN WATERS 
 
 THE discovery of gold in California caused 
 Nicaragua and Panama to leap into promi 
 nence. The journey from Missouri across the 
 plains required a whole summer and entailed the 
 severest hardships. A much easier route was by 
 way of Central America. The Accessory Transit 
 Company, organized by Cornelius Vanderbilt, 
 could under favorable conditions take a passenger 
 from New York to San Francisco in nineteen 
 days. The itinerary was : New York to Grey town, 
 Nicaragua, by ocean steamer; across the isthmus 
 chiefly by lake and river steamers, a few miles 
 being by coach; and then north by ocean steamer 
 to San Francisco. Upwards of 20,000 people 
 traveled this route in a year. Not as many at 
 first went by Panama, for the more southern 
 route necessitated three days longer at sea. 
 When, however, in 1855, a railway was completed 
 between Aspinwall (Colon) and Panama, and a 
 revolution occurred in Nicaragua, the Panama 
 route grew in popularity. 
 
38 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 The people living in the towns on both routes 
 were of a desperate character. The more enter 
 prising (not a few escaped criminals from the 
 States) kept hotels, and they all made their living 
 by preying on those going to or from California. 
 As a naval officer who spent three months on this 
 coast wrote, "They resembled the old buccaneers 
 in everything save courage." In view of these 
 conditions, Secretary of the Navy Toucey ordered 
 in December, 1856, that two ships should take 
 their station at Panama and a sloop of war at 
 Aspinwall, "to afford protection to the persons 
 and property of the thousands of our countrymen 
 crossing the Isthmus, from the violence of an un- 
 governed population." The sloop referred to was 
 the Cyane, and among her junior officers as she 
 sailed from Boston, November 5, 1856, was Mid 
 shipman Perkins. 
 
 He had just come from a visit at home, but that 
 made him no less reluctant in venturing out on his 
 first long cruise. He was never given to melan 
 choly, yet there is a frequent touch of homesick 
 ness that appears in his letters. He begins a 
 journal letter to his mother on November 9: 
 
 We left Boston last Wednesday afternoon, and had a 
 fine breeze out of the harbor. Everything bid fair that 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 39 
 
 I should not be seasick and I went to bed as happy as 
 I could under the circumstances; for I was thinking 
 of you all and comparing one of your good rooms 
 and beds to the cramped up steerage and hammock. 
 During the night it came on to blow, and as I had the 
 morning watch, I received the full benefit of the gale; 
 and was n t I sick! I am afraid there is very little left 
 of your good living. 
 
 How often I wished that I had never chosen such a 
 profession and that I had never left home. All that 
 day it continued to blow, but the next was pleasant, 
 and I somewhat recovered. The sickness, however, 
 hung on for a long while, and I should certainly have 
 deserted had the ship touched land. During my long 
 night watches I am always thinking of you at home. 
 I have never missed my home so much as I have since 
 I last left it. ... The weather is rather warm, for we 
 are now in about Latitude 30 N., but to-day is rainy 
 and a heavy sea runs. I am writing to you in our dark 
 little hole, where one solitary tallow candle is burning. 
 
 We have a great deal to do on board this ship. I am 
 in charge of the "spirit room," but never fear! the 
 whiskey is so bad that I could not touch it, if I was so 
 inclined. I am also in charge of the magazine. But if 
 we get into a fight you need not be alarmed unless the 
 ship gets on fire, for in action I am below the water line 
 and.no ball can reach me. So you see your hopeful George 
 is quite safe from the whiskey and the cannon balls. 
 
 Sunday, November 16. I suppose you are all get 
 ting ready for church. If I was at home I do not know 
 but that I should go. We have no church here. Sunday 
 in ten fathoms of water is never regarded. So there is 
 scarcely any Sunday for the sailor; still, he seems to be 
 a good fellow. 
 
40 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Our darkie is making bread in the steerage. You 
 would laugh to see him work, but unless you became 
 very hungry I think you would eat very little of the 
 bread. It is rather heavy, but we manage to down it. 
 We scarcely ever have any dessert; when we do, it con 
 sists of boiled dried apples mixed with bread and 
 whiskey and then baked. 
 
 Friday, November 21. We have been becalmed 
 for the past few days and have succeeded in passing 
 the time rather pleasantly. We have caught a good 
 many dolphin and fishing for them is grand sport. 
 During the evening we generally go on the forecastle 
 and hear the men sing, fiddle, and play other instru 
 ments. Until eight o clock you would almost imagine 
 you were on board a music box. 
 
 Sunday, November 23. I have been trying to go 
 to sleep ever since dinner but have given up in despair, 
 for it is so warm that it seems as though I should suffo 
 cate. If this wind holds we shall be in Aspinwall next 
 Tuesday, for we have had the full benefit of the north 
 east trades. The ship is rather uncomfortable, and it 
 rains nearly every five minutes. 
 
 As it is the Sabbath, everything is very quiet. This 
 morning a man was sentenced by a summary court- 
 martial to four days of solitary confinement in double 
 irons with nothing but bread and water for food; then 
 he will have thirty days of extra duty. This sentence 
 was for impertinence. 
 
 Aspinwall and the Isthmus were new and inter 
 esting country to George. The rainy season was 
 hardly at an end and there was a miasma that 
 hung over the town. At the first opportunity, 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 41 
 
 however, he went ashore. It was a hard life that 
 he saw; there were a few haggard, bilious-looking 
 Americans in white, smoking perpetually they 
 were the traders, the hotel-keepers, and the bar 
 tenders; there were also mulattoes from Jamaica 
 who had shops ; while the largest part of the popu 
 lation (of about 800) were coal-black negroes from 
 Jamaica, who constituted the laboring class. The 
 negroes, both men and women, went about half 
 naked, while many an infant was carried on its 
 parent s arm or played in the mud, clothed only 
 in its innocence. All who had been there for any 
 length of time, including even the dusky children, 
 were victims of fever. The following is George s 
 description of the place as he writes home: 
 
 It is an awful hole. The town is built on a low coral 
 island. There are few Americans here, and they are of 
 a degraded order. The natives are a miserable set of 
 beings, and seem ready and anxious to be in a row with 
 the Americans. There are five rickety hotels (I suppose 
 lumber is scarce) and a few huts. From the marshes 
 comes a very bad odor caused by decayed vegetation. 
 
 It has rained nearly every day since we have lain 
 here, and it has been damp and disagreeable all over 
 the ship. To-day, however, is pleasant, and it is my 
 day to go on shore. But as I have nothing of the need 
 ful, and as there is nothing going on, I thought I would 
 stay on board. 
 
 The steamer will be in in a few days, and I am look- 
 
42 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 ing anxiously for a letter. There is always considerable 
 excitement when the steamer arrives, due to the 
 amount of travel. The passengers stay here overnight, 
 and you have no idea what hard cases most of them 
 are. Those that come from California wear revolvers 
 in their belts. Most of them that I saw were a pitiable 
 looking set. Many of them, I should judge, were going 
 home to die. 
 
 Anything that would break the monotony and 
 put life into the corpse-like town must have been 
 grateful. But the letters from home, brought by 
 the fortnightly steamers with the gold-seekers, 
 meant more than all else to George. He writes to 
 his sister Susan: 
 
 If you could imagine the joy with which I greet the 
 letters from home you would intercede for me and 
 have many more written. 
 
 And similarly to his mother: 
 
 When I do not get a letter I am always afraid you 
 are not well. I try to think that all is right, but I am 
 not exactly easy in my mind. Tell me what you did 
 during the Christmas holidays, and if I can persuade 
 myself that you are only well and happy I will try and 
 be contented. 
 
 A week previous to Christmas he secured a 
 little liberty just as a shipload of passengers, 
 bound for California, arrived. With Midshipman 
 Blodgett he boarded the train and went with the 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 43 
 
 emigrants across the Isthmus to Panama. It was 
 a day of novelty. Even Aspinwall, where for the 
 past two weeks nothing had happened except 
 dog-fighting and cock-fighting, put on an ani 
 mated appearance with the Stars and Stripes fly 
 ing from every hotel and drinking saloon. Leav 
 ing the town and the glistening Atlantic they 
 plunged into the depths of the forest. For seven 
 miles the locomotive puffed and sent out its shower 
 of sparks through the intricacies of a vast marsh. 
 Here George saw luxuriance of vegetation such as 
 he had never looked on before. On every side 
 were impenetrable mangroves. Gigantic espaves 
 and coratos rose to a height of one hundred and 
 thirty feet with a diameter scarcely short of ten 
 feet. Even where extensive work had been done 
 on the road-bed, nature quickly had concealed 
 the wounds; decay of fallen timber was almost 
 immediate, and so rapid had been the new growth 
 that a clearing of a year before, except for the 
 absence of the larger trees, showed scarcely a 
 trace. The midshipmen were desirous of seeing, 
 above all things, some of the tropical game. But 
 the pumas, if there were any within miles, refused 
 to appear from their dark retreats, nor did even a 
 curious monkey or parrot come near. 
 
44 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 At Culebra, the highest point on the line, dusky 
 ladies with Panama hats greeted them with great 
 friendliness and generously urged their oranges, 
 bananas, and pineapples. The price, incidentally, 
 was four times as high as they would have paid 
 in Boston or New York, but by this time they 
 would have been surprised at anything else. 
 
 From Culebra the road made a rapid descent, 
 and soon, as announced by hundreds of cries, the 
 majestic Pacific was in sight. Winding in and out 
 among the cocoanut palms, the train finally 
 stopped almost on the very shore. The trip had 
 been forty-nine miles and had taken four hours 
 and a half. 
 
 The midshipmen went to Panama on Saturday 
 and did not return till Monday. This gave them 
 Sunday there, which is always the day of special 
 animation in Spanish countries. Panama was 
 wretched enough, but far in advance of Aspin- 
 wall, which could boast of only one white woman. 
 George writes home of having "a very pleasant 
 time," but the only incident he relates is a call he 
 made. 
 
 The master of the Independence introduced me to a 
 Spanish family, and I passed an hour very agreeably. 
 I did not have much to say, for they could not under- 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 45 
 
 English or I Spanish. One of the daughters was 
 very handsome, so of course I spoke with my eyes. 
 
 In Aspinwall time passed slowly, and for the 
 young officer, not enthusiastic over seeing a cock 
 fight and drinking champagne cocktails, there 
 was little to interest him. On shipboard, however, 
 there were many things contrived for amusement. 
 George writes to his mother on February 17: 
 
 I have just returned from a boat-race, between the 
 captain s gig and the Dolphin. I was in charge of the 
 gig and was beaten by about three rods in three miles. 
 It was good sport, and I enjoyed it very much. 
 
 He describes the celebration of Washington s 
 birthday on the Cyane as follows : 
 
 The ship was dressed in flags and looked very hand 
 some. At meridian we fired a salute and spliced the 
 main braces, that is, gave the men two drinks of 
 whiskey. The wardroom officers gave a blow-out and 
 invited the midshipmen, who are never known to 
 refuse such invitations. It consisted of everything 
 that blow-outs generally do. The captain was very 
 entertaining, but the midshipmen were particularly 
 quiet, and distinguished themselves only when it came 
 time for eating and drinking. Towards night it rained 
 and blew fearfully. The men had smuggled out a great 
 deal of liquor, and the crew were nearly all drunk, but 
 they seemed happy and jolly and were singing all over 
 the ship. Suddenly the singing stopped, and as I was 
 sitting forward I heard whispers pass that a man had 
 
46 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 been stabbed. I fastened on to one of the men and 
 made him tell me where the man was. He took me 
 down to a dark hole underneath all the hammocks. I 
 sent for the first lieutenant and a light. We found the 
 man cut very badly, but he was drunk and you know 
 the saying, "A drunken man can t be killed"; so this 
 one is now in a fine way of recovery. The man who 
 stabbed him was found and confined. 
 
 George closes with the moral reflection : - 
 
 I have no doubt but Washington s birthday is to 
 many people, and in many ways, a day of happiness, 
 but it is also the cause of a great many sore heads. 
 
 Midshipman Perkins had far too active a 
 nature to remain cooped up in a ship lying off 
 shore. Two trips by railroad to Panama did not 
 quench his desire to see the wilds. In due time, 
 however, he had an adventure that was quite 
 sufficient. It is narrated in his letter of March 
 IS, 1857:- 
 
 I have been twice on shore hunting since I wrote 
 last. The first time I went after parrots and monkeys, 
 but being warned after we had started that the woods 
 were dangerous, we did not dare to go in very far. We 
 were not successful; for in trying to get at some mon 
 keys that we saw, we scared up three panthers, and as 
 I had nothing but shot in my gun and knew that they 
 are very bad when wounded, I was afraid to fire. 
 Deciding that "discretion was the better part of 
 valor," I went to a hut which I saw and which proved 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 47 
 
 to be inhabited by an old native woman and her two 
 daughters. They were very kind and pleasant, and 
 I passed the afternoon there trying to talk Spanish 
 with them. 
 
 When we went hunting again, a few days after, we 
 did not have such good luck. The gunner and I went 
 ashore, borrowed a rickety old boat, and getting all 
 ready, with the exception of something to eat, started 
 across the bay, a distance of four miles. We went 
 across very well, but in attempting to land we found it 
 was dangerous, for the breakers ran so high that they 
 upset our boat. But we managed to land at last, and 
 hauled the boat ashore without much damage. 
 
 After hunting three or four hours and having pretty 
 good luck we thought we had better go back. It was 
 now blowing hard and the natives told us to wait till 
 the gale was over. But as it was becoming late and we 
 were afraid that if we delayed longer we should have to 
 stay all night, we decided to get off. We lashed our 
 guns and the natives shoved us well out from the 
 shore, but the moment we tried to sail our boat keeled 
 over on her beam ends and half filled with water. I had 
 the helm and knew everything depended on me; the 
 situation was not very pleasant, for in whatever di 
 rection I looked I could see the play of a shark s fin. 
 The boat soon righted, but the wind blew so hard and 
 the waves were so high that we found we could neither 
 return to the shore nor go towards the ship, which was 
 about seven miles away and in such a direction that 
 we should have to run before the wind. Then, when 
 ever we turned towards the shore the breakers drove us 
 on the rocks, which rose all about us. At last we saw a 
 little cove where it seemed as if we might be safe if we 
 could only reach it, and we decided to make for that at 
 
48 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 all hazards. We got within forty feet of it, and began 
 to think we were safe at last, when our fore sheet got 
 foul, and a squall just then striking the boat, over she 
 went. If the foremast had not been carried away I do 
 not suppose I should be writing to you now. We had to 
 work hard to right the boat, and all the time we were 
 overboard, which was about two hours, I expected to 
 be bitten by a shark. Meanwhile the breakers were so 
 strong they would continually knock us off the boat. 
 But at last she righted, and we just barely cleared the 
 rocks, landing in the smooth water beyond. We were 
 both nearly exhausted, having had nothing to eat 
 since morning, and it was now eight in the evening. 
 When we got on shore the gunner told me he had been 
 bitten by a shark while in the water, but the bite 
 proved not very deep. We rested a little while and 
 then began to think what we should do. 
 
 We found we had landed close to an impenetrable 
 forest, but a river flowing into the sea just there made a 
 little beach where we could move about. We decided to 
 bail out the boat and sleep in that if the wind did not 
 go down. After bailing an hour we had most of the 
 water out of her. As by this time the moon had risen 
 and the wind had gone down, we determined to try 
 again and reach the ship. This time after three hours 
 sailing we succeeded. When we arrived on board we 
 found the captain and the other officers had been very 
 anxious about us. They were afraid we had been 
 driven on shore among the breakers and lost. The 
 captain had ordered all the boats to be ready at sun 
 rise to -search for us. When my companion got on 
 board he was hardly able to walk, but I was only a 
 little stiff the next morning. The natives thought we 
 had a wonderful escape, for the bay is full of sharks. 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 49 
 
 During the months spent at Aspinwall, Per 
 kins saw much that was the reverse of happiness ; 
 he was especially affected by the death of the 
 heroic Lieutenant Isaac C. Strain, a brilliant 
 young naval officer who had performed distin 
 guished service in exploration only three years 
 before. 
 
 With twenty-six companions Lieutenant 
 Strain had set out from Caledonia Bay to find 
 the supposedly short route across Darien to the 
 Pacific, which according to two or three pub 
 lished reports, all of them mendacious, was less 
 than thirty miles long, and gave great promise 
 for the path of an inter-ocean canal. The party 
 started with ten days provisions. They soon 
 became aware, from the unfriendly manner of 
 the natives and from the gross inaccuracy of the 
 maps drawn by the earlier explorers, that they 
 had entered upon a formidable undertaking. 
 For nearly two months Lieutenant Strain put 
 forth heroic efforts in working his way through 
 trackless forests and down an unnavigable river. 
 During the last month, daily facing starvation, 
 he had pushed on with three companions to 
 reach civilization and bring succor to the others, 
 who were scarcely able to move. Their ad- 
 
50 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 ventures make a thrilling narrative in which the 
 splendid courage and endurance of the leader 
 might well be compared with that of La Salle 
 in some of his terrible marches in the North 
 west. Finally Strain emerged, and finding a 
 settlement, almost immediately started back 
 with a rescue party. When his followers were 
 discovered, five had already succumbed and 
 others died shortly afterwards. 1 
 
 In a letter dated May 17, 1857, George de 
 scribes this leader s end: 
 
 Lieutenant Strain . . . was ordered to this ship and 
 came down on the Illinois to join us. The steamer 
 arrived in the afternoon, but he did not come directly 
 on board ship and stopped at a hotel on shore. He was 
 almost immediately seized with the fever and died 
 that very night. Only twelve hours after his death he 
 was buried. Twenty hours before his burial he was 
 talking and laughing. He was buried at a place called 
 Monkey Hill, among negroes, in a strange land, where 
 there was no one who cared the least for him. His 
 funeral was attended by a few officers who were 
 strangers to him, and who of course showed but little 
 feeling. Twelve sailors fired a volley over his grave, 
 and three negroes covered him up. Thus ended the 
 days of one of our distinguished naval officers. ... I 
 wonder what they would do with me! 
 
 1 The story of the expedition is told by J. T. Headley in Harp 
 er 9 s Magazine, 1855. 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 51 
 
 The events on the Isthmus that attracted the 
 attention of the whole country in 1856 and 1857 
 were those particularly connected with the fili 
 buster General William Walker. It was the time 
 when the mild, "gray-eyed man of destiny" was 
 attempting to establish a Napoleonic empire in 
 Central America, the beginning of which he 
 planted in Nicaragua. The unrest that followed 
 was one of the reasons why the Cyane and other 
 United States ships were kept in Isthmian 
 waters, and Perkins had a close view at least of 
 the pitiable conclusion. 
 
 To go back a little, it happened that in 1854, 
 when Nicaragua was undergoing one of its 
 periodic revolutions, William Walker, a doctor- 
 lawyer-journalist then living in California, had 
 been induced to organize an armed force and 
 join the losing side. 
 
 In the first skirmish, occurring in June of the 
 following year, his Nicaraguan allies ran away 
 and he was defeated. In the second, two months 
 later, he won a decisive victory. Seizing one of 
 the Accessory Transit Company s steamers he 
 quickly moved up Lake Nicaragua and took by 
 surprise the capital, Granada. Peace followed 
 and a new government was set up, in which a 
 
52 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Nicaraguan, Rivas, was made the nominal presi 
 dent. Walker, who was appointed commander- 
 in-chief of the army, was virtually in control. 
 Recognizing, however, what little dependence 
 he could place on the Nicaraguans, he deter 
 mined to introduce thousands of Americans from 
 the States and carry out his ambitious plans of 
 establishing an empire. 
 
 For some months Walker s star was in the as 
 cendant and everything favored him. His suc 
 cess was in large degree due to the Accessory 
 Transit Company, of which Cornelius Vander- 
 bilt was the head. Recruits, mounting to thou 
 sands, were sent to him, either at reduced rates 
 or with free transportation. The district attor 
 ney of New York protested, but as the filibusters 
 were styled "emigrants" and were carried on 
 the same ships as the passengers bound for Cali 
 fornia, his objections were ineffectual. 
 
 Early in his rule, Walker had acted arbitrarily 
 and despotically. The other countries of Central 
 America becoming apprehensive formed a coali 
 tion against him and declared war. President 
 Rivas and several influential Nicaraguans, find 
 ing their master not to their liking, deserted. 
 Walker, not at all daunted, immediately had 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 53 
 
 himself elected president and acted only the 
 more openly. He reestablished the institution 
 of African slavery and expected by this move to 
 gain the ardent support of the Southern States. 
 He might, indeed, have maintained his power 
 for many years had he not made the great 
 blunder in February, 1856, of breaking with the 
 Accessory Transit Company. Because the com 
 pany was somewhat slow in making payments 
 due to Nicaragua, he revoked their charter 
 without warning and seized what he could of 
 their property. By this arbitrary action he pre 
 vented further recruits or supplies from reaching 
 him, while the Costa Ricans, heading the forces 
 against him, received small and large arms and 
 even some leaders from the Accessory Transit 
 Company. Disease and discouragement, fol 
 lowed by death or defection, now thinned his 
 ranks. Meanwhile the allies were constantly 
 closing in. At the city of Rivas on the Pacific 
 Coast he made his final stand, and the barri 
 cades were so effectual that the allies could not 
 drive him out. However, his affairs were hope 
 less and his followers recognized the situation. 
 Commander C. H. Davis, of the U.S.S. St. 
 Mary s, then came to their relief by proposing 
 
54 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 that they should all lay down their arms and 
 return to the United States by way of Panama. 
 After a little hesitation, on May I, 1857, they 
 accepted the offer. 1 
 
 Perkins writes of General Walker s followers 
 as they reached Aspinwall, "A more desperate 
 set I never saw"; and again, "A great many of 
 Walker s men came in here on the English ships 
 and they were in the most miserable condition; 
 many of them were dying with smallpox and 
 yellow fever." In June, his ship, the Cyane, was 
 sent to Greytown, on the Atlantic Coast, to 
 bring back some of the filibusters not included in 
 the earlier negotiations. He writes : 
 
 I can give you no idea of the sad time we have had. 
 On arriving at Greytown we found about 120 officers 
 and soldiers in the hands of the Costa Ricans. Most of 
 them were in a horrible condition; many of them were 
 at the point of death; some were covered with wounds, 
 others with disgusting sores, and all were lousy and 
 dirty. We took them all on board, together with 
 several of the officers wives and children, the latter 
 affording some pleasure. We did all we could for them, 
 but as bad weather set in on the way back to As 
 pinwall all had a hard time. However, only two died 
 on board. Last night I was called to go out in a boat 
 
 1 See Scroggs, "Walker and the Steamship Corporation," in 
 American Historical Review, vol. x. 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 55 
 
 and bury a man. We went well out to sea, and after 
 I had read a short prayer the sailors threw the body 
 over the side, all saying together, "God bless you," 
 as it sank. It made me feel pretty sober. I read the 
 prayer as well as I could, but never having turned my 
 attention to the ministry as a profession, I suppose I 
 did not do my part in what was just the right manner. 
 
 Shortly after this the Cyane was ordered north 
 and proceeded to Boston, carrying fifty-three of 
 the sick and wounded filibusters. While still in 
 Central America, George heard that his sister 
 Harriet 1 had a daughter. On the reception of 
 this news he wrote: 
 
 I thought a great deal last night about the new baby, 
 and I do not know but that I ought to write a special 
 letter on her account; yet, although her affectionate 
 uncle has joyfully assumed his heavy responsibility, 
 he feels he is not great at composition. The only thing 
 I could think of doing was to speak for the under jaw 
 of a large shark which they are now cutting up on deck 
 as a present for my niece. I am sure that she is pretty, 
 but I hardly know what to say about a baby. 
 
 As the Cyane reached Boston George was 
 severely disappointed to learn that her stay 
 would be short and that he should not be able to 
 go home. Devotion to home was all through life 
 
 1 Mrs. William L. Foster, who lived in Concord, New Hamp 
 shire. 
 
56 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 one of his most marked characteristics. The fol 
 lowing letter shows his feeling at this time : 
 
 I could not help thinking, as I walked up and down 
 on the morning watch, how completely I have given 
 up my home, and how little, during my lifetime, I 
 shall be at home and with those I love best. Just 
 think, if I go to the southward again I shall not see 
 you for a year more at least. Then seven long years 
 will have passed since I left you -all, and how little 
 I have seen of you in that time. This naval life is 
 pleasant enough for those who have no ties to bind 
 them, and often seems agreeable enough to me, for 
 I have many good friends in the service, and we are 
 often anchored at stations where I am able to see a 
 great deal and to enjoy delightful society. But yet 
 I wish I could be more at home; and sometimes my 
 only comfort and only cheerful thought is the know 
 ledge that you are all well there. 
 
 From Boston the Cyane went to St. John s, 
 Newfoundland, and to Halifax; then to Hamp 
 ton Roads, Virginia; and late in the fall of 1857 
 was ordered to Cape Haytien to inquire into the 
 case of an American vessel and two American 
 seamen, seized upon suspicion by the Haytian 
 Government. Though the difficulty had been 
 satisfactorily settled before the arrival of the 
 Cyane, she remained there a few days and the 
 officers had a chance to see the island. George 
 writes : 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 57 
 
 We all went on shore, for the place is really worth 
 seeing. Cape Haytien was built and owned by the 
 French, and was called "Little Paris." In 1842 it 
 was shaken down by an earthquake, and 20,000 
 inhabitants were buried beneath the ruins. It is 
 beautifully situated on a level plateau, surrounded 
 on all sides by lofty hills, except where it faces the 
 bay. The streets are paved and regularly laid out, 
 and over the ruined houses on each side beautiful 
 vines and shrubbery are growing luxuriantly, and it 
 seemed to me as if every branch was covered with 
 beautiful, bright-colored birds, which sang the 
 sweetest notes I ever heard. This all made me feel 
 very romantic as I walked about. 
 
 There must have once been much wealth here, if 
 one may judge from the remains of some of the 
 houses that show a good deal of splendor. About 
 twelve miles from the city, on one of the highest 
 hills, is a very large and strong castle built by a Count 
 Christophe. He used to bury there every year a large 
 sum of money which he took from the revenues, and 
 then he would shoot the negro whom he made bury 
 it, so that no one would know the secret. . . . The 
 negroes, who are in possession of the island, assume 
 all sorts of titles. There is an emperor, and there are 
 dukes, lords, etc. Some of them are fairly well edu 
 cated, but they all put on such dignified airs and are 
 so afraid of not being thought equal to white folks 
 that they are very funny. 
 
 In January, 1858, Perkins was detached from 
 the Cyane and was ordered to the bark Release, 
 Commander William G. Parker. She was a 
 
58 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 supply ship and was sent first to the Mediter 
 ranean. The official journal kept by Perkins in 
 the capacity of acting master is not remarkable 
 either as literature, or history. Still the plain 
 matter-of fact chronicle has a flavor of the sea. 
 The following are extracts: 
 
 January 27, 1858. Charlestown Navy Yard. 
 U.S. Bark Release was put into commission at I P.M. 
 Rec d from the U.S. Ship Ohio a draft of 19 men. 
 
 January 30. At 9 A.M. the pilot came on board 
 and at II, the wind being fair, left the wharf and 
 stood down the harbor under jib and topgallant sails. 
 At 12 the pilot left. At I took the departure, Boston 
 light being (per compass) W.N.W.; dist. 7 miles. 
 Unbent chains and secured the anchors for sea. Made 
 and reduced sail as required. 
 
 February i. During the day, weather very cool, 
 with occasional squalls of hail and snow; crew em 
 ployed in breaking the ice from the ropes and rails. 
 Passed a school of porpoises going to the E d. 
 
 February 2. During most of the day a heavy 
 
 gale from the S d and E d. At 4 P.M. reduced 
 
 sail to a close-reefed main topsail, foretopmast stay 
 sail and mizzen staysail and lay to, wind having in 
 creased to a very strong gale; the ship laboring very 
 
 much, and a heavy sea from S d. At 1 1 carried 
 
 away and lost port quarter boat, and at 11.30 car 
 ried away the flying jibboom. 
 
 February 4. Heavy gale from N.W. Ship scud 
 ding under close-reefed main topsail and foretopmast 
 staysail. Heavy sea and decks flooded with water. 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 59 
 
 February 5. Heavy gale from the N.W.; the 
 captain and officers finding the safety of the ship en 
 dangered, and having so much cargo on board, con 
 sidered it necessary to throw the guns overboard, 
 which was done, the decks being knee deep in water 
 and the ship laboring heavily. 
 
 February 7. Ship scudding before the wind with 
 a close-reefed main topsail and foretopmast staysail, 
 a tremendous sea after us. At 3.30 A.M. stove our 
 starboard quarter boat. Forecastle, wardroom, and 
 cabin filled with water, the men not having a dry gar 
 ment. It is the opinion of some of the officers that we 
 should endeavor to reach the nearest port, and de 
 posit part of our cargo. 
 
 February 8. At daylight the weather moder 
 ated, made sail to jib and topgallant sails. Aired 
 bedding, signals, etc. 
 
 February 9. During the first part of the day 
 pleasant weather, latter part squally with rain. Saw 
 several sperm whale during the day. ... At mid 
 night scudding under a close-reefed main topsail and 
 foretopmast staysail. Decks flooded with water. A 
 very heavy sea running. 
 
 February n. Threw overboard a lot of con 
 demned beef and pork. Made and reduced sail as 
 required. Decks flooded with water. Obliged to cut 
 holes in the bulwarks to let the water out. 
 
 February 14. At 10 called all hands, read the 
 "Articles of War" and mustered the crew. Decks 
 dry and the weather pleasant. 
 
 February 21. At I and 4 A.M. got casts of the 
 land. No bottom at 45 fathoms. At daylight dis 
 covered land ahead and on both bows. At 8 A.M. 
 Cape Spartel bore (per compass) S. by E.J^E.; Cape 
 
60 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Trafalgar E.N.E. Between 8 and 12 passed through 
 the Straits of Gibraltar. . . . Several sail in sight 
 during the day and the weather pleasant. Decks per 
 fectly dry for the first time since leaving Boston. 
 
 February 23. At 4 threw overboard a bottle con 
 taining the ship s reckoning, and with the usual 
 request to whoever shall pick it up to forward the 
 same to Commander, U.S. Navy, U.S. Naval Ob 
 servatory, Washington, D.C. 
 
 March 5. At daylight discovered land bearing 
 E.N.E. Made all sail and commenced beating up 
 to the mouth of the Bay of Spezia. . . . At 8 came 
 into the port and came to anchor in 8 fathoms of 
 water. 
 
 March 6. At 10 A.M. were boarded by the 
 Pratique officer, and put in quarantine, hoisted the 
 quarantine flag at the fore. 
 
 March 9. Employed during the day discharging 
 cargo. The U.S. Consul visited the ship. 
 
 While the Release was making a short stay in 
 Spezia, Perkins took the opportunity to visit a 
 few of the most celebrated Italian cities. In 
 writing to the home people he modestly deplores 
 his inability to appreciate as he ought the great 
 art he is in the midst of, and regrets that other 
 members of the family could not be there with 
 him. He further shows his thought of them by 
 drawing on his meager midshipman s salary to 
 purchase for each pretty and tasteful gifts. 
 
 It is almost remarkable that repeated absence 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 61 
 
 for long periods of time had no effect in making 
 George forget his home. Rarely did he send a 
 letter which had not a volley of questions about 
 the various members of the household (includ 
 ing the horses, dogs, and other pets). A growing 
 sense of responsibility frequently appears in the 
 letters of this time. As the oldest son, he knows 
 his words may have some influence; and in an 
 affectionate letter to Roger, the brother nearest 
 him in age, he warns him as he was about to go 
 to Cincinnati against smoking and drinking. He 
 admits that his own record has not been alto 
 gether spotless and that Roger may seemingly 
 have some ground for resenting the cautions. 
 Still he maintains that the advice is correct, and 
 adds, "I am a little older and perhaps have seen 
 more of the world and the evil consequences of 
 drinking." And again: "As sure as a young man 
 drinks rum, just so sure will he go to the devil." 
 If this sounds somewhat like a hackneyed tem 
 perance address, it should be noted that George 
 Perkins, although young, had already seen 
 several promising young officers ruined by exces 
 sive drinking. 
 
 With a similar sense of responsibility but in a 
 milder mood he writes to Hammie who was ten 
 
62 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 years old: "You must study hard and mind your 
 mother. Write often to me and be a good boy." 
 
 It may not be amiss here to make a brief state 
 ment in regard to Perkins s attitude towards 
 religion. The family were connected with the 
 Episcopal Church. George frequently attended 
 church, but never made any public profession. 
 He was always reverent; and though it was for 
 eign to his happy effervescing nature "to talk 
 religion," his letters show that occasionally he 
 had times of deep seriousness. Religion for him 
 was invariably associated with tender, unselfish 
 thought for those that were dear to him. There 
 is something thoroughly boyish and lovable in 
 the request made to his mother when the Release 
 was about to leave for South America, October, 
 1858: "Be sure and send me my Bible, for I 
 think I ought to have something from you, and 
 what could be better? also your daguerotype 
 I do not know how to spell it and Susy s." 
 Two weeks later it is evident at least part of his 
 request has been honored. He writes, " I received 
 the Bible; it is a very pretty Bible and I am very 
 glad to get it." 
 
 On the return of the Release from the Medi 
 terranean she was ordered to New York to fit out 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 63 
 
 and make ready to join the fleet about to be sent 
 to Paraguay. Since 1853 trouble had been brew 
 ing with this country. Its previous policy had 
 been to exclude all foreigners. Under President 
 Lopez some Americans had been admitted, but 
 had been subjected to harsh restrictions. In 
 1855, the Water Witch, a United States steamer 
 making a survey of the Parana River for pur 
 poses of navigation, was fired upon, and the man 
 at the helm was killed. President Buchanan in 
 1858 recommended to Congress that the United 
 States should demand redress. In accordance 
 with his plan, Congress sent the Hon. James B. 
 Bowlin as commissioner, backed by a fleet of 
 nineteen armed vessels under Commodore 
 Shubrick. The Release was ordered as storeship 
 for the expedition; she was also to ascend the 
 rivers where vessels of heavier draft could not go. 
 Perkins s letters tell of his experiences during 
 the expedition. 
 
 NEW YORK, U.S.S. Release, 
 Nov. i, 1858. 
 
 We are about to haul out into the stream, and very 
 soon all communication with the shore will be broken 
 off and sea life will begin in its reality. If we have 
 good luck, we shall get to Buenos Ayres in forty-five 
 days. Forty-five days, just looking at the horizon! 
 
64 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 But still, if I receive letters from you when I get to 
 Montevideo and you are well, it will be better to me 
 than seeing the land. But, oh, mother, I cannot help 
 wishing that I could stay at home; indeed, that we 
 could all live always at home. Yet I know we ought 
 to be satisfied; for so far our home is such a good one. 
 
 To his sister Susan he sends the following: 
 
 When you write, tell me every little thing how 
 you passed Thanksgiving especially. It is now the 
 eighth Thanksgiving since I have been at home. 
 How time flies, and we are all growing old fast! I be 
 lieve that mother and father are now younger than 
 any of us, and it is such a comfort to me to go from 
 home leaving you all so well. Be sure and write me all 
 about Hattie s baby. I should like to keep on writing 
 and writing, for this letter seems a connecting link 
 with you and I hate to break it. I enclose my ap 
 pointment as acting master; please put it with my 
 other papers. 
 
 Instead of the forty-five days reckoned on, it 
 took sixty-three for the Release to reach Monte 
 video. Perkins writes at sea : 
 
 We had no pleasant weather until we were well 
 south. Then it came on calm, and since that time we 
 have made but little progress; indeed, for a week we 
 have almost lain still, and the captain and all hands 
 begin to think the old ship is bewitched. I remained 
 upon deck to-night when the other officers went to the 
 cabin, because it is one of those beautiful evenings at 
 sea from which I cannot take my eyes; but no sooner 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 65 
 
 was I alone than I began to think of you all. We get 
 on finely together on board this ship, which is lucky, 
 as we have such a long passage. A sailor is singing to 
 a doleful tune something about a fair lass he left be 
 hind him. We occasionally see a sail on the horizon, 
 and that is our greatest excitement, but we have not 
 yet spoken any ship. 
 
 Later he writes : 
 
 We have passed through the trade-winds and are 
 now in the doldrums, and expect the S.E. trades to 
 morrow. It is very warm. I have been trying to 
 catch a shark that has been playing about the ship 
 for some time. We catch a good many flying fish and 
 find them very good eating. 
 
 The Release arrived at Montevideo on Janu 
 ary 2, 1859. There followed several days of 
 pleasure-seeking, for as the fleet assembled the 
 city put on an appearance of great animation. 
 The Spanish customs were novel, and Perkins 
 went with the others to see a bull-fight. Three 
 horses and five bulls were killed, but the sport 
 was not exactly to his liking. 
 
 Commissioner Bowlin and Commodore Shu- 
 brick now proceeded up the rivers to Asun 
 cion in the Fulton, accompanied by the Water 
 Witch. The other vessels rendezvoused in the 
 Parana near Rosario, where they could quickly 
 
66 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 act in case they should be needed. Perkins 
 writes : 
 
 The difficulty will probably be settled without 
 fighting, though Lopez has a large army and fine 
 forts, and is well prepared to receive us. If we get 
 into a row, it may go rather hard with the Release at 
 first, for she is a small vessel and would be sent up the 
 river where the others cannot go. I shall probably be 
 in it, and the prospect pleases me, on the whole, now 
 that I am here. 
 
 The lower classes, whom we saw as we came up 
 through the country, seem to be almost in a wild 
 state and the little huts they live in are wretched. 
 But they are all "beggars on horseback" and ride so 
 much that they can hardly walk. Horses are indeed 
 plentiful. In the towns the business is carried on 
 chiefly by English and Germans. There is always a 
 plaza in the towns, where the band plays evenings 
 and where the ladies appear dressed in the latest 
 fashions, except that they wear mantillas instead of 
 bonnets. Game is plentiful, and I have fine times 
 hunting, especially the large game of the pampas, 
 which is really exciting. I am anxious to shoot a 
 South American tiger. 
 
 Commissioner Bowlin and Commodore Shu- 
 brick left Asuncion on February 10, having been 
 there since the 25th of the preceding month, 
 during which they secured all they had sought. 
 Paraguay made ample apologies, paid $10,000 
 for the family of the American seaman killed on 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 67 
 
 the Water Witch, and concluded satisfactory 
 commercial treaties. 
 Perkins writes : 
 
 Our fleet is now coming down the river, for our dif 
 ficulties with the Paraguayan Government are set 
 tled, We are taking it leisurely and I am enjoying 
 myself very much. I go hunting and fishing every 
 day. I never saw so much game. The trees are full of 
 all sorts of birds, and fish are equally plentiful in the 
 water. There are also ducks, swans, monkeys, and 
 snakes, as well as everything else that flies or crawls 
 or swims that I ever heard of. And besides there is 
 large game to make it exciting. 
 
 The river is high now, and the country is so inun 
 dated that I can penetrate far into the forest in a boat. 
 I go every day, but don t get a chance at a tiger. I 
 often think I am on the track of one, but my tigers 
 generally turn out to be river hogs. The latter are 
 curious creatures; the Spanish call them capinchas. I 
 don t know what they are like. Their heads look like 
 that of a woodchuck, only a great deal larger, for 
 some of them weigh 400 pounds. The flesh of the 
 young ones is good eating. They live in what resem 
 bles a huge nest, half in and half out of the water. 
 The other day I destroyed the peace of one of their 
 families by killing the mother of some young ones. 
 The old father, which had savage-looking tusks, came 
 for me in an awful rage. I ran to the boat for my 
 life, and consider that I was lucky to have escaped 
 him. 
 
 All along the river are villages, consisting of clus 
 ters of straw huts. In the evening, taking our pilot, 
 
68 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 who plays the guitar, I go ashore and have a dance 
 with some of the pretty native girls. There is a dance 
 called the samaquaker (I don t know if that is spelled 
 right, but that is the way it sounds), which is a very 
 pretty native dance. 
 
 And again shortly afterwards he writes : 
 
 I had an adventure to-day, and almost got my 
 tiger, but missed it just enough to get a good joke on 
 myself. I had gone in a boat up a lagoon to hunt and 
 fish, and coming to a little stream left the boat and 
 giving instructions that the boat should follow me 
 hunted on shore. As I came to a place where a log 
 was thrown across a stream, I went over it. After I 
 had crossed I heard a noise behind me, and looking 
 back I saw a large tiger crossing on the log and appar 
 ently on my trail. As I had nothing with me but a 
 shotgun, loaded for birds, it was no use to think of 
 attacking him, and I made the best time I could back 
 to the boat. He did not pursue me, but crawled in the 
 tall grass close by the water s edge where the stream 
 was narrow, and we were obliged to pass him rowing 
 down. I could see by the motion of the tall jungle 
 grass that he was lashing his tail, and as we drew near 
 I could hear him snarl. I can tell you the boat shot by 
 that place like an arrow. I went back to the ship as 
 quick as I co.uld, and taking an officer with me and 
 proper firearms to attack such game, rowed to the 
 place where I had left the tiger. We rowed up cau 
 tiously, for I did not want to miss fire, knowing I had 
 an ugly customer to deal with. At last, I could see two 
 bright eyes peering at me through the grass I was 
 sure that it was he. I took aim and fired the eyes 
 
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA 69 
 
 disappeared, and there was a short struggle under the 
 grass and bushes. I waited till all was quiet, and then 
 ventured towards the spot very carefully. I was 
 much elated at the thought that finally I had got a 
 tiger, but what I found stretched out at full length 
 was an immense river hog. Well, we had a good 
 laugh about it. But those river hogs had cheated me 
 so often when I had been after a tiger that I was 
 really pretty mad. 
 
 A letter written four days later gives a proper 
 conclusion to his hunting adventures : 
 
 At last I have killed my tiger, and in the most 
 unexpected way. I did not have to go beating about 
 the jungle, or look for one at the water s edge at night, 
 or anything like that. To-day, as we were anchored 
 near the bank, three tigers plunged in the river right 
 ahead of the ship. In no time, I got out a boat, and 
 was on the river pulling after them. The current 
 drew them towards us, and one of them turned and 
 made for the boat. His ears were curled back, his 
 jaws were wide open, and the beast which was snarling 
 looked terribly fierce and angry. I was so afraid of 
 not hitting him that I waited before firing till he was 
 close on the boat and the men cried out ... for they 
 said afterwards that he was so near that if I had 
 missed or he had been only wounded, we should have 
 been done for. But the ball struck him fair, and in an 
 instant he turned over dead. The current swept him 
 off and directly he sank out of sight. At the noise of 
 the report the other tigers swerved aside and went 
 down stream. I was sorry that I had lost him for I 
 wanted his skin; but it is a comfort to think I did 
 
70 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 shoot a tiger at last, and as it was in full view of the 
 ship, I shall not lack proof. 
 
