Matthew C. Perry | |
|---|---|
 Perryc. 1856–1858 | |
| Commander of theEast India Squadron | |
| In office November 20, 1852 – September 6, 1854 | |
| Preceded by | John H. Aulick |
| Succeeded by | Joel Abbot |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Matthew Calbraith Perry (1794-04-10)April 10, 1794[1] Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 1858(1858-03-04) (aged 63) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 10 |
| Parents |
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| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1809–1858 |
| Rank | Commodore |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | |
Matthew C. Perry | |
|---|---|
| Scientific career | |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Perry |
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was aUnited States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including theWar of 1812 and theMexican–American War. He led thePerry Expedition thatended Japan's isolationism and signed theConvention of Kanagawa between Japan and the United States in 1854.
Perry was interested in the education of naval officers and assisted in the development of an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at theUnited States Naval Academy. With the advent of thesteam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered "The Father of the Steam Navy" in the United States.
Matthew Perry was a member of thePerry family, a son of Sarah Wallace (née Alexander) (1768–1830) and Navy CaptainChristopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818). He was born April 10, 1794, inSouth Kingstown, Rhode Island. His siblings includedOliver Hazard Perry, Raymond Henry Jones Perry, Sarah Wallace Perry, Anna Marie Perry (mother ofGeorge Washington Rodgers), James Alexander Perry, Nathaniel Hazard Perry, and Jane Tweedy Perry (who marriedWilliam Butler).
His mother was born inCounty Down, Ireland and was a descendant of an uncle ofWilliam Wallace,[2]: 54 the Scottish knight and landowner.[3][4] His paternal grandparents were James Freeman Perry, a surgeon, and Mercy Hazard,[5] a descendant of GovernorThomas Prence, a co-founder ofEastham, Massachusetts, who was a political leader in both thePlymouth andMassachusetts Bay colonies, and governor ofPlymouth; and a descendant ofMayflower passengers, both of whom were signers of theMayflower Compact, ElderWilliam Brewster, thePilgrim colonist leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony, andGeorge Soule, through Susannah Barber Perry.[6]
In 1809, Perry received amidshipman's warrant in the Navy and was initially assigned toUSS Revenge, under the command of his elder brother. He was then assigned toUSS President, where he served as an aide to CommodoreJohn Rodgers.President attacked the neutralRoyal Navy post shipHMS Little Belt in theLittle Belt affair. Perry continued to serve aboardPresident during theWar of 1812 and was present at her engagement withHMS Belvidera.[7]
Rodgers fired the first shot of the war atBelvidera. A later shot resulted in a cannon bursting, killing several men and wounding Rodgers, Perry and others.[8] Perry transferred toUSS United States, commanded byStephen Decatur, and saw little fighting in the war afterwards, since the ship was trapped in port atNew London, Connecticut.
Following the signing of theTreaty of Ghent which ended the war, Perry served on various vessels in theMediterranean Sea. Perry served under CommodoreWilliam Bainbridge during theSecond Barbary War. He then served in African waters aboardUSSCyane during its patrol offLiberia from 1819 to 1820. After that cruise, Perry was sent to suppresspiracy and theslave trade in theWest Indies.
From 1821 to 1825, Perry placed in commission and commandedUSS Shark, aschooner with 12 guns. He was sent to theWest Africa Station as part of the Anglo-Americanblockade of Africa to suppress theAtlantic slave trade.[9]
In 1815, the Spanish governor inHavana deeded the island ofKey West to Juan Pablo Salas ofSt. Augustine inSpanish Florida. After Florida was transferred to the United States, Salas sold Key West to American businessman John W. Simonton for $2,000 in 1821. Simonton lobbied Washington to establish a naval base on Key West, both to take advantage of its strategic location and to bring law and order to the area.
On March 25, 1822, Perry sailedShark to Key West and planted the U.S. flag, physically claiming theFlorida Keys as United States territory. Perry renamed Cayo Hueso "Thompson's Island" for the Secretary of the NavySmith Thompson and the harbor "Port Rodgers" for the president of theBoard of Navy Commissioners. Neither name stuck however.
From 1826 to 1827, Perry acted as fleet captain for Commodore Rodgers. In 1828, Perry returned toCharleston, South Carolina, for shore duty. In 1830, he took command of asloop-of-war,USS Concord. During this period, while in port in RussianKronstadt, Perry was offered a commission in theImperial Russian Navy, which he declined.
