Perry M Adm
Nickname/Alias: Old Bruin
Achievements: Opened up trade with Japan.
Born: April 10, 1794; Newport, Rhode Island
Died: March 4, 1858; New York, NY (Aged 64)
Language: English.
Field & Discipline: Military; Naval Officer
Father: Christopher Raymond Perry
Mother: Sarah Wallace Alexander
Siblings: Oliver Hazard; Raymond; James; Nathaniel; Sarah; Anna Maria; Jane
Spouse: Jane Sidell
Children: Matthew; Oliver; William; Sarah; Jane; Susan; Caroline; Isabella; Anna
Education: Local school, Newport
Major Work:“Narrative of an Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan” (1856-58)
Life & Times:
Perry joined the US Navy as a midshipman in 1808 and first served on the “USS Revenge,” commanded by his elder brother, Oliver Hazard Perry, who was later to win the Lake Erie naval battle in the 1812 war against the British. During that war, Perry served on the frigate “President” and in the same year, saw the launching of the first steam-powered warship, [saw launch of] Fulton*’s “Demologus.”
Seven months later, he sailed from Boston as part of the naval force sent to support [served with] Decatur* in Algiers, North Africa. The pirates of the Barbary Coast had been capturing American ships and enslaving their crews and Decatur was sent to teach the Bey of Algiers a lesson. In 1820 Perry was second in command on the frigate “USS Cyane” which escorted the first merchant ship carrying freed slaves to Liberia, Africa. The following year, he volunteered for another African run and was given his first command, as lieutenant commandant on the schooner “USS Shark.”
In 1833, Perry was made second officer at the New York Navy Yard and over the next ten years initiating a series of naval reforms. His interest lay in technical innovations and he was the main influence on the navy's decision to move from sail to steam, becoming known in naval circles as “the father of the steam navy.” Perry supervised the construction of the navy's first seagoing steam warship, “USS Fulton,” named after its designer, Robert Fulton and the corps of firemen that he put together to run the engine room was probably the forerunner of the Engineer Corps. In 1837, he was instrumental in persuading Congress to fund three more steamships and was finally given command of the “Fulton.”
In the same year, Perry was given the US Navy's highest permanent rank (Captain) and, in 1841, was put in charge of the Navy Yard. During the Mexican War of 1846 to 1848, [appointed by] President James Polk* sent Perry to the Gulf of Mexico and took command of the naval forces during the siege of Veracruz. He supported the ground forces including Robert E Lee under Generals Winfield Scott and Franklin [supported] Pierce*, by commandeering supplies and horses during raids on the Gulf ports. In 1847, Perry put together the first infantry brigade in the US Navy, to provide landing forces for upriver expeditions. When he took Tabasco in 1847, he put the last important Gulf port in US hands, which made him a hero to the American people.
In 1852, President [appointed by] Fillmore* gave Perry the job of commanding the East Asia Squadron. Now that the conquest of Mexico had put the Pacific ports of San Francisco and San Diego under US control, trade with the East had become even more important. Perry’s brief was to establish official relations with Japan, which had been closed to virtually all foreigners, with the exception of the Portuguese, since the sixteenth century. Perry decided his own strategy: to arrive with a strong show of force, deliver the US request for access to Japanese harbors, and then stand back while the Japanese considered the request. This was after the first Opium War in which Europeans forced an opening of markets and just before the second, in which the US participated.
He arrived at the entrance to Edo, now Tokyo, Bay in July 1853 and asked for a high-ranking Japanese envoy, who was to deliver the President's letter to the Emperor. He made it clear that if the envoy didn’t appear, then the US Navy would enter the bay and land its forces. When the Japanese reluctantly accepted the letter, Perry immediately withdrew his forces and stayed away for months, to give the Emperor time to consider the US proposal. When Perry returned to Edo Bay the following February with twice the force he had taken the first time, the Japanese agreed to negotiate.
Perry had been given a free hand to buy gifts for the Emperor and, determined to dispel any idea that Americans were brash or uncultured, his entourage and had collected them with great care. The presentations he made to the Shogun included copies of [gave Shogun book by] Audubon'* illustrated books “Birds of America” and “Quadrupeds of America” and arms donated by [gave Shogun gun by] Colt*. Before leaving America, Perry had hit on the idea of demonstrating the use of the electric telegraph to the Japanese. He arranged for [used work of] Samuel Morse* to teach one of his lieutenants the Morse Code and how to operate the telegraph equipment that he took with him, but the greatest success was a quarter-size steam locomotive with tender, coach and track. It had been specially built in Philadelphia for his mission and, although the track was only 18 inches and a small child would have difficulty fitting into the coach, the Japanese Samurai lined up for hours to ride, sitting on the roof.
In 1854, Perry signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, under which the United States was given access to Hakodate and Shimoda ports for shelter and for taking on supplies and permission was granted for a US Consul to reside in Shimoda. Back home, Perry decided he needed an editor for his narrative on the expedition. He offered the job to [offered job to] Nathaniel Hawthorne*, who was then US consul in Liverpool and had written a campaign biography of President Franklin Pierce. Hawthorne declined and, when he recommended [turned down] Melville*, whose novel “White-Jacket” had criticised conditions in the US Navy, Perry was not amused. The three-volume narrative was finished in 1858, shortly before Perry died.
Assessment: Perry’s most important work was to conclude the treaty with Japan which opened up trade with the east. He was also influential in the transfer from sail to steam in the US Navy.
Extra Connections: Fought with Robert E Lee in Mexican American War ("the halls of Montezuma"), firing Congreve rockets ("rocket's red glare").
Through his mother, Perry was a direct descendant of the uncle of Scottish nobleman William Wallace (d. 1305).
Oneliner: Commodore Perry, who opened up Japan
Bibliography:
- Morison, Samuel Eliot, Old Bruin, Commodore Matthew C Perry, Oxford University Press, London, 1967.
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_C._Perry