 A month later (March, 1859), Perkins with 
 several of his classmates was transferred to the 
 frigate Sabine and ordered home to take the ex 
 aminations for promotion to the grade of passed 
 midshipman. Letters from Captain Robb of the 
 Cyane, Captain Parker of the Release, and Cap 
 tain Adams of the Sabine, all speak of the envi 
 able record Perkins had made on those ships; 
 both in efficiency as a watch officer and acting 
 master, and in conduct for he had shown not 
 only that he could command others, but that 
 he could keep his own youthful, impulsive self 
 under discipline. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 
 
 EXAMINATIONS for George Perkins, after 
 the maturing influence of sea duty, had 
 lost their old-time formidable character, and he 
 passed those awaiting him on his return from 
 South America without difficulty. He was thus, 
 in April, 1859, promoted to the grade of passed 
 midshipman, and in the September following he 
 was advanced to "master in the line of promo 
 tion," a grade corresponding with that of junior 
 lieutenant in the naval organization of to-day. 
 After his return Perkins had a leave of ab 
 sence with three months at home. His was an 
 unusually happy home, where with the culture 
 characteristic of the best of New England, there 
 was warmth and affection. It was becoming evi 
 dent to the judge that there was reason for tak 
 ing pride in his son; the younger brothers, 
 Roger, Hamilton, and Frank, looked up to him 
 as a hero, and did not lose this pleasant delusion 
 when he joined enthusiastically in their sports; 
 while the mother and the sisters, Harriet and 
 Susan, regarded him ever with exquisite tender- 
 
72 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 ness. The sisters had their social circle and made 
 it easy for him to join in the gayety of Concord 
 and vicinity. George always enjoyed society and 
 needed but the slightest introduction to make 
 many friends among the young ladies. He was 
 bright, happy, and warm-hearted qualities 
 which are sure to make one a favorite. 
 
 The grant of absence passed quickly, and all 
 too soon, on August 2, 1859, came the orders, 
 "Proceed to New York without delay and re 
 port to Commodore Breese for duty on the U.S. 
 Steamer Sumter to perform the duties of acting 
 master." The Sumter was to go to the dreaded 
 West African coast to assist in the suppression of 
 the slave trade. 
 
 Although the United States had been the na 
 tion to found Liberia, the state for freed negroes, 
 the Government had shown gross negligence in 
 enforcing the laws against the slave trade. From 
 1808, when the importation of slaves became 
 illegal, till 1842, this country did practically no 
 thing to suppress it; for the next seventeen or 
 eighteen years, although American ships of war 
 were sent regularly to the African coast, the 
 perfunctory efforts accomplished but little. On 
 the other hand, Great Britain and other Euro- 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 73 
 
 pean countries had exhibited considerable vigi 
 lance in seizing vessels of their respective nations 
 engaged in the nefarious business. 
 
 The decade following 1850 saw a great in 
 crease in the slave trade. According to Stephen 
 A. Douglas, more slaves were imported in 1859 
 than in any year previous, not excluding the 
 time when the traffic was legal; he estimated the 
 number to be not less than 15,00x3. The increase 
 was because of the unprecedented demand for 
 negro labor. Southerners wanted to develop 
 their large holdings. Slaves had been steadily 
 rising in value, and on account of the high 
 mortality and the greater number of men than 
 women, the death-rate had actually exceeded 
 the birth-rate. The States in the extreme South 
 recognized that slaveocracy was doomed unless 
 they could reverse these conditions; and thus, 
 from 1856 until the Civil War, the more radical 
 Southerners, through commercial conventions 
 and other means, labored for the repeal of the 
 laws making the importation of slaves illegal. 
 
 It is therefore not strange that slaves were 
 successfully smuggled into Georgia, Florida, and 
 Texas, and that the Government was apathetic 
 in punishing the few slavers who were caught. 
 
74 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Most of the naval officers ordered to the African 
 coast, well aware of the sentiment in Washing 
 ton, were not over-zealous in the patrol duty and 
 would send in a prize only when the proofs were 
 scarcely less than absolute. Even in these few 
 cases, the offending captains and their ships 
 were released on bond, and the trials were long 
 postponed. Whenever a man was convicted, 
 the Executive found some reason for not carry 
 ing out the sentence. It was not until Lincoln 
 was inaugurated that uncompromising suppres 
 sion of the slave trade began and that an of 
 fender suffered the full penalty hanging. 
 
 Meanwhile, during the fifties, since the United 
 States often embarrassed the American offenders 
 and Great Britain vigorously prosecuted all 
 those flying her flag, the misery attending the 
 slave traffic became intensified. Traders could not 
 afford to wait for a favorable tide or calm, but, 
 when a speck appeared on the horizon suspected 
 to be the sail of a man-of-war, would crowd the 
 negroes into canoes and proceed to loading. 
 When the canoes were caught in the surf, some 
 of the blacks were drowned and others were de 
 voured by sharks. This meant a money loss, but 
 the shipmaster could afford it if he secured a 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 75 
 
 moderate-sized cargo and succeeded in escaping. 
 That the slaves might be shipped at an hour s 
 notice they were herded together in barracoons 
 at various points on the shore. Smallpox and 
 contagious fevers frequently broke out; where 
 upon the sick would often be poisoned, drowned, 
 or shot, that the epidemic might be checked. 
 Troubles as bad or worse followed when the ne 
 groes were crowded between decks on ships, 
 where death from the exhaustion of fresh water, 
 as well as from epidemics, frequently occurred. 
 To maintain the supply of slaves on the coast, 
 to be traded for and shipped, the fiercer tribes 
 kept up a constant warfare; they made frequent 
 raids, destroying villages and bringing back hun 
 dreds of men, women, and children. In exchange 
 for the slaves, they received guns, merchandise 
 of various kinds, and cheap rum. The last de 
 moralized the whole coast, and to the blacks of 
 all kinds was irresistible. 1 
 
 Although President Buchanan s administra 
 tion, like the preceding ones, was remiss in deal 
 ing with this problem, Congress had become 
 aroused by the cruelties and gross violations of 
 
 1 See W. E. B. Du Bois, Suppression of Slavery, pp. 173-91; 
 also H. H. Johnston, Liberia, vol. i, pp. 161-76. 
 
76 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 law reported, and required that a more vigorous 
 policy be instituted. In 1859, in place of three or 
 four heavy frigates, ill adapted for the service, sev 
 eral small steamers were sent. Among these was 
 the Sumter, with George Perkins as acting master. 
 The following letters were written from New 
 York the last of August, shortly before the ship 
 sailed: 
 
 The captain tells us we are to have a pretty hard 
 cruise; that he has strict orders to confine it to the 
 American cruising ground on the West African coast, 
 and that we cannot stop at Madeira at all. 
 
 We have one officer, a lieutenant, who is known 
 throughout the service as "Little Jack Stewart," and 
 who is so funny that he keeps us in roars of laughter 
 whenever he is on board. He will be a great help in 
 keeping up our spirits, for the African coast is said 
 to be trying, and will bring out all our characters. 
 
 As I am master I have a great deal to do, and to 
 day I have been busy all the time getting in stores. 
 When I have been ashore in New York I have met a 
 good many friends, and no doubt might have had a 
 very gay time, but I have wanted nothing except to 
 go home, or to see some one from home; and now that 
 I can do neither I wish I were at sea, for the quicker I 
 go the quicker I shall come back. We are in three 
 watches, which is harder than I expected. The ar 
 rangements for comfort on the Sumter are not very 
 complete. The ship is 180 feet long, carries six guns, 
 and can steam ten knots an hour. She is not much on 
 beauty, and rather a mean old tub, take it all round. 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 77 
 
 George s increased years did not make the 
 affectionate boy as yet immune from an old- 
 time malady, and he writes to his sister Hat- 
 tie :- 
 
 I have been awfully homesick, and I expect my 
 troubles are yet to come, for just as soon as I am left 
 alone, I know I shall be mighty blue. I have the mid- 
 watch to-night, and you can bet that I shall be think 
 ing of you during all my lonely watch. 
 
 Two days before sailing (September 2) he 
 writes : 
 
 We have had full dress muster this afternoon and 
 I made my first appearance in epaulettes and cocked 
 hat. I have no doubt I was a glorious sight. 
 
 Captain Armstrong is very pleasant and kind to 
 me. As these are the last days before the ship sails, 
 his wife stays on board a good deal, and she feels 
 badly about his going away. She was talking with me 
 this afternoon and said that she could not realize that 
 her husband was going away for so long a while. 
 They have been married eighteen months and this 
 will be the first separation. I often see her in the 
 cabin in tears, and I feel very sorry for her. And this, 
 as I then think, is what it is to be a captain s wife. 
 
 The West African coast was considered the 
 least desirable of the American naval stations. 
 The vast stretch of territory patrolled by our 
 ships extended from Liberia to St. Paul de 
 
78 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Loanda, or from about ten degrees north of the 
 equator to ten degrees south. The weather here 
 was hot and wet nearly all the year round. The 
 coast was low, and dangerous to the white man 
 because of muddy creeks and inlets, putrid 
 swamps, and mangrove jungles that surrounded 
 the rivers. Few were the officers who served 
 on this coast without suffering from fever, and 
 rarely did a ship make a prolonged stay without 
 some deaths. This dismal coast had not a single 
 good harbor, and no towns that could be con 
 sidered as really within the pale of civilization. 
 Consequently a two years cruise here meant a 
 period of deadly monotony. Yet George Perkins 
 succeeded in surviving all the perils, and with 
 his happy, active disposition found occasional 
 pleasure as well as many an adventure. 
 
 His first letter after the ship had arrived on 
 her station was written from Monrovia, Liberia, 
 October 12, 1859: 
 
 We came here to ship some Kroomen and take in 
 water before proceeding down the coast. Monrovia 
 is merely a collection of negro huts, but it is one of the 
 principal missionary settlements on this coast, and 
 one where slavers are not allowed to trade. A short 
 time ago a vessel came here from New Orleans loaded 
 with negro emigrants. After landing them here she 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 79 
 
 then proceeded down the coast; there she shipped 
 500 wild negroes, carried them across the ocean and 
 sold them in the States. . . . The natives look very 
 singular, and I have many a good laugh while observ 
 ing them. 
 
 November I, 1859. 
 
 We are now at Fernando Po, and are here to gain 
 what knowledge we can of its facilities for a coal 
 depot. It is an island close to the coast and belongs 
 to Spain. The Spaniards are trying to establish a 
 colony here, but it is too unhealthy, and the whites 
 will not live long enough to get acclimated. The na 
 tives are wild and warlike. They inhabit the moun 
 tains, and subsist chiefly on wild fruits. They will not 
 work for love or money. 
 
 At present there are several Spanish, French, and 
 English men-of-war here, and a week ago one of the 
 English ships captured an American slaver with 500 
 negroes on board. The English make a good many 
 captures, as their Government sustains the efforts to 
 put down the slave trade better than ours. 
 
 I have suffered a good deal from a tarantula bite on 
 my hand, which swelled so badly that I was alarmed, 
 but it is getting well now. . . . The prospect for our 
 cruise is that it will be very tiresome and have little 
 variety. At our stations there are to be found only a 
 few white people scattered among a lot of negroes. 
 Last Saturday I dined with the Spanish governor of 
 Fernando Po, who has succeeded in living here 
 thirty-three years. He has a black wife and a family 
 of black children. We did not see his wife, but he 
 gave us a fine dinner, and we passed a pleasant day. 
 
 We are going from here to the Congo River, and I 
 
8o GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 have great hopes that we shall capture one or two 
 prizes. That will be some compensation for being on 
 this station. 
 
 What a happy time I had at home those last three 
 months! I am constantly recalling it and wishing 
 those days would come back again. 
 
 November 29, 1859. 
 
 The captain and I took breakfast a few mornings 
 ago with King Te, a celebrated old negro on this part 
 of the coast. The breakfast was served up in great 
 style, for he is rich, having made a great deal of 
 money in the slave-trade. The occasion was thor 
 oughly novel, but I found it difficult to swallow some 
 of the food. 
 
 Speaking of one feast reminds me of another. I for 
 got to tell you about the way we kept Thanksgiving. 
 The commodore fixed it for the fleet on November 
 24. On that day we were off Lagos, a noted slave- 
 station. It was very hot, and every one of our sur 
 roundings was as different from New England as was 
 possible. We had a big dinner, though, and did our 
 best to celebrate. 
 
 The king of the Dahomeys, which is a warlike 
 tribe on the coast, supplies most of the slave traders 
 by selling them his prisoners of war. He is very 
 angry that so many vessels should be sent to stop the 
 traffic. During the past year this cruel king has been 
 sacrificing a great many slaves on account of his 
 father s death. He never sacrifices less than five a 
 day, and sometimes he has killed as many as 500 
 in one day. On hearing of the capture of the Harris, 
 loaded with slaves, he was so angry that he had all 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 81 
 
 the victims he sacrificed on that day dressed in Euro 
 pean costume, and then hung them up in all sorts of 
 ways, saying he would let them know how he would 
 treat white slaves. A few days ago an English com 
 modore paid a visit to a tribe in the interior, and the 
 chief entertained him by beheading fifty slaves in 
 honor of his visit. 
 
 A few days later George writes one of his 
 younger brothers that the Sumter has been 
 cruising about the Bight of Benin without seeing 
 a sail. He knew, however, what would interest 
 the boy: 
 
 When the ship is hove to we make the time pass 
 with a little shark fishing, which I think such a fisher 
 man as you are would enjoy. Yesterday I harpooned 
 a tremendous fellow, and we had a great time getting 
 him on board. There are so many sharks round the 
 ship all the time that we have to be very careful not 
 to fall overboard, for once in the water there would be 
 no help for us. 
 
 If we catch a slaver perhaps I shall come- home in 
 charge of her; though the officers that have had 
 charge of prizes tell awful stories of the passage to 
 Monrovia with slaves on board. Even when there is 
 no disease among the slaves, the smell that rises from 
 the ship s hold is so horrible that it makes one sick all 
 the time. It is almost impossible to endure it so as to 
 perform duty. One officer, writing from Monrovia, 
 says nothing could tempt him to take charge of an 
 other prize, and he was lucky, for the slaves died only 
 at the rate of five a day. 
 
8o GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 have great hopes that we shall capture one or two 
 prizes. That will be some compensation for being on 
 this station. 
 
 What a happy time I had at home those last three 
 months! I am constantly recalling it and wishing 
 those days would come back again. 
 
 November 29, 1859. 
 
 The captain and I took breakfast a few mornings 
 ago with King Te, a celebrated old negro on this part 
 of the coast. The breakfast was served up in great 
 style, for he is rich, having made a great deal of 
 money in the slave-trade. The occasion was thor 
 oughly novel, but I found it difficult to swallow some 
 of the food. 
 
 Speaking of one feast reminds me of another. I for 
 got to tell you about the way we kept Thanksgiving. 
 The commodore fixed it for the fleet on November 
 24. On that day we were off Lagos, a noted slave- 
 station. It was very hot, and every one of our sur 
 roundings was as different from New England as was 
 possible. We had a big dinner, though, and did our 
 best to celebrate. 
 
 The king of the Dahomeys, which is a warlike 
 tribe on the coast, supplies most of the slave traders 
 by selling them his prisoners of war. He is very 
 angry that so many vessels should be sent to stop the 
 traffic. During the past year this cruel king has been 
 sacrificing a great many slaves on account of his 
 father s death. He never sacrifices less than five a 
 day, and sometimes he has killed as many as 500 
 in one day. On hearing of the capture of the Harris, 
 loaded with slaves, he was so angry that he had all 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 81 
 
 the victims he sacrificed on that day dressed in Euro 
 pean costume, and then hung them up in all sorts of 
 ways, saying he would let them know how he would 
 treat white slaves. A few days ago an English com 
 modore paid a visit to a tribe in the interior, and the 
 chief entertained him by beheading fifty slaves in 
 honor of his visit. 
 
 A few days later George writes one of his 
 younger brothers that the Sumter has been 
 cruising about the Bight of Benin without seeing 
 a sail. He knew, however, what would interest 
 the boy:- 
 
 When the ship is hove to we make the time pass 
 with a little shark fishing, which I think such a fisher 
 man as you are would enjoy. Yesterday I harpooned 
 a tremendous fellow, and we had a great time getting 
 him on board. There are so many sharks round the 
 ship all the time that we have to be very careful not 
 to fall overboard, for once in the water there would be 
 no help for us. 
 
 If we catch a slaver perhaps I shall come home in 
 charge of her; though the officers that have had 
 charge of prizes tell awful stories of the passage to 
 Monrovia with slaves on board. Even when there is 
 no disease among the slaves, the smell that rises from 
 the ship s hold is so horrible that it makes one sick all 
 the time. It is almost impossible to endure it so as to 
 perform duty. One officer, writing from Monrovia, 
 says nothing could tempt him to take charge of an 
 other prize, and he was lucky, for the slaves died only 
 at the rate of five a day. 
 
82 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 The next letter is dated December 15, when 
 the ship was again at Lagos. 
 
 We have just come in here to mail our letters. We 
 hear that the king of Dahomey has finished his yearly 
 sacrifices, and has killed slaves enough to float his 
 canoe in their blood. 
 
 We have been out to the Elobey Island where we 
 were sent by the commodore to survey the harbor and 
 make a general report about things there. But there 
 was nothing on or about these islands to make them of 
 any use, either for a coal depot or for any other of our 
 purposes, and we were glad to get away. 
 
 Captain Armstrong expects to be ordered to the 
 San Jacinto, which is one of the largest side-wheel 
 steamers. He says he has permission from the com 
 modore to take me with him. Our captain stands 
 high in the estimation of the commodore, who is 
 much pleased with his reports and with the condition 
 of this ship. The commodore lets him do as he thinks 
 best in small matters and this makes it pleasant for 
 all. 
 
 There were already some cases of fever on 
 shipboard, and all knew that in the unhealthy 
 climate it was dangerous to venture ashore. 
 Nevertheless, it was almost impossible for 
 Perkins not to make occasional visits. He found 
 much to interest him in the Boobes, a tribe that 
 at times came down from the mountains for 
 supplies, whose "principal dress is a hat." In 
 shaking hands with their dusky monarch, he 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 83 
 
 discovered that the "king s touch" worked him 
 not the traditional benefit, but evil an erup 
 tion on his hands followed. Later he felt he had 
 arrived at a satisfactory explanation when he 
 learned that the tribe were never known to wash. 
 
 December 29, 1859. 
 
 For the last week we have been on the track of an 
 American slaver, and have thus had a little variety. 
 We have been in company with the English man-of- 
 war Cedusa, and as it was Christmas time we ex 
 changed festivities, having dinner parties, excur 
 sions on shore, etc. We went to visit the different 
 chiefs, and have palavers about the slave trade. It is 
 a rich sight to see one of these old negro chiefs with 
 his wives and slaves. The chiefs have advanced ideas 
 of how to live and are often very sharp; so that even 
 if a man has nothing to do with the business part 
 of the palaver, he cannot help being interested in the 
 novel phase of human life, and in all the singularities 
 of nature, both animal and vegetable, on a coast like 
 this. 
 
 We meet many slavers who carry on the traffic as 
 "palm-oil traders." As there are so many vessels en 
 gaged in the slave trade I cannot help hoping we 
 shall make a capture. But under the present system, 
 with our laws such as they are, we cannot do much, 
 and the English make the principal captures. Slaves 
 are being constantly shipped, and the king of 
 Dahomey is now on a slave hunt to supply some 
 ships which he expects from the States. He is a cruel 
 old rascal, and says that if he cannot sell his slaves he 
 
84 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 will kill them for a sacrifice, and that they will beg to 
 go in a slaver rather than remain in his hands. We 
 heard terrible accounts of him while we were in the 
 Bight of Benin. 
 
 January 18, 1860. 
 
 Our cruising ground is now between the equator 
 and St. Paul de Loanda. Captain Armstrong has 
 gone to command the San Jacinto, but because of 
 resignations and a short supply of officers, I could not 
 leave this ship to go with him. We now have Captain 
 McDonough. 
 
 You ask me, how I look. Well, I am the same size 
 as ever just the same "little fellow" and I have 
 given up all hopes of growing taller; but I think I 
 look considerably older, for this climate tells on a 
 man. A great many break down completely when 
 exposed to it. Five officers and several men have 
 already been condemned by medical survey and sent 
 home. All labor connected with the ships that in 
 volves going on shore has to be done by negroes hired 
 for the purpose. So deadly is the climate, no white 
 sailor could do it and live. 
 
 FERNANDO Po, February 12, 1860. 
 
 Nearly all the squadron are here, and the officers 
 enjoy seeing each other very much. As for me, I feel 
 as if I were having my last good time, for the captain 
 showed me his orders last night and we are to cruise 
 all the year in the wildest and most uncivilized parts 
 of the coast; we are to recruit finally at Elephant s 
 Bay, which is a miserable place, but has the merit of 
 being healthy. We have no hope of Madeira or any 
 other pleasant change. 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 85 
 
 Lieutenant Stewart is to be married when we go 
 home, and I have just promised him to go to North 
 Carolina and stand up with him. Even now he is 
 writing a long letter to his sweetheart. He is so full of 
 fun I do not know what we should do without him, and 
 we have lived on this ship very pleasantly together. 
 
 February 18, 1860. 
 
 We are ordered to Kabenda, 1 as news has been 
 received that the negroes are going to rise against the 
 white people there, murder them, burn the factories, 
 and then run for the bush where no white man can 
 follow. So we expect to have a big row. 
 
 March 12, 1860. 
 
 When we arrived at Kabenda we found the natives 
 at war with the Portuguese, whom they had whipped 
 badly and driven back to St. Paul de Loanda with 
 considerable loss. The chiefs said they had nothing 
 against the Americans and would not touch or inter 
 fere with them; so we did not land our forces but 
 stood up for Majumba, 2 in order to meet the mail 
 steamer. When we did so, I received my long-looked- 
 for and much-longed-for letter from home. 
 
 Tell Sue that I am afraid she will have to continue 
 manufacturing messages for my lady friends in Con 
 cord. As I have not seen a white woman for six 
 months, I fear a message of my own composition 
 would be sadly amiss. However, give my very best 
 love to all and tell them that I have not spent a happy 
 hour since I left Concord. 
 
 As I am caterer of the mess, I go on shore a good 
 
 1 Forty miles north of the mouth of the Congo. 
 
 2 About two hundred miles farther north in French Congo. 
 
86 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 deal, and have an excellent chance to see all there is 
 of African life. I have become acquainted with the 
 principal chiefs on the cruising ground, and find that 
 the slave-trade is carried on to a great extent. 
 
 Within the last two weeks three or four cargoes 
 have been taken from the mouth of the Congo, and I 
 learned from one of the chiefs that there were some 
 slavers up the river. I gave the information to Cap 
 tain McDonough, and we started up; but although 
 we ascended far enough to find the navigation diffi 
 cult, the slavers draft was too light for us. The cap 
 tain ordered the Sumter back, and we returned with 
 only the empty honor of having gone farther up the 
 Congo than any other man-of-war. 
 
 On our way down we stopped and ran up a creek 
 to visit a French slave factory. The French make 
 a government affair of the trade, and have several 
 slave barracoons on the coast, from which they ship 
 large numbers. But these slaves, according to French 
 conditions, are liberated after serving seven years, 
 and if they choose can come back to this coast. 
 
 The French people were very polite to us, showed 
 us their barracoons and slave ships, and all the slaves 
 that were there ready to be shipped. They amounted 
 to several hundred and were kept in good discipline 
 by a few powerful negroes and a moderate allowance 
 of whipping. We found the barracoons in excellent 
 order, everything clean and well regulated. The 
 slaves went through a series of performances for our 
 entertainment. They danced their native dances, 
 sang native songs, and played some of their native 
 games. It was all peculiar and interesting, and we 
 enjoyed it. Indeed, our stay there was an improve 
 ment on anything we have had so far on the coast. 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 87 
 
 Coming down the Congo, we started for Loango, 
 but, finding we were short of coal, went to St. Paul 
 de Loanda, where we met several of our squadron. 
 Our pleasant trip had rather a melancholy ending, for 
 Captain McDonough is to be superseded in his com 
 mand on account of the unsatisfactory state of his 
 health. 
 
 The captain s poor "health" was a kindly 
 allusion to an extremely unhappy condition. He 
 had been drunk nearly all the time since he had 
 taken command of the ship. Finally, nothing 
 else remained for his officers but to report him. 
 Captain Brent of the Marion at once suspended 
 him from duty and ordered Lieutenant Stewart 
 temporarily to take command. Captain Mc 
 Donough was tried by general court-martial on 
 September I, 1860, and ordered home. Those 
 officers who had a weakness for liquor found 
 the African coast with its monotony and isola 
 tion a dangerous station. They also were least 
 able to withstand the deadly tropical fevers. 
 
 April 15, 1860. 
 
 The clipper ship Nightingale shipped a cargo of 
 2000 negroes and has gone clear with them. If she 
 gets them to Havana, they will bring, on an average, 
 $600 apiece; so you can calculate how much money 
 will be made on her. The Nightingale is a powerful 
 clipper, and is the property of her captain, Bowen, 
 
88 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 who is called the Prince of Slavers. The first time I 
 was up the Congo, the Sumter went up fifteen miles 
 after a slaver under his command, called the Sultana. 
 We found the bark Sultana and the brig Kibby with 
 their slave decks all laid and everything ready for the 
 cargo. We examined both ships and detained one for 
 three days; then our captain let her go, declaring 
 against every proof that there was nothing in the 
 ship but what was in her manifest. Of course these 
 ships at once filled up with slaves and calmly sailed 
 off there was no escape about it. With the money 
 Bowen made from the sale of those slaves he has pur 
 chased the Nightingale, one of the fastest clippers 
 known. When I saw Bowen in command of the 
 Sultana he was living very luxuriously; everything in 
 his cabin had elegance, and everything about his career 
 was as nearly as possible like that of the romantic 
 pirates and slave captains who are introduced into 
 novels. Our vessels cruise very little now after slavers. 
 The captains think it useless under existing laws. 
 
 Miss Perkins relates that in 1864 in New 
 Orleans her brother chanced again to meet the 
 captain of the Kibby, and learned of the later 
 history of Bowen. Some time after the Nightin 
 gale had eluded the Sumter she ran into another 
 war vessel and was captured. However, Bowen 
 made his escape, soon had another ship, and re 
 sumed his old trade. Later he was taken by the 
 English, and again made his escape. As there 
 was no longer a profitable market for slaves, he 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 89 
 
 turned his attention to the hotel business in 
 Aspinwall, and was flourishing there according 
 to the latest report. 
 
 April 15, 1860. 
 
 It is Sunday evening, and everything is quiet on 
 board ship, for poor Captain Rooney is very sick, and 
 there is but little hope of his recovery. We all pity 
 him, but I do not think he cares to live, for he has had 
 a great deal of trouble. The other day he received a 
 letter from the woman who once was his wife, but 
 who had deserted him. It was a letter written some 
 time ago that had been following him all about. He 
 was terribly excited by receiving it and since then has 
 grown rapidly worse. 
 
 Even little Jack Stewart is quiet and downhearted, 
 not only on account of poor Rooney, but because his 
 sweetheart has stopped writing him. He says this is 
 the ninth time his faithful heart has been shattered 
 by Cupid s arrows. 
 
 April 16, 1860. 
 
 I cannot write or do much of anything to-day, for 
 I was up all night with the captain, and I am very 
 tired. He has my room, as it is the coolest on board 
 ship. I can hear him now talking and muttering in a 
 feverish way, and every little while he breaks out and 
 raves in a wild delirium. It is dreadful. The doctor 
 says that if there is no change for the better very soon, 
 he cannot possibly live. I wish he could get better, 
 for sickness and death on board ship are very sad. 
 
 April 20, 1860. 
 
 Everything is very quiet on board ship this even 
 ing. The officers say little and the boys speak in 
 
90 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 whispers round the ward table, as though they were 
 afraid of waking the dead. For poor Rooney is dead. 
 The officers were standing round his bed a few hours 
 ago when he expired. His disease was delirium tre- 
 mens. It was indeed sad that he did not awake to 
 consciousness and leave some parting request for his 
 family and friends, and prepare himself in a measure 
 to stand before his Maker. The weather adds to our 
 gloominess; the night is awful, the rain comes in tor 
 rents with sharp lightning and long rolling thunder. 
 It seems doubly to warn us of the presence of the 
 Supreme Being. 
 
 KABENDA, April 26, 1860. 
 
 We brought Captain Rooney s remains here and 
 buried him with military and Masonic honors. We 
 had his grave dug under a large tree on shore. The 
 spot is pleasant, but the surroundings are wild and 
 the inhabitants on this part of the coast are almost 
 in a savage state. They say, however, "We like the 
 Americans, and we will not touch the dead man." 
 
 May 13, 1860. 
 
 The doctor and I have been on an excursion into 
 the interior to a place five miles from Point Pedras. 1 
 The natives there are savage and treacherous so that 
 no white person can stay there. But with us igno 
 rance was bliss. Knowing nothing about them, we 
 started on our trip without arms but with five bottles 
 of gin and two Kroomen to carry them. We went to a 
 large village, and soon after our arrival saw how mat 
 ters were. So uncivil were the people that we really 
 feared for our lives. However, we managed to get the 
 
 1 A few miles northwest of Majumba in French Congo. 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 91 
 
 old king drunk, when he said he was our friend. The 
 natives did not dare to act without his orders, so that 
 we reached the brush without much trouble and 
 returned to the ship all right. 
 
 May 27, 1860. 
 
 We are now anchored off shore between Point 
 Pedras and Majumba. At four o clock to-morrow 
 morning we shall get under way. When we arrive we 
 shall fire a gun, which is the prevailing signal on this 
 coast for notifying the natives that one wishes to 
 trade. A few hours after this signal the coast will be 
 lined with negroes loaded with all their produce, 
 which consists of goats, chickens, eggs, pigs, etc., 
 with a few mats and baskets. After the beach is well 
 covered with natives, we have our boat manned by 
 the Kroomen. These are huge black fellows that ship 
 on this station for boat duty and the work ashore, 
 which our men cannot perform in this climate. They 
 come from the Kroo country in Upper Guinea, just 
 south of Liberia. When they ship, the officers usually 
 christen them by some queer name the more ridic 
 ulous the better and the Krooman answers to this 
 all through the service. A special favorite of mine is 
 called "Upside Down"; then there is another named 
 "Frying Pan"; and a particularly big and black one 
 is named after a delicate Annapolis belle. They seem 
 to be almost amphibious, and it is astonishing to see 
 them in the water. 
 
 At this season of the year the surf runs high and it 
 is dangerous to land; at any rate we rarely escape a 
 ducking. The further story of our trading will show 
 how it happens. 
 
 When the boat is ready and manned by the Kroo- 
 
92 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 men, all the old bottles, old cans, ship knives, cotton 
 handkerchiefs, old clothes, and several bottles of 
 liquor are passed into it, and then such officers as 
 wish to go take their places. Most of the officers, 
 though, after a few trips to satisfy their curiosity give 
 up going as they do not like the surf. Your affec 
 tionate brother, however, always goes; anything for 
 variety, and there is a good deal of excitement about 
 this. 
 
 The Kroomen strike up a song to pull by and row 
 four or five miles to the edge of the surf. Then they 
 lie on their oars, and all eyes turn leeward looking for 
 a big roller to carry them on shore. These moments of 
 watching are exciting and you hold your breath in 
 spite of yourself. The roller looks like a great live 
 monster, and you do not feel at all sure how he will 
 treat you. At length when the looked-for wave 
 comes, the Kroomen give way with a shout, the na 
 tives on shore yell with all their might, the boat shoots 
 forward on the top of the breaker at the rate of 
 twenty knots an hour, while the surf thunders like the 
 roar of a battery. Altogether it seems as if the world 
 had come to an end, and all the fellows in the infernal 
 regions were let loose. 
 
 Now you must trust to luck. There is no retreat, 
 and go on shore you must, either in the boat or under 
 it. After the few wild moments of rapid transit, the 
 boat strikes the beach, the Kroomen jump overboard, 
 if they are not there already, and you jumpon the back 
 of one. He runs up the beach with you out of the way 
 of the next roller, which immediately follows the one 
 that brought you in, and which breaks over the boat, 
 often upsetting it, and always wetting everything 
 inside. When the Krooman lands you from his back 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 93 
 
 high up on the dry beach, if you have escaped a good 
 thorough soaking, and are not half drowned, you are 
 fortunate. 
 
 Three weeks later Perkins had a thrilling 
 experience which furnishes abundant proof of 
 the danger connected with landing. He relates 
 his adventure in a letter dated June 17, 1860: 
 
 A short time ago, when the ship was off the Settee 
 River, 1 I thought it would be a good idea to try and 
 discover the river s mouth. So I volunteered to take 
 a boat s crew and attempt it; I had no idea of trying 
 to land, for that I knew would be foolhardy. 
 
 We pulled in, till about half a mile from shore, and 
 then rowed along the coast. But while we were ex 
 amining the shore for the river s outlet, a roller 
 which had started far out at sea caught our boat and 
 capsized it. Of course we were obliged to swim for 
 shore, though, in truth, we had little to do with it, for 
 the moment the boat was upset we were driven in the 
 surf. Not one of us thought we should ever reach the 
 shore; for if we were not drowned we would be eaten 
 up by the sharks. As I rose on the top of a wave, I 
 looked ahead and saw nothing but a great stretch of 
 wild-tossing surf. It seemed perfectly impossible for 
 anyone to live in it. But when I looked back I saw 
 all my men striking out for the shore, and this was 
 very encouraging, for I was afraid one or two might 
 be under the boat. I thought for a moment of you all 
 at home, and wondered if mother would not feel a 
 little frightened if she knew where her oldest son was 
 
 1 Near Point Pedras. 
 
94 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 at that moment; and it occurred to me how small 
 were the chances that I should ever receive my next 
 letter from you our ship was then on its way for 
 the mail. Then a roller struck me and carried me 
 down so deep that I was caught by the undertow and 
 kept down a long time, all the while being carried 
 towards the sea. When I came up again I tried to 
 look out for the next roller, but it was of no use; the 
 one that followed half drowned me, and the next 
 kept me down so long that when I rose I was still right 
 in the worst of the surf trembling and tossing all 
 about me. My eyes, nose, and mouth were full of 
 sand, and I certainly thought my time had come. 
 
 Just then I looked towards shore and saw two of 
 my men dragging another from the water. At that I 
 struck out again and my last despairing kick brought 
 me where two of the men took hold of me. That was 
 all I knew of the affair. My next sensation was of 
 being well shaken; then my consciousness gradually 
 returned, and I heard one of the men say, " Cheer up, 
 Mr. Perkins, your boat and all the men are on shore." 
 This was such good news that I did not mind the 
 uncomfortable position in which I found myself. I 
 was covered with sand and stretched across a log 
 about two feet high, my head on one side and my feet 
 on the other, while the men were doing all they could 
 to bring me to. 
 
 June 24, 1860. 
 
 While writing this letter a week ago, I was taken 
 sick with the African fever, and this is the first time I 
 have attempted to sit up. But everything looks so 
 pleasant this morning I thought I would try to write 
 you a few lines. The doctor says I am still weak and 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 95 
 
 must not sit up long. I shall be well, though, pretty 
 soon. 
 
 I want to finish writing you about our shipwreck. 
 After getting ashore and coming to my senses, I 
 found three of my men half drowned, and another 
 one injured. It was a little after sunset, and in look 
 ing about we found we were wrecked on a sand-spit. 
 We managed to get the boat up into the river, but 
 having gone some time without food, we began to 
 feel weak and faint and to suffer awfully from thirst. 
 The next morning we lost our way, but after pulling 
 about till two o clock in the afternoon, we came on 
 some natives fishing. We followed them to their vil 
 lage, but they were such a miserable, bad-looking set 
 of negroes that at once we expected trouble. Know 
 ing that the native villages were left in charge of the 
 old men in the daytime, while the young and strong 
 were off hunting and fishing, we did not know what 
 might happen when the latter came back at night. 
 So after killing some chickens and making a very 
 good meal with these and some sweet potatoes, the 
 strongest of us four including myself made 
 ready for a fight; the rest manned the boat for retreat. 
 A short time after this the chief came home and 
 about a hundred men with him. 
 
 I am getting tired, and you will be tired of reading 
 such a long yarn, so that I had better cut it short. I 
 told the chief that I had come to pay him a visit and 
 we had a great palaver. He would not give us anything 
 to eat, and we made up our minds it was not best to 
 stay long in his neighborhood. So we moved down 
 on a sand-spit in sight of our ship, and there stayed 
 three days and three nights waiting for the surf to go 
 down. 
 
96 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 We made a sort of tent and built a fortification, 
 traded almost all our clothes for something to eat, 
 and slept unpleasantly near 500 howling savages. It 
 was a hard, disagreeable time, and all the while the 
 ship was in sight but could render us no assistance. 
 We learned afterwards that they floated off casks of 
 provisions in hopes the tide would bring them in, but 
 they never reached us. In time, though, some Kroo- 
 men got on shore from the ship and brought us some 
 oars. After trying all one day, we succeeded, just at 
 night, in pulling through the surf and getting back to 
 the ship. 
 
 It was a happy evening for us, and it seemed so for 
 all hands, for everyone on board had been very 
 anxious about us. The Kroomen were sure we should 
 all be drowned. Not far north of this place, if a sailor 
 happens to get cast ashore, the natives kill and eat 
 him at once. Cannibalism is by no means extinct 
 among many of the negro tribes. The men that were 
 with me have all been down with the fever, and I am 
 the last case. The doctor has just come and says I 
 must go to bed. So good-night. 
 
 In the experiences on this dismal coast, the 
 thought of home for Perkins seems never to 
 have lost its power to relieve the monotony 
 and give brightness and cheer the best evi 
 dence possible as to the character of the home 
 as well as of the home-loving young offi 
 cer. Not infrequently his thought is for the 
 younger brothers, as may be seen from the fol 
 lowing: 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 97 
 
 Tell Frank I will bring him all the coins I can pick 
 up. The negroes use shells, called cowries, for money, 
 and have of course no coinage. 
 
 And later as he tells of his pets: 
 
 I trade in birds a good deal and keep a collection on 
 board ship in my room and about the rigging. I have 
 some splendid parrots; some of them know so much 
 that it almost scares me; it seems as if they must be 
 human. There is one I mean to keep and bring home 
 if I can; I call him "Bosen," for he is the only one 
 that can exactly imitate the boatswain s whistle. I 
 have two little "love-birds," and they are the most 
 cunning birds there ever were. I have a "widow- 
 bird," too, and I wish you could see the beautiful 
 plumage for which this bird is noted. I find, to my 
 sorrow, that many of the birds I get here will not live 
 long on board ship, and I think I shall have to give up 
 birds and take to monkeys. 
 
 I have a beautiful little blue-nosed monkey who is 
 very intelligent, but is always in mischief. He has a 
 special spite against little Jack Stewart and takes 
 every opportunity to plague him. No sooner does 
 poor Stewart seat himself under the skylight for 
 a good, comfortable read than this little scamp 
 watches his chance, and then with one spring lights 
 exactly on the bald spot in the middle of Stewart s 
 head. Poor Stewart jumps up in an awful rage, 
 swearing he will "kill that monkey," who, by this 
 time, is sitting in the rigging out of his reach and 
 chattering and laughing at him. 
 
 Near the end of June, while Perkins was still 
 suffering from fever, he sent by the Marion, 
 
9 3 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 which was leaving for home, presents varied in 
 kind. There were ninety pounds of coffee, a 
 bundle of mats, two sets of African baskets, one 
 saw-iish, and three idols, together with a box for 
 his sister Susan, ordered from Madeira. 
 
 Miss Susan was four years the younger, but 
 between the two a strong comradeship as well 
 as the tenderest affection ever existed. Thus, 
 in writing to his mother, at this time, Perkins 
 says : 
 
 I received a letter from Sue by the last mail. She 
 posted me up very well about home. Sue is my main 
 stay. I do not know what I should do if she were not 
 at home. 
 
 Of the box sent from Africa to his sister, for 
 tunately Miss Susan herself has written a 
 description : 
 
 This consisted of lovely specimens of the delicate 
 and beautiful Madeira work and embroidery, much 
 rarer then than now. Besides boxes of fine mosaic, 
 chains of hair-work, feather flowers, a shawl knit by 
 hand of the finest thread, and yards of hand-made 
 trimming. I shall never forget how delighted I was 
 to receive this box, and what a wonderful brother 
 George seemed to me. 
 
 There was still a year more of duty for him 
 on the African coast, and his shipwreck in the 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 99 
 
 Settee River by no means ended his adventures. 
 It was impossible for one of Perkins s tempera 
 ment to avoid them. 
 
 August 27, 1860. 
 
 Since I wrote you last I have visited two of the 
 wildest places. The first was on the Bonney River; 
 this, after I had crossed one of the most dangerous 
 bars on the coast, I ascended twenty-five miles in an 
 open boat. I went to carry the mails to the English 
 mail steamer, and once at the station I had to remain 
 three days on account of the high surf, and at last had 
 to come out on the English steamer. One of the 
 palm-oil traders gave a big supper in honor of my 
 arrival up the river, and said I was the first American 
 naval officer that had ever been in Bonney. The offi 
 cers of the mail steamer told me that they had never 
 heard of such a boat as mine crossing the bar, and 
 that it was a great wonder I had arrived safely. The 
 natives on the Bonney River are cannibals, and if I 
 had been upset they would have killed and eaten me. 
 
 The shark is a fetish among the negroes on this 
 river, who feed them till they grow large and fierce. 
 Every year they sacrifice an innocent child, brought 
 up expressly for this purpose. This child is generally 
 ten years old, and must be healthy and perfect in 
 every respect. The slightest scratch will make her 
 unfit for the sacrifice. On the appointed day the child 
 is placed on some planks across a canoe and taken 
 out on the river. They do not let her know her hor 
 rible fate, but all at once they tip the plank, and the 
 moment she touches the water she is seized and de 
 voured by a monster that is hovering about. 
 
 As I had been gone so long, all on board ship 
 
ioo GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 thought I was lost, and they gave me a warm wel 
 come when I came back safe and sound. 
 
 Directly after my return we started south and 
 anchored in Camma Bay, up the Fernan Vas River. 1 
 Captain Laurens, an American merchant there, sent 
 for some of our officers to come on shore and have a 
 palaver with the natives. So Stewart and several 
 others including myself accepted the invitation, and 
 found when we went ashore that a large number of 
 natives with their chiefs had collected to receive us. 
 As Captain Laurens was anxious to impress them 
 with the dignity of the officers of his Government, I 
 persuaded Stewart to go in full uniform, cocked hat, 
 and all. The rest of us following attended him with 
 the utmost ceremony, and gave the natives to under 
 stand his person was sacred. He made them a fine- 
 sounding address, which was interpreted to them. In 
 this he set forth the power and glory of the United 
 States, and then said that his country was willing and 
 even desirous to be on good terms with such famous 
 chiefs, and would protect them if they never would 
 harm the Americans, especially Captain Laurens. 
 