He spent 1833 to 1837 as second officer of the New York Navy Yard, later theBrooklyn Navy Yard, gaining a promotion to captain at the end of this tour.
Perry had an ardent interest in and saw the need for naval education, supporting anapprentice system to train new seamen, and helped establish the curriculum for the United States Naval Academy. He was a vocal proponent of modernizing the Navy. Once promoted to captain, he oversaw construction of the Navy's second steam frigateUSS Fulton, which he commanded after its completion.
He was called "The Father of the Steam Navy",[10] and he organized America's first corps of naval engineers. Perry conducted the first U.S. naval gunnery school while commandingFulton from 1839 to 1841 offSandy Hook on theNew Jersey coast.
In 1841, Perry received the title ofcommodore, when theSecretary of the Navy appointed him commandant of New York Navy Yard.[11] The United States Navy did not have ranks higher than captain until 1857, so the title of commodore carried considerable importance. Officially, an officer would revert to his permanent rank after the squadron command assignment had ended, although in practice officers who received the title of commodore retained the title for life, as did Perry.
During his tenure in Brooklyn, he lived inQuarters A inVinegar Hill, a building which still stands today.[12] In 1843, Perry took command of theAfrica Squadron, whose duty was to interdict the slave trade under theWebster-Ashburton Treaty, and continued in this endeavor to 1844.
In 1845, CommodoreDavid Conner's length of service in command of theHome Squadron had come to an end. However, the coming of theMexican–American War persuaded the authorities not to change commanders in the face of the war. Perry, who eventually succeeded Conner, was made second-in-command and captainedUSS Mississippi. Perry captured the Mexican city ofFrontera, demonstrated againstTabasco, being defeated inSan Juan Bautista by Colonel Juan Bautista Traconis in theFirst Battle of Tabasco, and took part in the capture ofTampico on November 14, 1846.
Perry had to return toNorfolk, Virginia, to make repairs and was there when theamphibious landings at Veracruz took place. His return to the U.S. gave his superiors the chance to give him orders to succeed Commodore Conner in command of the Home Squadron. Perry returned to the fleet, and his ship supported the siege of Veracruz from the sea.[13]
After the fall of Veracruz,Winfield Scott moved inland, and Perry moved against the remaining Mexican port cities. Perry assembled theMosquito Fleet andcaptured Tuxpan in April 1847. In June 1847 heattacked Tabasco personally, leading a 1,173-man landing force ashore and attacking the city of San Juan Bautista from land, defeating the Mexican forces and taking the city.[14]
In 1847, Perry was elected as an honorary member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati in recognition of his achievements during the Mexican War.
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In 1852, Perry was assigned a mission by American PresidentMillard Fillmore to force the opening of Japanese ports to American trade, through the use ofgunboat diplomacy if necessary.[15] The growing commerce between the United States and China, the presence of American whalers in waters offshore Japan, and the increasing monopolization of potentialcoaling stations by European powers in Asia were all contributing factors. Shipwrecked foreign sailors were either imprisoned or executed,[16][17][18] and the safe return of such persons was one demand.
The Americans were also driven by concepts ofmanifest destiny and the desire to impose the benefits of western civilization and theChristian religion on what they perceived as backward Asian nations.[19] "The people of America will, in some form or other, extend their dominion and their power, until they shall have brought within their mighty embrace the islands of the great Pacific, and placed theSaxon race upon the eastern shores of Asia," Perry said.[20] The Japanese were forewarned by the Dutch of Perry's voyage but were unwilling to change their 250-year-old policy ofnational seclusion.[19] There was considerable internal debate in Japan on how best to meet this potential threat to Japan's economic and political sovereignty.
On November 24, 1852, Perry embarked fromNorfolk, Virginia, for Japan, in command of theEast India Squadron in pursuit of a Japanese trade treaty. He chose the paddle-wheeled steam frigateMississippi as hisflagship and made port calls atMadeira (December 11–15),Saint Helena (January 10–11),Cape Town (January 24 – February 3),Mauritius (February 18–28),Ceylon (March 10–15),Singapore (March 25–29),Macao andHong Kong (April 7–28).
In Hong Kong he met with American-born SinologistSamuel Wells Williams, who providedChinese language translations of his official letters, and where he rendezvoused withPlymouth. He continued toShanghai (May 4–17), where he met with the Dutch-born American diplomat, Anton L. C. Portman, who translated his official letters into theDutch language, and where he rendezvoused withSusquehanna.
