Home > Matthew Perry (naval officer)
Matthew Calbraith Perry ( April 10, 1794 - March 4, 1858) was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy who forced the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, under the threat of military force.
1 Early Life and Naval Career
Born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, he was the younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry. Matthew Perry obtained a midshipman's commission in the Navy in 1809, and was initially assigned to USS Revenge , which was under the command of his elder brother.
Perry's early career saw him assigned to several different ships, including the President, where he was aide to Commodore John Rodgers, which was in a victorious engagement over a British vessel, HMS Little Belt , shortly before the War of 1812The North American War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom is one of several wars associated with that year. It is more normally known in British texts as the British-American War to distinguish it from Napoleon's war against Russia w was officially declared. During that war Perry was transferred to USS United StatesThe first USS United States was a frigate in the United States Navy in 1797. United States was the first of six frigates authorized by Congress on 27 March 1794, was designed by naval architect Joshua Humphreys and Captain Thomas Truxtun. She was built at, and consequently saw little fighting in that war afterward since the ship was trapped at New London, ConnecticutNew London Connecticut is a city in New London County, at the mouth of the Thames River and on the northwestern shore of Long Island Sound. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 25,671. New London is also a town with the same boundarie. After the war he served on various vessels in the Mediterranean and Africa (notably aboard USS Cyaneadd image here) Career Launched: 1796 Commissioned: 1815 Decommissioned: 1827? Fate:sold General Characteristics Displacement:539 tons Length:110 ft (34 m) Beam:31. 6 m) Depth:8 ft (2. 4 m) Complement:180 officers and men Armament:4 x 12 pounders (5 kg), during its patrol off LiberiaLiberia is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. The country has recently been afflicted by two civil wars ( 1989 1996 and 1999 2003) that have displaced hundreds of thousands of its citizens and destro in 1819Events January 17 Simon Bolivar proclaims the Republic of Colombia January 29 Sir Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore February 6 Formal treaty between Sultan Hussein of Johor and the British Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles originates Singapore F- 1820Events January 1 Constitutionalist military insurrection at Cadiz leads to summoning of Spanish parliament ( March 7) and restoration of 1812 Constitution ( March 8) by king Ferdinand VII. January 29 George the Prince Regent becomes king George IV of the), sent to suppress piracy and the slave trade in the West Indies. Later during this period, while in port in RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With, Perry was offered a commission in the Russian navy, which he declined.
2 Command Assignments, 1820s-1840s
Perry commanded USS Shark from 1821- 1825, and from 1826- 1827 acted as fleet captain for Commodore Rodgers. Perry returned for shore duty to Charleston, South Carolina in 1828, and in 1830 took command of USS Concord . He spent the years of 1833- 1837 as second officer of the New York Navy Yard (later the Brooklyn Navy Yard), gaining promotion to captain at the end of this tour.