 They made a suitable reply, and the palaver being 
 done, they set themselves to preparing a feast. They 
 first slaughtered an ox, which was to be cooked and 
 eaten whole, and then began to prepare other equally 
 delicate dishes. Some of the savages had never seen a 
 white man before, and they would slink up to us, 
 touch our white skins, look at us for a moment with 
 their fierce, wild eyes, and then run away. Night was 
 now coming on, and darkness descends so quickly in 
 this latitude that I began to be anxious. So I col- 
 
 1 In French Congo, about two degrees south of the Equator. 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 101 
 
 lected my party and hurried them off. I tied in the 
 boat some wild dogs and a red-headed monkey, 
 which I had bought, and then we got in and shoved 
 off. In spite of all our efforts, the boat capsized just 
 as it rose on the last wave of the surf, and we had to 
 swim. At length, however, the boat was righted, and 
 all having been picked up we reached the ship in 
 safety. Later, I nearly died with laughing as I 
 thought of our adventure, and so would you if you 
 could have seen it. Of course, the moment the boat 
 upset I struck out for the shore. As soon as I was able 
 to look back and see where the rest were, I caught a 
 glimpse of poor little Stewart, who had wholly aban 
 doned himself to the rollers. He was bobbing up and 
 down between the wild dogs and the monkey. First, 
 his cocked hat would rise on a wave, and then his 
 little boots would come uppermost, or vice versa. All 
 in the vicinity were sputtering, howling, and yelling, 
 and unable to do anything else. But we soon rescued 
 them, and now we are all safe on shipboard. 
 
 The ducking did not seem to agree with the ani 
 mals as well as with the human beings, for my wild 
 dogs died, and as my monkey was beginning to droop 
 I sent him ashore. So this time Hammie and Frank 
 have lost their present. 
 
 The months during the latter part of 1860 and 
 early part of 1861 were not without their small 
 occurrences, but the incidents seem to be 
 largely a repetition of previous ones, and the 
 routine duties considerably increased. Perkins 
 writes : 
 
102 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 I keep pretty busy every day, and manage to fill 
 in almost every moment. I have a regular watch, 
 four hours in the day and four hours in the night, and 
 besides my duties as master and navigator, I am 
 caterer of the mess. 
 
 Supplies were expensive on the African coast 
 and it required some care to keep the mess bill 
 down to thirty dollars a month, which it com 
 monly was for the officers. In his capacity both 
 as navigator and caterer of the mess, Perkins 
 amused himself just before leaving the African 
 coast by making some calculations, and dis 
 covered : 
 
 Since we left New York [twenty-one months previ 
 ous] we have run over 50,000 miles, and five of us 
 have eaten 3000 chickens. 
 
 A short visit made by the Sumter to St. 
 Helena in the spring of 1861 brought a change 
 and gave an opportunity to wander over the 
 island with its high plateau where the exiled 
 Napoleon had walked and talked and dreamed. 
 
 The absorbing interest for the Sumter, how 
 ever, was the trouble that was threatening the 
 nation at home secession and the prospect of 
 war. Perkins writes from Skark s Point, Congo 
 River, on March 27, 1861: 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 103 
 
 We do not know what to think about the dreadful 
 news from home. We take the New York Herald, but 
 it reaches us very irregularly now, and we do not 
 know what to believe. I cannot think our grand 
 republic is going to pieces. Three of the Southern 
 officers in our squadron have resigned and the others 
 from the South threaten to do the same. 
 
 On May I he similarly writes: 
 
 The news which the last mail brings us confirms, 
 without hope of contradiction, the fact there exists a 
 dreadful rebellion in our beloved country. It has 
 thrown the squadron into a state of great excitement. 
 For some time past the foreigners on this coast have 
 treated us with very little respect and it has been 
 plain that they thought us a broken power. I can tell 
 you this has been very annoying to loyal officers. . . . 
 Is there financial trouble at home? We cannot get 
 any money out here, and we suppose the department 
 at Washington must be in great confusion. The news 
 about our country is so absorbing that we can think 
 and talk of nothing else. ... I do not say much, but 
 I feel and know that if I had the power I would act, 
 and I think the North has been patient long enough. 
 . . . The Union must be saved. 
 
 The officers on the foreign stations knew that 
 the Sumter and nearly all the other ships must 
 soon be recalled to take their part in the war. 
 But though the Home Squadron was utterly 
 inadequate to render the service required of it 
 on the outbreak of hostilities, it was months 
 
io 4 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 before it had received the additional strength 
 that was available from the ships on the foreign 
 stations. The reason was twofold. During the 
 latter part of Buchanan s administration and 
 even in the first weeks of Lincoln s, the depart 
 ment feared to issue the orders necessary to 
 recall the different squadrons lest the South 
 should regard it as a hostile act and at once 
 begin the conflict. When the orders finally were 
 sent, considerably more time elapsed before they 
 were received and the ships could return. 
 
 While the officers and men of the Sumter were 
 waiting with feverish anxiety for news from 
 Washington, there came the climax of the two 
 years cruise. Under date of June 14, 1861, 
 Perkins writes with great satisfaction that they 
 have at last captured a slaver, the brig Fal- 
 mouth. Perkins had the promise of bringing her 
 home, but Captain Armstrong, who again had 
 become the commanding officer of the Sumter, 
 was greatly attached to him. He desired 
 Perkins to remain and act as first lieutenant to 
 the end of the cruise. Of this Perkins writes to 
 his home people: 
 
 Don t you think I have a right to feel highly flat 
 tered to be acting first lieutenant at my age? This 
 
ON THE WEST AFRICAN COAST 105 
 
 offer and the persuasions of the captain have induced 
 me to give up my right to come home, though I hate 
 to see the brig sail off and not go in her. It is some 
 consolation, though, to have taken a slaver at all; for 
 we never expected to get such a chance after we 
 found how the laws worked. 
 
 Finally in the summer of 1861 the orders, di 
 recting the Sumter to sail for home, arrived. The 
 preparations for the voyage devolved chiefly on 
 the first lieutenant, and Perkins appreciated the 
 fact that expedition at this critical time was 
 essential. He got to the coaling station even 
 before the flagship, and having secured the 
 necessary supplies started for home. It will be 
 recalled that at the beginning of the cruise he 
 had characterized the ship as "not very fast" 
 and " rather a mean old tub." Two years of con 
 stant service with no chance of overhauling 
 could hardly have improved her sailing quali 
 ties. However, Perkins showed that Captain 
 Armstrong s confidence had not been misplaced. 
 Preparations having been made, he tested the 
 ship s speed to the utmost; and favored by the 
 weather, he had what the newspapers of the day 
 spoke of as the quickest voyage ever made 
 between Africa and the United States. 
 
 The two years on the African coast had been 
 
io6 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 full of danger, and few officers if any could pas& 
 through the experience without having their 
 lives perceptibly shortened. Yet the experience 
 had not been without distinct benefit to Perkins. 
 He had developed a taste for reading, and had 
 not only associated respectfully with Addison 
 and Sterne, but had been on familiar terms with 
 Trollope. Busied by his letter-writing, shark- 
 fishing, hunting, caring for pets, visiting native 
 chiefs, together with more than an ordinary 
 share of routine work, he seems to have had no 
 difficulty in avoiding the vices incident to 
 monotonous duty on a lonely station. The expe 
 rience had revealed the strength of the man, and 
 had brought with it a deepening of fine feeling 
 and an awakening of responsibility. He might 
 have developed this strength elsewhere, but a 
 man who delights in society and is sought after 
 as was Perkins commonly needs something of 
 solitude to find himself. On February 2, 1861, he 
 was commissioned lieutenant, and this date may 
 be taken as marking his entrance upon full 
 manhood. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 
 
 ON being detached from the Sumter, in the 
 middle of September, Perkins was given 
 one month s leave. After the hard and wearing 
 cruise he could appreciate, as never before, rest 
 and a little social gayety ; and there was no other 
 place that had such attraction for him as home. 
 Stirred, however, by the dangers threatening the 
 nation, he soon became impatient for active ser 
 vice, and it was with alacrity that he responded 
 to the department s letter ordering him to New 
 York as first lieutenant of the gunboat Cayuga. 
 
 His new ship was a screw steamer of 507 tons, 
 carrying six guns. "Not very well fitted up for 
 comfort," he writes, "though she is a fine gun 
 boat." Of the officers, none besides the captain 
 and himself had had any previous experience in 
 the navy, and of the crew, all but four or five 
 were green hands. There were many busy days 
 for the lieutenant, getting the ship in readiness 
 before sailing on February 28. 
 
 It soon became evident that Perkins was fort- 
 
io8 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 unate in having duty on the Cayuga, for she had 
 orders to join the West Gulf Blockading Squad 
 ron under Farragut. She reached her station 
 when the active operations against New Orleans 
 were about to begin. The brilliant exploit in 
 running past its defenses, Forts Jackson and St. 
 Philip, and speedily compelling their surrender, 
 together with that of the city, ranks in the naval 
 events of the Civil War only second to the fight 
 between the Monitor and Merrimac. In this 
 exploit, the Cayuga was destined to take a lead 
 ing part. 
 
 The following letters, written by Perkins to 
 the home people, tell of the progress of events : 
 
 KEY WEST, March 12, 1862. 
 
 We arrived here yesterday after a very hard pass 
 age from New York. The first night we left we had a 
 gale from the northwest, and it was very cold. The 
 men knew little about a man-of-war, and it was hard 
 for them; there was really great suffering among us 
 from freezing. Two of our yards were carried away. 
 Another gale followed this, and there was just a 
 series of them, more or less severe, all the way here. 
 The engines were so strained that we broke down 
 twice, and we were on our last legs when we got in. 
 If I do my very best, I cannot get this ship in order 
 possibly before next week, though the commodore 
 [Farragut] is in a great hurry to get us off and make 
 the attack on New Orleans. 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 109 
 
 SHIP ISLAND, March 31, 1862. 
 
 General Butler is embarking his troops, and we all 
 leave this evening for New Orleans. Everywhere is 
 excitement. The attack will be made at once, and 
 they say if it is successful it will end the war. 
 
 I always told you everything would be settled as 
 soon as I went into action, and now I expect it will. 
 It seems very strange to be down here surrounded by 
 Rebels. This morning one of our gunboats had a 
 skirmish with one of theirs within plain sight of our 
 fleet. 
 
 The Cayuga while coming here from Key West took 
 a prize, which we have sent back to New York. 
 
 Everyone is writing home. I expect my next letter, 
 if I write at all, will be dated from New Orleans. 
 
 OFF ATCHAFALAYA, LOUISIANA, 
 April 4, 1862. 
 
 Since I wrote you last we have had an exciting 
 time. The next day after leaving Ship Island, we 
 arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi. There we 
 met the commodore and the rest of the fleet. A 
 number of his vessels had bad luck and got ashore. 
 The commodore felt sure of being able to take New 
 Orleans, and was getting ready for the attack; but a 
 good many of the longest-headed officers thought it 
 would be doubtful about his success. The forts are 
 well garrisoned, and they have a fleet of gunboats 
 and some ironclads. Beauregard is there and the 
 city is under martial law. Because so many of our 
 vessels are on shore, the commodore has been obliged 
 to delay the attack, and has ordered the Cayuga off 
 this place to blockade. 
 
 This morning a gunboat, two steamers loaded 
 
no GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 with troops and guns, and a schooner with one gun 
 sailed over the reef and came towards us. We 
 cleared ship for action, and, when they arrived in 
 full sight, hoisted our colors. They hoisted theirs and 
 stood for us, and we expected a hard fight, but before 
 they arrived within range we thought we would fire 
 our guns off, as they had been loaded several days, 
 and then load them fresh for the expected fight. So 
 we took aim, blazed away, and started for our ene 
 mies. But as soon as we did this, they fired a couple 
 of shots at us, and turned tail and ran. We chased 
 them into shallow water but had to give them up, 
 for the Cayuga draws ten feet and had nearly 
 grounded. . . . 
 
 We return to-morrow afternoon to the Mississippi 
 to get ready for the fight at New Orleans. It must 
 certainly come off next week. If the commodore had 
 not been unlucky about the ships several getting 
 aground it would have been all over by this 
 time. . . . 
 
 We spoke the Connecticut just outside, and I 
 received letters from you, letters which I have read 
 over many times. 
 
 In spite of there being so much going on as to keep 
 up a constant excitement, and my being so busy, I 
 am always thinking of you at home. Give my love 
 to Aunt Anne and tell her I opened her pickles to-day 
 and found them a great treat. 
 
 U.S.S. Cayuga, 
 STORMING THE FORTS UP THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 
 
 April 20, 1862. 
 
 The bombardment of the forts commenced three 
 days ago; during the first day we were in close action, 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS in 
 
 but we all came out safe. The enemy s cannon balls 
 drop about us constantly. Several of the vessels in 
 the fleet have been struck and a few men killed and 
 wounded. To-day or to-morrow we start up the 
 river. The chain across it was cut last night, and I 
 have no doubt but that the forts will be ours before 
 to-morrow evening. 
 
 I have but a moment to write. The Rebels are 
 continually sending down fire-rafts, and the bom 
 bardment from the mortars goes on night and day, so 
 that we have hardly any sleep. I will write as soon 
 as we reach New Orleans, and I hope you are not 
 worrying, for by the time you get this everything will 
 be over. 
 
 Unless we meet some unforseen obstacle, New 
 Orleans must fall, though perhaps it will take a 
 week s hard fighting. We have just heard that 
 Captain Bailey has taken the Cayuga for his flagship, 
 and consequently we shall lead the gunboats. 
 
 The passing of the forts below New Orleans by 
 Farragut s fleet was accomplished on April 24, 
 1862, which was nearly a month after most of 
 his ships had arrived off the entrance to the 
 Mississippi. There was found considerable 
 difficulty in getting the largest ships, particu 
 larly the Mississippi and the Pensacola, over the 
 bars at the mouth of the river. They had to be 
 pulled through the mud, and the work required 
 two weeks. The huge Colorado had to be left 
 outside. She was the command of Captain 
 
ii2 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Theodorus Bailey, next to Farragut in rank. 
 And that is why, on running past the forts, the 
 former officer transferred his flag to the little 
 Cayuga and led the column of Union ships in the 
 gunboat on which Perkins was the first lieuten 
 ant. When Farragut had crossed the bars, and 
 had assembled seventeen of his fleet in the river 
 above, he recognized the importance of an 
 attack at the earliest possible moment. The 
 enemy had the greatest confidence in the 
 strength of their position. It was the common 
 opinion that any attack on New Orleans must be 
 from the north, made by a slow and laborious 
 progress down the Mississippi from Cairo. In 
 consequence the Confederate War Department 
 had not concerned itself with the necessity of 
 giving New Orleans additional protection 
 against the threatening movement in the Gulf, 
 of which persistent rumors were received. Not 
 withstanding this blindness, Farragut had need 
 of most careful planning. 
 
 Barring the passage of the seventeen ships 
 were Forts Jackson and St. Philip, mounting 
 seventy-five and fifty-three guns respectively, 
 and garrisoned each by 700 men. 1 Also there 
 
 1 D. D. Porter, The Naval History of the Civil War, p. 177. 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 113 
 
 was a fleet of eighteen vessels, including the 
 ironclad rams Manassas and Louisiana. Most 
 of these later proved but frail crafts, but they 
 had not been so reported to Farragut; and after 
 the exploits in Hampton Roads of the dread and 
 invulnerable Merrimac, any one less than Farra 
 gut with a fleet of wooden ships might indeed 
 have hesitated. Captain Preedy, of the British 
 Navy, and a French admiral, whose name is not 
 recorded, happened to come down the river, 
 after having just visited the forts, and they 
 freely expressed the opinion that the Union ships 
 would never succeed in fighting their way past. 
 Besides all this the defenses of New Orleans 
 might in a few days be considerably strength 
 ened if the Confederate Government should take 
 alarm and hurry men and supplies to the scene. 
 Farragut appreciated this so thoroughly that he 
 was willing to accept grave risks rather than 
 make further long delays. 
 
 On the 1 6th of April the Union attack began 
 with a furious bombardment by Porter s mortar 
 boats. For six days and six nights this con 
 tinued, and about 2800 shells were fired every 
 twenty-four hours. After two or three days of 
 the bombardment, Farragut, convinced that the 
 
ii 4 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Confederate defenses could not be reduced by 
 this means, determined to stake his all on a 
 single desperate move and run past the forts. 
 As Farragut was well aware, if he were driven 
 back, he could hardly expect to escape without 
 the loss of several ships. Or if only a few ships 
 passed above the forts, the strong Confederate 
 defenses to the rear would effectively cut them 
 off from their base of supplies, thus placing them 
 in a weak military position and making any 
 protracted campaign impossible. On the other 
 hand, if he should succeed in taking most of the 
 ships above the forts, he could capture New 
 Orleans, cut off the supplies to the forts, and 
 move against them from above as well as from 
 below, with the cooperation of 18,000 troops 
 under General Butler accompanying the expedi 
 tion. 
 
 Early on the morning of April 24 the fleet made 
 the attempt. At two o clock two red lights dis 
 played from Farragut s ship, the Hartford, gave 
 the signal to weigh anchors, take prescribed 
 places, and advance. Almost instantly the 
 clanking of anchor chains and the suppressed 
 bustle throughout the fleet showed that the 
 final movement against New Orleans had begun. 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 115 
 
 The first ship to pass through the chain barrier 
 and to steam under the guns of Forts Jackson 
 and St. Philip was the Cayuga. Standing in an 
 exposed position on the forecastle of the Cayuga, 
 indifferent to the storm of shot and shrapnel 
 from the forts and giving rapid orders in his 
 sharp, incisive manner was George Perkins. He 
 had been directed to act as pilot, and virtually 
 was in command of the ship. 
 
 The Union fleet was moving in one long 
 column, made up of three divisions. Farragut s 
 division was the center, and was composed of 
 the three strongest ships, sloops of war, with the 
 Hartford, as the flagship. This was preceded by 
 the First Division, comprising four gunboats, 
 one side-wheeler, and three sloops of war, under 
 Captain Bailey. The Cayuga, which he had 
 chosen for his flagship, was much smaller and 
 more lightly armed than either the Pensacola or 
 Mississippi, which followed next. 
 
 Twenty-five minutes after the Cayuga had 
 begun the attack, the Hartford, leading the 
 Second Division, was opening with her bow guns 
 on Fort Jackson. The darkness and smoke 
 rendered it impossible for the gunners in the 
 forts to secure an accurate aim, but also made it 
 
ii6 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 difficult for the Union ships to keep their course 
 or to distinguish friend from foe. Suddenly out 
 of the gloom and confusion, Farragut saw a fire- 
 raft coming directly for his ship. To avoid the 
 raft he put his helm over, whereupon the Hart" 
 ford grounded on a shoal near Fort St. Philip. 
 Under the heavy fire of the shore batteries, she 
 was in a trying position, and still worse, the 
 Mosher, a Confederate tugboat until then 
 unnoticed, was pushing a fire-raft down upon 
 her. In an instant the port quarter of the Hart- 
 ford was a mass of flames, which were licking the 
 paint and rising halfway to the top. It was a 
 moment full of destiny, but Farragut was equal 
 to the crisis. Although as he remarked after 
 wards he "seemed to be breathing flames," with 
 a calm self-possession he reassured his men, and 
 each with alacrity did his part in carrying out 
 the orders. The ship s guns drove off the tug, 
 and kept playing on the forts ; the well-organized 
 fire company put out the flames; the engines 
 backed the ship off the shoal; and again she 
 headed up the river. 
 
 The Brooklyn and the Mississippi, while run 
 ning past the forts, had successively a sharp 
 engagement with the Confederate ironclad ram 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 117 
 
 Manassas, the Mississippi not leaving her foe 
 until the ram had run ashore and her crew had 
 escaped to the swamp. The executive officer of 
 the Mississippi happened to be Perkins s friend 
 of Academy days, Lieutenant George Dewey, 
 the future admiral. The Varuna was the only 
 one of Farragut s ships lost in the battle; after 
 safely passing the forts she encountered the 
 Confederate gunboats, and being considerably 
 in advance of most of the fleet she was rammed 
 by the Gov. Moore, and obliged to run ashore to 
 prevent sinking. Three of Farragut/s vessels 
 bringing up the rear of the column were not able 
 to stand the fire of the forts and turned back. 
 Each of the thirteen that succeeded in passing 
 had its adventures, but none were more thrilling 
 than those of the Cayuga, and fortunately we 
 have a simple, unstudied account of them in a 
 letter that Perkins wrote home after the battle. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, April 27, 1862. 
 
 We arrived here two days ago, and after what was 
 "the most desperate fight and greatest naval achieve 
 ment on record," so every one says. Wednesday 
 night, April 23, we were ordered to lead the way, and 
 be ready to run by the forts at two o clock in the 
 morning; and at two o clock precisely the signal was 
 made from the Hartford to "get under way." 
 
ii8 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Captain Harrison paid me the compliment of 
 letting me pilot the vessel. It was a starlight night, 
 but we were not discovered until we were well under 
 the forts; then they opened a tremendous fire on us. 
 I was very anxious, for the steering of the vessel being 
 under my charge gave me really the whole manage 
 ment of her. The Cayuga received the first fire, and 
 the air was filled with shells and explosions, which 
 almost blinded me as I stood on the forecastle trying 
 to see my way, for I had never been up the river 
 before. As I soon saw that the guns of the forts were 
 all aimed for the midstream, I steered close under the 
 walls of Fort St. Philip, and although our masts and 
 rigging got badly shot through, our hull was but little 
 damaged. 
 
 After passing the last battery and thinking we were 
 clear, I looked back for some of our vessels, and my 
 heart jumped into my mouth when I found I could 
 not see a single one. I thought they all must have 
 been sunk by the forts. Then looking ahead I saw 
 eleven of the enemy s gunboats coming down upon 
 us, and it seemed as if we were "gone" sure. Three 
 of these made a dash to board us, but a heavy charge 
 from our n-inch gun settled the Gov. Moore, which 
 was one of them. A ram, the Manassas, in attempt 
 ing to butt us, just missed our stern, and we soon 
 settled the third fellow s "hash." Just then some of 
 our gunboats, which had passed the forts, came up, 
 and then all sorts of things happened. There was the 
 wildest excitement all round. The Varuna fired a 
 broadside into us, instead of the enemy. Another of 
 our gunboats attacked one of the Cayuga s prizes, 
 I shouted out, "Don t fire into that ship, she has 
 surrendered!" Three of the enemy s ships had sur- 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 119 
 
 rendered to us before any of our vessels appeared, but 
 when they did come up we all pitched in, and settled 
 the eleven Rebel vessels, in about twenty minutes. 
 Our short fight with the Gov. Moore it used to be 
 the Morgan was very exciting. We were alongside 
 of each other, and had both fired our guns, and it all 
 depended on which should get reloaded first. The 
 large forward gun on the Gov. Moore was a loinch 
 shell, ours an n-inch, and we were so near they were 
 almost muzzle to muzzle. 
 
 Ours was fired first, and Beverly Kennon, the 
 captain of the Gov. Moore, is now a prisoner on board 
 the Cayuga. He tells me our shot was the one that 
 ruined him, disabled his vessel, capsized his gun, 
 and killed thirteen of the gun s crew. Beverly Ken 
 non used to be an officer in our navy. 
 
 The Cayuga still led the way up the river, and at 
 daylight we discovered a regiment of infantry en 
 camped on shore. As we were very close in, I shouted 
 to them to come on board and deliver up their arms, 
 or we would blow them all to pieces. It seemed 
 rather odd for a regiment on shore to be surrender 
 ing to a ship. They hauled down their colors, and 
 the colonel and command came on board and gave 
 themselves up as prisoners of war. The regiment 
 was called the Chalmette regiment, and has been 
 a rather famous one. The officers we released on 
 parole and allowed them to retain their side-arms, all 
 except one captain, who I discovered was from New 
 Hampshire. His name is Hickery, and he came from 
 Portsmouth. I took his sword away from him and 
 have kept it. 
 
 The next thing that happened was the sinking of 
 the Varuna, which had been disabled by one of the 
 
120 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 enemy s vessels running into her. Soon after this the 
 commodore came up in the Hartford and ordered us 
 all to anchor and take a little rest before attack 
 ing New Orleans, which was now within twenty 
 miles. 
 
 By this time our ship had received thirty-two 
 shots in masts and hull, and six of our men had been 
 wounded; one of the boys had to have a leg cut off. 
 All this time, night and day, fire-rafts and ships 
 loaded with burning cotton had been coming down 
 the river and surrounding us everywhere. Besides 
 these, the bombardment was continuous and per 
 fectly awful. I do not believe there ever was any 
 thing like it before, and I never expect to see such a 
 sight again. The river and shore were one blaze, and 
 the sounds and explosions were terrific. Nothing I 
 could say would give you any idea of these last 
 twenty-four hours. 
 
 At four the next morning, April 25, we all got 
 under way again, the Cayuga still leading, and at 
 about nine o clock New Orleans hove in sight. We 
 called all hands and gave three cheers and a tiger! 
 
 There were two more fortifications still between us 
 and New Orleans, called the Chalmette batteries, but 
 Captain Bailey thought they could not be of much 
 account, and that we had best push on. When we 
 arrived in sight of these batteries, no flag floated over 
 them, and there was not a man to be seen nothing 
 but the guns, which seemed abandoned. In fact, 
 though, there were a lot of treacherous rascals con 
 cealed in these batteries, and when we had come close 
 enough to make them feel sure they could sink us, 
 they opened a heavy fire. We gave them back as well 
 as we could, but they were too much for one gunboat; 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 121 
 
 so, after getting hit fourteen times, the shot and shell 
 striking all about us, we decided not to advance any 
 farther until some of the ships came up. Soon we had 
 the Hartford on one side and the Pensacola on the 
 other, and then the Rebel battery was silenced very 
 quick. 
 
 After this there were no further obstacles between 
 us and the city, and the fleet were soon anchored be 
 fore it. Captain Bailey was ordered to go on shore, 
 and demand its surrender, and he asked me to go 
 with him. We took just a boat and a boat s crew, 
 with a flag of truce, and started off. When we 
 reached the wharf there were no officials to be seen; 
 no one received us, although the whole city was 
 watching our movements, and the levee was crowded 
 in spite of a heavy rainstorm. 
 
 They were all shouting and hooting as we stepped 
 on shore, but at last a man, who, I think, was a 
 German, offered to show us the way to the council- 
 room, where we should find the mayor of the city. 
 
 As we advanced the mob followed us in a very 
 excited state. They gave three cheers for Jeff Davis 
 and Beauregard, and three groans for Lincoln. Then 
 they began to throw things at us, and shout, "Hang 
 them!" "Hang them!" We both thought we were in 
 a bad fix, but there was nothing for us to do but just 
 go on. 
 
 We reached the city hall, though, in safety, and 
 there we found the mayor and council. The mayor 
 said he had nothing to do with the city, as it was 
 under martial law, and we were obliged to wait till 
 General Lovell could arrive. 
 
 In about half an hour this gentleman appeared 
 by the way he is a perfect snob. He had about 15,000 
 
122 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 troops under his command, and said he would 
 "never surrender," but would withdraw his troops 
 from the city as soon as possible, when the city would 
 fall into the hands of the mayor and he could do as he 
 pleased with it. 
 
 The mob had by this time become perfectly 
 infuriated. They kicked at the doors and swore they 
 would have us out and hang us. Of course Captain 
 Bailey and I felt perfectly at our ease all this while! 
 Indeed, every person about us, who had any sense of 
 responsibility, was frightened for our safety. As soon 
 as the mob found out that General Lovell was not 
 going to surrender, they swore they would have us 
 out anyway; but Pierre Soule and some others went 
 out and made speeches to them, and kept them on 
 one side of the building while we went out the other, 
 and were driven to the wharf in a closed carriage. 
 Finally we got on board ship all right; but of all the 
 blackguarding I ever heard in my life that mob gave 
 us the worst. 
 
 The mayor told the flag-officer this morning that 
 the city was in the hands of the mob, and was at our 
 mercy, and that we might blow it up or do with it as 
 we chose. They still fly the State flag on the custom 
 house, and as we have not yet any forces with which 
 to land and make an attack, we can do nothing at 
 present, unless we blow up the city. 
 
 I do not know where General Butler is. So far, only 
 fourteen of our fleet have passed the forts out of all 
 the ships that started. None of us know what has 
 become of them and the forts have not yet sur 
 rendered. Until then, there can be no going up and 
 down the river. 
 
 This morning we have been ordered to take Cap- 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 123 
 
 tain Bailey down to a bayou, where he will pass out in 
 a boat, and taking a ship below will proceed home, as 
 bearer of despatches. 
 
 We expect to make another attack on the forts 
 to-morrow or next day if General Butler arrives with 
 the troops. The Southerners say our victory was one 
 of the greatest ever known. They never dreamed of 
 our being able to pass the forts; and if the attempt 
 had been made in the daytime our fleet must surely 
 all have been sunk. We may be in a bad fix now, if 
 the forts do not fall, and it is not safe for any one to 
 leave our ships and go anywhere in a boat. The mob 
 rule in the city, and they are perfectly reckless. We 
 are still feeling the effects of the excitement which the 
 attack caused. Nothing is settled, and there is danger 
 and risk about every movement. 
 
 I have written this letter at railroad speed. I am 
 all right so far, as regards my health. We expect 
 another good fight to-morrow or next day, when we 
 go back to take the forts. 
 
 I hope you are all well at home. You must excuse 
 this letter, for it seems as though I could not stop to 
 form words. Should I ever see you again I can tell it 
 all so much better. I cannot say yet how many men 
 have been lost on our side, but I think the number is 
 rather small. 
 
 If Bailey and Perkins on going to the mayor 
 had taken an ordinary guard with them, a con 
 flict with the excited populace would have 
 been inevitable; and women and children, who 
 formed no small part of the crowd, would have 
 
I2 4 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 been among the victims. George W. Cable, the 
 novelist, was a boy living in New Orleans at this 
 time, and he records the impression made on 
 him as he saw two unarmed officers walk alone 
 through the mob, daunting even the most vio 
 lent by their extraordinary courage. 
 
 What a gathering! The riff-raff of the wharves, the 
 town, the gutters. Such women such wrecks of 
 women! And all the juvenile rag-tag. . . . The 
 crowd on the levee howled and screamed with rage. 
 The swarming decks answered never a word; but one 
 old tar on the Hartford, standing with lanyard in 
 hand beside a great pivot-gun, so plain to view that 
 you could see him smile, silently patted its big black 
 breech and blandly grinned. 
 
 And now the rain came down in sheets. About one 
 or two o clock in the afternoon (as I remember), I 
 being again in the store with but one door ajar, there 
 came a roar of shoutings and imprecations and 
 crowding feet down Common Street. "Hurrah for 
 Jeff Davis! Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Shoot them! 
 Kill them! Hang them!" I locked the door on the 
 outside and ran to the front of the mob, calling with 
 the rest, "Hurrah for Jeff Davis!" About every 
 third man had a weapon out. Two officers of the 
 United States Navy were walking abreast, unguarded 
 and alone, looking not to right or left, never frowning, 
 never flinching, while the mob screamed in their 
 ears, shook cocked pistols in their faces, cursed and 
 crowded, and gnashed upon them. So through the 
 gates of death those two men walked to the City Hall 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 125 
 
 to demand the town s surrender. It was one of the 
 bravest deeds I ever saw done. 1 
 
 The scene of the approaching ships and of the 
 visit made by the two Union officers upon the 
 mayor of the city is also described with a strong 
 tincture of Confederate feeling in the New 
 Orleans Democrat, for which I am indebted to 
 Miss Susan Perkins. 
 
 Slowly and majestically the large steamers moved 
 on until they rounded the bend and entered the 
 crescent part of the city. There a scene confronted 
 them which must have been little gratifying to their 
 highest instincts, how much soever it may have 
 pampered the pride of physical force and the exulta 
 tion of victory over a defenseless but intrepid foe. 
 
 There lay the sullen and gloomy city, still smoking 
 with the patriotic conflagration by which it had 
 destroyed everything that might minister to the pride 
 and avarice of the enemy. Its long levee and vast 
 wharves, bare of everything that usually appertains 
 to a great commercial city, and now densely packed 
 by a multitude of frowning, defiant, frantic men, 
 women, and children. This multitude seemed to be 
 moved by one impulse, one passion, by one bitter, 
 burning, inextinguishable hate. . . . 
 
 Just as the fleet had taken position to anchor, a sud 
 den storm blew up and the rain began to fall with great 
 violence, dispersing or greatly reducing the crowd on 
 
 1 Century Company s Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, 
 
 Vol. II, pp. 20, 21. 
 
126 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 the levee. This rain continued for some hours. In 
 the midst of it a boat was seen to put off from a 
 ship. It landed at the foot of Laurel Street, where 
 a large crowd quickly gathered. Out of the boat 
 stepped an elderly, corpulent officer with a very red 
 face, a grave expression, and an air of command. He 
 wore his sword, and was accompanied by a young and 
 handsome naval officer. These proved to be Captain 
 Bailey, second in command of the fleet, and Lieuten 
 ant Perkins. They asked the direction to the mayor s 
 office. There was no one in the crowd to answer. 
 They were told to find their own way. Accordingly 
 they started up the street, in the pelting, furious 
 rain, followed by the crowd, which increased in their 
 progress, yelling and shouting, "Down with the 
 Yankees!" "Kill them!" "Hang them!" 
 
 Several citizens here rushed forward to protect the 
 officers. They were repelled and roughly handled by 
 the furious mob. The Federal officers were in great 
 danger. At last two venerable and much respected 
 citizens William Freret and L. E. Forstall, a mem 
 ber of the city council made their way through 
 the crowd, which was threatening the officers with 
 speedy destruction, and each seizing the arm of one 
 of the officers conducted them in safety to the 
 mayor s office. 
 
 The mayor with his friends, several members of the 
 city government, several prominent citizens, includ 
 ing Mr. Soule, were present when Captain Theodorus 
 Bailey and Lieutenant Perkins were introduced. 
 Meantime a vast and excited crowd had collected 
 around the city hall, whose shouts and cries could 
 be distinctly heard within. Captain Bailey quickly 
 stated his mission to the mayor. He came by order 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 127 
 
 of Commodore Farragut, commanding the fleet now 
 in the port, to demand the surrender of the city and 
 the elevation of the flag over the custom-house, the 
 mint, the post-office, and the city hall. 
 
 The mayor replied: "I am not the military com 
 mander of the city. I have no authority to surrender 
 it, and would not do it if I had. There is a military 
 commander now in the city, who is charged by the 
 Confederate States with the defenses of the city. To 
 him your command must be addressed. I will send 
 for him if you desire." Captain Bailey assented, and 
 a messenger was despatched for General Lovell. 
 
 Presently there was a hurrah without a parting 
 of the crowd and Major-General Lovell made his 
 way up the steps and into the mayor s office. He was 
 introduced to Captain Bailey, who declared his 
 character and credentials, as second in command of 
 the United States fleet now before the city. 
 
 General Lovell "I am Major-General Lovell, 
 Confederate Commander of this Department." 
 
 Captain Bailey then stated his mission in the same 
 terms as he had made it known to the mayor, adding 
 that he was instructed by Commodore Farragut to 
 express his great regret at the destruction of private 
 property in the city. 
 
 General Lovell " In reply to his demand, say to 
 Commodore Farragut that I decline to surrender the 
 city, nor will I allow it to be surrendered; that being 
 unable to fight him on water, I have sent my troops 
 out of the city; that there are now no armed troops in 
 the city, nothing but women and children, and if he 
 desires to shell them he can do so on his own respon 
 sibility," etc., etc. 
 
 Lovell finally closed by saying that he would retire 
 
128 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 and leave the city authorities to pursue their own 
 course in the matter. For himself he would go back 
 to the army with which he would be happy to meet 
 them in fair and equal combat. 
 
 Captain Bailey replied, and again said how much 
 Commodore Farragut regretted to see so much prop 
 erty uselessly destroyed. 
 
 General Lovell "It was done by my orders, 
 sir!" With this the interview terminated. Captain 
 Bailey requested an escort back to his boat as a pro 
 tection against the mob, who seemed to be very 
 violent and threatening. It was suggested they be 
 taken out through the rear of the building in charge 
 of two Confederate majors, while Mr. Soule and 
 General Lovell addressed the crowd in front. 
 
 General Lovell restored the authority to the 
 city officials as he had promised. To Farragut s 
 further demand for the surrender of the city, 
 and the hauling down of the flag of Louisiana 
 from the city hall, Mayor Monroe made various 
 evasive replies. It was finally a Union officer, 
 instead of a Confederate, who lowered the ob 
 jectionable flag, but Farragut by quiet insist 
 ence had gained the recognition of Federal 
 supremacy. 
 
 On the 2Qth, Captain Bailey, who had gone 
 down the river, brought back welcome news of 
 the surrender of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. 
 There had been hardly the necessity for immedi- 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 129 
 
 ate capitulation. The end was hastened by 
 mutiny in the forts, where a considerable pro 
 portion of the defenders are said to have been 
 foreigners. 
 
 The events of the last week of April were a 
 surprising reversal of what the Confederates had 
 expected. They had put such unlimited confi 
 dence in their impregnable forts that many were 
 delighted when they discovered that the Union 
 fleet was attempting to run past the forts, be 
 lieving that Farragut was leading his ships into a 
 certain trap. How quickly they were undeceived 
 is shown by a remark of Colonel Higgins, of Fort 
 Jackson, who seeing the large ships of Farragut s 
 division pass in safety exclaimed, "Better go to 
 cover, boys; our cake is all dough! The old navy 
 has won!" 1 
 
 The capture of New Orleans was of tremend 
 ous importance to the Union. This city was not 
 only the largest and richest in the South, but an 
 extremely valuable center of supplies, drawn 
 from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, and sent 
 on to the armies in Virginia and elsewhere. 
 When the Union forces had taken New Orleans 
 and its defenses, as well as Island No. 10, Fort 
 
 1 D. D. Porter, The Naval History of the Civil War, p. 183. 
 
130 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Pillow, and Memphis, all the achievements of 
 spring, 1862, they had accomplished a large 
 part of the difficult project of gaining control of 
 the Mississippi. With the capture of Vicksburg 
 and Port Hudson the following year, the project 
 was completed and the Confederacy was split in 
 two. 
 
 The capture of New Orleans also had an 
 important significance in our relations with 
 Europe. It deterred France from action most 
 unfavorable to the United States. Louis Napo 
 leon had already suggested to England the advis 
 ability of recognizing the Confederate States, 
 and just as Farragut was opening fire on Forts 
 Jackson and St. Philip he was conferring with 
 Mr. Lindsay, a member of the British Parlia 
 ment and a Southern sympathizer. The Em 
 peror expressed the opinion that the restoration 
 of the Union was impossible, and deprecating 
 the continuation of the war, he assured Mr. 
 Lindsay that he would send a formidable fleet to 
 the mouth of the Mississippi if England would 
 cooperate with a like force, and they would 
 demand free passage for their merchant ships 
 bringing in supplies and taking out cotton. 1 Had 
 
 1 North American Review, vol. cxxix, p. 346. 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 131 
 
 the Government been coerced into abandoning 
 the blockade of the Southern ports, it is doubtful 
 if it could ever have brought the war to a suc 
 cessful termination. 
 
 The Cayuga, after the object of the expedition 
 had been accomplished, was ordered North, 
 carrying Captain Bailey, the bearer of official 
 reports. She left on the 2Qth of April, when not 
 only had the forts surrendered but the flag of the 
 Union was flying from the top of the custom 
 house in New Orleans. On May 8 she passed 
 Cape Henry and proceeded up to Hampton 
 Roads. 
 
 Commodore Phythian, who happened to be 
 there at this time, tells how his feelings were 
 stirred as he heard the details of the battle and 
 saw the riddled gunboat. The scars of the con 
 flict were everywhere apparent, and they bore 
 evidence of the courage of the lieutenant who 
 stood on her forecastle and guided the ship 
 through the fiery storm. 
 
 The conduct of Lieutenant Perkins did not 
 fail of recognition on the part of his superior 
 officers. Lieutenant Commanding Harrison, in 
 his report of April 24 to Captain Bailey, 
 says : - 
 
132 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 It is needless for me to inform you, who had us 
 under your own eye, that all did their duty fearlessly 
 and well, but I must commend to your especial notice 
 my executive officer, Lieutenant George H. Perkins. 
 The remarkable coolness and precision of this young 
 officer while aiding me in steering the vessel through 
 the barrier and past the forts under their long and 
 heavy fire, must have attracted your attention. 1 
 
 Captain Bailey mentioned his gallantry with 
 that of Lieutenant Commanding Harrison and 
 Acting Master Morton in his report to Flag- 
 Officer Farragut, saying in conclusion, "These 
 officers have my unbounded admiration." 2 
 
 In Frank Leslie s Illustrated Newspaper, pub 
 lished May 31, 1862, there appeared a spirited 
 sketch by their artist, William Waud, who was 
 on the spot, representing "The Landing of Cap 
 tain Bailey and Lieutenant Perkins on the levee 
 with a flag of truce to demand the surrender of 
 the city." The New Hampshire Patriot of May 
 14, 1862, commended his service in the highest 
 terms, but no praise could be more pleasing to 
 him than a letter from his mother : 
 
 I hear you very highly spoken of by every one. 
 Your father was introduced to Professor Patterson as 
 the "father of Lieutenant Perkins of the Cayuga" 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xvm, p. 174. * Ibid., p. 171. 
 
THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 133 
 
 Professor Patterson at once said he was familiar with 
 your name and had seen an account of your bravery 
 in the papers. I suppose now we shall be known as 
 the relatives of the brave Lieutenant Perkins. I 
 confess I do not realize you as famous. You seem to 
 me the same little boy I used to scold about his 
 spelling. The mothers all say you are so fortunate 
 because you are so good and thoughtful of me. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 IN THE WEST GULF BLOCKADING SQUADRON 
 
 THROUGHOUT the war Perkins was, with 
 one brief respite, in the lower Mississippi 
 or on the Gulf coast. During the two years fol 
 lowing the capture of New Orleans he saw no 
 engagement of note, but he had an active part 
 in the great blockade that was finally to force the 
 South, exhausted, to give up the contest. 
 
 From Hampton Roads the Cayuga went to 
 New York and was there nearly a month under 
 going repairs. This afforded Perkins opportun 
 ity for a few days at home, and it is easy to 
 imagine the enthusiasm with which he was 
 received. 
 
 Soon he was again in New York, and he 
 writes : 
 
 I have had a letter from Captain Harrison telling 
 me that he is not coming back to his ship, and that he 
 has applied for me at the department, but I hardly 
 think I shall be detached. 
 
 Commander Donald M. Fairfax succeeded to 
 the command of the Cayuga. He was an officer 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 135 
 
 of fine type, also an old friend of Perkins. He 
 writes to Perkins : - 
 
 I was gratified yesterday to learn through Temple 
 that you are still attached to the Cayuga, and are 
 willing learning that I am detailed to command 
 her to remain as her executive officer. I receive it 
 as a compliment that my joining her determined you 
 on staying by the little gunboat that acted so import 
 ant a part in the great naval battle in the Mississippi. 
 