Perry then switched his flag toSusquehanna and made call atNaha on Great Lewchew Island (Ryukyu, nowOkinawa) from May 17–26. Ignoring the claims ofSatsuma Domain to the islands, he demanded an audience with theRyukyuan KingShō Tai atShuri Castle and secured promises that theRyukyu Kingdom would be open to trade with the United States. Continuing on to theOgasawara islands in mid-June, Perry met with the local inhabitants and purchased a plot of land.[21]
Perry reachedUraga at the entrance toEdo Bay in Japan on July 8, 1853. His actions at this crucial juncture were informed by a careful study of Japan's previous contacts with Western ships and what he knew about the Japanese hierarchical culture. As he arrived, Perry ordered his ships to steam past Japanese lines towards the capital ofEdo and turn their guns towards the town of Uraga.[22] Perry refused Japanese demands to leave or to proceed toNagasaki, the only Japanese port open to foreigners.[22]
Perry attempted to intimidate the Japanese by presenting them awhite flag and a letter which told them that in case they chose to fight, the Americans would destroy them.[23][24] He also fired blank shots from his 73 cannon, which he claimed was in celebration of theAmerican Independence Day. Perry's ships were equipped with newPaixhans shell guns, cannons capable of wreaking great explosive destruction with every shell.[25][26] He also ordered his ship boats to commence survey operations of the coastline and surrounding waters over the objections of local officials.
Meanwhile,shōgunTokugawa Ieyoshi was ill and incapacitated, which resulted in governmental indecision on how to handle the unprecedented threat to the nation's capital. On July 11,RōjūAbe Masahiro bided his time, deciding that simply accepting a letter from the Americans would not constitute a violation of Japanese sovereignty. The decision was conveyed to Uraga, and Perry was asked to move his fleet slightly southwest to the beach atKurihama where he was allowed to land on July 14, 1853.[27] After presenting the letter to attending delegates, Perry departed for Hong Kong, promising to return the following year for the Japanese reply.[28]
On his way back to Japan, Perry anchored offKeelung in Formosa, known today asTaiwan, for ten days. Perry and crewmembers landed on Formosa and investigated the potential of mining the coal deposits in that area. He emphasized in his reports that Formosa provided a convenient, mid-way trade location. Perry's reports noted that the island was very defensible and could serve as a base for exploration in a similar way that Cuba had done for the Spanish in the Americas. Occupying Formosa could help the United States counter European monopolization of the major trade routes. The United States government failed to respond to Perry's proposal to claim sovereignty over Formosa.
To command his fleet, Perry chose officers with whom he had served in the Mexican–American War. CommanderFranklin Buchanan was captain ofSusquehanna.Joel Abbot, Perry's second in command, was captain ofMacedonian. Commander Henry A. Adams was chief of staff with the title "Captain of the Fleet". MajorJacob Zeilin, future commandant of the United States Marine Corps, was the ranking Marine officer and was stationed onMississippi.
Perry returned on February 13, 1854, after only half a year rather than the full year promised, and with ten ships and 1,600 men. American leadership designed the show of force to "command fear" and "astound the Orientals."[29]: 31 After initial resistance, Perry was permitted to land atKanagawa, near the site of present-dayYokohama on March 8. TheConvention of Kanagawa was signed on March 31. Perry signed as Americanplenipotentiary, andHayashi Akira, also known by his title ofDaigaku-no-kami, signed for the Japanese side. The celebratory events for the signing ceremony included aKabuki play from the Japanese side and, from the American side, U.S. military band music and blackface minstrelsy.[29]: 32–33
Perry departed, mistakenly believing the agreement had been made withimperial representatives, not understanding the true position of theshōgun, the de facto ruler of Japan.[30] Perry then visitedHakodate on the northern island ofHokkaido andShimoda, the two ports which the treaty stipulated would be opened to visits by American ships. A handscroll with pictorial record from the Japanese side of US Commodore Matthew Perry's second visit to Japan in 1854 is retained in theBritish Museum in London.[31]
When Perry returned to the United States,Congress voted to grant him a reward of $20,000, equivalent to $520,000 in 2023, in appreciation of his work in Japan. He used part of this money to prepare and publish a report on the expedition in three volumes, titledNarrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan. He was promoted torear admiral on the retired list when his health began to fail, as a reward for his service in the Far East.[32]