 Really it is the bright feature in joining to find you 
 the first lieutenant; without flattery I say it, you are 
 my choice. I shall be content to lie on my oars and 
 give you full charge. So go ahead and do anything 
 you think is necessary, as though really captain. 
 
 The following letter written by Perkins to his 
 mother tells of the days in New York before 
 sailing: 
 
 Cayuga, BROOKLYN, June 4, 1862. 
 
 We are ordered to report to Commodore Far- 
 ragut, and I think we shall be in time to assist in 
 taking Mobile. After that, most of the hard work 
 will be over, and then I hope to be at home again. I 
 regret every day that I could not have come home 
 once more before sailing, but there has been a good 
 deal for me to do, and the captain has turned every 
 thing over to me. So I am obliged to be here every 
 day. . . . 
 
 I have called on the commodore s family twice. He 
 has told me to make his home my home while the ship 
 lies here. He has three very nice daughters. I went 
 
136 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 to the theater the other evening with a Miss Kellog, 
 a niece of the commodore, a very beautiful girl from 
 Troy, and was at her house last evening until a late 
 hour. It is very lucky the ship is going to sail soon, 
 for I have already half fallen in love. 
 
 The Cayuga left for the Gulf on June 10, but 
 striking a severe storm sprung a leak and was 
 obliged to return for repairs. She went into dry- 
 dock and not until the i6th could she proceed on 
 her journey. 
 
 The next letter, of July 21, was from Baton 
 Rouge : 
 
 We left New Orleans on the igth and arrived here 
 yesterday. It was exciting coming up the river. We 
 had received information that 12,000 guerrillas were 
 near Baton Rouge committing all sorts of depreda 
 tions on the Union people. 
 
 We anchored one night to guard a poor woman 
 whose husband had been taken by the Rebels the 
 night before, and they threatened her, if she told, to 
 come back and burn the house. I went ashore about 
 ten o clock at night to see that everything was right. 
 It was a little risky, but I was not molested. Baton 
 Rouge looks pretty from the river. We expect at 
 tacks every night, and I think rather than have us 
 hold the place, they will destroy it. 
 
 I am having a rather hard time, for I am not well 
 and am under the doctor s care. Being sick in this hot 
 climate and in such small quarters on board ship is 
 not very pleasant, and keeps one fretting all the time. 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 137 
 
 Tell father, I have drunk all the cider he gave me and 
 it was just what I wanted this warm weather. 
 
 Two days later he continues : 
 
 We did not have the attack last night that we 
 expected, although the inhabitants left in great 
 numbers. I am much better to-day and by to-morrow 
 will be entirely well. I do not know when we shall 
 leave here. There has been some hard fighting far 
 ther up the river. A ram, the Arkansas, passed 
 through Davis s fleet and after that passed through 
 most of Farragut s squadron. These things, I can 
 assure you, are very disgusting. With the little means 
 that the Rebels have to manufacture such a ram that 
 they can build one and with that one make half of our 
 vessels "skedaddle"! Farragut attacks the ram and 
 the forts at Vicksburg to-morrow, but he will not be 
 able to do anything with the forts there except run 
 by them and that will do no good. They cannot be 
 taken without an army in the rear. 
 
 The exploit of the Arkansas referred to oc 
 curred on July 15 just above Vicksburg, and was 
 the cause of great chagrin on the part of Admir 
 als Farragut and Davis as well as the Navy 
 Department. That morning the combined fleets 
 of the officers mentioned were lying at rest with 
 fires banked. When the Confederate ironclad 
 unexpectedly appeared from up the Yazoo 
 River, where she had been building, not one of 
 her foes was able to get up steam to ram her or 
 
138 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 otherwise block her progress. The Arkansas 
 endured a terrific bombardment as she ran the 
 gauntlet; her pilot house was demolished, and 
 her smokestack was so riddled that it became 
 impossible to keep up steam; nevertheless aided 
 by the tide she succeeded in crawling past to the 
 protection of the batteries at Vicksburg. She 
 lost ten men killed and fifteen wounded. 
 
 Farragut tried to atone for the reverse by the 
 prompt measures he took for the destruction of 
 the ram. That very evening he again ran the 
 batteries at Vicksburg, hoping to discover the 
 Arkansas in an exposed position where he might 
 destroy her at her moorings, but without suc 
 cess. The incident gave the Confederates a ray 
 of hope and stimulated them to fresh activity. 
 The guerrillas became more annoying, and Per 
 kins learned to know them, as the Cayuga was 
 constantly employed in patrolling the river. 
 
 On July 28 he writes: - 
 
 We arrived at the mouth of Red River in the 
 morning, and had a short engagement with two of the 
 Rebel gunboats, but as they were faster than we and 
 drew less water, they escaped up Red River and we 
 could not follow them. So we started down the river 
 in the evening and ran ashore and were in great dan 
 ger all night, for if the Rebel gunboats had known of 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 139 
 
 our being ashore, they would have come down and 
 taken us. 
 
 The end of the dreaded Arkansas came on 
 August 6, and the Cayuga was present and con 
 tributed her assistance. The Confederates had 
 for some days been threatening an attack on 
 Baton Rouge. To resist this General Butler 
 had sent troops from New Orleans in transports, 
 and the Cayuga had been detailed to accompany 
 them and prevent the guerrillas from firing upon 
 them. On the 5th the Arkansas had come down 
 the river to a bend eight miles above Baton 
 Rouge. Next morning Commodore William D. 
 Porter commanding the Essex decided to attack 
 her, and accompanied by the Cayuga and the 
 Sumter advanced to a position two miles distant 
 and opened fire. The Arkansas made an occa 
 sional response, but her engines broke down, as 
 they had been constantly doing from the very 
 first, and she ran into the bank. Lieutenant 
 Stevens, commanding, realized the hopelessness 
 of his position, and ordering the crew ashore set 
 fire to the ram. Commodore Porter would have 
 taken for himself all the credit for her destruc 
 tion, and in his report described the action as 
 fought at close range after the Cayuga^ in dis- 
 
140 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 obedience to orders, had retreated down the 
 river. But a court of inquiry completely exon 
 erated Commander Fairfax of the Cayuga, show 
 ing that his vessel remained with the Essex till 
 the Arkansas was on fire, when Porter told him 
 to return to Baton Rouge, as he was no longer 
 needed. 
 
 Shortly after this the Cayuga was given duty 
 in the Gulf and Perkins had a slight change 
 described in the following letters : 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, August 4 (?), 1862. 
 
 We are staying here for a short time before going to 
 Pensacola, where we follow the fleet. I have met a 
 good many of my old friends, driven on the famous 
 shell road, and have been about to see the sights of 
 the city; but I am disappointed in them, and every 
 thing strikes me as miserable and filthy. The people 
 ought to have some gratitude to General Butler, for 
 he is trying to get the city clean and he keeps good 
 order. 
 
 PENSACOLA, August 20, 1862. 
 
 We do not have much to do. We take a short 
 cruise every day to see what we can see, and exercise 
 the men a little to keep their digestion in order; and 
 the rest of the time is passed in sleeping and eating 
 and reading. But some way or other I cannot read 
 much. I believe I shall be an awfully nervous man 
 when I get a little older. 
 
 August 21. Off Mobile. We went cruising last 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 141 
 
 night for a prize, but did not get one, and we have 
 just got back to our anchorage. 
 
 August 23. It is a rainy, gloomy day, and if I 
 had not slept from eight o clock last night until eight 
 o clock this morning I should go to bed and sleep all 
 day. But twelve hours on a stretch is as much as I 
 can go. We are now running full speed after a brig; 
 but she will turn out to be some of our vessels. And I 
 wish the captain would stop, or else I shall have to, 
 for when we are running full speed the engine shakes 
 the ship so that it is almost impossible to write. 
 
 OFF MOBILE, August 24, 1862. 
 
 We have been from the Mississippi to Pensacola 
 and back here, since I had a chance to send a letter. 
 We stayed at Pensacola a week, and, as usual, I 
 spent my spare time hunting and fishing. I have not 
 had such a good chance for a long time, and there are 
 quantities of game wild turkeys, deer, all sorts of 
 birds in abundance. 
 
 How long we shall blockade here I do not know. I 
 wish they would make an attack soon, and I shall be 
 glad when the war is over. ... It gets very monoto 
 nous on the blockade, though sometimes the sails 
 appear fairly often, and we keep steam up all the 
 time, and are on a continual chase. 
 
 When we are lying off Mobile, the Rebel boats 
 come down and have a look at us, and we look at 
 them, but there is to be no movement made towards 
 the capture of Mobile for the present. Galveston has 
 fallen into our hands without a struggle, and we are 
 gradually getting all the forts on the Gulf. But 
 Mobile is strongly fortified, and it will require iron 
 clads to accomplish anything in this bay. I am sure 
 
142 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 wooden vessels cannot do much. Buchanan has 
 command of its naval defenses, and is building a 
 powerful ironclad. 
 
 August 28, 1862. 
 
 I have been on shore hunting, and shot two beeves. 
 This sport, is rather dangerous, as guerrillas are said 
 to be plentiful, but it serves to vary our diet and the 
 dullness of blockade duty. There are very severe 
 gales off this bay, "northers" they are called; some of 
 our blockading vessels have been almost destroyed by 
 them. Our ship has escaped so far, but when these 
 gales come, they make lively work for all hands. 
 
 OFF MOBILE, September 5, 1862. 
 
 Yesterday I went hunting after wild cattle and had 
 a hard time. My party consisted of two armed boats* 
 crews, and when we reached the shore, I sent two of 
 my men ahead as scouts to look out for guerrillas, and 
 then we started for some game. 
 
 After hunting all morning, and not seeing anything, 
 I sent one boat off and took the other with a few 
 men to go and pick up the scouts. We pulled a long 
 way, but could not find them, and I was just turn 
 ing about, when I saw a large drove of cattle on shore. 
 We pulled up on the beach and four of us started to 
 get a shot at them, but they caught sight of us and 
 put for a swamp, and in we went after them. We 
 then scattered, thinking our chances for a shot would 
 be better; but after chasing an hour we lost them, and 
 ourselves as well; and not only could we not find each 
 other, but we could not find the boat. 
 
 We heard the ship firing for our return, and about 
 the same time we discovered a Rebel steamer near 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 143 
 
 us. We thought we should certainly be found and 
 taken prisoners. We did not dare to halloo for each 
 other, nor make any signal to our vessel, which we 
 could hear firing for us every few minutes. I knew the 
 captain must have some very good reason tor being 
 so anxious, and I looked everywhere, trying to find 
 my way; but none of my men were to be seen, and I 
 came to the conclusion that they must all have been 
 taken prisoners. I was bound that I would not be 
 taken, so I hid myself in the woods until sunset, and 
 then after it was dusk, went down to the beach and 
 signaled for a boat. When the boat came the men 
 said there was great anxiety about us on board ship, 
 for they felt sure the Rebels had taken us prisoners. 
 As soon as the boat and boat s crew came, I made 
 signals and fired guns, for the three men who had 
 gone after the cattle with me. To my great relief 
 they soon made their appearance. They had been as 
 badly scared as I was, and having come upon tracks 
 of the enemy, had concluded that I must have been 
 taken prisoner, and since then they had been hiding 
 in the woods. Just about this time the boat that I 
 had left, to go after the cattle, came along, and the 
 scouts turned up, and we were all safe. 
 
 The men whom I had left in charge of the boat had 
 undertaken to beguile the time by a sail, and getting 
 to leewards a strong breeze sprang up, and they 
 could not return to land till it went down. But at last 
 we were all right, and got back to the ship safe and 
 sound, and there was great rejoicing over our return. 
 The captain had been very anxious about our fate, 
 for he had seen the steamer and feared the Rebels on 
 board had seen and taken us. How can Hammie or 
 Frank beat this for a hunting story? 
 
144 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 This afternoon we have had some more excitement. 
 A large steamer made her appearance coming in from 
 sea with the English colors set. Captain Preble of the 
 Oneida, and Thornton of the PFinona, blockading off 
 this place, saw her, and both got under way, and the 
 Winona stood for her; but Thornton soon decided 
 that it must be an English man-of-war, and therefore 
 stood off after another sail which hove in sight. 
 
 Then what they thought was an English man-of- 
 war came dashing up to the Oneida, near enough for 
 them to see that she carried five guns on a side, and a 
 pivot gun forward, and as she got abreast of the 
 Oneida, Captain Preble fired a shot across her bows to 
 bring her to; he supposed she brought some import 
 ant news, and he would board her, as she was within 
 our lines. But the steamer stood on, and as soon as 
 she passed the Oneida, hauled down her English 
 colors and made for the harbor. She was very fast, 
 and the Oneida, having but one boiler in use, was 
 unable to catch her; so she reached Mobile in safety, 
 and, no doubt, carried to the Rebels a valuable cargo 
 of arms. It was a smart thing on the part of the Rebel 
 captain. 
 
 September n, 1862. 
 
 Since that English steamer ran the blockade here 
 our fleet has been reinforced. We keep on the chase 
 all the time after every sail that appears. 
 
 News comes that the Rebels are in force again near 
 New Orleans. I cannot understand why our fleet is 
 kept so inactive. A few gunboats, rightly handled, 
 could have kept the Mississippi open from New 
 Orleans to Vicksburg; but instead of being kept on 
 such duty, they have been concentrated at ports, 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 145 
 
 while the river has been easily retaken by the Rebels, 
 and there will be more hard fighting there yet. 
 
 September 14, 1862. 
 
 We have now seven gunboats here. This is getting 
 to be a rendezvous for our men-of-war; but I do not 
 know what they intend doing. 
 
 My captain is so scary and anxious about every 
 thing, that I cannot go hunting much; but yesterday 
 I got ashore and shot two of the wild cattle about the 
 swamps, and that helps out our table a good deal. 
 
 The only variety which we get nowadays, to the 
 monotonous duty of blockading, is the awful wind, 
 which blows a perfect gale here every few days, just 
 at this season, and which does not make it any more 
 agreeable. 
 
 I think there is no hope of any attack on Mobile at 
 present. Galveston, as you know, is in the enemy s 
 hands again, and Admiral Farragut has sent two 
 boats to try and retake it. This ship is going to 
 Pensacola, if it will stop blowing a gale long enough 
 for us to start. 
 
 OFF MOBILE, October 4, 1862. 
 
 I have a chance to send home a line by ship Island, 
 and I am going to write something, though my 
 monotonous life does not give me a word worth say 
 ing, for we cruise about every day but we see 
 nothing. 
 
 Buchanan is hard at work inside Mobile Harbor, 
 and has four very good gunboats, besides an ironclad. 
 
 I am getting to be an "old" lieutenant now, and 
 will soon be ordered first lieutenant of a larger ship 
 than this. 
 
146 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 News comes that Captain Preble has been dis 
 missed for letting that English steamer run the 
 blockade. 
 
 October 6, 1862. 
 
 I wish they would make the attack here and have it 
 over. I believe that a few ironclads could pass these 
 forts successfully; and if we had some ironclads, we 
 could dispense with this large fleet of wooden vessels. 
 
 Don t forget when you write to tell me every little 
 thing even the last new thing Poll has learned to 
 say. The letters come so irregularly and I have so 
 much time to think of home, that I am always fancy 
 ing something happening there, and I want to know 
 everything. 
 
 October 13, 1862. 
 
 A few days ago two large steamers, the Cuba and 
 the Alice loaded with cotton ran the blockade in the 
 night-time, and got clear. Since Captain Preble has 
 been dismissed the commanding officer has been very 
 vigilant, and we give chase to every sail that heaves 
 in sight. I am sorry for Captain Preble and hope he 
 will get back, for he has been in the navy all his life 
 has a family, and nothing but his pay. 
 
 The weather has changed and is cold enough for 
 New Hampshire, and my fingers are so numb I can 
 hardly write. We are lying now very near Mobile 
 Bay just beyond the range of the forts. The Rebel 
 steamers come out and have a look at us, and posi 
 tively it seems strange that they are our enemies. 
 But if I do not realize it now, probably I shall some 
 day; perhaps before the winter is over. 
 
 We do not get much that is good to eat, and fresh 
 provisions come along irregularly, and last only about 
 three days. 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 147 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, November 2, 1862. 
 
 We arrived here from Pensacola and went up the 
 river at once to attack some Rebel gunboats, but we 
 could not find them. We went up as far as Baton 
 Rouge, but were not molested by anything except the 
 sharpshooters on the levee, but we did not lose any 
 men. 
 
 I have just received my orders to report to Commo 
 dore Morris for duty as executive officer on board the 
 Pensacola. She is one of the finest vessels in the navy, 
 carries a battery of twenty-six large guns, and has 
 about 400 men. It is a promotion for me, and I shall 
 have to work hard. 
 
 The Pensacola will remain here this winter to pro 
 tect the city, and you must direct all your letters 
 here. Captain Fairfax has spoken very highly of me 
 to every one, and he does not want me to leave 
 him. . . . 
 
 I called on Mrs. Butler the other day. She seemed 
 glad to see me. I took dinner with the general. I also 
 met General Shipley last night. They were all very 
 polite, but you can hardly imagine the rascality and 
 depravity that is carried on in this city. 
 
 U.S. STEAMER Pensacola, NEW ORLEANS, 
 November 5, 1862. 
 
 I have left the Cayuga and am almost settled on 
 board this ship. ... I have a great deal to do; every 
 thing is new to me, as I have been on small ships so 
 much, and I am very busy. I have a fine room, a 
 clerk, and a boy, all to myself. But I was almost 
 always happy on board the Cayuga. Captain Fairfax 
 was very sorry when I left, and I believe every one 
 else was. 
 
148 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 I have been a witness for the last few days in the 
 court of inquiry [ordered to investigate the part 
 taken by the Cayuga in the destruction of the Arkan 
 sas}. Captain Fairfax has come out with flying 
 colors, and I am glad of it. ... 
 
 What an awful war this is. It would make your 
 heart ache to see the destruction of Rebel property 
 on this river. The army officers are quartered in the 
 finest houses in the city. Stealing and depravity of 
 every kind is going on. 
 
 Christmas, 1862. 
 
 I stayed on board ship all day, and as I soon fell to 
 thinking about you all at home, I had a fit of home 
 sickness. So I am going to begin a letter, though as 
 usual I have little to write about except myself. . . . 
 We ha4 a good dinner to-day that is we had plenty 
 of food that ought to have been better than it was. I 
 thought of your mince pie and nice cooking and my 
 last Christmas at home. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, January 3, 1863. 
 
 We have bad news to-night from Galveston, Texas. 
 The Rebels attacked three of our gunboats; with four 
 river boats they took the Harriet Lane, boarding 
 her, and causing the others to blow themselves up. 
 Captain Wainwright of the Harriet Lane, Captain 
 Renshaw of the Westfield, and Lieutenant Lea were 
 killed besides several other officers and men. Their 
 army attacked our troops on shore at the same time 
 and have killed or captured them all. . . . 
 
 There will be a great deal of desperate fighting 
 here; and if we do not look out we shall be whipped 
 out of the river. We are all very inactive. The army 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 149 
 
 is completely demoralized. The miserable specula 
 tors, instead of being hanged when they are caught, 
 and they are caught very often, are merely impris 
 oned a few days, and then they return to their dis 
 honest business with double energy. General Banks 
 is too easy and the country looks as though it were 
 going to the old Harry. 
 
 I suppose I am having a very pleasant time here, 
 but I must say I am willing to leave. Our vessel being 
 the largest and finest we have a great many lady visi 
 tors and I receive many invitations to the homes in 
 the city. I had a pleasant call last night on a young 
 lady that owns a large plantation and plenty of 
 negroes. I think it would be rather dangerous for me 
 if the times were not just as they are. ... I am going 
 to-morrow night with Mrs. Maloney, wife of the 
 Maloney whom I wrote you about, to take tea and 
 pass the evening with a Mrs. Converse, who is a 
 rather nice lady. During the evening I expect to meet 
 several young ladies, who of course cannot be fash 
 ionable unless they are secesh. I am sorry I made the 
 engagement to go, for I do hate a secessionist. But 
 I shall go in full uniform, and have as good a time 
 as I can. 
 
 January 27, 1863. 
 
 Things look very shaky, and there seems no head 
 nor tail in either the army or the navy. Spies here come 
 and go at will, and the chief and worst ones are ladies 
 of the best families. They take the oath of allegiance, 
 and ask permission to pass our lines for the purpose of 
 getting a few supplies for their children, who, they 
 say, are starving; but when once through, they get 
 everything they can sew up in their skirts quinine 
 
i 5 o GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 and everything else and their supply comes from 
 cur arrr.y ?:;res. They re: i: no rr.atter if it is ccr.tra- 
 band of war. One lady boasted that she wanted 
 nothing more within our lines; that she had carried 
 through over 200 hundred ounces of quinine within 
 the last week. . . . 
 
 As you like to know all the compliments that are 
 paid me, I will tell you one that I had the other day 
 from General Weitzel. He wants me to take com 
 mand of a fleet of gunboats in Berwick Bay. He is 
 ee:::^r ur ar. exreci:::" ::" ::.::: men ar.d a f.ee: of 
 gunboats to go up through the bayous into Red 
 River, and he wants me to take command of the 
 naval force. He said to me, "Perkins, you are the 
 only man that I know of fitted to go through the 
 desperate fighting we shall have; but with you in 
 command of those gunboats and me with my troops, 
 we can face the devil, and are bound to win. But 
 unless you will go with me, I have my doubts about 
 succeeding, and I shall think twice before I go. . . ." 
 
 A Rebel quartermaster has just been caught with 
 a list of the articles he intended to purchase within our 
 lines of our sutlers, though to be sure he had taken 
 the oath of allegiance. He will probably be impris- 
 soned a few days and then let out, when he will at 
 once go back to the same rascally business, and we 
 shall go on furnishing the Rebel army and people 
 with food and medicines. It makes me fairly vexed 
 and unhappy to see the United States and its Govern 
 ment and its soldiers, so scoffed and cheated and 
 jeered at by the Rebels. . . . 
 
 My next gayety is to be a party up the river. We 
 are going to visit a large sugar plantation of some 
 reputation; but that will wind up my visiting, as I 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON" 151 
 
 ought not to leave the ship much, for Commodore 
 Morris is growing more feeble, and I do not believe 
 he can hold out much longer. I hope the captain who 
 takes his place will be as fine an officer and gentleman 
 as he is. 
 
 It would do you good to see the Pensacola now. 
 She is one of the finest ships in the navy, and by hav 
 ing my own way, I have got her in splendid order, and 
 the crew perfectly drilled. 
 
 January 23, 1863. 
 
 The other morning I received orders from the 
 Admiral to take command of the Cayuga and go to 
 Galveston to assist in retaking it. I was delighted 
 with the orders, for I hate to lie here inactive, and I 
 made all haste to be off to her; but when the mail 
 steamer arrived, whom should it bring but Captain 
 McDerrit, who had been ordered at the department 
 to relieve Captain Fairfax as her commander, and 
 my hopes are dashed. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, April 21, 1863. 
 
 The Naval Register states that I have been a 
 lieutenant-commander since December 13, 1862, but 
 I have not received any notification of it from the 
 
 department. 
 
 During the months that followed, Grant and 
 Porter were completing the investment of Vicks- 
 burg, while Banks and Farragut were operating 
 against Port Hudson, both of which strongholds 
 fell during early July. Meanwhile the Confed 
 erate forces in the Southwest had been far from 
 
152 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 idle. They had, as narrated by Perkins in his 
 letters, retaken Galveston. And when General 
 Banks had withdrawn his troops from the Red 
 River country so as to concentrate upon Port 
 Hudson, General Taylor of the Confederate 
 Army proposed the uniting of Walker s division 
 with his own at Alexandria, Louisiana, when the 
 combined forces should take the open road to the 
 south. With the 7000 or 8000 men whom he would 
 have, he promised either to capture New Orleans 
 or else compel Banks to hasten to its succor and 
 thus raise the siege of Port Hudson, But, fortu 
 nately for the Union cause, Taylor was over 
 ruled by Kirby Smith, who ordered Walker s 
 division to remain in the vicinity of Vicksburg, 
 thus limiting Taylor s force to 3000 men. 
 
 Disappointed but not discouraged, Taylor 
 moved south in two detachments. One of these 
 on June 18 reached Plaquemine (between Baton 
 Rouge and Donaldsonville on the Mississippi), 
 and captured the little garrison of seventy men 
 and burned two steamers. Both detachments 
 arrived at Brashear City four days later and 
 attacking simultaneously captured the entire 
 force there, variously estimated at from 300 to 
 1700 men. This success had some importance 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 153 
 
 to the Confederates, for it gave Taylor s force 
 abundant supplies and afforded a ready access 
 to the La Fourche country to the east, with the 
 Western Railroad leading to New Orleans. 
 
 Losing no time, Taylor collected the supplies 
 which he had captured, sent part of his forces 
 against Donaldsonville, and with the rest ad 
 vanced towards New Orleans, his pickets being 
 only twenty-five miles distant. The city was 
 almost without defenders, and its danger caused 
 no small alarm. At Donaldsonville there were 
 but 1 80 men in the garrison, but with the aid of 
 three Union gunboats in the river they suc 
 ceeded in beating off 1400 Confederates who 
 attacked them at half-past one on the morning 
 of June 28. The latter then took a position a 
 few miles down the river where they erected 
 batteries commanding its navigation. Thus not 
 only was New Orleans threatened from the La 
 Fourche, but all communications with General 
 Banks by transports were cut off. It was at this 
 crisis that Perkins was given important duty as 
 described in the following letter: 
 
 U.S.S. New London, July 4, 1863. 
 
 I am on my way down the river, and shall soon be 
 in New Orleans. I have taken command of this vessel 
 
154 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 until her captain comes from Mobile; but after that 
 I expect to go back to the Pensacola. My duty is to 
 convey powder to Banks s army. I left New Orleans 
 in the evening, convoying the steamer North America 
 as far as Donaldsonville. The river is now in posses 
 sion of the Rebels from about forty miles above New 
 Orleans to Donaldsonville, and they fire on all our 
 vessels and destroy our transports. I have been 
 up all night, and have had a hard and lively time. 
 Within two miles of Donaldsonville a Rebel battery 
 opened on us with artillery and sharpshooters. We 
 were struck several times and had a spirited engage 
 ment. I got the North America by all right, with 
 only four shots through her, and then, leaving her at 
 Donaldsonville, I returned to the scene of action, and 
 kept it up till they stopped firing. On my way down 
 I trained my guns on everything I could see, as I was 
 determined to make them pay dear for their whistle 
 this time; but the levee is so high that one is not able 
 to see anything behind it, and the Rebels mass their 
 sharpshooters at different points and fire into our 
 gunboats when they pass; and, although we blaze 
 away back, we do not get a fair revenge. In fact, the 
 Rebels are now doing pretty much as they please 
 everywhere. They come and go freely, in and out of 
 New Orleans, and all our affairs are in a confused and 
 disorganized state. 
 
 The efficient manner in which Perkins handled 
 his ship did not fail to attract notice. Captain 
 T. A. Jenkins, reporting an engagement, July 7, 
 between the Confederate batteries below Don 
 aldsonville and the Union fleet, says, "Lieuten- 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 155 
 
 ant-Commander Perkins, in command of the 
 New London, fought his vessel admirably." 1 
 And General Banks, as he wrote to Admiral 
 Farragut, July 8, announcing the surrender of 
 Port Hudson, suggests Perkins as one who would 
 enable them to atone for the reverses on the 
 river and in the La Fourche: 
 
 All the light-draft boats should be ordered down at 
 once [to Berwick Bay]. ... I hope Captain Wiggin 
 and Captain Perkins may be put in command, as 
 they know the localities and are energetic in action. 2 
 
 Banks s plan was not carried out, however, and 
 Perkins s command of the New London ended 
 with a misfortune. This is related in his letter of 
 July 29: 
 
 Since I wrote you last I have been through more 
 excitement, and it seems to me as if I had been in 
 more danger than ever before in my life; and I am 
 going to try and describe to you my last trip in the 
 New London. 
 
 I had passed the Whitehall Point batteries in her 
 successfully five times, but on the sixth trip, when the 
 New London was returning to New Orleans, just as 
 she was passing those batteries, at about quarter past 
 one, on the morning of the loth of July, the enemy 
 discovered her, and opened with artillery and sharp 
 shooters. One shot struck the New London s boiler, 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xx, p. 334. 2 Ibid., p. 262. 
 
156 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 which exploded, severely scalding six men, and 
 another shot penetrated the steam drum. This dis 
 abled the vessel, and I ordered her to be run toward 
 the eastern bank, but the escaping steam made it 
 impossible for the helmsman to remain at the wheel, 
 and the ship grounded within range of the battery. 
 The gunboat Winona, which had been ordered to 
 escort the New London past Whitehall Point, ran 
 away at the first shot, and was out of sight by this 
 time. I fired rockets to inform her of my danger and 
 to summon her to my assistance, but received no 
 response. 
 
 We were at the mercy of the sharpshooters, and 
 every shot dealt death and destruction. My first 
 lieutenant was shot through the head, and the men 
 now became so terrified that they began to leap over 
 board. I then ordered a boat to be manned and 
 kedged off the ship astern, till she drifted downstream 
 out of the way of the upper battery. But the most 
 powerful fortification of the battery was still below 
 us; so I towed the ship to the eastern bank and made 
 her fast; but danger pursued me here, and it was soon 
 plain that I had only gained a respite from the mur 
 derous fire, for I could see the enemy cutting em 
 brasures to move their guns down for a better range, 
 and I knew that daylight would seal the fate of my 
 ship and crew. 
 
 I determined to save them if I could. I sent the 
 ship s company ashore under the protection of the 
 levee, where they could use their muskets to repel an 
 attack, and stationed pickets along the road. I then 
 despatched messengers by land to Donaldsonville, 
 where General Weitzel was, for assistance, and sent a 
 boat by the river to the Monongahela and the Essex 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 157 
 
 with the same request. These two ships were sta 
 tioned some miles below on the river to protect an 
 encampment of our troops on the eastern bank. 
 
 The messengers returned from Donaldsonville say 
 ing no assistance could be rendered; while, with 
 regard to the success of those I sent by the river I felt 
 very doubtful, so much was the passage of the White 
 hall Point batteries dreaded. Just at this time infor 
 mation was brought me that a force of Rebel cavalry 
 - 500 strong was only a few miles in the interior. 
 I felt desperate, for I realized the whole peril of the 
 situation, and I was determined that my ship and 
 crew should not fall into the hands of the enemy. I 
 resolved to follow the dictates of my own judgment. 
 I knew that upon a personal application Weitzel 
 would at once grant me anything I wanted. I went 
 ashore, and capturing a horse that was tied to a fence, 
 I rode back to Donaldsonville. Arrived opposite, I 
 signaled to the Princess Royal to send a boat for me, 
 and, to save time, I first demanded assistance from 
 her senior officer; this he thought fit to refuse. 
 
 The Princess Royal was one of our gunboats sta 
 tioned at Donaldsonville to protect and help Weitzel. 
 I immediately hastened to him, and without delay he 
 started a body of troops down the river for my assist 
 ance. But when I returned to the spot where I had 
 left the New London I found her gone, and I con 
 cluded rightly, as it afterwards proved that the 
 boat I had sent early in the morning had succeeded 
 in reaching our ships, and that they had come up and 
 taken her off. I found afterwards that it was the 
 ironclad Essex, and it towed her directly to New 
 Orleans. 
 
 This was a great relief to me, for now the lives of 
 
i$8 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 my men were safe, and the ship was still under its 
 own flag; but I began to realize that my own position 
 was now one of considerable danger. I fastened the 
 horse I had so unceremoniously borrowed to the spot 
 I first found him, and then hired a negro to drive me, 
 in any sort of vehicle he could get, down the levee 
 road to our lines. This proved to be a carryall har 
 nessed to a mule; but it was the best he could do. I 
 took the back seat, and laid my loaded pistols by my 
 side close under my hand. At the negro s earnest 
 entreaty I put on my uniform coat wrong side out, 
 that it might not attract attention, and so I started 
 a Union officer, miles from our troops on my 
 passage through the enemy s country, along a road 
 where Rebel troops, bands of guerrillas and sharp 
 shooters were usually in constant movement. . . . 
 Around a grocery shop which I passed there were 
 lounging a group of armed Rebels. My driver was 
 terribly frightened at this, and kept saying, "Set 
 back, massa, for God s sake, set back! Mebbe dey 
 won t see you!" And then whipped up his mule till 
 we were safe beyond their reach. 
 
 But I had been seen and suspected by the Rebel 
 troops on the other side of the river, and they had 
 sent a boat and some soldiers across to capture me. 
 They reached the bank on my side, landed, and came 
 up the road to intercept me just as I was nearing our 
 lines. Fortunately all this was perceived by our 
 troops, and a body of cavalry was sent out, which 
 captured the Rebels and conducted me in safety to 
 the camp by one and the same proceeding. Here I 
 found one of our ships the Monogahela and I 
 went on board of her in a perfectly exhausted condi 
 tion. Flinging myself in a bunk I slept soundly for 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 159 
 
 hours, undisturbed by the fact that a short time 
 before, while lying in that very same place, the cap 
 tain of the Monongahela Abner Read had been 
 killed by a Rebel shot which penetrated the ship s 
 side and struck him, and that his dead body was 
 then on board, being conveyed to New Orleans. 
 
 I roused myself next morning in order to continue 
 my journey to New Orleans in a commissary wagon, 
 but when daylight dawned I saw a gunboat coming 
 down the river in command of my friend Captain 
 Cooke and I went on board of her and made the rest 
 of my trip by water. 
 
 Admiral Farragut admired the young officer s 
 bravery, but considered he had acted unwisely 
 in one particular. This he called his attention to 
 by reminding him of the principle, "A comman 
 der should be the last person to leave the ship 
 even for succor." As he repeated this in report 
 ing the matter to the department, he added: 
 
 His conduct was represented as cool. He made 
 every disposition of his men, and managed his vessel 
 with ability. 
 
 On the 1 3th of July, Admiral Farragut ordered 
 Perkins to deliver over the command of the New 
 London to Lieutenant-Commander Potter and 
 resume his former duties on the Pensacola. 
 There is shown a kindly spirit on the part of the 
 Admiral as he concludes his letter: 
 
160 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 I regret this necessity, but seniority must have its 
 precedence, and it is for no misconduct that you are 
 relieved. I am satisfied that you acted to the best of 
 your judgment in the case of the disabling of the New 
 London. 
 
 Perkins s next duty gave proof, even more 
 positive, of Farragut s good opinion. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, July 31, 1863. 
 
 The Admiral has given me command of the Sciota. 
 She is a fine gunboat and a good command for me. 
 He promised me a good command when I was 
 relieved from the New London, and he has kept his 
 word. Commodore Morris left the Pensacola this 
 afternoon. The old gentleman felt very sad, and so 
 did we, for we all loved him very much. He was 
 so feeble that he had to be lowered over the side in 
 a chair, and I am afraid he will not live to get home. 
 
 The Sciota will lie off this city about a month. She 
 is a regular naval gunboat, and carries four 24-pound 
 howitzers, one n-inch gun, and one Parrott gun, and 
 her officers and crew number 115 men, all told. 
 
 Tell Uncle Paul that I am the youngest officer at 
 this time that has such a command. I expect my 
 destination is to be blockade duty somewhere off 
 Galveston, Texas. 
 
 For the next four months the Sciota lay in 
 the Mississippi. During the period of waiting 
 her young captain had to combat that most 
 insidious foe, more dreaded in the river than 
 the enemy s strongest batteries, yellow fever. 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 161 
 
 Dr. Henry W. Birkey, the ship surgeon, gives a 
 glimpse of the terrible experience and of the 
 captain s fortitude in a letter written forty-five 
 years later to Commodore Perkins s daughter: 
 
 I can see your father as he stood in the gangway of 
 the ship as I boarded the Sciota. ... As he held out 
 his hand to me as I stepped on the quarterdeck he 
 looked grave, but smiled and said, "I am glad you 
 have come, doctor." I replied, "Captain, with your 
 permission I will go at once and attend to the sick 
 men." "I will go with you," was his answer. We 
 passed along the waist of the ship forward, and it 
 was a scene never to be forgotten. Many of those 
 stricken by the yellow fever (two thirds of the crew 
 were down with it) had stayed on deck to get fresh 
 air; it was stifling below, although they had wind 
 sails. The topgallant forecastle was full of them; 
 others were lying beside or against the bulwarks and 
 hammock cloths, and one or two in the shade of the 
 ii-inch gun amidships. Some appeared to be either 
 dead or dying. After we had seen them all and I had 
 given orders how they should be cared for, your 
 father said to me, "Doctor, come with me into the 
 cabin." Then he said, "It is terrible to see those 
 poor fellows suffering." He never spoke of himself, 
 although he was shut up in midstream on the Missis 
 sippi on board ship with such an awful pestilence 
 and the dead and dying around him. Two medi 
 cal officers, my friends, had already died and I was 
 kept busy. Your father s ship, the Sciota, had been 
 raised from the bottom of the river and was full of 
 ooze and mud among her timbers; . . . the fever was 
 
1 62 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 in the fleet, and she became as it were a hotbed. . . . 
 I left him calm, as he always was in the greatest 
 danger, one of the bravest gentlemen I ever knew. 
 All his friends loved him. 
 
 It was not until the very last of November, 
 1863, that Perkins received his sailing orders and 
 put to sea. The Sciota was to be a factor in the 
 great blockade that began with Hampton Roads 
 and extended over 3000 miles to the Rio Grande, 
 a blockade which in magnitude has never 
 been equaled. The points especially watched on 
 the Texas coast were Sabine Pass, Galveston, 
 Pass Cavallo, Aransas, and Corpus Christi. 
 The Sciota patrolled a long stretch of this coast, 
 dividing the time almost equally between the 
 first three places mentioned. Early in the war 
 there had been several Union successes on the 
 Texas coast, but the towns and harbors gained 
 had not been held for lack of troops. After the 
 fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Texas had 
 become less important to the Confederacy as a 
 source of supplies, and the Government at 
 Washington thought it hardly worth while to 
 reoccupy its ports. Nevertheless, it ordered the 
 West Gulf Squadron to continue in the blockade, 
 both to prevent the Confederates from becoming 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 163 
 
 too active in the Southwest and to avoid the 
 European complications that would have re 
 sulted from the encouragement to trade with the 
 South if part of the blockade had been aban 
 doned. 
 
 Admiral Mahan, as a lieutenant on the Semi- 
 nole, had a part in this same blockade, and he 
 speaks of the desperately tedious duty when 
 even "the largest reservoirs of anecdotes were 
 sure to run dry." The supply vessels, he re 
 marks, came periodically, but though they 
 reached the blockade off Charleston with papers 
 not very late and fresh provisions not very long 
 slaughtered, at Galveston and Sabine Pass they 
 could furnish only stale news and the bottom 
 tier of fresh beef. He says further: 
 
 The dead monotony of the blockade was neither 
 sea nor port. It supplied nothing. The crew, once 
 drilled, needed but a few moments each day to keep 
 at the level of proficiency; and there was practically 
 nothing to do, because nothing happened that 
 required a doing or undoing. . . . [After six months 
 duty there the Seminole was] recalled in mercy to 
 New Orleans. I have never seen a body of intelligent 
 men reduced so nearly to imbecility as my shipmates 
 then were. 1 
 
 1 Mahan, From Sail to Steam, p. 174, 175. Copyright, 1906, 1907, 
 by Harper & Brothers. 
 
164 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 It is not strange that in such a life Perkins s 
 thoughts dwelt very often on home. His 
 brothers, Roger, Hamilton, and Frank, all 
 younger than he, were at the age when 
 moulding influences are so powerful. There was 
 uppermost that most important subject of 
 young manhood, the choice of profession. 
 Perkins s letters are full of sympathy and in 
 terest. As Miss Perkins observes, many fathers 
 are not so anxious about their sons as he was at 
 this time for his brothers. Roger, after a slight 
 trial of business, thought of enlisting in the army 
 and taking part in the war. But Perkins, fearing 
 that he might thus sacrifice his career, urged him 
 not to, and expressed great satisfaction when 
 later he decided to study medicine. Perkins also 
 wrote many letters to Hamilton, and tried to 
 help him by his own experience when in 1863 
 Hamilton entered the Naval Academy. The 
 youngest brother, Frank, was then fifteen years 
 old. He is said to have been unusually promising, 
 and Perkins plans that he shall be "the home 
 boy, going into business in Concord to be near 
 the family." The family finances at this time 
 were not very prosperous, and Perkins gener 
 ously offered Roger the funds necessary for his 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 165 
 
 medical education at Harvard. The means, 
 however, were found elsewhere. 
 
 A glimpse of life on the blockade off the Texas 
 coast is furnished by Perkins s letters written in 
 the winter of 1863-64. Even on this dreary duty 
 he shows his active nature by having an occa 
 sional adventure, just as earlier when cruising 
 for slavers on the African coast. 
 
 I do nothing but read and build castles in the air, 
 for no sails appear within the lines of coast allotted to 
 me. Once in three weeks the steamer comes along 
 with our letters and provisions fresh meat, pota 
 toes and onions. Once or twice I have ventured on 
 shore, but it is very risky, and the last time I was so 
 nearly captured that it is a wonder now that I am not 
 either shot or a prisoner of war. I would go ashore, 
 just for a change, and, being unknown, would venture 
 into the towns and villages, buying something at the 
 stores and looking about a little, and even make some 
 friends who did not know my name; but the last 
 time that I tried this a man said to me, "I know you; 
 you are the captain of that Yankee gunboat that 
 blockades off here." Some one with whom I had been 
 sociable contradicted him. A crowd began to gather, 
 and while they were disputing who I was, I hurried 
 to my boat, hidden in a cove, but not before they had 
 started in pursuit of me and got pretty close, too. I 
 was well frightened, for if I had not got away, it 
 would have been an awful scrape, even if my life had 
 been saved. 
 
 We have had a steady gale of wind which has 
 
1 66 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 blown for weeks without cessation, and the ship has 
 done nothing but roll, roll, roll, all the time, and we 
 are perfectly tired out. 
 
 The monotony was occasionally varied by a 
 brush with the enemy, who had erected batteries 
 at several places along the coast, or by a recon- 
 noissance with the army. The following letter, 
 written by Perkins to the department, reports 
 one of the latter affairs : 
 
 U.S. GUNBOAT Sciota, 
 OFF GALVESTON, January 3, 1864. 
 
 In obedience to your orders of the i6th ultimo, I 
 proceeded to the Rio Grande, arrived there on the 
 1 9th December, and boarded the brig Penniman, 
 from New York, under English colors, and anchored 
 in our waters. She had an assorted cargo. The cap 
 tain being at Matamoras with all the papers, I sent an 
 officer to Matamoras to communicate with our consul 
 and ascertain if the brig s papers were correct. The 
 officer returned the following day and stated that the 
 consul had certified that the brig and her papers were 
 correct. 
 
 Left the Rio Grande on the evening of the 2ist 
 instant, and arrived at Pass Cavallo the next day and 
 reported to Captain Strong for duty. December 28, 
 I received orders from Captain Strong to proceed up 
 the coast about thirty miles in company with the 
 Granite City, which had on board 100 troops, and 
 assist in landing them, then proceed with General 
 Ransom on board for the purpose of reconnoitering 
 the coast as far as Brazos River. At twelve o clock 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 167 
 
 that night I got under way, and assisted in landing 
 the troops at Smith s Landing the next morning, and 
 then proceeded up the coast, and when off San 
 Bernard River discovered that the enemy had 2000 
 or 3000 men at work throwing up breastworks on 
 the northern bank of the river. I fired a few shells 
 and dispersed them. On arriving at the Brazos River, 
 I found two forts on each side of the river, mounting 
 seven guns; breastworks thrown up in the rear of the 
 forts, and large numbers of troops at work upon 
 them. Fired several shots at the works. At five P.M. 
 returned to Smith s Landing, arriving there about 
 eight o clock. Captain Lamson, of the Granite City, 
 reported that our troops had been attacked by about 
 800 Rebel cavalry, and that our troops had in 
 trenched themselves behind logs of wood, and at sun 
 down with his assistance had succeeded in keeping 
 them in check. The Granite City having used up all 
 of her ammunition, I sent Captain Lamson to report 
 to Captain Strong and get his assistance. Owing to a 
 heavy swell I was unable to communicate with or 
 get the troops off. I anchored as near them as pos 
 sible, and as they were continually attacked, I was 
 obliged to keep up a constant fire all night. On the 
 following morning, there being a heavy fog, we were 
 unable to see our troops until about ten o clock, and at 
 the same time discovered a Rebel steamer on the oppo 
 site side of the peninsula, apparently landing troops. 
 I opened fire upon her with my rifle, and compelled 
 her to change her position, she going farther from us 
 and opening fire with her guns upon our troops, 
 obliging them to abandon their breastwork and to 
 proceed down the coast, we convoying them until 
 dark, when losing sight of them we anchored. 
 
168 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 During the night the wind changed to the north 
 ward, and in the morning the swell having gone 
 down, we proceeded down the coast, and when about 
 fifteen miles from Pass Cavallo overtook our troops. 
 We embarked them, and at seven o clock anchored 
 off Pass Cavallo. The following afternoon I sent the 
 troops back to their camp by the Granite City. 1 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Hesseltine commanding 
 the troops engaged in this reconnoissance says in 
 his report :- 
 
 Captain Perkins, of the Sciota, excited my admira 
 tion by the daring manner in which he exposed his 
 ship through the night in the surf till it broke all 
 about him, that he might, close to us, lend the moral 
 force of his n-inch guns and howitzers, and by his 
 gallantry in bringing us off during the gale. 2 
 
 The seven months Perkins spent in blockading 
 the Texas coast did not end without a substan 
 tial success. On April 4, 1864, he captured a 
 prize, the Mary Sorley. She was a very fast 
 schooner that previous to the war had been a 
 United States revenue cutter stationed at 
 Galveston. 
 
 It was a dark, stormy night with a heavy wind 
 from the north ideal conditions for a small 
 blockade-runner to elude a single Union gunboat 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xx, p. 743 2 Ibid., p. 748. 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 169 
 
 lying outside the bar. But Perkins, suspecting 
 that an attempt might be made, had urged the 
 lookouts to be extra vigilant. They reported the 
 schooner just as she glided past. Immediately 
 word was given on the Sciota to slip the anchor 
 and, stirring up the fires which had been partly 
 banked, put on a full head of steam. The chase 
 began in dead earnest, but before the Sciota was 
 well under way the schooner had been swallowed 
 up in night. The pursuit then became mere 
 guesswork and the hope of making a capture 
 grew fainter and fainter. The blockade-runner 
 was undoubtedly bound for Cuba, and when last 
 seen was on the usual course, which would take 
 her well out to sea. But Perkins, instead of 
 following this, soon changed his course to the 
 east and hugged the shore. Luck was with him, 
 and the shadowy outlines were again sighted. 
 If before on the Sciota there had been excite 
 ment, it was now doubled. The schooner had 
 such speed that with the favoring wind she 
 could make almost as many knots as the gun 
 boat. And, as she showed no lights, by gaining 
 even a slight advantage she might still make her 
 escape in the darkness. But the Sciota clung to 
 her, and drawing up inch by inch finally came 
 
1 70 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 close enough to hail. In answer to Perkins s 
 demand, she then hove to. She was found to be 
 loaded with 257 bales of sea cotton, which 
 especially during the war was a valuable cargo 
 for a small craft. Perkins put a prize crew on 
 board and sent her to New Orleans for adjudica 
 tion. He expected $3000 or $4000 as his own 
 share, but because of the corruptness of the 
 prize courts of New Orleans, as he thought, the 
 award to the officers and crew of the Sciota, was 
 only half her value. 
 
 Soon after the taking of the Mary Sorley, Per 
 kins had assurance that he was to be relieved 
 from duty on the blockade. He waited eagerly 
 for the arrival of the supply steamer which 
 should bring the officer who was to take over the 
 command of his ship, but was doomed to disap 
 pointment. Nearly two months later the head 
 ing of his letter is still, "Off Sabine Pass, 
 Texas." 
 
 The Circassian to-day brought me only one letter 
 from my home, and did not bring me my relief. He 
 has been ordered some time, and I fully expected him 
 in this steamer. I find waiting for him a very tan 
 talizing business, and I fall back on thinking that 
 whatever happens, I certainly shall not be left here 
 all summer. . 
 
IN THE WEST GULF SQUADRON 171 
 
 It seems like a living death to be on the blockade. 
 When the Circassian, which is here now, goes, it will 
 be twenty days before we see another sail. We get all 
 talked out on board ship, and sometimes a week 
 passes and I do not speak a word, except those which 
 my duty requires. There is very little variety on my 
 blockade, though it is an extensive one, stretching 
 from Port Cavallo to Sabine Pass, and now it is past 
 time for my relief to come and I feel very impatient. 
 
 One would think I might grow fat leading such a 
 quiet life, but I stick at the old notch where I have 
 been for five years, and weigh only 115 pounds. 
 
 The relief came the very last of June, and 
 Perkins was free to go North and see the home 
 that had been so constantly in his thoughts dur 
 ing the preceding months. But before he should 
 see his home, Farragut had service for him, ser 
 vice that was to rank him among the distin 
 guished commanders of the Civil War. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 
 
 AFTER the capture of New Orleans, if 
 Farragut had been permitted to plan the 
 next operations, instead of ascending the Missis 
 sippi and making two futile attacks on Vicks- 
 burg, he would have proceeded against Mobile. 
 At the time it would have been an easy capture. 
 Two years later, when the department ordered 
 the occupation of Mobile Bay, the undertaking 
 was much more formidable. The Confederates 
 had vastly improved their defenses; not only 
 had they strengthened the forts commanding 
 the entrances to the bay, but they had made the 
 important addition of several gunboats and 
 the ironclad Tennessee, a ram patterned after 
 the Merrimac; while another ironclad, the Nash 
 ville, was approaching completion. Farragut in 
 formed the department that he must have the 
 support of several monitors and a land force 
 before beginning offensive operations. These 
 were promised, but were not available till six 
 months later. Meanwhile Farragut was lying 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 175 
 
 outside the bay, compelled to be inactive, al 
 though he knew the enemy were making the 
 most of their long warning. 
 
 Perkins, while waiting at New Orleans for a 
 steamer to take him North, after being relieved 
 of the command of the Sciota, heard that Farra- 
 gut was about to move on Mobile. There fol 
 lowed a characteristically prompt change in his 
 plans. All thought of rest at home forgotten in 
 the opportunity for action, he sought Farragut 
 at his station off Mobile Bay and offered to 
 remain and take part in the approaching battle. 
 It happened that Farragut had just been given 
 two new monitors made by James B. Eads at 
 St. Louis for service on the Mississippi. Al 
 though Porter, then in charge of them, was of 
 the opinion that they were not sufficiently sea 
 worthy to go to Mobile, the imperative need 
 decided Farragut to try them. Perkins was 
 given command of one of these, and on July 18 
 was ordered to go to New Orleans and return 
 with his vessel. 
 
 Perkins writes from New Orleans as follows : 
 
 July 22, 1864. 
 
 I arrived here from Texas a few days ago, and have 
 taken command of a large double-turreted monitor 
 
174 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 named the Chickasaw. I volunteered to take com 
 mand of her during the fight, which is to come off so 
 soon at Mobile. I hope I shall be successful and come 
 out all right. I shall write you again in a few days, or 
 as soon as I get off Mobile anyway, by the time 
 you receive this the action will be over. . . . 
 
 I have not time to accept any of the many invita 
 tions I receive. I have not even time to write, but will 
 write a long letter to mother as soon as I can. She 
 must not worry about me. I hope everything will 
 come out for the best. Life is not very long anyway, 
 and I am not afraid to die. I should only dread 
 leaving you all at home. 
 
 July 27, 1864. 
 
 I shall go to sea to-morrow night, and as soon as 
 the ironclads arrive off Mobile the fight will come off. 
 I have a large command for my rank a crew of 145 
 men and 25 officers. She carries four n-inch guns 
 and has two turrets, and you can judge of her power 
 by the fact that it requires fifteen engines to work her. 
 
 I am very busy, and am writing at this moment 
 among a lot of mechanics, who are working as fast as 
 they can to get the ship in order. There is so much 
 noise, and there is so much to be done that I can 
 hardly think. The cabin is so hot that I cannot stay 
 in it. When we are under steam the thermometer, 
 below decks, goes up to 150, and in the engine-room 
 to 214. You have heard of the man who lived in an 
 oven! Well, the cabin of the monitor does not leave 
 much for the imagination to do in considering his 
 case. I am hurrying everything all I can, and live in 
 the midst of confusion. 
 
 I hope to come home after the fight, as I volun- 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 175 
 
 teered only for that fight; everything will be for the 
 best. Dear mother, I think of you more than ever 
 now, and you will always be with me. I shall write 
 you when I get to sea. The fight will be over before 
 you receive this, so you must think I am safe. I 
 should like to have seen you once more before this 
 fight. Remember, if I get killed it will be an honor 
 able death, and the thought should partly take away 
 your sorrow. 
 
 The voyage to Mobile Bay was not without 
 adventure. Admiral Porter had predicted that 
 in the least swell the Chickasaw would break to 
 pieces. But though the monitor encountered 
 rough weather during the passage, Perkins 
 braved the storm and kept on till he had reached 
 his destination. The real peril, which indeed all 
 but prevented the Chickasaw from ever going to 
 Mobile, had been met in the Mississippi. It was 
 when the monitor was nearing the bar at the 
 mouth of the river. Perkins had been called 
 away from the pilot house by something requir 
 ing attention outside. Glancing up a moment 
 later, he saw the course had been changed and 
 that the ship was heading for a wreck close 
 aboard. The striking of this would have meant 
 serious damage to the monitor, not unlikely its 
 total loss. Perkins rushed back to the pilot 
 
176 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 house, and wrenching the wheel from the hands 
 of the pilot spun it round till the ship was 
 headed about and again on her course. 
 
 Then, drawing a revolver from his belt, he 
 covered the traitor, saying, "You are here to 
 take this ship over the bar, and if she touches 
 
 ground or anything else, I 11 blow your d d 
 
 brains out!" 
 
 The pilot grew pale and weakly protested, 
 "The bottom is lumpy, and the best pilot in the 
 river cannot help touching at times." 
 
 But the little captain was inexorable: "All 
 right, if you love the Confederacy better than 
 your life! Take your choice. But if you touch a 
 single lump, I ll shoot you." 
 
 The Chickasaw crossed the bar without strik 
 ing, and the pilot disappeared the moment he 
 was permitted. 1 
 
 OFF MOBILE BAY, August 2, 1864. 
 
 I arrived here yesterday from New Orleans, and 
 am now anchored in company with the Manhattan, 
 an ironclad, and the Winnebago, which is the same 
 kind of a vessel as mine. The Chickasaw looks just 
 like the back of a great turtle, 257 feet long and 57 
 feet beam. I wish you could see her. We are about a 
 mile and a half from Fort Morgan. The wooden 
 
 1 Related by Admiral Belknap, Bay State Monthly, 1884. 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 177 
 
 vessels cannot come so near, as this is within easy 
 range of the enemy s guns. 
 
 The Admiral visited me yesterday and inspected 
 this ship. He has paid me a great compliment by 
 giving me the command of her, for all the other iron 
 clads have old captains for their commanders. It will 
 be a "feather in my cap" if I come out all right. 
 
 I have been very, very hard at work getting ready 
 for the fight, which comes off in two days now. It is 
 expected to be a very desperate one, though I feel no 
 doubt but that we shall have the victory. 
 
 I am very tired and cannot write to you as I would 
 wish; but, my dear mother, I think of you nearly all 
 the time, and I know I have done as you would wish 
 me to. 
 
 August 4, 1864. 
 
 The vessel is so hot that we are obliged to sleep on 
 deck; and I am a little used up. I left a box of clothes 
 and other things on board the Bermuda. Should you 
 not get them in course of time, write for them to 
 Captain Jerry Smith. I will also drop him a line. I 
 ought to have about $8000 of prize-money, four 
 for the capture of New Orleans and four for the 
 blockade-runner Mary Sorley. 
 
 I think of you all so much at home, and I love you 
 all so much, I wish I could receive a few lines from 
 you just before the fight. I know I shall be thinking 
 of you and I shall not disgrace myself, no matter how 
 hot is the fight. It seems such a long time since I 
 heard from home; but it is too late now. O mother! 
 mother! I wish I could put my arms around your 
 neck and receive your blessing and good-bye once 
 more. 
 
178 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 The tenderness of these letters and the cour 
 age shown throughout the battle of the following 
 day illustrate Perkins s two most striking char 
 acteristics. And who can doubt that they were 
 closely related, or that the loving, prayerful 
 thought of home was the best preparation for 
 a desperate conflict? 
 
 Mobile, after the fall of New Orleans, was to 
 the Confederates the most important port in the 
 Gulf. Although since fairly early in the war the 
 blockade in the Gulf had been regarded as 
 effective, it repeatedly happened that the swift 
 blockade-runners, creeping along the shore, 
 would make a dash, and before the Union ships 
 could come up with them gain the protection of 
 the forts commanding the entrance to Mobile 
 Bay. 
 
 These forts were, in order of their strength 
 and importance, Morgan, Gaines, and Powell. 
 Fort Morgan, on the east side of the main chan 
 nel, was a pentagonal, bastioned work, with 
 walls four feet eight inches thick. Mounting 
 86 guns, many of them of improved type, 
 and garrisoned by 640 men, it was stronger 
 than Forts Jackson and St. Philip combined. 
 Fort Gaines, three miles to the northwest, and 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 179 
 
 Fort Powell, six miles farther in the same direc 
 tion, while weaker, commanded passes that were 
 navigable to vessels of light draft. 
 
 It was on the morning of August 5 that, all 
 being ready, Farragut advanced with his fleet 
 and fought the stern battle for the possession of 
 Mobile Bay. Two days before, General Granger 
 had landed with Federal troops on Dauphin 
 Island and proceeded to the investment of Fort 
 Gaines. Farragut had intended to advance 
 simultaneously, but was delayed by not having 
 his naval force complete. Besides the river 
 monitors Winnebago and Chickasaw, he was to 
 have two heavy seagoing monitors, the Man 
 hattan and the Tecumseh. The latter did not 
 arrive till the evening of August 4. At half- 
 past five next morning, while sipping a cup of 
 tea at the conclusion of breakfast, Farragut 
 turned to his fleet captain and quietly said, 
 "Well, Drayton, we might as well get under 
 way." In a minute there came back answering 
 signals from the expectant captains and the 
 ships advanced to their assigned positions. 
 
 Leading the column of the fourteen wooden 
 ships was the Brooklyn, and alongside of her the 
 Octorara; these were lashed together, as were 
 
i8o GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 also the flagship Hartford and the Metacomet 
 coming next, and the five couples that followed. 
 In each case a heavy vessel was to the right of a 
 light vessel, this arrangement being used to pro 
 tect the latter from the fire of the fort while 
 passing, as well as to afford a means of carrying 
 the exposed partner through to safety should 
 she be disabled by the heavy guns of the enemy, 
 as happened in one case. To the right of the 
 Brooklyn and the Octorara and somewhat in 
 advance, was the Tecumseh; in column behind 
 her were the other monitors, which came from 
 their anchorage behind Sand Island in the fol 
 lowing order: the Manhattan, the JPinnebago, 
 and the Chickasaw. Perkins was twenty-seven 
 years old at this time and the youngest com 
 manding officer in the fleet. 
 
 Commander T. A. M. Craven of the Tecumseh 
 opened the battle at 6.47, firing at Fort Morgan 
 with his huge 1 5-inch guns the largest guns 
 at this time afloat. The fort soon replied, 
 directing the shot, not on the monitors, but on 
 the advancing Brooklyn and Hartford, which 
 because of the narrow channel had to approach 
 almost bows on. This kept them for many 
 minutes under a disadvantage; they were 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 181 
 
 exposed to a raking fire, by which a well- 
 aimed shot might plough the length of the ship, 
 and until they came abreast they could bring 
 no guns except a few bow chasers to bear in 
 return. To offset this disadvantage the moni 
 tors, which because of their revolving turrets 
 could fire in any position, were by Farragut s 
 order to disconcert the gunners in the land 
 batteries. Also the Tecumseh and the Manhattan 
 were to look after the dread Tennessee and make 
 her their especial antagonist. 
 
 Protected by armor eight and a half inches 
 thick, the men in the Chickasaw were fairly safe 
 from the shot and shell of that period. But to 
 direct the battle through the narrow slits of the 
 conning tower was extremely difficult, especially 
 for a vessel cooperating with a large fleet. Per 
 kins avoided this by standing outside the con 
 ning tower, giving orders by word of mouth. It 
 was an exposed position, but the advantages it 
 offered were so great as to justify the risk. 
 
 The Chickasaw, coming at the rear of the 
 column, was the last of the monitors to get 
 within striking distance. All had made the 
 mistake of firing too soon, for their smoothbores, 
 although sending a projectile of great size and 
 
1 82 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 weight, had but a moderately short range. 
 Craven in the Tecumseh was all eagerness to 
 grapple with the Tennessee, and after his first 
 fire on the fort he gave orders to load the guns 
 with solid steel shot and yopound charges and 
 hold them in readiness for a telling blow when 
 the monitor should come to close quarters with 
 the ram. Meanwhile the other monitors, slowly 
 nearing the batteries of Fort Morgan, had re 
 opened the conflict, sending in 1 5-inch and II- 
 inch shells. These had some effect when sec 
 onded by the fire of the Brooklyn and Hartford; 
 for the leading ships were reaching a position 
 where they could use their broadsides. The 
 gunners in the fort, who had been in action for 
 half an hour, were enveloped in smoke, partly 
 from their own guns and partly from those of the 
 fleet, the powder fumes of the latter being blown 
 upon them by the westerly wind. Their fire had 
 perceptibly slackened, and, as Perkins could 
 see through the rifts in the smoke, the gunners 
 were being driven to shelter. But suddenly all 
 went wrong in the Union fleet. 
 
 It had been variously reported to Farragut 
 that the Confederates had planted a triple row 
 of torpedoes extending west from a certain red 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 183 
 
 buoy, closing all but 300 feet of the main channel 
 immediately next to Fort Morgan. The torpedo 
 had up to this time been a rather crude mech 
 anism, decidedly unreliable in operation. Farra- 
 gut and his officers were not greatly alarmed 
 because of perils from this source, but that the 
 ships might be exposed to no unnecessary risks 
 the Admiral had given orders that both columns 
 should pass to the east of the red buoy, that is 
 between the end of the supposed line of torpe 
 does and the fort. 
 
 Craven in the Tecumseh was rushing forward 
 to meet the Tennessee, which had come out from 
 Fort Morgan and was steaming slowly west 
 ward. Either in his eagerness to encounter the 
 foe, he had disregarded instructions and passing 
 slightly to the west of the red buoy struck one 
 of the triple line of torpedoes that had been 
 placed there which was Farragut s belief; or 
 while steaming in the ship channel some dis 
 tance from the dangerous line, he struck a tor 
 pedo that had got adrift which was the unan 
 imous opinion of the Confederate officers on the 
 gunboat Morgan, lying a few hundred yards 
 distant. There was a muffled roar, the monitor 
 careened violently, and then settled so quickly 
 
i8 4 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 that 113 men out of her complement of 135, 
 including Commander Craven, were carried 
 down with her. The torpedo had exploded 
 under her turret, and within two minutes 
 nothing but eddies and a few struggling sailors 
 marked where the large seagoing monitor had 
 been. 
 
 The Brooklyn, leading the wooden ships, had 
 been a close spectator of the disaster. A lookout 
 reported suspicious-looking objects thought to 
 be torpedo buoys almost under her bows. Her 
 captain at once backed the engines, and then, 
 undecided, stopped. Nor did he move when 
 signaled by Farragut to advance. 
 
 The Admiral had witnessed from the rigging 
 of the Hartford the sinking of the Tecumseh, fol 
 lowed by the uncertain movements of the van of 
 his column. It was for him a moment of deep 
 perplexity. On his starboard bow lay the 
 Brooklyn and the Octorara athwart the channel, 
 on his starboard beam were the Winnebago and 
 the Chickasaw, while to the rear the column was 
 continuing to advance; in a few minutes all 
 would be such hopeless confusion that even 
 retreat might be impossible. Farragut recog 
 nized just one desperate chance for victory and 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 185 
 
 resolved to take it. Backing the engines of the 
 Metacomet and driving ahead those of the Hart- 
 ford, he swung out of the column and passing to 
 the west of the Brooklyn and the Octorara 
 headed directly across the line of torpedoes. 
 Men on board said they heard the primers snap, 
 but no torpedo exploded. The other ships fol 
 lowed in the Hartford s wake and the columns 
 straightened out as by magic. They had still the 
 Confederate ram Tennessee and the gunboats 
 Morgan, Gaines, and Selma to meet, but they 
 had succeeded in entering the bay. 
 
 Meanwhile the Union monitors, so far as they 
 were able, had been engaging Fort Morgan. The 
 Manhattan could use but one of her guns, the 
 vent of the other having been closed by rust. 
 The Winnebago found it impossible to revolve 
 her turrets, the machinery for doing so having 
 broken down; and consequently her guns could 
 be aimed only by altering the position of the 
 vessel. The Chickasaw also presented many 
 difficulties in operation, but her n-inch guns 
 were worked to their utmost speed, and she 
 fired more shells into the fort than all the other 
 monitors combined. According to her log 1 she 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, pp. 786-87. 
 
1 86 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 expended on Fort Morgan at this time seventy- 
 five 5-second shells. In return, the Confederates 
 succeeded several times in hitting her, one shell 
 breaking through her deck and setting fire to the 
 hammocks below. It is said that as the Chicka- 
 saw passed the Hartford, when nearly abreast of 
 Fort Morgan, the officers of the flagship were 
 stirred by seeing Perkins, who, far from being 
 dismayed by the fire of the fort and the danger 
 of torpedoes, "was on top of the turret, waving 
 his hat and dancing about with delight and 
 excitement." 1 The commander was, for the 
 moment, the boy who could not suppress his 
 exuberant spirits as he warmed up to the game. 
 At the time of the torpedoing of the Tecumseh, 
 Perkins was in the forward turret directing a 
 crew in sighting one of the guns. When the gun 
 ners saw the end of the strongest monitor, they 
 were seized by panic and were about to rush 
 from the turret; but the little captain sprang 
 before them and threatened to shoot the first 
 man who left his post. One weakling threw him 
 self at his feet, exclaiming, "Let me out, Cap 
 tain, let me out." A kick brought the man to his 
 senses, and from that time there was nothing in 
 1 Mahan, Admiral Farragut, p. 276. 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 187 
 
 the conduct of the gunners but what merited 
 praise. 
 
 The Chickasaw steamed on past the fort when 
 half the fleet had effected their entrance into the 
 bay. 1 Already the three Confederate gunboats 
 had fled; the Selma was overtaken and captured, 
 while the Morgan and Gaines escaped to Fort 
 Morgan, the latter vessel badly damaged and 
 sinking. On the other hand, the Tennessee had 
 tried successively to ram the Hartford, the 
 Brooklyn, the Richmond, and the Lackazvanna, as 
 they entered the bay. Since, however, the ad 
 vantage of speed lay with the Union ships they 
 easily avoided her prow, though not escaping 
 with like impunity from her heavy rifled shells. 
 The Chickasaw seized the opportunity of firing 
 several solid I i-inch shot at the monster as she 
 passed to the west, and then in obedience to or 
 ders steamed slowly north in the wake of the 
 wooden ships. 
 
 When Farragut had reached a point about 
 four miles up the bay where the channel widened 
 and made a large pocket, he gave the signal to 
 anchor. Soon the men were relaxing after the 
 intense strain and were making preparations for 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 532. 
 
i88 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 breakfast. The Union fleet had been successful 
 in entering the bay, but as Farragut well knew 
 they had in the uninjured Tennessee their most 
 formidable enemy yet to reckon with. He was 
 planning to force the issue by going himself that 
 evening in the Manhattan, supported by the 
 other monitors, and attacking the ram at anchor 
 under Fort Morgan. But Admiral Buchanan, 
 commanding the Tennessee, made this unneces 
 sary; for, as the lookouts on the Hartford re 
 ported, at 8.45, before the rear of the Union 
 column had come to anchor, the Tennessee was 
 coming out and heading for the Union flagship. 
 Mess gear was hurriedly put away. The 
 stronger wooden ships were ordered to attack 
 "not only with their guns, but bows on at full 
 speed." Dr. Palmer, the fleet surgeon, about to 
 leave the Hartford in going his rounds, was 
 despatched to the monitors with word that they 
 also join in the attack. "Happy as my friend 
 Perkins (of the Chickasaw) habitually is," he 
 noted in his diary, "I thought he would turn a 
 somersault overboard with joy when I told him, 
 The Admiral wants you to go at once and fight 
 that Tennessee. " l 
 
 1 Quoted by Mahan, Admiral Farragul, p. 285. 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 189 
 
 The Union ironclads had the same defect as 
 their approaching enemy they were slow and 
 difficult to maneuver. Thus it was that the 
 wooden Monongahela, which had not come to 
 anchor, began the second engagement. She 
 struck the Tennessee a blow that carried away 
 her own iron prow, but did no perceptible harm 
 to her foe. The Lackawanna followed with as 
 little result. The Hartford struck but a glancing 
 blow, for the ram had turned towards the Union 
 flagship on her approach. As the Hartford 
 scraped past, she fired seven 9-inch guns of her 
 port broadside, but the shot bounded harmlessly 
 off. In reply the Tennessee fired only one shell, 
 but this, passing through the berth deck of the 
 Hartford, killed five men and wounded eight. 
 The further attempts at ramming were even 
 less successful, and the Lackawanna by a con 
 fusion in maneuvers, instead of striking the 
 Confederate ironclad, crashed into her own flag 
 ship and but narrowly escaped sending her to the 
 bottom. 
 
 Meanwhile the monitors had come up and 
 were attacking the ram. The Manhattan with 
 her one available gun could not fire often, but 
 succeeded in planting a 1 5-inch shot that pene- 
 
190 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 trated the armor and woodwork of the case 
 mates, and was held only by the netting inside. 
 The Winnebago was not an idle spectator, but as 
 her guns could be aimed only by pointing the 
 ship her effectiveness was considerably dimin 
 ished. It was the Chickasaw that demonstrated 
 the power of the monitors and did more harm to 
 the ram than did any other of the Union vessels. 
 That there were difficulties under which the 
 Chickasaw was operated has already been sug 
 gested. Before leaving the Mississippi, Perkins 
 had reported the steering gear as "unsafe and 
 inapplicable," 1 and now in the stress of battle it 
 broke down; however, he succeeded in maneu 
 vering his ship by her engines. The vessel amid 
 ships was becoming hotter and hotter. The ven 
 tilating apparatus had broken down, for when 
 the guns had been fired over the blower hatches, 
 the concussion burst the air conductors; the 
 powder fumes were then carried below, fouling 
 the air and threatening to ignite the powder that 
 was being passed up to the turrets. 2 These 
 troubles, however, were not betrayed in the 
 determined and persistent attack. 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 389. 
 8 Ibid., p. 681. 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 191 
 
 According to the log of the Chickasaw, when 
 Dr. Palmer came with the Admiral s order, - 
 
 Steam being low on account of the injuries to the 
 smokestack by the enemy, tallow and coal tar were 
 put into the furnaces, and we made rapidly for the 
 ram. 1 
 
 The Tennessee having been rammed several 
 times was as a result beginning to leak. This and 
 the increasing difficulty of keeping up steam 
 made Buchanan fear for the safety of his vessel. 
 Despairing of success against the Union fleet, he 
 gave orders, after the encounter with the 
 Hartford, to retreat to Fort Morgan. 
 
 But the Chickasaw, passing to the rear of the 
 Richmond, 2 already had taken a position under 
 the stern of the dread Confederate, and this she 
 persistently held until the end of the battle, 
 never more than fifty yards distant and some 
 times as near as ten. Although her shot, like 
 that of the Hartford, could not penetrate the 
 armor of the ram, she kept pounding away on all 
 the exposed equipment and on the after case 
 mate. The effect was soon evident, and accord 
 ing to an impartial observer, an officer of the 
 Richmond, it was a shot fired by the Chickasaw 
 
 1 Naval Waf Records, vol. xxi, p. 786. 
 8 Ibid., p. 847. 
 
192 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 at this time that carried away the smokestack 
 of the Tennessee. 1 This injury made it virtually 
 impossible to keep up steam, and the smoke 
 threatened to suffocate the men in the case 
 mates. 
 
 When the Chickasaw had come close under the 
 stern of the ram she hurled two solid n-inch 
 shot from her forward turret against the cover of 
 the enemy s stern port. The cover resisted the 
 blow, but was so jammed that it could not be 
 opened to run out the gun. Admiral Buchanan, 
 who was superintending the gun crews, at once 
 hurried aft with a machinist to repair the cover. 
 But the persistent monitor now brought the guns 
 of her after turret into play. One shot struck the 
 port cover again; this instantly killed a man 
 engaged in removing the pivot bolt upon which 
 the cover revolved, also mortally wounded one 
 of the gun crew, and fractured Admiral Buchan 
 an s leg. The admiral s wound was so serious 
 that he had to call Commander J. D. Johnston 
 and give the command of the ship over to him. 
 The other gun of this turret, fired at almost the 
 same moment, according to the correspon 
 dent of the New York Herald, an eyewitness, 
 1 See log of the Richmond, Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 847. 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 193 
 
 carried away the wheel chains of the ram, which 
 by a colossal error in construction lay exposed on 
 the deck. This last injury rendered her unman 
 ageable. 
 
 The Tennessee had not been rammed for some 
 minutes by the wooden ships, because of their 
 confusion in maneuvering for position, but she 
 was in a desperate situation; the Chickasaw had 
 continued close under her stern, firing from both 
 turrets as rapidly as the guns could be loaded. 
 Johnston states in his report: 
 
 The shot were fairly raining upon the after end of 
 the shield, which was now so thoroughly shattered 
 that in a few moments it would have fallen and 
 exposed the gundeck to a raking fire of shell and 
 grape. 1 
 
 Realizing that a continuation of the fight 
 meant only the sacrifice of his officers and men, 
 Johnston lowered the flag, which during the last 
 of the battle had been flying from the handle of a 
 gun scraper stuck up through the grating; then 
 coming out on the shield he hoisted the white 
 flag in surrender. The Chickasaw was the near 
 est of the Union ships at this time, but Per 
 kins with characteristic modesty allowed an 
 older officer, Captain LeRoy of the Ossipee, to 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 580. 
 
194 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 have the honor of receiving the formal surrender 
 of the ram. This was shortly after ten o clock in 
 the morning; the engagement had lasted three 
 hours and a quarter with a half hour s inter 
 mission. Later passing a line to the prize, the 
 Chickasaw towed her slowly to the anchorage of 
 the Union fleet. 
 
 Almost immediately, further heavy service 
 devolved upon the Chickasaw, and it was not 
 until several days later that Perkins had time 
 to write at any length. The first letter was 
 characterized by unusual brevity, suggesting the 
 pressure he was under: 
 
 U.S. IRONCLAD Chickasaw, 
 MOBILE BAY, August 6, 1864. 
 
 DEAR MOTHER, 
 
 All right 
 
 Your affectionate son, 
 
 GEORGE. 
 
 Two days later he wrote again to his 
 mother: 
 
 I have but a moment to write. I want to tell you I 
 am well. We had a desperate fight on the morning 
 of the fifth. No one was hurt on board my vessel, but 
 the squadron lost a good many. Captain Craven of 
 the Tecumseh was blown up by a torpedo just ahead 
 of me. I will write you more about it when I have 
 time. I had a hard fight with the Rebel ram Ten- 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 195 
 
 nessee, and have been highly complimented by the 
 Admiral and other old officers for the part I took in 
 the engagement. I have been fighting forts every 
 day since, the other ironclads being disabled. Fort 
 Gaines surrendered this morning. I shelled Fort 
 Powell and during the night she blew up. Every one 
 is in a high state of excitement. It is nothing now but 
 fight, fight, all the time. I told you I would come out 
 all right. I will write again in a few days. 
 
 There follows a postscript, in which the modest 
 lad, evidently remembering how the proud par 
 ents had allowed his New Orleans battle letter to 
 be published, especially enjoins, "Don t let any 
 one see this for the world." The biographer can 
 hardly be regarded, however, as betraying con 
 fidence when he repeats what is now acknowl 
 edged history. The postscript contained what 
 Perkins knew would delight the mother heart: 
 
 I have the credit of taking the Rebel ram Tennessee 
 and wounding Admiral Buchanan. Captain Jenkins 
 of the Richmond told the Admiral I ought to be pro 
 moted at once for my gallantry in this fight. 
 
 When the first news, that of the passing of 
 Fort Morgan and the capture of the Tennessee, 
 was received, it was heralded as a notable vic 
 tory for the Union Navy. Yet certain English 
 tacticians asserted, and with some show of 
 reason, that Farragut had placed his fleet in an 
 
196 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 untenable position. For so long as three Con 
 federate forts controlled the approaches to 
 Mobile Bay the fleet could not be reached by the 
 transports and was cut off from supplies. How 
 ever, no one understood better than Farragut 
 the value of prompt action. 
 
 Four hours after the taking of the Tennessee, 
 the Chickasaw, in obedience to the Admiral s 
 orders, got under way and advanced on Fort 
 Powell. In this, since the other monitors had 
 been disabled, she acted singly. The officers and 
 crew were almost exhausted by the strain of the 
 morning s fight, and also by the excessive heat, 
 gas, and smoke, below decks. Nevertheless, they 
 continued to give a good account of themselves. 
 Disregarding the fire of the fort, the Chickasaw 
 steamed to within 350 yards of it, where lay 
 the barge Ingomar loaded with shovels, pick 
 axes, and wheelbarrows. After seizing this, the 
 monitor opened on the fort with 5-second shells 
 fired at regular intervals. The fort was well 
 provisioned, and its front face was strongly 
 defended ; but the rear, off which lay the Chick- 
 asazv, was less than half finished. A y-inch 
 Brooke gun was brought to bear on the assail 
 ant, and put a shell through her smokestack but 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 197 
 
 did no further damage. Other details may be 
 gathered from the report of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Williams, C.S.A., commanding the post: 
 
 The ironclad s fire made it impossible to man the 
 two guns in the rear, and I made no attempt to do so. 
 The elevating machine of the lo-inch columbiad was 
 broken by a fragment of shell. A shell entered one of 
 the sally-ports, which are not traversed in the rear, 
 passed entirely through the bombproof, and buried 
 itself in the opposite wall. Fortunately it did not 
 explode. The shells exploding in the face of the work 
 displaced the sand so rapidly that I was convinced 
 unless the ironclad was driven off it would explode 
 my magazine and make the bombproof chambers 
 untenable in two days at the furthest. To drive it 
 from its position I believed impossible with my 
 imperfect work. 1 
 
 The Chickasaw continued the bombardment 
 until night, when she withdrew. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Williams, fearing that his garrison 
 would be captured with the fort if he should 
 delay, evacuated early that evening leaving an 
 officer to spike the guns and to explode the 
 magazine. The fort blew up at 10.30. At 4.45 
 next morning the Chickasaw got under way and 
 steamed to within 100 yards of the fort. It was 
 now but a silent, smoking ruin. Calling away 
 the gig, Perkins went to the fort and soon had 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 560. 
 
198 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 the satisfaction of seeing the flag of the Union 
 flying. 1 
 
 The next point of attention was Fort Gaines 
 on the eastern extremity of Dauphin Island, 
 opposite Fort Morgan. The land forces under 
 General Granger, cooperating with the fleet, had 
 three days before landed on this island and 
 moved up to the works. A few hours after Fort 
 Powell had been taken, Perkins stood over to 
 Dauphin Island that he might render assistance 
 if needed. For an hour and more that afternoon 
 he attempted to open communications with the 
 land forces by signali ng, but without result. Then 
 he approached to within nearly a mile of the fort 
 and for two hours fired 5-second and losecond 
 shells. The marksmanship in the Chickasaw 
 again was good and many of the shells burst 
 within the fort. Meanwhile the Confederate 
 batteries had replied, but none of their shot 
 struck the monitor. The next evening, negotia 
 tions were opened between the opposing forces, 
 and early on the following morning the entire 
 garrison of Fort Gaines, consisting of over 800 
 men, surrendered to the combined forces of the 
 army and navy. 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 787. 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 199 
 
 Extracts from the log of the Chickasaw show 
 how busy were the days that followed: 
 
 August 9. At 6.30 A.M. came to anchor off Pilot 
 Town. At seven sent the launch ashore. Despatched 
 the gig in chase of a boat running up the bay. At 
 9 A.M. gig returned with boat and three prisoners. 
 . . . Launch returned with captured sloop. 
 
 August 13. At 5.35 P.M. opened fire on Fort 
 Morgan. At 6.25 ceased firing and dropped out of 
 range and came to anchor. Expended 15 shell. At 
 II P.M. hove up anchor and commenced firing 15- 
 second shell half-hourly at Fort Morgan. 
 
 Entries in the log-book, of a like nature, are to 
 be found up to the time of the surrender of Fort 
 Morgan, August 23. The home letters during 
 this period though short are too important to be 
 passed by. 
 
 U.S. IRONCLAD Chickasaw, 
 MOBILE BAY, August n, 1864. 
 
 It is a rainy, stormy day, and we are lying quiet 
 about 1500 yards from Fort Morgan. The fort has 
 not surrendered yet, but must in a short time. The 
 army has landed in the rear, and is putting up bat 
 teries about 400 yards distant from it. We have not 
 opened on the fort to-day, and so far not a single gun 
 has been fired. The Rebels are all inside, and we can 
 see each other very plainly. I do not think they like 
 the looks of the ironclads. I have no idea whether 
 the Admiral intends attacking Mobile or not. . . . 
 
 The reason I am of so much importance is because 
 
200 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 the other monitors cannot work their turrets. I have 
 a very large command and of course feel very proud 
 that so much confidence should be placed in me. I 
 shall soon come home and see you all, and have you 
 share my honors with me. 
 
 FOUR MILES BELOW MOBILE CITY, 
 August 1 6, 1864. 
 
 I have been hard at work since I have been in this 
 bay, fighting almost continually. We are all nearly 
 used up on board this vessel, mine being the only 
 effective ironclad is obliged to be continually in 
 motion. 
 
 I am in plain sight of the city with its defenses, 
 ironclads, batteries, rams, etc. Yesterday I had a 
 little fight with the rams across the obstructions. 
 The channel to Mobile I think is entirely obstructed 
 with spiles, sunken wrecks, torpedoes, etc. The 
 Rebs have two very good-looking rams. I am now 
 in the advance, but I am afraid it will be hard to 
 clear the obstructions in the channel. 
 
 August 17. 
 
 I am now almost near enough to shell Mobile, and 
 I have plenty of excitement. Yesterday my boats 
 had a little fight with some guerrillas and I had two 
 men wounded. Fort Morgan has not surrendered 
 yet, but this does not affect us much, as we can get all 
 our supplies through Grant s Pass. 
 
 August 18. 
 
 We are still having lively times around Fort 
 Morgan. Last night a couple of Rebel rams came 
 out, and we lay looking at each other all night. This 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 201 
 
 morning I expected a fight, but they went back to the 
 city. 
 
 I have not been very well for a day or so. I have 
 to be around all the time, day and night, and these 
 hot ironclads use me up. I am writing now on board 
 Captain Jouett s ship, the Metacomet. He is a great 
 friend of mine, and a mighty fascinating fellow. 
 
 The surrender of Fort Morgan occurred 
 about three weeks after Farragut had first chal 
 lenged its batteries on entering the bay. General 
 Granger, commanding the Union forces, briefly 
 describes the incidents leading up to it:- 
 
 On the 22d, at daylight, the bombardment opened 
 from land and water, and the fort was silent. The 
 monitors Chickasaw, Winnebago, and Manhattan, of 
 the navy, with the ironclad Tennessee, lay up at close 
 range, and, with the larger vessels of the fleet outside, 
 delivered their fire with accuracy and effect. I have 
 already had occasion to remark the precision with 
 which the guns upon the vessels were handled. The 
 firing from the land was excellent, particularly that 
 from Battery Farragut and the mortar batteries. 
 Early on the morning of the 23d, a white flag was 
 displayed by the fort, and under its walls I received 
 an offer to capitulate, addressed to Rear-Admiral 
 Farragut and myself. 1 
 
 Perkins writes to his mother on August 24: 
 Fort Morgan surrendered yesterday, and I am 
 1 Loyall Farragut, Life of Farragut, p. 467. 
 
202 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 having a rest to-day. We were very glad of the sur 
 render on board this ship, for all my officers and men 
 were getting perfectly worn out from having been 
 so constantly under fire. Now for Mobile. The Ad 
 miral is in a hurry for me to get up the bay, for, as 
 I have said before, I am the only effective ironclad 
 he has. 
 
 Captain Strong of the Monongahela, who was sen 
 ior officer on the coast of Texas, has been ordered 
 home for repairs. He complimented me by saying, 
 "I am coming back soon and will bring you your 
 promotion." I am so glad, mother, for your sake, 
 that I have been so successful. I am praised and 
 flattered by every one wherever I go. The Admiral 
 speaks of me highly to every one. Captain Jenkins of 
 the Richmond, who is one of the kindest and best of 
 men, talks about me as enthusiastically as if he 
 were my father, and always calls me "his pet." 
 After the battle of Mobile Bay, he told Admiral Far- 
 ragut on no account to let me go home till all the 
 fighting here was over, for they could not get along 
 without me. 
 
 The other day when I was sick, he sent his surgeon 
 up, on a steamer from the lower bay, to take care of 
 me and to bring me a lot of good things to eat. I 
 called on him to-day, and he asked if my sisters 
 would not thank him for making a hero of me. 
 Perhaps I ought not to tell you all these things; but 
 I do like to have you know of any pleasant or suc 
 cessful thing that happens to me. . . . 
 