Living in his adopted home of New York City, Perry's health began to fail as he suffered fromcirrhosis of the liver from heavy drinking. Perry was known to have been an alcoholic, which compounded the health complications leading to his death.[33] He also suffered severe arthritis that left him in frequent pain, and on occasion precluded him from his duties.[34]
Perry spent his last years preparing for the publication of his account of the Japan expedition, announcing its completion on December 28, 1857. Two days later he was detached from his last post, an assignment to the Naval Efficiency Board. He died awaiting further orders on March 4, 1858, inNew York City, ofrheumatic fever that had spread to the heart, compounded by complications ofgout andalcoholism.[35]
Initially interred in a vault on the grounds ofSt. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, in New York City, Perry's remains were moved to theIsland Cemetery inNewport, Rhode Island, on March 21, 1866, along with those of his daughter, Anna, who died in 1839. In 1873, an elaborate monument was placed by Perry's widow over his grave in Newport.[36]
Perry was married to Jane Slidell Perry (1797–1864), sister ofUnited States SenatorJohn Slidell (1793–1871),[37] in New York on December 24, 1814, and they had ten children:[38][39]
In 1819, Perry joined themasonic Holland Lodge No. 8 inNew York City,New York.[41][42]
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Perry was a key agent in both the making and recording of Japanese history, as well as in the shaping of Japanese history. 90% of school children in Japan can identify him.[43]
Woodblock paintings of Matthew Perry closely resemble his actual appearance, depicting a physically large, clean shaven, jowly man.[44] The portraits portray him with blue eyeballs, rather than blue irises.[44] Westerners in this period were commonly thought of as "blue-eyed barbarians", however, in Japanese culture, blue eyeballs were also associated with ferocious or threatening figures, such as monsters or renegades.[44] It is thought that the intimidation that the Japanese felt at the time could have influenced these portraits. Some portraits of Perry depict him as atengu. However, the portraits of his crewmen are normal.[44]
When Perry returned to the United States after signing theConvention of Kanagawa, he brought with him diplomatic gifts, including art, pottery, textiles, musical instruments, and other artifacts now in the collection of theSmithsonian Institution.[45]
Pacific Overtures is amusical set in Japan beginning in 1853 and follows the difficult westernization of Japan, told from the point of view of the Japanese.
A replica of Perry's U.S. flag is on display on board theUSS Missouri memorial inPearl Harbor,Hawaii, attached to thebulkhead just inboard of theJapanese surrender signing site on thestarboard side of the ship. The original flag was brought from theU.S. Naval Academy Museum to Japan for the Japan surrender ceremony and was displayed on that occasion at the request ofDouglas MacArthur, who was a blood-relative of Perry. Today, the flag is preserved and on display at the Naval Academy Museum inAnnapolis, Maryland.[46]
In the museum, the flag is displayed the 'wrong' way round. However, photographs show that at the signing ceremony, this flag was displayed properly, on its starboard side, with the stars in the upper right corner, as are all flags on vessels, known as ensigns. The cloth of this historic flag was so fragile that the conservator at the museum directed that a protective backing be sewn on it, which accounts for its currently being displayed 'port' side round.[47]
Japan erected a monument to Perry on July 14, 1901, at the spot where the commodore first landed.[48] The monument survivedWorld War II and is now the centerpiece of a small seaside park called Perry Park at Yokosuka, Japan.[49] Within the park there is a small museum dedicated to the events of 1854. Matthew C. Perry Elementary and High School can be found onMarine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni.
At his birthplace in Newport, there is a memorial plaque inTrinity Church, Newport and astatue of Perry in Touro Park. It was designed byJohn Quincy Adams Ward, erected in 1869, and dedicated by his daughter. He was buried in Newport'sIsland Cemetery, near his parents and brother. There are also exhibits and research collections concerning his life at theNaval War College Museum and at theNewport Historical Society.
Perry Street inTrenton, New Jersey is named in his honor.[50]
The U.S. Navy'sOliver Hazard Perry-class frigates (purchased in the 1970s and 1980s) were named after Perry's brother, CommodoreOliver Hazard Perry. The ninth ship of theLewis and Clark class of dry-cargo-ammunition vessels is namedUSNS Matthew Perry.
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The letter threatened that in the event the Japanese elected war rather than negotiation, he could use the white flag to sue for peace, since victory would naturally belong to the Americans
Media related toMatthew Perry (naval officer) at Wikimedia Commons
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| Preceded by | Commander,East India Squadron 1852–1854 | Succeeded by |
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