 I was talking to the Admiral to-day, he talks a 
 great deal to me when I go to see him, when, all at 
 once, he fainted away. He is not very well, and is all 
 tired out. It gave me a shock, for it shows how 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 203 
 
 exhausted he is; and his health is not very good any 
 way. He is a mighty fine old fellow. I want to come 
 home just to tell you about all I have been doing. 
 It has been so exciting that it seems as if I had a great 
 deal to say. If I could talk instead of write, I could 
 tell you all so much better. 
 
 For such service it seems strange to us of a 
 later generation that Perkins did not at once 
 gain promotion. However, we must consider the 
 difference in times and recollect that very few 
 naval officers in the Civil War were advanced 
 because of distinguished service. Perhaps it 
 makes their deeds stand out the more nobly 
 because of their disinterestedness. A wide recog 
 nition of what Perkins had done was not lacking. 
 The New York Herald, the St. Louis Democrat, 
 Harper s Magazine, and many other journals 
 spoke in his praise. Suffice it here to quote from 
 the published statements of three who had a 
 part in the battle of Mobile Bay. 
 
 W. H. Shock, Farragut s fleet engineer, wrote 
 to James B. Eads, of St. Louis, six days after the 
 battle :- 
 
 In the mean time the Chickasaw was playing 
 around her [the Tennessee}, endeavoring to find a 
 weak spot if one existed. It was soon discovered that 
 she had one, and that was the after-gun port. Into 
 
204 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 this the Chickasaw sent a shell, which killed part of 
 the gun crew, and wounded Admiral Buchanan. 
 Another disabled the steering apparatus, and up 
 went the white flag. The Rebels did everything to 
 shake the little Chickasaw off, but it was impossible; 
 she held on with a tenacity that secured success. 
 
 Dr. E. H. Hutchins, surgeon of the Port 
 Royal, wrote : 
 
 Where praise is due it should be given. The 
 service of the Chickasaw, so valuable and so indis 
 pensable, did not end here. That very afternoon, 
 before the heat of battle had fairly subsided, she, 
 under a heavy fire, and being struck three times, 
 towed out a large barge from under the guns of Fort 
 Powell. The following day she kept up a brisk fire 
 upon Fort Gaines. Her light draft of water made 
 her invaluable, while her invulnerable sides and her 
 excellent steering, and her powerful armament 
 seemed to me to render her decidedly the most 
 effective vessel in that memorable fight. . . . 
 
 A remark of Commander Johnston a Rebel on 
 board the Tennessee at the time of her capture 
 occurs to me. In speaking of the Chickasaw in the 
 
 fight he said: "If it had not been for that d d 
 
 black hulk hanging on our stern we would have got 
 along well enough; she did us more damage than all 
 the rest of the Federal fleet." 
 
 Of the greatest weight are the words of 
 Admiral Farragut. In his report of the battle 
 of Mobile Bay, he noted: - 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY 205 
 
 I cannot give too much praise to Lieutenant- 
 Commander Perkins, who, though he had orders 
 from the department to return North, volunteered to 
 take command of the Chickasaw, and did his duty 
 nobly. 1 
 
 Six years later the Admiral expressed appreci 
 ation that was still more enthusiastic. Less 
 than a month before his death, when talking 
 about the Gulf Squadron, according to the state 
 ment of a friend, Mr. McRitchie, he said: 
 
 Perkins was young and handsome, and ... no 
 braver man ever trod a ship s deck; ... his work in 
 the Chickasaw did more to capture the Tennessee than 
 all the guns of the fleet put together. 
 
 1 Naval War Records, vol. xxi, p. 420. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 LATER SERVICE 
 
 TTV3LLOWING the capture of the forts in 
 JL Mobile Bay there was no leave of absence 
 for Lieutenant-Commander Perkins, and none 
 was desired. Till the end of the war, and later, 
 he continued captain of the Chickasaw. And it 
 was not merely in battle that he brought credit 
 to his command. In November he wrote to the 
 home that so treasured the words of praise: 
 
 My vessel is the "crack" vessel of the ironclads, 
 and the fleet captain and Admiral are very much 
 pleased with the discipline and order she is in, and 
 speak of her as an example. 
 
 And again: 
 
 The Admiral talks to me a great deal about his 
 plans, which is of course very flattering to me. 
 
 The following letters tell of life on the Chicka 
 when summer was past: 
 
 September 20, 1864. It is raining and I have 
 nothing to do. I am still alive, and looking at Mobile 
 where just at this time great excitement prevails. 
 
LATER SERVICE 207 
 
 Sherman is in Montgomery and the Rebels expect 
 him in Mobile. I for one hope he will come, for I 
 must confess my weakness in wanting to go there. 
 The deserters say that Forest s men behaved so 
 badly that they are obliged to keep them out of the 
 city. . . . Last night I sent my boat in to set fire to 
 one of the vessels, but was unsuccessful. Yesterday 
 afternoon they fired a few shots at us from their forts, 
 but none hit. If they fire any more, we are going in 
 to shell the city. . . . The Admiral is coming up 
 in a day or two. My ship is in fine condition for a 
 fight and I hope will make a good one when the time 
 comes. I long for the work to begin to break the 
 monotony. 
 
 October 20. The last few days ... it has been 
 blowing a gale of wind and the sea breaks over this 
 vessel and plays the deuce with my tent and arrange 
 ments. Besides the weather is very cold. 
 
 December 4. I am living on deck in a tent, and 
 these cold northers are not so very pleasant. ... I 
 went hunting yesterday. Killed a cow, a calf, and 
 two ducks. 
 
 The accompanying letters written to Perkins 
 by certain of the officers in Mobile Bay, show his 
 intimate and happy relations with them. The 
 first is by Lieutenant-Commander (later Rear- 
 Admiral) James E. Jouett, commanding the 
 Metacomet. 
 
 Metacomet, OFF MOBILE CITY, 
 October 17, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR LITTLE PuRK, 
 
 Shot in the neck, hey! You re a little cheat. Some 
 
208 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 one else has stolen your heart, that s where you were 
 shot. Well, so be it it s all as we feel, I think. 
 
 I have the sloop astern (I d rather have you) and 
 will send her down in the morning she did not 
 
 arrive until six P.M. These d d Johnnies tried the 
 
 range of a rifle gun on me from that Spanish River 
 Battery this evening. They had a good wind and I 
 must say, the shell came a leetle close, say twenty 
 
 yards. I am a little south of your d d "wreck," as 
 
 Gates called it. One would imagine it such from the 
 barrels and spars flopping about it, and though I am 
 more than half a mile from where Low lay, still they 
 can just reach me. It s a good gun and does n t have 
 a remarkably pleasant voice. However, you can bet 
 when Jeemes gets a S.S.E. wind he ll disturb the 
 quiet slumbers of some small children and nervous 
 men and women. I ll send the Metacomet into that 
 city sure. Then we ll see how they like it. ... 
 
 Come up and enliven the scene by adding your 
 ugly mug to this intensely stupid department. I 
 have some chickens and gophers for you, so do come 
 up. Bring or send up some corn meal some corn 
 for the chickens and if your man Friday can find 
 them please get some pumpkins. . . . Fetch along the 
 bacon. Good-night, little devil. Love to Terry, 
 Jenkins, Watson, and Co. Kick old Kirkland and 
 send him up. . . . Write me the news and send all 
 the papers to 
 
 Your loving old landlord, 
 
 JIM JOUETT. 
 
 The second letter is by Captain Jenkins, who, 
 after the departure of Admiral Farragut in 
 
LATER SERVICE 209 
 
 November, commanded the blockading squad 
 ron off Mobile. The fondness of Captain Jenkins 
 for Perkins, has been already mentioned. 
 
 U. S. STEAMSHIP Richmond, 
 IST DIVISION W.G. SQUADRON, 
 MOBILE BAY, 
 December 24, 1864. 
 
 MY ESTEEMED YOUNG FRIEND, 
 
 To-morrow will be Christmas. I hope it may be a 
 reasonably joyous day to you and my other gallant 
 young friends of the "Upper Fleet"; and that you all 
 may have not only a very happy New Year, but 
 many returns and under more pleasant auspices than 
 the present. 
 
 I send you a bundle of the latest newspapers, tell 
 ing you of Sherman, etc. And Gherardi, another one 
 of the gallant spirits claimed among my most excel 
 lent friends, sends you and our colleague in fellowship 
 (Captain Kirkland) each a turkey. 
 
 As these turkeys are indebted to me for passports, 
 which I readily granted seeing they did not desire to 
 go beyond the lines under flag of truce, my injunction 
 is that both be not brought to the knife on the same 
 day. Although these bipeds were bred on Rebel soil, 
 I fancy if they receive proper attention especially in 
 basting if roasted, as we sometimes do our friends, or 
 well smothered up in bivalves in default of truffles or 
 mushrooms if boiled, as managing mammas do the 
 desirable beaux of their daughters, they may prove 
 both savory and digestible, and they remind you too 
 that Rebel soil has produced and can still produce 
 other bipeds not to be wholly ignored, although 
 
210 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 neither our friend of the Winnelago is quite prepared, 
 nor am I, for the knife and spit or to be put under the 
 dish cover. 
 
 If you and your consort can manage to get down 
 here by New Year s day I shall try to inveigle you 
 both into trying the Rebel turkey Gherardi sent to 
 me at the same time. I will try to prove to ourselves 
 that Cotton is not the only product worthy of our 
 consideration during war. 
 
 The Milwaukee will probably leave New Orleans 
 to-day under convoy of our friend Jouett, who, by the 
 way, will be I fear too late to catch the Frances, 
 Coquette, Will of the Wisp, and others at Havana a 
 few days since waiting for the waning moon. I shall 
 detain him here not a moment. He is too lucky in the 
 catching line to be baulked in his plans. Just to 
 think of the Frances now in Galveston with 1,200 
 bales of cotton on board ! If you are good at ciphering 
 just figure out all our shares and tell Jouett when he 
 comes. If Jouett catches many prizes I shall be 
 attacked with that terrible disease, the Cotton Fever. 
 It is a terrible disease no doubt and I shall fight hard 
 against it, but I am at fault for remedies. . . . 
 
 With kindest regards to all our friends this side the 
 Rebel lines, 
 
 I am very truly your friend, 
 
 THORNTON A. JENKINS. 
 
 CAPTAIN GEO. H. PERKINS, 
 Commanding Chickasazo. 
 
 The third letter is by Lieutenant-Commander 
 W. A. Kirkland, who had been given the Winne- 
 bago. It describes in a humorous vein the duties 
 
LATER SERVICE 211 
 
 that devolved upon the Union officers on the 
 conclusion of the war. 
 
 Winnebago, MR. BIGBEE S CREEK, 
 April 17, 1865. 
 
 MY DEAR LITTLE PERK, - 
 
 Have administered the oath to seven planters this 
 morning, who thereby saved their poultry and truck. 
 Am having a good time and go at daybreak to eat 
 strawberries and cream at their houses. Shall buy a 
 horse and send him to you to look out for till my 
 return. . . . Tell Jones his n is received; he need not 
 buy anything for me. There s lots here and they give 
 it to me because I am polite and don t steal. . . . Two 
 lovely women within easy rowing distance and two 
 more that I call on at daybreak. . . . 
 
 April 1 8, 2 P.M. Have just returned from the 
 house of Mrs. Van Dorn, widow of the late Rebel 
 general. . . . Administered the oath to three old 
 ladies, and had a good time with the young ones. 
 There are lots of pretty girls around here and I am 
 getting along swimmingly for a single man. . . . 
 Yours in a thieving way, 
 
 W. A. K. 
 
 On July 10, 1865, the commander of the 
 Chick as aw was detached and after the long 
 service in the Gulf, almost of the same duration 
 as the war, Perkins had the promised rest at 
 home. It is easy to imagine the excitement and 
 joy on his arrival. Miss Perkins speaks of the 
 
212 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 enthusiasm with which he was greeted by all who 
 knew him, adding: 
 
 Complimentary letters poured in on him and on 
 his family. He was at that time the embodiment of 
 an attractive naval officer, and might have figured in 
 the pages of romance. 
 
 The following winter he was given command 
 of all the ironclads stationed at New Orleans, 
 and in May, 1866, he was ordered to New York 
 for duty as first lieutenant of the Lackawanna, 
 which was soon to leave for a three years cruise 
 in the Pacific. 
 
 Admiral Jenkins writes, as he was about to 
 sail, wishing him "A pleasant and profitable 
 cruise, and the thirty numbers to which you are 
 entitled for your services." Advancement by 
 thirty numbers in rank had been given in many 
 cases for conspicuous bravery. Perkins s fellow- 
 officers felt sure he would get at least this recog 
 nition. Some of his friends, when he was in New 
 Hampshire on leave, had urged that he apply to 
 the Congressmen of his State and secure their 
 influence in gaining promotion. But this was 
 repugnant to his feelings; he detested political 
 intrigue or what had the least resemblance to it. 
 Conscious of his deserts and believing that they 
 
LATER SERVICE 213 
 
 would be recognized, he did nothing. Unfortu 
 nately, the Government also did nothing. For 
 this and many similar cases Farragut has been 
 blamed. That distinguished sailor was apathetic 
 in the urging of promotion for the officers who 
 had contributed so largely to his own success. 
 But whatever may have been felt, how worthy it 
 was of Perkins, instead of becoming a party to a 
 squabble after honors, to turn with cheerfulness 
 and alacrity to the next duty. 
 
 The Lackawanna put to sea on July 8, 1866, 
 and after touching at Rio Janeiro and Monte 
 video, passed through the Straits of Magellan, 
 arriving at Valparaiso, December 17. Then she 
 went to Honolulu, reaching it early in the follow 
 ing February; this was to be her station for the 
 next two years. 
 
 The death of Perkins s brothers, Roger and 
 Frank, at this time brought him sadness, and 
 there follows a letter to his mother of great 
 tenderness. 
 
 During the cruise in the Pacific, the ship 
 visited Kauai, Maui, and others of the Hawaiian 
 Islands, and Perkins climbed the great crater of 
 Kilauea. While at Honolulu he took especial 
 delight in going to the cattle ranches and tasting 
 
214 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 the excitement of driving the wild cattle down 
 from the mountains. 
 
 On April 25, the Lackawanna left for the 
 French Frigate Shoals, where two weeks before 
 the whaling bark Daniel Wood of New Bedford 
 had been wrecked. Her captain and a part of the 
 crew had succeeded in reaching Honolulu after 
 a passage of 450 miles in an open boat. The 
 Lackawanna sailed to rescue the others. 
 
 Of more than passing interest was the trip to 
 the Midway Islands (Brooks Islands), a small 
 group lying far to the west of the Hawaiian 
 Islands and midway between America and 
 Asia. His letters and the captain s report tell 
 the story. 
 
 August 3, 1867. We are now on our way to sur 
 vey an island discovered by Captain Brooks a few 
 years ago, which the Pacific Mail Steamship Com 
 pany want for a coal depot, and we shall probably 
 return to Honolulu in about six weeks. Ever since 
 we left there the sea has been very rough, and we 
 have been tumbling about in every imaginable way, 
 and now the old ship is rolling so I can hardly write. 
 
 AUGUST 14. Breakers have been reported from 
 the masthead, and I hope it is the island we are look 
 ing for. . . . 
 
 Yes, it proved to be the land we are seeking, and 
 now we are lying at anchor off Brooks s Island, 
 
LATER SERVICE 215 
 
 named after the captain who discovered it a few 
 years ago; and probably never before or since has 
 there been anyone there. It is low and sandy, about 
 six miles long, and its inhabitants are only seagulls 
 and other sea birds, seals and turtles. Never having 
 seen any human beings before, they are not in the 
 least afraid of us, and we can catch as many of them 
 as we wish. I have been fishing and caught a boat 
 load of fish and eleven turtles, each one of the latter 
 weighing 200 pounds and over. We are going to re 
 main here and survey the islands, but to-day it has 
 come on to rain, and we are all cooped up on board 
 the ship a dull prospect for me. 
 
 August 16. Pleasant weather has come again 
 and I have been out hunting and fishing. Shot seven 
 teen curlew, hauled the seine, caught a boatload of 
 fish and three large turtles; hunted for shells, but 
 could not find any. 
 
 We are going to have a rather formal ceremony, 
 and take possession of the islands for the United 
 States. 
 
 Captain William Reynolds, commanding the 
 Lackawanna, in his report describes this with 
 some detail : 
 
 I have the honor to report that on Wednesday, 
 the 28th of August, 1867, in compliance with the 
 orders of the Hon. Secretary of the Navy of May 28, 
 I took formal possession of Brooks s Island and reefs 
 for the United States. Having previously erected a 
 suitable flagstaff, I landed on that day, accompanied 
 by all the officers who could be spared from the 
 ship, with six boats armed and equipped, and under a 
 
216 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 salute of twenty-one guns, and with three cheers, 
 hoisted the national ensign, and called on all hands 
 to witness the act of taking possession in the name of 
 the United States. 
 
 The ceremony of taking possession over, the how 
 itzers and small-arm men and marines were exer 
 cised at target firing. Having hauled the seine and 
 procured an abundant supply of fish, the men cooked 
 their dinner on shore, and the rest of the day was 
 spent pleasantly, picnic fashion, upon the island. 
 It is exceedingly gratifying to me to have been thus 
 concerned in taking possession of the first island ever 
 added to the dominion of the United States beyond 
 our own shores, and I sincerely hope that this will 
 by no means be the last of our insular annexations. 
 I ventured to name the only harbor at this island 
 after the present Hon. Secretary of the Navy, and 
 to call its roadstead after the present Hon. Secretary 
 of State (Seward). 
 
 In 1869, Congress appropriated $50,000 for 
 deepening the entrance of this harbor; the work 
 was begun, but the amount proved insufficient 
 for completing the plan. One hundred miles to 
 the west Lieutenant-Commander Sicard, of the 
 U.S.S. Saginaw, who had the duty of inspecting 
 and assisting in this work, had the misfortune 
 to wreck his ship on a reef. The hazardous 
 voyage of Lieutenant Talbot with three men 
 in a small boat sailing over 1500 miles to Kauai, 
 Hawaiian Islands, to gain succor, and the 
 
LATER SERVICE 217 
 
 drowning of all but one of the men just as 
 they reached their destination and were pushing 
 through the surf to make a landing, is one of the 
 thrilling tales of the sea. Nothing further seems 
 to have been done by our Government until 
 three or four decades later, when it sought to 
 insure safety to navigation by establishing there 
 a lighthouse and buoys. After the visits of the 
 Lackawanna and the Saginaiv, the islands were 
 deserted until the Pacific Commerical Cable 
 Company placed there a station in the San 
 Francisco-Manila Line, maintaining about forty 
 men. This is the intermediate station between 
 Honolulu and Guam. 
 
 After the cruise in the Pacific, Perkins was 
 ordered to Boston, March 18, 1869, for ordnance 
 duty at the navy yard. During the two years 
 here, he was but a two or three hours run from 
 the paternal home, then at Concord, New 
 Hampshire, and saw his people often. When his 
 sister Susan visited her friend, Miss Anna Minot 
 Weld, in Boston, he frequently called. She was 
 the daughter of William Fletcher Weld, a noted 
 financier, who beginning with little had become 
 one of the largest shipowners in the United 
 States and later was extensively interested in 
 
2i 8 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 railroad construction; her mother, whose maiden 
 name was Bryant, was a cousin of the poet. She 
 was a favorite in Boston society because of her 
 keen wit, charm, and beauty. It was not long 
 before Mr. Perkins found himself deeply inter 
 ested, and friendship developing into love, they 
 were married in September, 1870. 
 
 One of the happiest notes received at this time 
 was from Rear-Admiral Bailey: 
 
 Your invitation is in hand. As I led you in battle 
 and through the hostile mob at New Orleans, so I 
 will be present and support you in the next most im 
 portant event of your life. 
 
 Then began a new life for him, and after 
 nearly fifteen years of craving he realized what it 
 was to have a home. There was born to them 
 some years later one child, a daughter, Isabel. 
 While his interest and love for the home of his 
 boyhood never lessened, the devotion he gave to 
 his wife and daughter was absolutely unfailing; 
 to Mrs. Perkins, who was not robust, he was the 
 most tender and thoughtful of husbands, and 
 in his care for little Isabel scarcely less untiring. 
 
 In January, 1871, Perkins was promoted to 
 the rank of commander. In the following March 
 he was given command of the storeship Relief, 
 
LATER SERVICE 219 
 
 with orders to carry supplies to France to relieve 
 the famine and distress that had resulted from 
 the disorders of the Communists. Six months 
 later he returned to duty at the Boston Navy 
 Yard, and soon afterwards became lighthouse 
 inspector of the Second District; the latter 
 service allowed him still to make Boston his 
 home. He was relieved from this duty after 
 three years by his old friend, Commander 
 George Dewey. 
 
 Then followed a cruise in the Far East. He 
 was ordered in 1877 to the Asiatic Station to 
 take command of the Ashuelot, a paddle-wheel 
 steamer of 786 tons, carrying six guns. Here his 
 strong executive ability was again demon 
 strated, and the admiral (Thomas H. Patterson) 
 wrote in the highest praise of the very superior 
 discipline and order of his ship, and of the con 
 fidence which he inspired. 
 
 As this was a time of peace and friendly rela 
 tions in the Far East, among Perkins s import 
 ant duties were the visits of ceremony and the 
 dinner parties all with the end of cultivating 
 cordial feelings with the natives and Europeans. 
 In promoting American interests, the Ashuelot 
 visited not only the well-known ports, Canton, 
 
220 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Hong-Kong, and Kobe, but the less frequented, 
 Hoi-how and Pak-hoi (southwest of Canton and 
 but newly opened to our commerce), Bankok, 
 Foochow, Amoy, etc. The duty, while for the 
 most part not arduous, required for its proper 
 performance a fine sense of form as well as tact, 
 delicacy, and good cheer. Perkins enjoyed the 
 novelty, color, and picturesqueness, as is evident 
 from the long letters written to the homes at 
 Boston and Concord. He was still so young as 
 to be interested in the prospect of a hunt, and 
 while the Ashuelot was undergoing repairs at 
 Shanghai he accepted an invitation to join in a 
 trip on one of the luxurious houseboats, going 
 by the rivers and canals 150 miles into the 
 interior, where the party anchored in the vicin 
 ity of the large game to be found on the plains. 
 The best description of his life in the East is to 
 be gained from his letters. 
 
 CANTON, May 13, 1877. 
 
 Since I have been here my time has been taken up 
 exchanging visits with both natives and foreigners 
 and going to all the places of interest. Most of the 
 foreigners in China who live at all live very hand 
 somely. They keep up the English customs so far as 
 the climate will allow, dining at eight in the even 
 ing, and the dinner parties and entertainments are 
 
LATER SERVICE 221 
 
 very rich and elaborate. The other day in Pak-hoi I 
 went to a Chinese dinner at a Chinese gentleman s 
 house, and there were twenty different courses, two 
 of them being birds-nest soup and shark s fins, which 
 are esteemed such delicacies by the Chinese. We 
 had nothing but chopsticks to eat with. 
 
 Canton is one of the finest of the Chinese cities, 
 and there were a great many pretty things to buy 
 here. As one comes up the river from Hong-Kong 
 the scenery is beautiful; it reminds one a little 
 of some parts of the Hudson. In many places the 
 hills are terraced and cultivated to their very sum 
 mits. The manner of working in the fields here has 
 not changed for a thousand years or more. Many 
 agricultural customs spoken of in the Bible are in 
 full force now among these people, and one is 
 constantly reminded of Bible descriptions and al 
 lusions. 
 
 These Chinese are the hardest-working and most 
 industrious people I ever saw. They live on a little 
 rice and will work hard all day for ten cents. There 
 are always a great many boats about my ship, pulled 
 by women, who live in them with their children, and 
 who usually have a little baby, which they strap on 
 their backs and carry in that way when they have to 
 row or do anything else. You hardly ever hear a Chi 
 nese baby cry. They have a funny custom about their 
 babies. A child does not sit till it is four months old, 
 but on that day the grandmother gives it a gayly- 
 painted chair and some molasses candy; this candy 
 is stuck to the bottom of the chair, and the child is 
 then stuck to the candy. They think that in this 
 way the child learns to sit quietly and will not re 
 quire to be carried about in the arms. It amuses me 
 
222 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 to watch them from the ship, where I can look down 
 upon them and see just how they live. They are con 
 tinually going through their forms of worship, keep 
 ing little sticks burning before their images, making 
 prayers, and setting papers on fire to keep off evil 
 spirits. 
 
 A few days ago I visited the prisons here. They 
 keep the prisoners in pens, as you would an animal, 
 with chains on them, until they are led out to be be 
 headed or tortured. There is a Temple of Horrors, 
 where they have images representing the different 
 Chinese ways of punishment, and frightfully cruel 
 some of them are. 
 
 To-day I have been to see the hall of the literary 
 examinations, where about 10,000 students have a 
 competitive examination every three years, and as 
 they come with their friends from all over China, it 
 is a time of fun or feasting, like class-day at Harvard, 
 only more so. The hall where the candidates prepare 
 for examination is furnished with little stalls, which 
 are not so good as those we give our cattle, and the 
 candidates are shut in them for three days. They 
 carry in their own food, which is to last them 
 through, and they sleep on a shelf of boards; they 
 are constantly and closely watched, the doors are 
 fastened and sealed, and they are entirely sepa 
 rated from the outside world. This is to prevent 
 their receiving any aid from others in preparing 
 their essays. 
 
 In the children s schools of the Chinese the cus 
 toms are just the reverse of ours. They all study out 
 loud, and it sounds like a perfect babel; and when 
 they recite their lessons, they stand with their backs 
 to the teacher. 
 
LATER SERVICE 223 
 
 TIENTSIN, November 9, 1877. 
 
 I returned from Peking two days ago, where I have 
 had a very interesting visit. I met our minister and 
 his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Seward, at Hong-Kong, and 
 I promised to visit them when I took the Ashuelot 
 north. This port being the nearest to Peking, I 
 made my arrangements as soon as I arrived here to 
 accept their invitation, and am very glad I did so, 
 for I have had a delightful visit, and they have been 
 very polite and kind to me. 
 
 The distance from here to Peking is eighty miles, 
 and I went by boat. The Chinese have made this 
 mode of traveling very luxurious, but all other ways 
 of getting about here are uncomfortable enough. 
 They go in rough carts, or in wheelbarrows drawn by 
 mules, and no provision is made for travelers which 
 deserves the name. 
 
 Peking must have been a beautiful city once; but 
 the Government is so bad now it is fast going to de 
 cay. There was a great deal to see there, palaces, 
 temples, pagodas, all wonderful, and representing an 
 amount of skill and labor to be found nowhere but in 
 China. Among the photographs which I send you 
 there are two of a monument to Buddha, which, in 
 its way, is the most beautiful thing I ever saw. One 
 of the photographs represents a section of it, and 
 that will show you what the carving is; it is equally 
 fine all over its surface, and it is an immense monu 
 ment. They told me all the life of Buddha was por 
 trayed on it. It is of white marble, and stands on a 
 terrace with a pagoda at each of the four corners. 
 
 The Temple of Heaven seemed to me the finest of 
 the temples, and that is another wonder of elaborate 
 carving in marble. The upper part and the dome 
 
224 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 are of blue tiles. It stands on a large platform of 
 white marble at the top of three terraces, each one 
 surrounded with white marble balustrades, and with 
 marble steps, and everything very handsome. You 
 will see in the photograph what an immense furnace 
 is attached to this temple where a whole ox can be 
 burned for sacrifice. In one of the temples is an idol 
 of Buddha sixty feet high the largest idol in the 
 world. All the buildings, palaces, temples, etc., 
 where the imperial family live or worship, are cov 
 ered with yellow tiles, which is the imperial color. 
 
 During my whole stay in Peking I was going from 
 one wonderful thing to another, each one worthy of 
 long study by the curious or learned in such matters. 
 I was shown an immense bell that weighed 100,000 
 pounds; it was covered outside and in with Chinese 
 characters, and I do not see how anything so huge 
 could have been cast, and cast at one time, and that 
 over 200 years ago. 
 
 To show how these Chinese lavish time and labor, 
 you will see, in the photographs I send you of the 
 astronomical apparatus belonging to the observatory, 
 how the standards and every part are wrought into 
 dragons heads and figures, and carved and orna 
 mented. These instruments are kept on a platform 
 on the city wall, and stand exposed to the open air. 
 They were built about 200 years ago under the su 
 perintendence of the Jesuit missionaries, who about 
 that time were in favor with the Chinese Emperor, 
 and accomplished a great deal by their influence. 
 
 We went out on horseback from Peking on an ex 
 cursion to the great wall. So much has been written 
 about this that I will not undertake to describe it, 
 just leaving it to the photographs to help you out. 
 
LATER SERVICE 225 
 
 They will give you some idea how impressive it is to 
 come upon such a work as this in the midst of the 
 roughness and wildness of Northern China. We went 
 to the wall and out through the Nankow Pass. In 
 the pictures I send you, you will see how the wall runs 
 down here to a savage place between two mountains, 
 where there are rough rocks and boulders heaped all 
 about, as if they had rolled down in an avalanche. In 
 a place like this, think what a surprise it is to find 
 one s self close to an arched opening, and on looking 
 up to see a magnificently built archway covered with 
 elaborate carving, and crowned with two dragons 
 supporting an image of Buddha. 
 
 Through this Pass goes all the immense trade with 
 outlying China, with Siberia, and with Russia, and 
 all the overland trade of Northern China, and this 
 is all carried on beasts of burden. . . . 
 
 By the way, I find camels much used in Northern 
 China, though it was a surprise to me to come upon 
 them as I approached Peking. I went through the 
 pass and had a glimpse of the great Mongolian Plain 
 beyond, where the Tartars herd their flocks, and live 
 in tents and wander about, just as shepherd tribes 
 have done since the days of Abraham. I was sorry 
 my time was so limited that I could not follow on the 
 track of Mr. Williams the author of one of the 
 best books on China who traveled all over this 
 plain. 
 
 We found a curious arrangement for a bed in 
 Northern China. They build a brick platform about 
 two feet high, sometimes large enough to accommo 
 date several persons. This is built over a funnel 
 which passes back and forth until it ends in a sort of 
 chimney. The fire is put at one end of the funnel, 
 
226 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 where it comes out beneath the brick, and the fire, 
 smoke and heated air pass back and forth, and out at 
 the chimney, until the bricks of this queer bedstead 
 which is called a kong become heated, and then 
 the fire is put out, and the servant spreads the bed 
 ding which in China a traveler always carries with 
 him on the warm surface. 
 
 Returning from the great wall we made a detour 
 to see the tombs of the emperors, or " Ming Tombs," 
 as they are called; it means the same thing. Ming is 
 Chinese for emperor. I am very glad I have seen 
 them. They were the most singular, the most novel, 
 and the most imposing of anything I have seen at all, 
 well worth making a great effort to visit. They are 
 sixty miles north from Peking, and are situated in a 
 long, sandy plain, encircled by an amphitheater of 
 high mountains. There they have stood in their 
 lonely grandeur for more than a thousand years, and 
 their state of preservation is wonderful. It is such 
 that it gives you that rare sensation of being sud 
 denly dropped into another world. 
 
 From the entrance-gate to the first tomb there is 
 an avenue of three miles. The avenue gateway con 
 sists of five marble archways, supported on pillars, 
 whose bases are carved with lions and dragons, and 
 whose tops support a roof worked up with that 
 strange Chinese elaboration which I have no words 
 to describe. This avenue is formed first by a row of 
 white marble columns on each side; then by lines of 
 sculptured animals of colossal size; and, lastly, by 
 twelve gigantic statues. The lines of animals are the 
 strangest sight, camels, lions and winged dragons, 
 immense creatures lying or standing on the barren 
 plain as if petrified there. Their size and immobility 
 
LATER SERVICE 227 
 
 are singularly affecting. They are all cut from single 
 blocks of granite. It is wonderful what work the 
 Chinese do in this hard stone. They use it a great 
 deal; and the time and patience it must require to 
 cut and carve as they do make one tired to think of. 
 
 The great statues that finish the avenue to the 
 inner gateway are said to be those of the emperors 
 buried there. They are supposed to be dressed like 
 ancient Chinese warriors. Their high square head 
 gear is called a helmet, and something like a cuirass 
 covers the upper part of the figure, but otherwise 
 their garments are long and flowing, and the effect 
 to me was not warlike, but solemn and dignified. 
 They seemed to stand for types of the sages of old, 
 and embodiments of the faith and philosophy of this 
 ancient people. 
 
 At the end of the avenue is another gateway, con 
 sisting of a single arch, embellished on the upper 
 corners with huge Chinese lions. The roadway of 
 great flags, which leads through it, and the path 
 ways on each side are in good order and look so fresh 
 that it is hard to believe their date is 830 A.D. Enter 
 ing this, you perceive that the great tombs are ar 
 ranged in a semicircle around the valley, and that 
 each tomb is a temple in itself. All around them is a 
 thick growth of evergreen trees, which, though dark 
 and solemn, softens the effect of loneliness which the 
 great, bare plain and the high, rocky mountains give. 
 Only the trees seemed to give a sense of companion 
 ship and take away the sense of something weird, and 
 of another world, which was almost oppressive. 
 
 I have spoken of their size. The one that we 
 measured was sixty-seven yards long and twenty- 
 seven yards wide. White and red marble, porphyry, 
 
228 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 and teak wood, all covered with sculptures, are used 
 in the construction of the tombs. They called my at 
 tention to the pure and severe style of the architec 
 ture different from what is usual in China, but 
 which gives an effect of grandeur. The evergreens 
 give a sepulchral shade, and as we stood there in one 
 of the tombs one of their appointed guardians struck 
 loudly on a gong. The noise rang through the halls 
 with curious vibrations, and almost made the flesh 
 creep. They say that the ashes of the emperors were 
 deposited in golden coffins, and in order to keep 
 their final resting place a secret, and secure from rob 
 bers, the grave diggers were killed. 
 
 One of the more extended cruises taken by 
 the Ashuelot while at this station is outlined 
 in Admiral Patterson s order dated October 2 y 
 1878:- 
 
 When the vessel under your command is in all 
 respects ready for sea, proceed with her on a cruise 
 to the southward as far as Bangkok, visiting, on the 
 way, Kobe, Nagasaki, Foochow, Amoy, Hong- 
 Kong, and Manila, and, if practicable, reach Bang 
 kok about the 2Oth of December next. Thence pro 
 ceed to Saigon, Pak-hoi, Hoi-how, and return to 
 Hong-Kong about the middle of February next. 
 Regulate your stay at each place as American in 
 terests may demand. 
 
 When at Foochow inform yourself fully in regard 
 to the recent disturbance there, and if there should 
 be any reasonable apprehension of our citizens, or 
 their property, inform me by telegraph and wait 
 reply. 
 
 Do all in your power to promote American interests 
 
LATER SERVICE 229 
 
 at the ports visited by you, and keep me informed of 
 your movements and anything of importance. 
 
 The letters written on his visiting the Philip 
 pines and Siam contain vivid descriptions. 
 
 AT SEA, December 2, 1878. 
 
 Yesterday I left Manila, where I have been since 
 the 6th of last month. . . . Our first days there were 
 spent in firing salutes, and exchanging visits, and 
 going through all the forms which are customary 
 when a government vessel comes into a foreign port. 
 Admiral Patterson sent me here to settle a stabbing 
 affray on board the American barque Masonic, and 
 that took up my attention at first. In the even 
 ings I went to the opera, and visited the sights of 
 the city. On account of earthquakes, all the build 
 ings are but one story high. The customs, fashions, 
 etc., are Spanish. Every one was polite and I found 
 it very pleasant; but, as you might expect, after a 
 little while I grew restless. I heard that there was 
 some beautiful scenery in the interior, and I resolved 
 to go on an investigating trip and see it. Our vice- 
 consul, Mr. Yongs, and another gentleman went with 
 me, and we took servants, guides, etc. 
 
 From Manila we went in a boat up a short river, 
 which had its rise in a large lake, about twenty-five 
 miles long, and which we crossed in a steamer. I 
 think I never saw such quantities of two things as 
 were on that lake namely, ducks and mosquitoes. 
 
 From the lake we continued our journey in two- 
 horse vehicles, like the volantes of Havana, and in 
 these we went from village to village, on our way to 
 the mountains. We were very well treated. The 
 Spanish authorities at Manila provided us with 
 
230 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 papers which commanded the chief men of the vil 
 lages through which we passed to furnish us with 
 whatever we required. The villages were clusters of 
 thatched huts around a church, and the religion 
 seemed to be a curious mixture of Roman Catholic 
 Christianity and pagan superstition, as I concluded 
 from the style of the pictures with which these 
 churches were adorned. These were chiefly repre 
 sentations of hell and its torments. Devils, with the 
 traditional tails and horns, and armed with pitch 
 forks, were turning over sinners in lakes of burning 
 brimstone. . . . 
 
 We found the natives very musical; they sang and 
 played on a variety of instruments, and they were 
 rather handsome. The women had, without excep 
 tion, the longest and most luxuriant hair I ever saw 
 in all my travels. You know it is a rare thing among 
 us for a woman to have hair that sweeps the ground, 
 but here the exception is the other way; nearly 
 every woman I saw had hair between five and six feet 
 in length. 
 
 I was told that back among the mountains there 
 existed tribes whom the Spaniards have never been 
 able to conquer, and no one dares to venture among 
 them, not even the priests. Our road was con 
 stantly ascending, and as we advanced towards the 
 interior the scenery became beautiful. Peaks of 
 mountains rose all about us; plains and valleys 
 stretched out, covered with tropical vegetation; 
 picturesque villages, clustering around their churches, 
 were visible here and there; and in the distance were 
 glimpses of the sea, either sparkling and bright in the 
 sun, or "deeply, darkly, beautifully blue." 
 
 I was told of a wonderful ravine among the moun- 
 
LATER SERVICE 231 
 
 tains that was worth seeing and I decided to visit it, 
 especially as it was a favorable time; the river, by 
 which it had to be approached, was then high, and its 
 fifteen cascades, which usually had to be climbed 
 past, dragging the canoe, were reduced to four. I 
 took three natives with me, and we ascended success 
 fully. I have called it a ravine, but a gorge would be 
 a better term, for it is worn directly through the 
 mountain by a large river, and the rock rises up on 
 each side, as sheer and straight as if cut by machin 
 ery. 
 
 After I had ascended a certain distance, I stopped 
 for a time to examine all the wild magnificence about 
 me. The rocky wall on each side was so high that 
 when I looked up I could see the stars shining in that 
 bright noonday, as if it were night. Huge birds came 
 flapping up the gorge far above my head; and yet 
 they were far below the top of the mountain of rock. 
 I do not know how many feet it rose, but I never saw 
 any precipice where the impression of height was so 
 effectually given it seemed immense. 
 
 Beneath us was the deep, broad stream, looking 
 very dark in such a twilight as such a shadow made, 
 and I could not help feeling awestruck. But the 
 opening of the gorge framed as smiling and cheerful a 
 landscape as could possibly be devised, to contrast 
 with the inner gloom. It was a wide, varied and 
 splendid view of the country beyond, sloping to the 
 distant sea, and all of it as aglow with light and color 
 as sea and land could be, beneath a tropic sun. 
 
 Descending the river on our way out, I had a char 
 acteristic adventure, which will make me satisfied 
 for a time. We had passed two of the rapids in 
 safety, but as we approached the third, the canoe 
 
232 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 struck on a rock, or something in the current, bow 
 on, and swinging round, half filled with water. The 
 natives in the end of the canoe nearest the rock 
 sprang out and clung to the vines which hung over 
 its sides, but the other man and I went over the fall 
 in the half-swamped canoe, and were wholly at the 
 mercy of the stream, with an unusually good pros 
 pect of getting a good deal more of it. 
 
 The fall once passed through, the current drove 
 us towards the shore, if that is what you would call a 
 precipice of rock, running straight down far below 
 the surface of the water. I succeeded in grasping the 
 vines, and pulling the canoe after me by my feet. 
 The water was quiet close by the rock, and the other 
 two men, crawling down to us, hung on with me, and 
 bailed out the boat till it was safely afloat, and then 
 we went down the rest of the way without accident. 
 
 JANUARY 4, 1879. 
 
 Last Wednesday we sighted Palo Obi a small 
 island near the coast and passing between that 
 and Cambodia Point, entered the Gulf of Siam, 
 which we were two days ascending. This morning 
 the pilot came aboard at six, and we started ahead 
 for Bangkok, which we reached at noon. We fired a 
 salute, and ran up the Siamese flag at the fore, and 
 soon after anchoring the consul came off to visit us. 
 
 January 12, 1879. 
 
 I am having a very pleasant visit in this strange 
 part of the world, and if I were younger and could 
 shake off my homesickness I should be greatly enter 
 tained. The day after I arrived in Bangkok, the 
 American consul Mr. Sickles took me, with 
 
LATER SERVICE 233 
 
 some of my officers, to call on the minister of state. 
 He was very polite, and after our visit we received 
 an invitation to be present at a "Sokan Festival," 
 as it is called, which was held in honor of the hair- 
 cutting of the royal princess. 
 
 It seems the hair of Siamese children is not cut till 
 a certain age, but is worn in a knot at the top of the 
 head, where it is fastened with gay pins and often 
 decorated with flowers. When they are old enough, 
 this knot of hair is cut off, and there is always some 
 ceremony about it, even among the poorest. But 
 this Sokan Festival was in honor of the princess of 
 the highest rank in the kingdom, and the ceremonies 
 were as splendid and elaborate as it was possible to 
 make them. They last for six days, and are held in a 
 square adjoining the royal palace. Around this 
 square are halls and seats for spectators, according 
 to their rank, and the square itself is covered with 
 puppet shows, booths, and refreshment stands, 
 where the people are regaled at the expense of the 
 government. But what was really splendid, and 
 perfectly dazzling to look at, was what was called the 
 "Trailaht," which was seemingly a mountain of 
 gold, on the top of which was a gilt temple, where 
 the final ceremonies of this Royal Sokan Festival 
 took place. On this mountain and about the temple 
 were artificial trees, which were full of automatic 
 birds, monkeys, snakes, etc., and there were pools of 
 water full of artificial fish and there were images of 
 people moved by machinery and on the steps of the 
 temple stood Lukuan girls with huge wings attached 
 to their garments, which had some machinery by 
 which they waved them and flapped them about. 
 All the attendants and every one in the temple had 
 
234 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 these wings, and I was given to understand that 
 within the precincts of the temple everything was 
 supposed to represent heaven. 
 
 The city is crowded with people from every part 
 of the kingdom, who have come to do honor to the 
 occasion. Every afternoon,, while the festival lasts, 
 there is a procession around the square, which is one 
 of the great features of the performance. This pro 
 cession is barbaric and grotesque to a degree, but is 
 also very gorgeous. The mines of this country fur 
 nish the finest precious stones in the world, and they 
 flash upon one in great abundance, often in neck 
 laces and bracelets strung together on the necks and 
 arms of naked children. One of the titles of the 
 King of Siam is "Lord of the Rubies." Portions of 
 the procession I judged, had some national signifi 
 cance. It was composed of men and women, and 
 the costumes of every province of the kingdom were 
 represented; also Chinese and Japanese. There were 
 besides a large number in masquerade. Then there 
 was a military display, and the music consisted both 
 of native music and European bands. The Second 
 King had a very good band. Altogether the proces 
 sion presented as brilliant an appearance as it is pos 
 sible to imagine. 
 
 The first afternoon that I went with some of my 
 officers to see it, we were given conspicuous seats on 
 the line of the procession, and I was engaged intently 
 watching the strange sight. Of course I wore my 
 uniform, but did not expect any especial notice, hav 
 ing gone as a spectator. The King, in a gilded chair 
 of state, carried by six bearers, constitutes a part of 
 the procession, and when he arrived opposite me, I 
 saw him give an order, and everything came to a full 
 
LATER SERVICE 235 
 
 stop. Then a messenger came to me and said that 
 the King wished to see me. I followed the messenger 
 and approached the chair, when the King said to me 
 in a full, clear voice, and in good English, "What is 
 your mission to this country?" I replied that my 
 mission was a friendly one, that I had come only to 
 express the good-will of the United States to his 
 kingdom, etc.; to which he replied, "We are very 
 glad to see you," and signaled for the procession to 
 pass on. I was never more taken by surprise in my 
 life, and felt as if I were enacting a scene in the 
 "Arabian Nights." 
 
 Immediately after the King came the gorgeously 
 decorated chair of the princess royal. She wore a 
 gold crown, and was covered with gold chains and 
 jewelry, and was attended by a group of ladies who 
 carried the insignia of her rank on gold salvers. 
 
 After the procession had made its circuit, the 
 King took his place in a sort of hall, on one side of 
 the square, which was handsomely decorated and 
 arranged for him, and then he received the princess 
 royal, and placed her by his side. Then envoys from 
 all parts of the kingdom, and from neighboring ones, 
 advanced and presented her with gifts. All the noble 
 families of the kingdom also followed this example, 
 and this ceremony was gone through with every day. 
 
 After the royal party was seated, a sort of en 
 tertainment began. Some very pretty Siamese wo 
 men I was told they were ladies of rank went 
 through a slow dance before the King and princess, 
 in which a silver tree was passed from one to the 
 other. They were richly dressed and danced to na 
 tive music. 
 
 After this, some Lakuan girls, dressed in bright 
 
236 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 colors, with wings fastened to their shoulders, de 
 scended from the gilded temple and danced. It was 
 all very strange and diverting for the time, and I 
 never saw anything so showy and glittering as was 
 the whole scene. I witnessed it several times dur 
 ing the festival, but it was much alike each day. 
 
 Before I go on with an account of my visiting 
 and entertainments I will tell you something about 
 Bangkok. It is on the Meinam Chow Phya River, 
 stretched out about five miles, and contains about 
 500,000 people. These all live on the river, in float 
 ing houses built on rafts of bamboo poles and fast 
 ened to posts, except the consulates, Kings palaces, 
 temples, and places of that sort, which require a firm 
 foundation on the land. All these latter buildings 
 are tiled with green and yellow, and have an im 
 mense amount of porcelain used in their construc 
 tion, with elaborate figures of gods and animals 
 adorning them. One temple has four white porce 
 lain elephants, more than half way up from its base, 
 facing the four points of the compass, and this same 
 temple is hung with little bells from the top of its 
 spire to its base, which have fans for tongues, that 
 catch the wind s slightest movement and ring very 
 sweetly. The roofs of the temples turn up at every 
 angle with a curved and pointed projection, shaped 
 something like a horn and something like an 
 aspiring flame. They would be very beautiful 
 and interesting if they were only clean, but half 
 their beauty is concealed under dirt and slime, and 
 for this same reason all their attractions are made 
 repulsive. 
 
 I find it very warm here, but they say the heat is 
 nothing now compared to the summer. The morn- 
 
LATER SERVICE 237 
 
 ings are the pleasantest part of the day, and then 
 Bangkok seems like a great, active city. The river is 
 covered with boats and there are throngs of people 
 out. The royal boats and those of the wealthy are 
 handsomely decorated, and are a pretty sight, as 
 they dart about on the river, with their high-pointed 
 prows. I was surprised to find so much of the ship 
 ping belonging directly to Siamese merchants. Ves 
 sels flying the flag of the white elephant were far 
 more plentiful than those of any other nation. It is 
 a very showy flag, but I should think it might present 
 a funny appearance when hoisted as a signal of dis 
 tress: that is, upside-down. 
 
 On account of so many houses being on the river, 
 some romantic individuals endeavor to dub Bangkok 
 the "Venice of the East," but I could not get very 
 enthusiastic over any place so slimy and muddy, and 
 infested with reptiles and insects of every description. 
 The mosquitoes are terrible, no ordinary protec 
 tion suffices against them. Snakes are as plentiful 
 as frogs. The sailors have to resort to all sorts of de 
 vices to keep them out of the boats, both day and 
 night, when we go ashore. The fireflies, though, 
 merit all that has been said about them. Not only 
 are they the biggest and brightest that I have seen in 
 all my wanderings, but their nocturnal displays are 
 a marked feature among Siamese curiosities. 
 
 Speaking of snakes, our consul told me he had 
 tried to raise chickens in the grounds attached to the 
 consulate, which are in the heart of the city, but 
 could not succeed because boa-constrictors came 
 boldly in, night and day, and carried them off. 
 
 The day after the Royal Sokan Festival closed I 
 went to a croquet party at our consul s, and this was 
 
238 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 a strong contrast to the gorgeousness of the day be 
 fore, with its half barbaric procession, succeeded by 
 the dances of a great number of Lakuan girls in rich, 
 high-colored dresses, which had made the whole 
 scene one of flashing, shifting splendor. 
 
 The croquet party was as Western as it could be 
 made by English and American residents in so very 
 Eastern a place as Siam. The Second King sent his 
 band to enliven it. After the Sokan Festival, I paid 
 a series of visits to royal personages and ministers, 
 and to the places of interest about Bangkok. 
 
 The Siamese are polite and gentle in their manners 
 and cordial to strangers, who are rarities. The for 
 eign community here is only about 200. The Sia 
 mese children are beautiful, and very pretty and at 
 tractive in their ways. 
 
 I went to see the ex-regent and the ministers of war 
 and of state. Mr. Sickles, and the King s interpreter, 
 Mr. Alabaster, took me all over the royal palaces 
 and temples, parts of which are very gorgeous, and 
 all very curious. I had a good look at the famous 
 emerald image of Buddha, which is about a foot 
 and a half high, and said to be carved from a single 
 emerald. The figure sits cross-legged, and is always 
 spoken of as the "emerald idol," but it did not look 
 any better to me than dull, green glass. It is kept in 
 the most splendid of the temples in the King s gar 
 dens. His gardens, and those of the minister of state, 
 are beautiful, and in what is called the "King s Lotus 
 Garden" there are a number of temples and halls 
 of fine architecture, according to Eastern ideas, and 
 of exquisite workmanship. Surrounded as they are 
 by everything rich and tropical, they fulfill one s 
 dreams of an Oriental scene. There is a botanic gar- 
 
LATER SERVICE 239 
 
 den and a "zoo," both full of fine and rare speci 
 mens. I saw the stables where the King s elephants 
 are kept, and also paid a visit to the sacred white 
 elephants, which are only freaks of nature, and, 
 though their skin is lighter than common elephants, it 
 is far from white. The sight of the troop of war ele 
 phants, in all their trappings and housings of war 
 and glittering with gold and silver, is a magnificent 
 spectacle. 
 
 After I had paid my visits, all those whom I had 
 called upon, including the Second King, came and 
 returned the attention, so I had to keep up a firing 
 of salutes and entertaining for two or three days. I 
 also received from the Second King and other digni 
 taries presents of a bear, a monkey, a cat and an odd 
 sort of necklace and some other queer things. The 
 monkey is an immense specimen, and we are all afraid 
 of him. The boatswain has him in charge and has 
 dressed him in clothes, and it is a pity some of those 
 Middle Age painters did not have him for a model 
 to paint the devil from, for he is a terrible looking 
 fellow and makes you think of him at once. He is 
 always devising means to get himself free, and then 
 he makes for my cabin, and every now and then he 
 will get in. As monkeys are very imitative, I adopt 
 a course of high politeness, and he proceeds to follow 
 my example, only this does not prevent him from 
 suddenly seizing some article and flinging it to the 
 floor with a crash while he gives me an engaging grin. 
 As soon as I can, I get word to the boatswain, who 
 comes and captures him. The cat is tailless, and of 
 singular color and shape. 
 
 Last Friday arrangements were made for me to 
 visit the First King. Mr. Sickles went with me and 
 
240 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 some of my officers. We arrived at the palace about 
 four o clock P.M., when we were met by the King s 
 interpreter, Mr. Alabaster, who conducted us to the 
 King s presence. We passed through a gateway 
 guarded by soldiers, who presented arms in Euro 
 pean fashion, and then through a passage, by the 
 harem apartments, where we caught glimpses of dark 
 eyes peering at us. The last hall we passed through, 
 I noticed, was surrounded with busts and portraits of 
 European kings. The next room was a large saloon, 
 and here the King was waiting to receive us, which 
 he did in a most friendly manner. He was dressed 
 in white stockings, reaching nearly to the knee, and 
 low shoes, Siamese trousers, and a black European 
 frockcoat. He invited us to be seated, and cigars 
 were passed, and then he proceeded to talk to us 
 very pleasantly in good English, which he pro 
 nounces very carefully. He inquired if we had seen 
 the temples, gardens and places of interest in Bang 
 kok, and suggested anything interesting that re 
 mained for our sightseeing, and made polite inquiries. 
 At the end of about half an hour we rose to depart, 
 but the King asked us to remain and see some danc 
 ing by his Lakuan girls. This was the same brilliant 
 spectacle that I have spoken of before, the grace 
 ful girls moving about in rich, high-colored dresses 
 and jewels, and making a dazzling picture. 
 
 The next day (Saturday) we paid a visit to the 
 Second King. All the ceremonies of receiving us 
 were like those of the day before, except that the 
 surroundings were not quite so fine. This King is 
 bright and agreeable, asked many questions, and 
 seemed much interested about the United States. 
 He invited us to accompany him to the cremation 
 
LATER SERVICE 241 
 
 of a nobleman, whose funeral pile he was to honor by 
 applying the torch. 
 
 The place where the ceremony was to be performed 
 was across the river, and we proceeded to it in the 
 royal boats. Here we found the hero of the occasion, 
 namely, the corpse, in a coffin, which rested on a 
 bier of fireproof masonry. The bier was built in the 
 center of a square, and the funeral was being cele 
 brated like a festival. Soldiers were parading to 
 music, puppet shows and showmen were performing, 
 and everything looked very bright and gay. We as 
 cended to a sort of veranda on one side of the square, 
 and presently the Second King was handed a torch. 
 By his side was a large artificial crocodile, and when 
 he applied his torch to the tail of this animal, the fire 
 passed through its body and was spit from its mouth, 
 so that it struck the combustible material within 
 the bier, and, igniting the pile, consumed the corpse. 
 This singular firework, I was told, had some reli 
 gious significance. I have found a good deal of fetich 
 worship among the Siamese that reminds me of my 
 old discoveries in Africa. 
 
 At a dinner with the minister of state, the enter 
 tainment lasted till about midnight, and the con 
 versation flowed in an easy manner, as at any gen 
 tleman s table. Dinner finished, the minister showed 
 me the women s quarters. They were below the state 
 apartments, and we descended first to a sort of court, 
 where a fountain was playing in the center of a large 
 pool of water. It was surrounded by handsome col 
 umns, and so far as I could see in the dim light, was 
 an elegant and ornamental spot. I was rather star 
 tled when a big crocodile splashed up in the water 
 close by me. The women were asleep in latticed 
 
242 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 compartments that reminded me of our cattle cars; 
 there were passageways between, and the ven 
 tilation seemed good. The minister is said to be 
 kind to his harem, which comprises about 350 
 women. 
 
 All the great officials returned my visits and came 
 on board the Ashuelot, and I have had about all the 
 salutes and ceremony that I can stand. The Siamese 
 greatnesses have names that can be measured only 
 by the yard. The King s is Prabat Somdetch Phra 
 Paramenda Maha Ehulaloukoru. But this is beaten 
 by that of the minister for the Northern Provinces, 
 which is Chow Somdetch Pou Broma Wong-tee-to 
 Chowfah Mahah Malah Krom Pra Bamrapparapak. 
 
 January 19, 1879. 
 
 The time has been filled since I wrote last with 
 sight-seeing and entertainments, and I am too tired 
 to give you much of a description. Mr. Sickles gave 
 us a very handsome reception, and the decorations 
 of the consulate were remarkably fine. The Second 
 King sent his band for the occasion, and there was 
 dancing in European fashion to European tunes. 
 The minister of state gave us a garden party, and we 
 sat in a beautiful pavilion and watched the Lakuan 
 girls dance; and I dined at the British consul s and 
 at the Portuguese. 
 
 The chief event, though, was my trip to Ayuthia, 
 the ancient capital of Siam. It is 100 miles up the 
 river and we went in a house-boat, towed by a 
 steam launch, both placed at our disposal by the 
 foreign minister. Ayuthia is ten miles beyond Bang- 
 pa-in, which is the First King s summer residence, 
 and where we stayed, everything being arranged 
 
LATER SERVICE 243 
 
 beforehand for our accommodation. Indeed, we had 
 large and handsome quarters. From there we made 
 an excursion to Ayuthia, of which little remains now 
 but the temples, and those are disgusting with slime 
 and insects and birds, and are falling into rapid de 
 cay. The idols are fallen over, and everthing is 
 cracked and crumbling that belonged to the old city; 
 but the elephant stockade there is an interesting 
 thing to strangers. The elephants throughout the 
 state are looked upon as the property of the King, 
 and they are not allowed to be killed. At certain 
 times of the year the wild elephants are driven into 
 the stockade by the help of tame ones. There they 
 are kept till subdued, the most intelligent are se 
 lected, and the rest turned loose again. They are 
 very useful in Siam, especially in traveling through 
 the country, and they are trained for war purposes, 
 and a variety of uses. The King once proposed send 
 ing a number to America and turning them loose in 
 our forests, thinking we might find them as useful 
 here as in Siam; but the offer was declined, with 
 thanks, by our Government. 
 
 It is rather dangerous business being about when 
 the elephants are tamed. The stockade is immensely 
 high and strong, and within it are huge posts to 
 which the beasts are fastened. There is a high 
 platform built for spectators; when the elephants 
 are being driven in, there is no place which is very 
 safe, but it is a most exciting scene. They tell a great 
 many stories here about the wisdom of the elephants, 
 and what they can be taught, but I did not have 
 time to verify them. The King is trying to make a 
 fine summer resort of Bang-pa-in. He is laying out 
 the grounds about his palace in artificial lakes and 
 
244 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 grottos, and is making use of a good many European 
 ideas in his architecture and gardening. He is in 
 tending to build villas and a church for the use of 
 visitors. 
 
 In the great statues of granite about the Kings 
 palaces and temples, and in much of the solid work 
 done for the past Kings, I am reminded of old Chi 
 nese stonework, and have an idea the same class of 
 workmen must have been employed. I did not stay 
 long enough to make much of a study of Siam; but 
 it seemed to me to be a very interesting problem. 
 
 There is an odd mixture of Western ideas, and an 
 interest in Western matters, which is not found in 
 other Oriental countries. They all speak English 
 well, in what I might call the court circle, and there 
 certainly must have been some rulers here of marked 
 ability and of active minds. I heard much admira 
 tion expressed for the United States, and they were 
 eager to hear about it. One of the princes is named 
 George Washington. 
 
 The letters that follow suggest further the 
 routine life of Commander Perkins in the Far 
 East and describe the welcome given to General 
 Grant as he visited China in his trip around the 
 world. 
 
 AT SEA, January 21, 1879. 
 
 I am now on my way to Saigon. Have been in 
 terested in having target practice, and in testing the 
 speed of the ship. I took on board, for first-class 
 boys, two of the nephews of the foreign minister, at 
 his request. I had to return the huge monkey with 
 which I was presented in Siam. He proved intract- 
 
LATER SERVICE 245 
 
 able, and was a terror to most of the seamen. I sent 
 him back with the most polite explanations I could 
 think of. 
 
 February 5, 1879. 
 
 We are now steaming up the Gulf of Tonquin 
 and so along the coast to Hong-Kong. After coming 
 down the Gulf of Siam, we rounded Cambodia Point, 
 and went to Saigon in Cochin-China. . . . 
 
 If I thought Siam a terrible place for beasts and 
 insects, I do not know what to say of Saigon and 
 its surroundings. Snakes of the worst description 
 abound, and tigers infest the country and are very 
 bold. One carried off the lighthouse keeper the other 
 day. . . . There is only one American resident in Sai 
 gon, and there is no trade with us; but the exports of 
 rice are very large. . . . 
 
 It seems strange enough to steam along this coast, 
 to stop at these populous cities, and see all this 
 strange and teeming life, of beasts as well as human 
 beings, all so different from each other and so fully 
 different from what one is in the habit of considering 
 and comprehending. It seems as if I were in a 
 dream. 
 
 Just before coming here, we went into Touron Bay 
 on the coast of Anam. . . . We found the inhabitants 
 in a terrible state of destitution, owing to the failure 
 of last year s crops. There were two vessels of war 
 in the bay flying the Anamese flag, but they were 
 falling to pieces; and there were two barques, one 
 French and one English, which had brought cargoes 
 of rice. About the bay were villages with starving 
 people and there was no trade, and all was dilapi 
 dated and forlorn. We have been detained some- 
 
246 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 what by unfavorable weather, but to-morrow ex 
 pect to make the harbor of Pak-hoi. 
 
 February n, 1879. 
 
 Look to the left of the Gulf of Tonquin, and you 
 will see the island of Hainan. It is a large island, and 
 has a million of inhabitants. I visited it when I first 
 came out, and sent home a report about it. It is al 
 most unknown to us, and is difficult of access. The 
 people are hostile to strangers, and in the interior 
 they are perfect savages and are fierce. The island 
 was in a state of commotion owing to a feud be 
 tween two powerful clans. Imperialist troops had 
 been sent from China, but they had been well beaten, 
 and were waiting for reinforcements. There was, of 
 course, no trade and no shipping in the harbors, 
 either of Pak-hoi or Hoi-how. There are five white 
 persons at Pak-hoi and twelve at Hoi-how. The 
 ports were open to foreign trade only about two 
 years ago. 
 
 HONG-KONG, March 12, 1879. 
 
 My life now is such an exchange of saluting and 
 visiting and naval ceremony that I feel tempted to 
 give you a little journal of it. 
 
 Wednesday, February 12, we passed Green Is 
 land and arrived off the tower in Hong-Kong Harbor. 
 We fired salutes to the port and the English and 
 French admirals. Our salute was returned by the 
 shore battery, the English man-of-war Iron Duke, 
 and the French man-of-war Armide. 
 
 The next day the commanding officers of the ships 
 of war in the harbor called on me; then the consuls 
 from various nationalities paid me visits, which were 
 
LATER SERVICE 247 
 
 always recognized with a salute; then I sent an offi 
 cer and began investigating the shipping and every 
 thing that came within my province to attend to, in 
 connection with American interests. In the mean 
 time mails, official and otherwise, were arriving, re 
 ports were to be made out, inquiries coming from 
 the admiral, meteorological blanks to be filled up, 
 and countless duties, naval and otherwise. Invita 
 tions came from dignitaries for various entertain 
 ments. 
 
 Monday, February 16, I went to the races, which 
 were attended by the governor and his wife, and all 
 the fashion of Hong-Kong. February 22, we dressed 
 ship rainbow, as it is called, in honor of the day, 
 and as I had invited the English and French ships to 
 participate, they also dressed ships, American en 
 sign at the main. This was at sunrise. Then at noon 
 we fired a salute of twenty-one guns, and so did the 
 shore battery, and the English and French men-of- 
 war. 
 
 February 24, the English troop-ship Himalaya ar 
 rived with the Twenty-fourth regiment, called the 
 Inniskillings, which has come to relieve the Seventy- 
 fourth. In the course of time the officers of the regi 
 ment paid me visits, and my evenings have been 
 filled with dinners, with the different admirals and 
 officials. Nearly every day ships of war come in. 
 A German has just arrived from Singapore. A Japa 
 nese corvette, the Seiki, has also arrived lately, after 
 an absence of a year, being the first Japanese man- 
 of-war ever sent to Europe from Japan. Sir Thomas 
 Wade and suite, arriving by English mail, were re 
 ceived with salutes, and provided with a guard of 
 honor. 
 
248 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 WEDNESDAY, April 30, 1879. 
 
 The French mail steamer Irawaddy has just come 
 in flying the American ensign at the main, with Gen 
 eral Grant and suite on board. . . . 
 
 His arrival was announced by a gun from the 
 Peak, in time for most of the shipping in the harbor 
 to dress ship, and it made a pretty sight. When the 
 Irawaddy came in, all the ships dipped flags, and the 
 mail steamer acknowledged it. Then a large party, 
 including all the prominent American officials in 
 China, went on board the mail steamer to receive the 
 General. The next move was to come to the Ashue- 
 lot. 
 
 The Hong-Kong papers describe this visit: 
 
 At five minutes to four the double party, consist 
 ing of General Grant and suite, and those who were 
 calling upon him, entered the Victoria, and proceeded 
 to the U.S.S. Ashuelot. The gallant General, on set 
 ting his foot on the deck, over which floated the 
 Stars and Stripes, received a salute of twenty-one 
 guns, and the national flag was run up at the fore and 
 the yards manned. . . . The time allotted for their 
 visit to the Ashuelot was three quarters of an hour. 
 Captain Perkins then escorted his visitors on board 
 the Victoria, which lying to, until the General had 
 received the salute of departure of twenty-one guns, 
 the marines presenting arms, and the seamen 
 manning the yards, steamed slowly toward Mur 
 ray Pier. 
 
 On Monday, May 5, General Grant with his 
 party, boarding the Ashuelot, left Hong-Kong for 
 
LATER SERVICE 249 
 
 a visit to Canton and Macao. The Chinese 
 gunboats and the river boats all seemed to 
 know who was passing, for there was constant 
 firing of salutes and dipping of flags. As they 
 reached Shameen, at nine o clock, - 
 
 There was a great display of lanterns at the con 
 sulate, and twenty war junks, anchored in line oppo 
 site, were illuminated. The Chinese gunboats were 
 also illuminated and burned signal lights and fired 
 rockets in answer to the Ashuelot. 
 
 The Hong-Kong Press says : 
 
 At eight o clock on Tuesday, salutes were ex 
 changed by the Ashuelot and the Chinese gunboats, and 
 the Ashuelot was kept constantly saluting throughout 
 the morning by Chinese displays of bunting. At the 
 consulate, the General and his party received visi 
 tors. At ten o clock, the General and his party, and 
 the captain and officers of the Ashuelot, went to pay 
 a visit to the Viceroy at his Yamen. They went in 
 chairs, and the party were headed by mounted 
 mandarins and a body of troops. Traffic had been 
 stopped, and each crossing, or end of a street, was 
 kept by troops. This was necessary, as the pressure 
 to get a sight of the illustrious warrior and states 
 man was in some places tremendous, and it was as 
 much as the soldiers could do to keep the crowd back. 
 The distance from the United States consulate to the 
 Viceroy s Yamen is three miles, and the whole route 
 was lined by Chinese, to the number of tens of thou 
 sands. General Grant said he never saw such a line 
 of faces, and his estimate is, that at least a hundred 
 
c 
 
 250 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 thousand persons saw the procession of chairs pass 
 by. . . . The chairs were deposited inside the Yamen 
 proper, and here 400 or 500 military and other manda 
 rins lined the approach to the Viceroy and his suite. . . . 
 
 The party being received by the Chinese officials, 
 the Viceroy himself led General Grant to a seat. The 
 officials distributed themselves among the foreign 
 ers, while the party were being seated in a semicircle 
 in the reception-room. By the side of each guest was 
 placed, on massive tea-poys, in delicate Chinese cups, 
 tea made a la Chinoise, and a lively conversation took 
 place between the principal officials and principal 
 visitors, which was interpreted by Mr. Chester Hoi- 
 combe, charge d affaires of the United States, who 
 had come from Peking to welcome General Grant, 
 and by the Chinese interpreter attached to the 
 United States consulate at Canton. 
 
 The Chinese mandarins were cordial in their man 
 ner and laid aside much restraint. They wore the 
 different buttons of their rank, and the Viceroy had 
 an extra batch of aides-de-camp in attendance. At 
 the sounding of a bell, the Viceroy rose and con 
 ducted General Grant to another apartment, which 
 was, however, so distant that it required about a five 
 minutes walk to reach it. The party and officials 
 formed a procession, with due regard to precedence, 
 and marched to a room where refreshments had been 
 laid on a large table in a very handsome apart 
 ment. Seats had been placed for the exact number 
 of guests, whose cards had been sent early in the 
 morning, and when all were arranged in place, the 
 sight presented was a very fine spectacle, as will be 
 easily imagined, the naval, military, and consu 
 lar uniforms contrasting well with the rich dresses of 
 
LATER SERVICE 251 
 
 the Chinese, and the throng of at least 300 servants 
 in fresh costumes, of different nationalities, forming 
 the background. With the exception of the glasses 
 and knives and forks, all the material of the table 
 was Chinese, and consisted of the finest of that cera 
 mic ware for which China is so celebrated. The Vice 
 roy pledged his guests repeatedly, and seemed to 
 enjoy his Clicquot. After about eighty dishes had 
 been discussed, and tea had again been served, a 
 signal was given by the Viceroy, and each guest was 
 presented with his hat by a servant, while other serv 
 ants brought lights, and cigars being handed round, 
 the procession re-formed and returned to the recep 
 tion-room, where the visitors took their leave. 
 
 Next morning the Viceroy and other officials 
 called on General Grant at the American con 
 sulate, and in the evening the General and his 
 party, including Commander Perkins, went 
 again to the Viceroy s, this time to dinner, which 
 for stately ceremony and the number of dishes 
 could hardly be surpassed. The Hong-Kong 
 Press describes the dinner with detail: 
 
 It was getting towards dusk when the party arrived 
 at the Yamen, and a crowd of servants were light 
 ing up the palace. The effect of the thousand of tiny 
 lamps, with here and there enormous lanterns, light 
 ing the halls and rooms to the top of their vaulted 
 ceiling, was beautiful, and a single glance brought to 
 the mind at once whole chapters of the "Arabian 
 Nights." 
 
 The Yamen and its premises are cf great extent, 
 
252 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 and the attendants on the high officials and the at 
 tendants on the guests, and the servants attached 
 to the place, were so numerous that they could be 
 numbered by hundreds. They were all dressed in 
 silk and rich materials of various colors, which added 
 to the brilliancy of the scene. The Viceroy and five 
 of the highest officials received the guests, and after 
 the ceremony of shaking hands and much kotowing 
 was gone through with, the Viceroy led the way to a 
 large apartment where seats were arranged in a semi 
 circle. Here tea was served while the guests were 
 fanned cool by a row of servants with palm-leaf fans, 
 one of whom stood behind each seated guest. Soon 
 after "the chimes of silver-sounding bells" an 
 nounced dinner, and the party, forming a stately 
 procession according to rank, marched slowly through 
 several courts and corridors, crossed an illuminated 
 garden, and ultimately reached the dining-hall. 
 
 The banquet began with sweetmeats, cakes, fruit- 
 rolls, apricot and melon seeds, passed in little dishes; 
 then eight courses of meats, fish and vegetables; then 
 fruits, cakes, preserves and honey; then birds -nest 
 soup, roast duck, mushrooms, pigeons eggs, shark 
 fins and sea-crabs; then, succeeding each other, 
 steamed cakes, ham-pie, vermicelli, baked white pig 
 eons, stewed chickens, lotus seeds, pea-soup, ham in 
 honey, radish cakes, date cakes, sucking pigs (served 
 whole), French confectionery, bellies of fat fish, roast 
 mutton, pears in honey, the soles of white pigeons 
 feet, wild ducks in thorn-apple jelly, egg-balls, lotus 
 seed soup, roast chicken, fruit and vegetables, Mon 
 golian mushrooms, sliced flag-bulbs, fried egg-plant, 
 salted shrimps, orange tarts and cakes, prune sauce, 
 biche-de-mer, ham with white and with red sauce, 
 
LATER SERVICE 253 
 
 ham combined with pumpkins and squash, almonds 
 and beans, and so on beyond count. Cigars and 
 pipes were constantly passed, and the Chinese 
 showed themselves familiar with European liquors. 
 
 The bill of fare was very handsome; the represen 
 tations in gold or red being emblematic of good 
 wishes for the happiness, honors and longevity of the 
 guest. The dinner occupied an unconscionable time. 
 Many smoked water pipes, held by the servants who 
 attended for the purpose, while General Grant and 
 Mr. Borie walked about the garden between some of 
 the courses. 
 
 After the visit to Macao the Ashuelot, with 
 the General s party, returned to Hong-Kong. 
 Here it was found that Commander Johnson, 
 who had been appointed to relieve Commander 
 Perkins, had arrived. Perkins lost no time in 
 turning over his command and in embarking 
 on the mail steamer about to leave for San 
 Francisco. 
 
 By the ordinary course of advancement 
 Perkins became captain in March, 1882. His 
 captain s cruise was made in 1884-85 on the 
 historic Hartford. Leaving San Francisco he 
 proceeded southward, stopping at San Jose de 
 Guatemala, where some photographs were to be 
 taken for the Smithsonian Institution. From 
 Panama the Hartford went to Payata, Peru, 
 
254 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 where Rear-Admiral Upshur, commanding the 
 Pacific Fleet, transferred his flag to her, Per 
 kins continuing as captain. For the promotion 
 of American interests the fleet moved on to the 
 south, visiting several ports of Chili and then 
 went back to Peru. The latter republic had 
 lately emerged from a disastrous war with Chili, 
 and the Peruvians of the interior were refusing 
 to recognize General Iglesias, the constitutional 
 President. 
 
 With the small number of ships in the navy 
 and in commission, this was the period when 
 the navy had sunk to the lowest point touched 
 since the Civil War, many of the tours of 
 duty were very short. After about a year in the 
 Pacific Fleet, Captain Perkins, as well as Rear- 
 Admiral Upshur, was detached. 
 
 It was perhaps fortunate for Perkins that he 
 was thus relieved, for although his exuberant 
 spirits never failed, and he would seldom allow 
 even those of his own family to suppose he was 
 not in excellent health, there were signs, to 
 which he had not been blind, that he must be on 
 his guard against exposure or undue fatigue. In 
 1882 he had obtained a year s leave of absence, 
 which he spent with Mrs. Perkins and Miss 
 
CAPTAIN G. H. PERKINS, 1884 
 
LATER SERVICE 255 
 
 Isabel in Europe. Without Mrs. Perkins s knowl 
 edge of his condition, he had consulted some 
 specialists in Germany, who told him of a slight 
 affection of the heart, as well as some other 
 troubles. These, though not in their opinion 
 such as need cause immediate anxiety, were suffi 
 ciently serious so that they recommended him 
 to undertake no more sea service. Neverthe 
 less, he went as stated on his captain s cruise. 
 Three years later he deemed it a matter of pru 
 dence to apply for retirement. 
 
 Thus on the 1st of October, 1891, when Per- 
 kins had served in the navy just forty years to 
 the day, he was placed on the retired list. New 
 Hampshire Congressmen, being convinced that 
 there should be some recognition of his illus 
 trious service in the Civil War, introduced a bill 
 for his promotion to the rank of commodore on 
 the retired list; to avoid debate and possible 
 opposition from Congress, at times so strangely 
 parsimonious in the payment of long-standing 
 obligations, the provision was included that the 
 promotion should be made without increase of 
 pay. The bill passed, and on May 9, 1896, he 
 became Commodore Perkins, U.S. Navy. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE SAILOR-FARMER 
 
 EVERY sailor is an idealist. Probably the 
 commonest dream cheering him in the 
 desolate waste of waters is that of the time when 
 he is no longer roaming the seas, but has become 
 the possessor of a well-cared-for and productive 
 farm, where, with wife and children and innu 
 merable pets, he will find rest and contentment. 
 This is the sailor s Arcadia. When there comes 
 opportunity of making this dream a reality, 
 while there may be few, long used to the sea, 
 who can fully adapt themselves to a life with 
 such sweeping changes, it reveals so much that 
 is fresh and living that it is seldom an entire 
 failure. 
 
 The naval officer, who has the prospect of cer 
 tain retirement at sixty-two, should of all men 
 have active and serious interests outside his pro 
 fession as well as in it. Further, he should have 
 them fairly early in life; for the man who delays 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 257 
 
 identifying himself with what lies beyond his 
 immediate circle until he is pushed out, may 
 find the new alliances hard to form. In the 
 latter case when on retirement he suddenly has 
 unlimited time and opportunity to do what will 
 yield the purest pleasure, life palls upon him. 
 He is so bored that he sighs even for the old 
 routine, no matter how dull it may have been. 
 There is nothing to quicken the heart and keep 
 the vital currents moving. With stagnation 
 there follows mental and physical decay and 
 death. 
 
 Farming in roughest New Hampshire had 
 been for Perkins during the eighties a mere 
 hobby, to which he had given attention at ir 
 regular intervals when naval duty would permit. 
 This, during the eight years remaining to him 
 after retirement, grew to be an absorbing in 
 terest, and, although it would not have been 
 financially attractive to outsiders, it was of in- 
 calcuable benefit to himself and to the dozens 
 employed by him. In this we are reminded of 
 the English officer and writer, Captain Marryat, 
 who in an unpublished fragment observes that 
 a sailor on land is "but a sort of Adam a new 
 creature, starting into existence as it were in his 
 
258 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 prime"; this new creature naturally takes to 
 farming because "the greatest pleasures of man 
 consist in imitating the Deity in his creative 
 power." Captain Marryat was probably writing 
 of his own experience, for in his later years he 
 turned to agriculture and knew of its pleasures; 
 "but," observes his biographer, "the profits 
 otherwise did not appear." 
 
 Mention was made in the first chapter of a 
 tiny house on a farm at Webster to which Judge 
 Perkins and George would ride, spending the 
 night there that they might start early next 
 morning to fish in the "pond," a half-mile away. 
 This in later years Perkins had visited again and 
 again, and in its rugged surroundings found 
 such lasting pleasure that he made it his summer 
 home. The original house, consisting of four 
 rooms, built around a huge chimney, was thirty 
 feet square, and suggested the name, "The 
 Box." Although to meet later needs the house 
 had room after room added, together with broad 
 porches and almost all possible comforts, this 
 unpretentious name was retained. 
 
 "The Box" had originally but a small piece 
 of land connected with it. Once while Perkins 
 was making a short stay, when still on active 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 259 
 
 duty in the navy, an elderly woman came to 
 him, asking that he buy her farm. She was 
 tired of the lonely life with its privations. The 
 farm was three quarters of a mile distant from 
 "The Box" and the price asked was more than 
 she could have got from any one else in the 
 vicinity. Further, the land, like so much of the 
 neighboring property, was chiefly distinguished 
 by hill-slopes and boulders, its thin soil ex 
 hausted. It was not alluring and Perkins did 
 not over-much want it; but he felt sorry for the 
 woman and promptly accepted her offer. It 
 now occurred to him that it was unfortunate 
 and quite unnecessary that his new possession 
 and similar places should pass into the senile 
 class known as "abandoned farms." He re 
 solved to renew the soil and make it productive. 
 Thus it was that the naval officer seriously gave 
 his thoughts to farming. 
 
 He purchased other places near by. He en 
 gaged a young man of experience for superin 
 tendent, Mr. Milton J. Walker, a choice that 
 proved to be unusually fortunate. 
 
 From this time on he would spend four or 
 more months a year at Webster, and would run 
 up for an occasional short stay during the 
 
260 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 winter. Mrs. Perkins says he would exclaim on 
 again coming to the much loved hill on which 
 "The Box" stood, "Oh, is n t it good to breathe 
 this air and to think that no one has ever 
 breathed it before!" The view, as one stands 
 just to the east of the house, is one of the love 
 liest in southern New Hampshire. Hills and 
 mountains rise in all directions, with an occa 
 sional farm nestled among them, the light-green 
 meadows giving brightness to the scene, and the 
 bit of cultivation affording a pleasing contrast 
 to the roughness of the surroundings. Eight 
 or ten miles distant above a well-cultivated 
 hill loom the massive shoulders of Mount Kear- 
 sarge, shaggy with heavy woods, and varying 
 from a light purple to a black according to at 
 mospheric conditions. To its right and farther 
 distant are the Ragged Mountains, also wooded, 
 their rough sides well outlined against the sky. 
 An important part of the scene is what lies in 
 the same direction as the Ragged Mountains but 
 in the foreground; beyond the grassy, gently 
 rounded slope of Box Hill, and the half-mile of 
 bristling pines, is a sparkling lake two miles 
 long and a half-mile wide, set like a jewel among 
 the pine, beech, birch, and oak. Commodore 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 261 
 
 Perkins purchased much of the land surround 
 ing the lake and was able to prevent the cutting 
 of the timber. The farm, where Mr. Walker 
 had his home, lay on the near end of the lake, 
 but not where it could be seen from the hill. 
 The lake was earlier known by that most un- 
 romantic name, so common in old New Eng 
 land, "Long Pond," but this was later changed. 
 The Commodore s friend, Professor Charles 
 Sargent, of Harvard, had boasted of the super 
 iority of a lake on his land because it had an 
 Indian name. The Commodore grieved that he 
 must let the challenge pass unnoticed, where 
 upon Miss Susan, ever sympathetic and re 
 sourceful, proposed the name "Winnepocket." 
 This at once pleased the Commodore and here 
 after was substituted for Long Pond, not only 
 in "The Box" household but on the State 
 maps. 
 
 Farming for the Commodore was like a 
 game. He had no desire to buy well-cared-for 
 farms near Concord or Contoocook, which any 
 man could make productive. His interest was 
 rather in taking the wild or neglected lands, re 
 garded as worthless, and making good farms of 
 them. The excitement of the game lay in sue- 
 
262 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 ceeding where others had failed or feared to 
 venture. 
 
 This is shown by an instance on the Burpee 
 farm, which he had purchased. Mr. Walker 
 had called attention to a large tract there, 
 which, in his opinion, when drained and cleared 
 would make excellent meadow land. There was 
 work and expense involved, but the Commo 
 dore told him to try it. 
 
 One morning when the Commodore had rid 
 den out to inspect the work, a neighboring 
 farmer passed. 
 
 "What are you doing there?" was the latter s 
 query. 
 
 The words and the voice had in them a chal 
 lenge, but the Commodore with excellent spirit 
 explained the project. 
 
 "You ll never make anything out of that 
 soil," volunteered the scoffer. "But you might 
 as well sink your money there as anywhere else. 
 If you get good English hay out of that bog, you 
 may use my head for a football." 
 
 The Commodore had kept up a bold front 
 while the scoffer was talking, but when the lat 
 ter departed, it was evident that his confidence 
 had been somewhat shaken. Mr. Walker, how- 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 263 
 
 ever, held that the project was sound. Where 
 upon the Commodore again told him to go 
 ahead. 
 
 Three years later the Commodore and Mr. 
 Walker went to see the hay cut on the tract that 
 had been reclaimed. Walker s judgment had 
 been correct, and the crop was extraordinarily 
 heavy. As chance would have it the scoffing 
 farmer came along and joined them. 
 
 "Don t you call this good hay?" incidentally 
 inquired Walker, moving towards some not yet 
 cut, which came as high as his waist, and was 
 easily three times as thick as the average crop 
 in that vicinity. 
 
 The farmer affirmed with positiveness that it 
 was. 
 
 "Do you remember promising that when we 
 grew good English hay in this bog we might use 
 your head for a football?" 
 
 The Commodore, who had recollected the 
 earlier conversation, listened with delight, rub 
 bing his palms vigorously together, a habit of 
 his when excited. In the game the novices had 
 defeated the veteran. His satisfaction over the 
 achievement lasted all summer. 
 
 Farm after farm was now added, the number 
 
264 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 eventually reaching sixteen, comprising 1800 
 acres. The Commodore seemed to have no de 
 sire that the land should be continuous and 
 form a great domain; indeed, some of the farms 
 were three or four miles distant. 
 
 He was still in spirit and method the naval 
 officer, the captain; though he gave full power 
 to the one corresponding to the executive officer, 
 Mr. Walker, he must have detailed reports, and 
 himself make daily inspections if possible. When 
 at "The Box" he knew what each man was do 
 ing and showed no small ability in keeping every 
 one at work. He would produce from his pocket 
 a list of instructions for Mr. Walker, nor did he 
 forget what he had told him. The precision and 
 regularity of ship life he never outgrew. If he 
 had arranged to start for Concord at six in the 
 morning, he wanted to leave at six, no matter 
 what the weather might be. Commonly at nine 
 he would be in the saddle, about to make the 
 rounds of the farms in one direction, say to 
 the east, and in the afternoon he would go to 
 the farms to the west. At times Mr. Walker 
 was with him, or he might be accompanied by 
 his daughter Isabel, his nephew Roger Foster, or 
 a guest staying at "The Box," for companion- 
 
COMMODORE G. H. PERKINS 
 
 From the painting by Vinton 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 265 
 
 ship adds zest to a game. Even the small inci 
 dents of farming had a constant interest for 
 him. He would stand by as in the wet spring 
 Walker would drive out a huge load of dressing, 
 skillfully managing a team of four horses in a 
 barnyard where there were several sharp turns 
 and some spots rather miry. He delighted in the 
 skill thus shown, and again his palms rubbed 
 together expressing his satisfaction. 
 
 Following his naval ideas he expected that all 
 his employees should give unhesitating obedi 
 ence, and finish the work that had been begun 
 with the utmost expedition. The men had 
 hardly been accustomed to this and they could 
 not easily adapt themselves to the new regime. 
 Also he required that whenever a group of men 
 were working together some one should be in 
 command; commonly this person was but a 
 temporary foreman who would also do his full 
 share of the task, but upon him rested the re 
 sponsibility for the work s being properly done. 
 The rule was strictly applied whether there 
 were twelve or two men at a task. This bit of 
 naval organization was decidedly strange to 
 democratic New Hampshire, where everybody 
 is in theory the equal of everybody else, and 
 
266 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 being often an extreme individualist, likes to 
 work each in his own way. The Commodore s 
 system was unpopular, for the men thought at 
 first that it threatened their independence. "The 
 spirit of 76" was invoked by more than one, 
 but fortunately the wiser men came to under 
 stand the new method and averted the possible 
 war. 
 
 The Commodore s delight in a contest showed 
 itself as he put two gangs at the same task, 
 either within sight of each other or on different 
 farms. He would compare results and grill the 
 slower gang, or quite as likely both of them. 
 They soon learned to recognize his humor, and 
 make spirited replies, which would draw from 
 him a chuckle as he left. It must be admitted, 
 however, that the Commodore was at times 
 unreasonable in his demand for quick results. 
 He seemed to have forgotten that he was not 
 still on shipboard where the number of men who 
 may be applied to a piece of work is to be 
 counted by hundreds instead of tens, and where 
 the ordinary operations can be both begun and 
 finished in a day. Thus when he was still very 
 new at farming, he grew excited and seemingly 
 angry because, with the prospect of rain the 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 267 
 
 following day, ten acres of hay cut in the morn 
 ing should not be in the barn that night. His 
 words were rather sharp, and the answer they 
 called forth was uncompromising and plain, al 
 most to the point of bluntness. Whereupon the 
 little petulance vanished in a moment, and the 
 Commodore began laughing over an incident of 
 the day before, a chase the broncos Sandy and 
 Dago had given him when they escaped with 
 saddle and bridle plunging into the depths of a 
 thicket. 
 
 The Commodore s whim of making a place 
 look shipshape occasionally caused trouble. 
 When he had purchased and begun work on a 
 farm, he wanted at once to clear it of stones and 
 brush. After the brush had been cut and gath 
 ered in a pile, he had the greatest liking for set 
 ting it on fire and thus completing the work. 
 As there was danger that a fire started in this 
 way during a dry season might get from under 
 control and rushing through the underbrush 
 and woods do great damage, the superintendent 
 often had reason to watch with anxiety the 
 movements of his chief. An incident of this kind 
 occurred on the Dudley farm to the east, where, 
 in clearing, the men had collected an immense 
 
268 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 pile of brush. One morning when the superin 
 tendent was working on the Highland farm to 
 the northwest he noticed smoke and he guessed 
 what it meant even before he saw Miss Isabel, 
 then fourteen years old, come tearing along on 
 her pony; she had come from the other farm, 
 four miles distant up hill and down, all the way 
 at a white heat. "The Dudley place is all on 
 fire," she exclaimed. "Father says get all the 
 men you can and come at once." The forces 
 had soon joined, and for the rest of the day were 
 fighting fire, the Commodore taking an active 
 part. The adventure may have satisfied for a 
 while his passion for brush-burning; but here 
 after when he was known to be near, a brush 
 pile was never left without a trench being 
 ploughed around the field. 
 
 In the first chapter mention was made of 
 Perkins s early love for horses. In later life 
 nothing connected with farming gave him 
 greater pleasure. Before he had retired from 
 the navy, he had purchased Montrose, a stal 
 lion that showed speed. This in 1894 made his 
 best time, which was 2.265. In 1895, Thetis, 
 a bay mare raised on his farm, took the track 
 and won the prize a trotting sulky offered 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 269 
 
 by Mr. John B. Clarke for the fastest horse 
 raised in New Hampshire. Her record at that 
 time was 2.i6J; later she made 2.14^. Once on 
 a mere trial heat she bettered her record by six 
 seconds. Another of his horses, Maple Valley, 
 a gelding, trotted a mile in 2.8f , his official time 
 being 2.i2|. Thetis and Maple Valley made a 
 superb team and were the Commodore s favor 
 ite horses. The Commodore did not game 
 on the results of the race track, but his horses 
 were an expensive luxury. However, the plea 
 sure of driving a beautiful team and the 
 proud satisfaction of having raised the fastest 
 horse were such as have no relation to dol 
 lars. 
 
 In raising cattle and sheep he was more prac 
 tical. When his nephew Roger Foster, who was 
 with him a great deal on the farm, seconded by 
 Mr. Walker, urged that this kind of stock- 
 raising should be tried and pointed to the possi 
 ble profits, he gave his consent, but insisted 
 that they should keep a strict account and be 
 able to show a gain. In his last year the Com 
 modore had on his several farms 60 horses, 1 10 
 cattle, and 350 sheep. 
 
 The Commodore had seen many a good horse 
 
270 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 needlessly lost because of ill-treatment or some 
 slight ailment, and it became one of his many 
 interests to take such animals and with the help 
 of a young veterinarian make good horses of 
 them. Thus he made several purchases from the 
 farmers roundabout of broken-down horses that 
 looked promising, giving whatever was a fair 
 price. While he failed in some cases, he suc 
 ceeded in enough others so that he lost no 
 money. It was another of his games in farm 
 ing, trying to do what the other men could 
 not do. 
 
 A capital instance of this, even though it 
 ended in failure, was that of a horse offered him 
 by Mark Ellenwood, a well-known character of 
 an adjoining town. 
 
 Mr. Roger Foster returned one day with news 
 that Mark had a horse, weighing 1400 pounds, 
 apparently sound in every particular, which he 
 would sell for $50. The price, of course, aroused 
 suspicion, and the question immediately asked 
 was, what was wrong with him. Roger replied 
 by repeating his first statement that apparently 
 he was sound in every respect, and added that 
 Mark had suggested they take the horse and 
 try him for a few days. The proposal looked 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 271 
 
 harmless, and the Commodore told Roger to go 
 and get the horse. Accordingly next morning 
 Roger appeared at the Winnepocket farm with 
 Prince, the new horse. 
 
 The Commodore subjected him to a sharp 
 scrutiny. "Splendid-looking animal," was his 
 opinion, and turning to Walker asked what he 
 thought of him. 
 
 Mr. Walker, not easily carried away by en 
 thusiasm and true to the New England tradi 
 tion of thinking before speaking, examined the 
 horse without a word. Finally he scratched his 
 head, "I declare, I can t see anything the matter 
 with him. Really a good-looking animal no 
 bunches, not a pimple on his body. I see he 
 is n t shod behind. I wonder what is the reason 
 of that." 
 
 "O, I don t know," said Roger, "except that 
 they haven t been using him for a while. Let s 
 have him shod and try him. This looks to me 
 like great luck." 
 
 "All right," replied Walker, "we ll go ahead 
 and try him"; adding, however, with some ob 
 stinacy, "you ll find something is the matter. 
 He d be worth $50, and four times $50, if there 
 wasn t something wrong." 
 
272 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Walker suspected that they would find the 
 animal did not pull, and after shoeing him pro 
 ceeded to put him to the test. Hitching him to 
 the trunk of an old apple tree, he began with, 
 "Get up, Prince." The horse started up, but, of 
 course, without result; then gathering himself 
 together and using his entire weight gave such a 
 long and determined pull that the traces strained 
 and the tree trembled. 
 
 Now a horse with little spirit will never pull 
 twice on a thing that does not yield. There was 
 no question but that Prince had pulled, and 
 Walker was discredited by his own theory. He 
 was puzzled, and admitted it. "I can t see any 
 thing the matter with him. He is a magnificent 
 horse. Let s hitch him to the drag with the 
 large bay mare and haul away some of the 
 boulders in the pasture." 
 
 Prince started off and all went beautifully 
 until he began to kick. A touch of the whip had 
 no effect. Kick, kick, kick! He kicked the drag, 
 he kicked the harness off, and finally he kicked 
 himself free from the other horse to the great 
 relief of Roger Foster and Walker, for they had 
 feared the bay mare would be killed. That 
 was sufficient; they understood why the price 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 273 
 
 was low, and they decided to take Prince to the 
 stable. 
 
 At this moment the Commodore, who had 
 been away, reappeared. "Let s see the new 
 horse. Splendid-looking animal! How does he 
 go?" 
 
 The story of the recent performance only 
 amused him. "O, pshaw, Walker, you don t 
 know anything about driving horses. Hitch 
 up Prince and let some of the horse-boys drive 
 him. Here, Mike, go up the hill with this horse 
 and bring down a load of hay. D d fine- 
 looking horse! You don t know how to manage 
 a horse, Walker, or you d be able to drive him." 
 
 Prince went up the hill all right, as Mike after 
 wards related, and on being hitched to the hay- 
 cart drew it with the greatest ease until he got 
 over the brow of the hill and the load pressed on 
 him from behind. Then he began to kick. There 
 was nothing to resist his blows except the soft 
 hay and an occasional slat. Prince seemed sur 
 prised, but still he kept on. Kick, kick, kick! 
 Finally he kicked himself loose, and with the 
 remnants of the harness bunched around his 
 shoulders he stalked down the hill and to the 
 barn, Mike following at a respectful distance. 
 
274 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 The Commodore, who had become impatient 
 at the delay, was nevertheless in position to 
 review the solemn procession as it passed. 
 "Where s the load of hay, Mike, I sent you for? 
 Don t any of you know how to drive a horse? 
 D d good-looking animal!" 
 
 Mark Eflenwood, the owner of the horse, it 
 seems, had intended to see this fun. Knowing 
 that the Commodore was having work done at 
 the Oakland farm, which was three miles nearer 
 his own place, he had supposed that as a matter 
 of course Roger Foster would take him there to 
 try him. And he had dropped his work, and going 
 to the Oakland farm, had lain in ambush a good 
 part of the morning, waiting in vain for one of 
 Prince s inimitable performances. 
 
 The determined Commodore, however, was 
 not ready to admit that the case of Prince was 
 beyond hope. He still had a man in reserve, a 
 horse-trainer by the name of Brown, who, in the 
 interests of his employer, one of the best-known 
 horse-dealers in Boston, chanced that day to be 
 at Webster. 
 
 Brown promised to try his luck that after 
 noon, and every man who was not positively 
 held by duties elsewhere found it convenient to 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 275 
 
 be near. It is said that a horse at once feels the 
 touch of the master. Brown seemed certainly 
 to know just what was to be done, and how to do 
 it. He hitched Prince singly in a wagon. He 
 occasionally spoke in a low voice to the horse 
 and patted him. The deftness of his move 
 ments and the confidence in his manner awak 
 ened admiration of the spectators. All was 
 anticipation. Prince took two steps; then some 
 thing irritated him and he forgot about the 
 master. Kick, kick! One shaft was broken. Next 
 he lay down and broke the other, all the while, 
 even when down and on his side, continuing to 
 kick. Finally he got so thoroughly wound up 
 in the tangled harness that he could not move 
 his legs more. 
 
 "We ve stopped him kicking for once," ob 
 served the Commodore with a chuckle that 
 caused even the discomfited Brown to join in 
 the general laugh. " That s a small morsel of 
 consolation. But see the spirit in his eye. 
 
 D d fine animal. I hate to give him up 
 
 merely because we can t manage him. But I 
 guess, Roger, you d better take him back. And 
 be sure to thank Mark for letting us try him." 
 
 The Commodore, as in earlier years, took a 
 
276 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 keen interest in the pets about the house. Jimmy 
 and Foxy (fox terriers) and Tony (a bull terrier) 
 made a great team, and collectively would not 
 refuse battle with the biggest dog in the neigh 
 borhood. On the roads through the woods they 
 afforded unfailing interest. Once they treed a 
 wild cat, and they had many a fierce battle with 
 the large woodchucks overtaken away from their 
 holes. These excitements the Commodore would 
 enjoy like a small boy. 
 
 Tony was also the name of a parrot, a present 
 of Admiral Farquhar as he returned from a 
 cruise on the Trenton. Mrs. Perkins relates that 
 one day, while the family were standing near, 
 Tony flew to a thicket not far distant. The 
 Commodore, Miss Isabel, and four or five others 
 went at once in search, but could not find him. 
 Night was approaching. The Commodore of 
 fered a substantial reward and sent out the farm 
 hands, but with no success. During the night 
 there was a heavy thunderstorm. Mrs. Perkins 
 woke up to find the Commodore pacing the 
 floor and rubbing the palms of his hands in keen 
 distress. "I can t sleep. Poor Tony is out in 
 the storm," was his remark. Three days later, 
 when all hope for Tony had been abandoned, a 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 277 
 
 neighbor brought him in. The farmer, on passing 
 through a lonely wood in the dusk of the even 
 ing, had been startled by hearing a strange 
 unearthly voice speaking from empty space, 
 "Call the dogs," following the words with mani 
 acal laughter. The man, not being accustomed 
 to act on impulse, waited a moment before run 
 ning and discovered the speaker. He rescued 
 the parrot and was bitten for his pains. 
 
 The stories of Commodore Perkins s kindness 
 to the poor people of Webster and to many a 
 stranded seaman of Boston are innumerable. 
 At the beginning, the people of Webster did not 
 understand him. They had a prejudice against 
 him because he had money and spent only a 
 third of the year at Webster; and a few thought 
 he was rough and autocratic. Gradually, how 
 ever, these feelings changed. James Powers, a 
 man of shrewdness and discernment, who knew 
 him long and intimately as his horse-trainer, 
 tells of riding with the Commodore when he was 
 making the rounds of the farms. 
 
 "I ve too many men," said the Commodore. 
 "I am going to lay off half of them." 
 
 Powers knew that from the standpoint of 
 practical farming the Commodore was right. 
 
278 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 But he also knew that the Commodore would 
 never lay them off unless they had other work. 
 Later, while driving through the village of Web 
 ster, they saw half a dozen men lounging before 
 the store. 
 
 "Do you need any more help?" was their in 
 quiry. "We ve got in our hay and should be 
 glad to work for you." 
 
 "I don t know what there is to do, but per 
 haps there may be some land to be cleared," 
 replied the Commodore. "Anyway, report 
 early to-morrow morning to Mr. Walker at the 
 Winnepocket farm; he will have some work 
 for you." 
 
 He believed in giving every man a chance. 
 In an abjectly poor young man who had fits, the 
 Commodore became actively interested, and 
 just as he worked over sick horses he had a phy 
 sician take up the case that he might reclaim 
 the youth and make of him a well and useful 
 citizen. He would even send the unemployed 
 up from Boston, not infrequently embarrass 
 ing Miss Susan, to whom when absent he in 
 trusted many of his affairs. His touchstone was, 
 "Does the man lie, does he steal? If he does n t, 
 there s hope for him." 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 279 
 
 A New Hampshire lad of seventeen in his em 
 ploy raised a pay check from $18 to $81. The 
 check was paid by the bank, but the fraud was 
 detected later when the account would not bal 
 ance. The lad had been led to the wrongdoing 
 by bad companions, and not being experienced 
 in vice, broke down on being questioned and 
 confessed. Commodore Perkins was now in 
 clined to drop the matter, but the bank officials 
 regarded the offense as serious and demanded 
 a penalty that should stand as a warning to 
 other weak youths. As a result the lad was sent 
 to jail for one year. The Commodore visited him 
 during his confinement, encouraging him to fix 
 his mind on the time when he should again be 
 free. He promised him employment, and true 
 to his word sought the lad immediately on his 
 release and brought him to the farm. As long as 
 the Commodore lived, the young man continued 
 in his employ, scrupulously honest and fully 
 deserving of respect. 
 
 Dorcas E was an elderly woman, untidy 
 
 in appearance and decidedly eccentric, who 
 lived with a sister and invalid brother, next to 
 the Highland farm. The Commodore knew her 
 but slightly, but had in little ways been kind to 
 
28o GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 her. One evening she came to "The Box" and 
 excitedly asked to see him. The family hap 
 pened to be at dinner, which Mrs. Perkins 
 always made a rather formal occasion. The 
 Commodore, however, having heard the request 
 to see him, came out before the message was 
 brought. Pat McNamara, who had charge of 
 the stable, describes what followed as the worst 
 "tongue-lashing" he ever listened to. The bur 
 den of Dorcas s grievance proved to be the ac 
 tions of one of the Commodore s colts, which 
 had inconsiderately jumped over the stone wall 
 separating the two farms. Inspired by this she 
 let forth a torrent of denunciation that pro 
 mised to sweep away the Commodore and every 
 other man who, just because he wore a little bet 
 ter clothes than his neighbors, put on airs and 
 let his horses run all over their farms. The Com 
 modore listened with the utmost respect, and 
 after expressing his deep regret directed Pat at 
 once to go up to Dorcas s and repair all damages. 
 Next day there was a twinkle in his eye, when 
 in making the rounds of the farms he stopped at 
 Dorcas s and solicitously inquired after her 
 health. A few days later he left a substantial 
 present for her, some much-needed clothing, 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 281 
 
 and from that time on he kept a watchful eye 
 out for her welfare, making her frequent pres 
 ents. It is no wonder that the people of Web 
 ster commonly addressed him as George, and 
 quite forgetting their prejudices looked forward 
 eagerly, when he had been away several months, 
 to his return. 
 
 The Commodore had little knowledge of po 
 litics and less inclination to meddle in them. He 
 was led, however, to make an inquiry because 
 of his desire to help Mr. Roger Foster to a seat 
 in the State Legislature. There is a delightful 
 simplicity, as the story is told, in his seeking ad 
 vice as to whether he should join the Republi 
 can or the Democratic party. Not long after 
 this he was approached by a group of men of 
 some prominence who proposed to boom him 
 for Governor. No one could help being flat 
 tered by such a suggestion, but the Commodore, 
 on talking it over confidentially with a member 
 of the Legislature, a shrewd farmer, remarked 
 as he finished, "I don t think I want anything 
 of it. They would like to make me a figurehead 
 so that they could do whatever they pleased. 
 However, if they got me elected they would 
 change their minds." 
 
282 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Commonly the Perkins family would go to 
 "The Box" about the first of May, which was 
 often before the ice had broken up in Winne- 
 pocket, and after an absence of two months or 
 more at Newport would resume their stay at 
 Webster, remaining until the last of October 
 or November. The winter home was in Boston 
 at 123 Commonwealth Avenue. Here the Com 
 modore established a daily routine that he 
 adhered to with military faithfulness. In the 
 morning after breakfast he attended to corres 
 pondence, perused the newspaper, and was likely 
 to follow it with something substantial in read 
 ing, for his taste was especially for memoirs, biog 
 raphy, and history. After lunch he might spend 
 two hours at one of the clubs of which he was a 
 member, Somerset, Union, or Country, 
 and at three o clock go for a drive. In driving 
 it might be Miss Isabel who was with him; fre 
 quently it was Professor Charles S. Sargent, of 
 Harvard (who in the Civil War had also seen 
 service at New Orleans and Mobile Bay, and it 
 was there that their friendship had begun); or 
 it might be Admiral Luce, Admiral Belknap, or 
 any one of a score of friends. 
 
 Mr. James Powers tells a characteristic inci- 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 283 
 
 dent of one of these drives. "Whip up the 
 horses," said the Commodore; "there s an old 
 sailor ahead and I know he ll want something 
 of me." When they had caught up with the 
 dangerous man, however, the Commodore gave 
 word to stop, and with a few swift questions in 
 quired into the sailor s welfare, doing it with 
 a passing jest that made the old salt s face 
 brighten, in spite of the hard luck that had been 
 dogging him for some weeks. Before the Com 
 modore had left him he slipped a five-dollar note 
 into his hand. "Take this and without utter 
 ing a word promise that you ll be grateful all 
 the rest of your life. Now don t you speak a 
 single word or I 11 have you put in irons. Good 
 bye." 
 
 The Commodore would bring his best horses 
 up from "The Box," and there was nothing he 
 showed keener relish for than a little trial of 
 speed when the snow had come and several of 
 his friends appeared with their sleighs. In 
 Thetis, Maple Valley, Myopia, Diversion, and 
 Blazeaway, he had what would be the joy of any 
 lover of horses. He would return from his driv 
 ing all aglow and relate with boyish glee how 
 he had left this or that rival behind. 
 
284 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 The Perkins family, even before the Commo 
 dore s retirement, spent their summers in New 
 port, occupying the De Rham Cottage. The 
 Commodore became a favorite at the clubs and 
 in the homes because, as Professor Sargent says, 
 "He had wonderful geniality and could put 
 everybody into good humor." He was much 
 sought after, but he went out comparatively 
 little, for both he and Mrs. Perkins preferred the 
 quiet of their own home to a constant round of 
 social gayety. His life had almost as much regu 
 larity as in Boston. Driving was still his chief 
 recreation, and it is said that he had the finest 
 horses at Newport. This brought him no small 
 satisfaction. However, he often longed for Web 
 ster and its simple life. During the years when 
 he went for the summer to Newport, he would 
 pass the spring and autumn at "The Box"; also 
 he would run up for brief stays at frequent in 
 tervals during the months between. The hills of 
 New Hampshire were his first love and he never 
 forgot them. 
 
 In Miss Isabel the Commodore had ever a good 
 comrade> She inherited his love for horses and 
 all outdoor life. Further, they were such good 
 chums that she shared with him the happy little 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 285 
 
 incidents connected with her girl friends. He 
 took great interest in the unfolding of woman 
 hood, and was still the devoted father after her 
 marriage in 1897 to Mr. Larz Anderson. Mr. 
 Anderson, the son of General Nicholas Ander 
 son, of Cincinnati, served during the Spanish- 
 American War in the Second Army Corps with 
 the rank of captain. Previously he had spent 
 several years in the diplomatic service, and in 
 President Taft s administration he was made 
 minister to Belgium and later ambassador to 
 Japan. 
 
 Commodore Perkins had also offered his serv 
 ices to the Government at the beginning of the 
 Spanish-American War, but the department ad 
 hered to its general policy of not calling the re 
 tired officers back to active duty. It is easy to 
 imagine the eager interest with which Perkins 
 read of the exploits at Manila of his old Acad 
 emy mate and fellow-fighter at New Orleans, 
 Commodore George Dewey. It is also easy to 
 imagine the feeling of sadness as he thought 
 that he was, so far as the navy was concerned, 
 superannuated the heaviest cross that an ac 
 tive spirit has to bear. 
 
 There comes now, in this narrative of a brave 
 
286 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 life, the final conflict, when without weakness 
 and without fear he completed his earthly ca 
 reer. His death occurred on October 28, 1899. 
 A fortnight previous, October 14, he had been at 
 a brilliant banquet tendered to Admiral Dewey 
 by the Algonquin Club, where he was one of 
 the merriest of the many distinguished guests; 
 at the instance of Admiral Dewey he had made 
 a speech, Governor Wolcott and the Admiral 
 making the only other speeches. 
 
 The end came fortunately without a long ill 
 ness. He was at his home in Boston, and on 
 Wednesday afternoon went for his customary 
 drive, taking Colonel Schuyler Crosby with him. 
 Suddenly his hold of the reins loosened, his 
 head sank, and he began to breathe heavily. 
 Colonel Crosby took him home and summoned 
 Mr. and Mrs. Larz Anderson, who were about 
 to leave town. The Commodore s illness was 
 due to a valvular affection of the heart. His in 
 tense suffering was relieved by an anaesthetic, 
 and when he roused on the following day he 
 seemed better so that some hope was enter 
 tained for his recovery. However, he recog 
 nized that his condition was very serious, and 
 again and again asked the doctor how his pulse 
 
THE SAILOR-FARMER 287 
 
 was. The evasive answers did not satisfy him, 
 and with something of his old-time spirit he re 
 joined, " Doctors and horse jockies are all the 
 same. You can t believe anything they say." 
 He talked cheerfully with Mrs. Perkins, who 
 was constantly with him, and made evident ef 
 fort that his illness should not wear on her. 
 When Mrs. Anderson entered the room he 
 would give her a smile of welcome, and stretch 
 out his hand, but after she had sat for a few 
 minutes beside him he would say, "Baby dear, 
 you mustn t stay up here with me, you ll get 
 tired." And then he would look satisfied and 
 grateful as she kissed him and assured him that 
 she loved to stay with him. Among his last 
 words were those to Colonel Crosby, "Well, old 
 fellow, I think I ve furled my sails for the last 
 time." The old weather-beaten ship was creep 
 ing back into the home port. 
 
 The funeral was military in character, and 
 took place on Tuesday, October 31, at the Ar 
 lington Street Church. The pall-bearers were 
 Mr. William Bliss, Admiral Stephen D. Luce, 
 Admiral George E. Belknap, General John C. 
 Palfrey, Colonel Stephen M. Weld, Colonel 
 Schuyler Crosby, Mr. Thomas H. Perkins, 
 
288 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 Professor Charles S. Sargent, Mr. Francis Bart- 
 lett, Mr. Samuel Hoar, Mr. Edward D. Hayden, 
 and Mr. Charles A. Williams. His remains were 
 interred in the Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, 
 and the grave was marked by a large boulder 
 taken from the farm at Webster. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE MEASURE OF THE MAN 
 
 IT is hard to weigh with a calm and unpreju 
 diced mind the value of a life which one has 
 long followed with devoted interest. The author 
 feels this, although it was his fortune to know 
 Commodore Perkins, not by personal contact, 
 but through the words of those who were near 
 est to him and through his home letters, unusually 
 complete and well preserved. It has been well- 
 nigh impossible in the foregoing pages to speak 
 of his naval service without the greatest enthu 
 siasm, yet it must be admitted that this service 
 in magnitude had of necessity its limitations. 
 During the Civil War important duty was as 
 signed largely according to seniority, and Per 
 kins s youthfulness thus prevented his being 
 given a command of much greater distinction. 
 The significant fact is that whatever duty was 
 assigned to him he did well, and especially in the 
 critical moments of action his service was not 
 less than brilliant. While he was only one fac 
 tor in the great forces that brought victory at 
 
290 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 New Orleans and Mobile Bay, had he failed the 
 effect on the result could hardly have been other 
 than disastrous. 
 
 His personality was ever engaging, but no 
 where else were the winsome qualities shown 
 with such unfailing clearness and strength as in 
 the home. His devotion to his mother and to his 
 sister Susan, who never married, to his brothers 
 during their boyhood, to his wife, and to his 
 daughter, has a quality that cannot fail to touch 
 the heart. This is constantly appearing in his 
 letters, certain of them having the love and the 
 spiritual nature of prayer. To casual acquaint 
 ances Commodore Perkins was neither religious 
 nor irreligious. But home ever had for him an 
 altar at which he worshiped. 
 
 Another element in his engaging personality 
 was his unfailing good humor. It was an over 
 flow of good spirit that gave many the impres 
 sion of health, perfect and constant. His gen 
 iality was contagious. His flashing gray eye 
 commanded attention, and it betrayed the 
 mirth lurking in its depths. Miss Perkins says 
 his eye was like their mother s, and to its mag 
 netism attributes in large part "his great power 
 over all animals: fast horses, a boatload of sail- 
 
THE MEASURE OF THE MAN 291 
 
 ors, or a roomful of ladies." He was a great 
 mimic without the slightest elocutionary touch. 
 He would often say just the opposite of what he 
 meant, with a boy s spirit of play, but after 
 drawing out a quick and indignant reply, with 
 his chuckle and laugh he would put all to rights. 
 There never was cruelty in his fun. His strong 
 underlying sympathy prevented that. He was 
 the friend of all, no matter what was their sta 
 tion; this friendliness, though he was not one to 
 talk about it, they felt and appreciated. 
 
 His charm lay further in his versatility and 
 constant activity. Even at Aspinwall (Colon) 
 or on the African coast, where duty for so many 
 officers was scarcely less than a living death, he 
 found constant diversion. There was no stagna 
 tion when he was near. On retirement from the 
 navy when so many officers lapse into innocu 
 ous desuetude he turned his attention to farm 
 ing and became a center of activity. He tried 
 farming of the hardest kind that he might have 
 more to overcome. His life became very much 
 like that of an English country gentleman; he 
 took a paternal interest in the welfare of his la 
 borers and poor neighbors; he studied the details 
 of the work done on his land; he bred horses, 
 
292 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 cattle, and sheep, and found keen delight in his 
 racing-stable. 
 
 Among other qualities that make the life of 
 Commodore Perkins worth consideration was 
 his faithfulness to duty. This was shown when 
 as midshipman he sailed on the Cyane and the 
 Release and as the first lieutenant on the Cayuga 
 and the Pensacola, as well as during the later 
 years when with higher rank he was given a ship 
 of his own. He writes of himself in the Civil 
 War as keeping at the same slight weight he had 
 at the Naval Academy, 115 pounds; he was still 
 "Puck" or "Perk" to the officers who had 
 known him during the earlier years. Yet he was 
 strong and well made, and underwent without 
 difficulty the hardships incident to duty or to 
 a hunting expedition in the wilds. The men who 
 served under him were deeply impressed by his 
 courage, and gave him not only prompt obe 
 dience, but the full measure of confidence such 
 as the greatest leaders have excited. They were 
 willing to follow him into any danger without 
 flinching. He was seldom severe, yet he was 
 quick to detect the man who was shirking and 
 treated him with but small tolerance. He was 
 clear and positive in his orders, and in return 
 
THE MEASURE OF THE MAN 293 
 
 obtained service marked by exactness and pre 
 cision. The loyalty of the men lightened the 
 officer s work, and there was reason for the pride 
 and satisfaction with which he often spoke of his 
 detail or ship. 
 
 Well combined with his careful performance 
 of duty in the days of preparation and waiting, 
 there stands his absolute fearlessness at the 
 time of critical action, and it was for his bravery 
 that he was recognized throughout the service. 
 He is to be classed with Gushing in his coolness 
 at the all-important moment, when he would 
 meet the crisis with the same zest and splendid 
 nerve that a good oarsman might enter a race. 
 He showed as little anxiety connected with his 
 personal safety or hesitation occasioned by 
 doubt of the result as did the renowned Nelson. 
 Running the forts at New Orleans, walking un 
 armed with Captain Bailey through the angry 
 mob in that city, fighting the Confederate bat 
 teries with the New London^ hanging to the 
 dread Tennessee as he pounded away at her 
 stern all were a game to him, and his own 
 strength increased according to the strength of 
 his opponent. Thus, although Perkins was not 
 a great student of the science of war, and it is 
 
294 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 doubtful whether if he had had the opportunity 
 he would have developed into a strategist, he 
 was eminently a good fighting captain. On this 
 point we have Farragut s own words, which are 
 the more impressive because commonly he was 
 so sparing in his commendation. Such praise 
 was scarcely less than a brevet and we make no 
 apology for again quoting it: "No braver man 
 ever trod a ship s deck; . . . his work in the 
 Chickasaw did more to capture the Tennessee 
 than all the guns of the fleet put together." 
 
 It is delightful to find coupled with his bravery 
 great modesty. When the fleet had passed the 
 forts below New Orleans, the publishing of his 
 letter to the home folks that so vividly described 
 the action caused him a painful shrinking and 
 annoyance that is to us amusing. He was ever 
 impatient on hearing his own praise, and prob 
 ably for this reason was little given to reminis 
 cing. When shortly before his retirement Miss 
 Perkins determined to collect his letters and to 
 print them for private circulation at her own 
 expense, she received no encouragement. The 
 aged mother, whom the Commodore so much 
 resembled, thought it "not proper or modest." 
 He heartily agreed with this sentiment, and 
 
THE MEASURE OF THE MAN 295 
 
 further protested that it was a great nuisance 
 when Miss Susan asked that he explain refer 
 ences and allusions in his letters or in other ways 
 add to her material. The utmost he could do 
 was to treat with a kindly tolerance her "fool 
 ishness," which became the subject of many a 
 good-natured jest. 
 
 Such a man it is a delight for posterity to 
 honor. It is appropriate that a bronze statue of 
 Commodore Perkins should have been placed 
 in the grounds of the State House at Concord, 
 ten miles from his birthplace. It is the work of 
 the eminent sculptor, Daniel Chester French, 
 and represents the officer during his later years, 
 in full uniform, standing resolute and fearless in 
 the service of his country. And it is fitting that 
 a replica of this noble statue should be at the 
 United States Naval Academy, where it has 
 been placed in Bancroft Hall, the midshipmen s 
 quarters, on the broad balcony looking out upon 
 Chesapeake Bay. The moment the statue at 
 the Academy was unveiled, May 29, 1911, a long 
 black warship lying off the sea wall a few hun 
 dred yards distant began firing a salute. It was 
 the new torpedo-boat destroyer Perkins. In thus 
 naming her, the grateful Government conferred 
 
296 GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS 
 
 one of the highest honors it could bestow on the 
 memory of George Hamilton Perkins. It placed 
 him on the roll of our most distinguished naval 
 heroes fo r whom torpedo boats and torpedo-boat 
 destroyers have been named. It is easy to imagine 
 Perkins s utter surprise had he been told that 
 his name was thus to be linked with that of Far- 
 ragut and Porter, as well as Gushing, Foote, 
 Flusser, Morris, Smith, and Worden, of the Civil 
 War; Hull, Lawrence, Macdonough, and Perry, 
 of the War of 1812; and Barry, Biddle, and Paul 
 Jones, of the Revolution. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 

INDEX 
 
 Accessory Transit Co., 37, 51- 
 
 Alice, 146. 
 
 Anderson, Larz, 285. 
 Anderson, Mrs. Larz, child 
 
 hood, 218; travel, 254; at 
 
 Webster, 264 /.; marriage, 
 
 285. 
 
 Arkansas, 137-40. 
 Armstrong, Captain, 77, 82, 84, 
 
 104. 
 Aspinwall, 
 
 Bailey, Theodorus, battle of 
 New Orleans, in, 112, 120; 
 demands the surrender of 
 New Orleans, 121-28; letter 
 on Perkins s wedding, 218. 
 
 Banks, General, 149, 152, ice. 
 
 Birkey, Henry W, 161. 
 
 Blockade duty, 165 ff. 
 
 Bowen, Captain, 87-89. 
 
 Bowlin, James B., 63-66. 
 
 Brooklyn, battle of New Or 
 leans, 1 1 6; battle of Mobile 
 Bay, 179-87- 
 
 Buchanan, Admiral, building 
 ships, 142, 145; battle of Mo 
 bile Bay, 188-92; wounded, 
 192. 
 
 Butler, Benjamin, friend of 
 Captain George, 4; embark 
 ing troops, 109, 114; expected 
 at New Orleans, 123; at New 
 Orleans, 
 
 Cable, George W., 124. 
 California gold-seekers, 42. 
 Cape Haytien, 56, 57. 
 
 Chalmette batteries, 120, 121. 
 Chalmette regiment, 119. 
 Chickasaw, ij^ff- 
 Circassian, 170, 171. 
 Craven, T. A. M., 180, 184, 
 
 194. 
 
 Craven, Thomas T., 28-33. 
 Crosby, Schuyler, 286, 287. 
 Cuba, 146. 
 Cyam, 38 /. 
 
 Daniel Wood, 214. 
 
 Dewey, George, at the Naval 
 Academy, 35; battle of New 
 Orleans, 117; lighthouse in 
 spector, 219; victory at Ma 
 nila, 285; at the Algonquin 
 Club, 286. 
 
 Eads, James B., 173. 
 Emery, Benjamin, 4. 
 Essex, 139, 140, 156, 157. 
 
 Fairfax, D. M., 134 /. 
 
 Farragut, David G., eager to at 
 tack New Orleans, 108-10; 
 passes Forts Jackson and St. 
 Philip, 115 /.; plans to de 
 stroy the Arkansas, 137; com 
 ment on the accident to the 
 New London, 159; battle of 
 Mobile Bay, 172 /.; praises 
 Perkins, 205, 206. 
 
 Foster, Roger, 264, 269-81. 
 
 Foster, Mrs. William L., 55, 71. 
 
 Gaines, Fort, 178, 195, 198. 
 George, Clara Bartlett. Sff 
 Mrs. H. E. Perkins. 
 
300 
 
 INDEX 
 
 George, John H., 4. 
 George, Paul R., 4. 
 Gov. Moore, 117-19. 
 Granger, General, 179, 198, 
 
 201. 
 
 Granite City, 166-68. 
 Grant, President, 248-53. 
 
 Harriman, Captain, 4. 
 Harrison, Captain, 118, 131, 
 
 132, 134- 
 
 Hartford, battle of New Or 
 leans, 114-21; battle of Mo 
 bile Bay, 180-91; Perkins in 
 command, 253, 254. 
 
 Hesseltine, Lieutenant-Colonel, 
 168. 
 
 Higgins, Colonel, 129. 
 
 Ingomar, 196. 
 
 Jackson, Fort, 108 /. 
 Jenkins, T. A., 154, 195, 202, 
 
 2O9, 212. 
 
 Johnson, Commander, 253. 
 Johnston, J. D., 192, 193. 
 Jouett, James E., 201, 207. 
 
 Kennon, Beverly, 119. 
 Kibby, 88. 
 Kirkland, W. A., 210. 
 
 Lackawanna, battle of Mobile 
 Bay, 187-89; in the Pacific, 
 212-17. 
 
 Lamson, Captain, 167. 
 
 Laurens, Captain, 100. 
 
 LeRoy, Captain, 193. 
 
 Lindsay, Mr., 130. 
 
 Lockwood, Henry H., 19, 20. 
 
 Louisiana, 113. 
 
 Louis Napoleon, 130. 
 
 Lovell, General, 121-28. 
 
 McDonough, Captain, 84-87. 
 
 Mahan, A. T., 163. 
 
 M anas s as, 113, 117, 118. 
 
 Manhattan, 176, 179-81, 185, 
 
 188, 189, 201. 
 Mary S or ley, 168-70, 177. 
 Mather, Increase, 2. 
 Metacomet, 185, 207, 208. 
 Midway Islands, 214-17. 
 Mississippi, in, 115-17. 
 Mobile Bay, battle of, 172 /. 
 Monongahela, 156, 158, 159, 
 
 189. 
 
 Morgan, Fort, 178 ff. 
 Morris, Commodore, 147, 151, 
 
 160. 
 Mosher, 116. 
 
 New London, 153-59. 
 
 New Orleans, battle below, 
 
 107 /. 
 
 Nightingale, 87, 88. 
 North America, 154. 
 
 Octorara, 179-85. 
 Oneida, 144. 
 
 Panama, 37 /. 
 
 Paraguay, 63 /. 
 
 Parker, W. G., 57. 
 
 Peaslee, Charles H., 13. 
 
 Penniman, 166. 
 
 Pensacola, battle of New Or 
 leans, III, 115, 121 ; Perkins 
 her executive officer, 147 /. 
 
 Perkins, 295. 
 
 Perkins, Frank, plans for, 164; 
 death, 213. 
 
 Perkins, George Hamilton, an 
 cestry, 1-4; birth, 5; early 
 love for horses, 6; in Boston, 
 8; troubles with study, 9-11; 
 appointed to the Naval Acad 
 emy, 12-14; life at tne Acad 
 emy, 16 ff. , summer practice 
 cruises, 28-33; target prac 
 tice, 32; difficulties at the 
 Academy, 34, 35; in Central 
 America, 37 ff,\ duty on the 
 Cyane, 38 /.; at Cape Hay- 
 
INDEX 
 
 301 
 
 tien, 56, 57; duty on the Re 
 lease, 57 ff. y early religious 
 attitude, 62; in Paraguay, 63- 
 70; hunting tigers, 67-70; on 
 the West African coast, 71 /.; 
 promoted to passed midship 
 man, 71; master, 71; duty on 
 the Sumter, 72 ff.\ adventure 
 off the Settee River, 93-96; 
 up the Bonney River, 99; 
 commissioned lieutenant, 106; 
 duty on the Cayuga, 107 ff.; 
 passing Forts Jackson and St. 
 Philip, 115^".; facing the mob 
 at New Orleans, 121-28; 
 mentioned for gallantry, 132; 
 duty on the Pensacola, 147^".; 
 made lieutenant-commander, 
 151; commanding the New 
 London, 153-59; commanding 
 the Sciota, 160-71; blockad 
 ing the Texas coast, 162-71; 
 commanding the Chickasaw, 
 173 ff.; passing Fort Morgan, 
 1 86; engaging the Tennessee, 
 188-94; detached from the 
 Chickasaw, 211; duty on the 
 Lackawanna, 212-17; duty at 
 the Boston Navy Yard, 217; 
 marriage, 218; made com 
 mander, 218; commanding 
 the Relief, 218; duty as light 
 house inspector, 219; com 
 manding the Ashuelot, 219 ff.; 
 in China, 22O/. ; in the Philip 
 pines, 229-32; visiting Siam, 
 232-44; with General Grant, 
 248-53; commanding the 
 Hartford, 253, 254; leave of 
 absence, 254; failing health, 
 255; retired, 255; made com 
 modore, 255; the game of 
 farming, 256 /.; love for 
 horses, 268; kindness to the 
 poor, 277 ff.; home in Boston, 
 282; in Newport, 284; fatal 
 illness, 286; funeral, 287; char 
 
 acterization, 289 ff.; statue 
 by French, 295; U.S.S. Per 
 kins, named for him, 295. 
 
 Perkins, Mrs. George Hamilton, 
 family, 217; marriage, 218; 
 daughter, 218; travel, 254; at 
 "The Box, ] 260; Tony lost, 
 276; home life, 284, 290. 
 
 Perkins, Hamilton, home life, 
 61, 71; enters the Naval 
 Academy, 164. 
 
 Perkins, Hamilton Eliot, edu 
 cation, 3; judge of probate, 3; 
 children, 5; engages in African 
 trade, 8; returns to Hopkin- 
 ton, 8. 
 
 Perkins, Mrs. H. E., ancestry, 
 3, 4; children, 5; the home 
 school, 9-1 1 ; pride in her son, 
 132; extreme family modesty, 
 294. 
 
 Perkins, Isabel. See Mrs. Larz 
 Anderson. 
 
 Perkins, Roger Eliot, 2. 
 
 Perkins, Roger Eliot, influence 
 of brother, 61; studies medi 
 cine, 164; death, 213. 
 
 Perkins, Susan, home life, 71; 
 present from Africa, 98; as 
 sisting the Commodore, 278; 
 the Commodore s devotion, 
 290; edits the Commodore s 
 letters, 294. 
 
 Perkins, William, I. 
 
 Philippines, 229-32. 
 
 Phythian, R. E., 35, 131. 
 
 Pierce, President, 4. 
 
 Porter, W. D., 139, 140, 148. 
 
 Powell, Fort, 178, 195-97. 
 
 Powers, James, 277, 282. 
 
 Preble, 28, 33. 
 
 Preble, Captain, 144, 146. 
 
 Princess Royal, 157. 
 
 Ray, Kate, 27, 28. 
 Read, Abner, 159. 
 Release, 57 ff. 
 
302 INDEX 
 
 Reynolds, William, 215. 
 Richmond, 187, 191. 
 Rooney, Captain, 89, 90. 
 
 St. Philip, Fort, 108 /. 
 Saginaw, 216. 
 
 Sargent, Charles, 261, 282, 288. 
 Sciota, i6o/. 
 Siam, 232-44. 
 
 Sicard, Lieutenant-Comman 
 der, 216. 
 
 Slave trade, 72 /. 
 Soule, Pierre, 122, 126, 128. 
 Stewart, Lieutenant, 76 /. 
 Strain, Isaac C., 49, 50. 
 Strong, Captain, 166, 167, 202. 
 Sultana, 88. 
 
 Talbot, Lieutenant, 216. 
 Taylor, General, 152, 153. 
 Tecumseh, 179-84, 194. 
 
 Tennessee, 172 ff. 
 Thornton, Captain, 144. 
 Trowbridge, Thomas, 2. 
 
 United States Naval Academy, 
 admission, 14; first years, 
 17 ff. , daily routine, 24. 
 
 Upshur, Admiral, 254. 
 
 Varuna, 117-19. 
 
 Walker, M.J., 259 /. 
 Walker, William, 51-54. 
 Weitzel, General, 150, 156, 157. 
 Weld, Anna Minot. See Mrs. 
 
 George Hamilton Perkins. 
 Williams, Lieutenant-Colonel, 
 
 197. 
 Winnebago, 176-85, 190, 201, 
 
 2IO. 
 
 Winona, 144, 156. 
 
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