iiiilfiliifias'iiii;;^! •!;;;-;ii:/i:'';^ • .sv'/iif -■' -' '- .C7 03 V ^, V B ' • "- c h^ r^^ J^ "^.. \ & .-J^^ :« "-n^o^ rO ,0 ^°--^. t* ** *-..^^ A ^^ OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS DEDICATION OF THE STATUE COMNIODORE GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS CONCORD, KEW HAIVIPSHIRE, On the 25th day of April, 1902. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL. CONCOKD 1903. EUMFOKD PkINTING COMPANY, Pkinteks and Bindeks, concokd, n. h. THE PERKINS STATUE. On the twenty-second day of November, 1899, Mrs. Isabel Weld Anderson of Brookline, Massachusetts, in behalf of her mother, Mrs. Anna Weld Perkins, and herself, tendered to the State of New Hampshire, through His Excellency Frank West Rollins, Governor, a statue of her father, the late Commodore George Hamilton Perkins, United States Navy. In behalf of the people of the State, the Governor, with the advice of the Honorable Council, gave appro- priate expression to their appreciation of the offer, and set apart a portion of the Capitol grounds as a site for the proposed memorial. On the twenty-fifth day of April, 1902, the completed memorial was formally presented to the state with fitting ceremony, in the presence of Commander William S. Cowles, United States Navy, representing President Theodore Roosevelt ; Rear Admiral John G. Walker, United States Navy, representing Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy ; Rear Admiral John J. Read, United States Navy, Commandant of the Portsmouth Navy Yard, and staff; Mr. Daniel C. French of New York, sculptor of the statue ; Mr. Henry Bacon of New York, architect of the memorial ; His Excellency 4 THE PERKINS STATUE Chester B. Jordan, Governor of New Hampshire; Hon. James B. Tennant, Hon. Loring B. Bodwell, Hon. Charles H. Hersey, Hon. Edmund E. Truesdell, and Hon. Robert N. Chamberlin, of the Honorable Council ; and many other persons of official and social prominence. The deep interest of the general public — and especially of the late Commodore Perkins's former fellow-citizens of Concord — was evidenced by the attendance of more than ten thousand people, who listened with close attention and manifest appreciation to the exercises of dedication. THE MEMORIAL. The site chosen for the memorial is on the west side of the Capitol, fronting on North State street and directly opposite the United States Government build- ing. The bronze statue stands within a niche in the centre of a structure of granite which is in the form of an exedra, or semi-circular seat, terminating at the ends with granite pedestals. The granite structure is forty-two feet in length, twenty feet in depth, and twenty feet in height. The statue, which is seven and one half feet high, stands upon a solid block of granite carved to represent the prow of a ship : the dimensions of this block are, length, eleven feet, six inches ; height, four feet, three inches ; depth, five feet. The capstone of the central portion is a single piece of granite, ten feet and four inches long, one foot and eight inches high, and five feet deep. On each side of the capstone at the top of the niche are bas-reliefs representing Peace and War. On the sides of the monument are battle-emblems, and an eagle supported by a doric shaft on which is engraved a seal, — on one side, the seal of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and on the other, the seal of the State of New Hampshire. The statue — the work of Mr. Daniel C. French of New York city, who was born in Chester, New Hamp- 6 THE PERKINS STATUE shire — represents Commodore Perkins in full dress uniform with his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the right holding his hat. The sculptor has admirably portrayed the resolute and daring spirit of the brave naval hero, and fashioned as well a likeness which those who knew the subject intimately in life pronounce faithful to a remarkable degree. In addi- tion to the statue itself the memorial presents two addi- tional examples of Mr. French's work, — reliefs in bronze on the pedestals at the ends of the seat, one rep- resenting the passage of the forts at New Orleans when Lieutenant Perkins was executive officer on the Cayuga; the other, the Battle of Mobile Bay, in which he commanded the Chickasazu . The inscrip- tions printed elsewhere in this volume are composed of bronze letters sunk in the stone : one, giving facts of birth, etc., being upon the large panel beneath the statue ; another, giving the principal naval engage- ments in which Lieutenant Perkins took part, on the central slab in the pavement in front of the statue. A tablet of donation has a place on the rear of the structure. 1 THE DEDICATION. The exercises of dedication were held in the open air, the weather being most propitious. For the occa- sion three platforms seating more than one thousand per- sons had been erected, — a central one directly in front of the memorial, upon which the main body of partici- pants and guests were seated ; two others at the right and left of the monument, one of which was occupied by the officers and members of the annual Encampment of the Department of New Hampshire, Grand Army of the Republic, the other by the Second Regiment Band of Concord, Arthur F. Nevers, leader, and a large chorus made up of members of the choirs of St. Paul's Episcopal church and St. Paul's School, and of the Concord Oratorio Society. The guests of the day were received by His Excel- lency Chester B. Jordan, Governor of New Hampshire, in Doric hall of the Capitol, from whence the party pro- ceeded to the scene of the dedication. Former Gover- nor Frank West Rollins presided over the exercises, which opened with a hymn by the chorus, — " O God, Our Help in Ages Past." Prayer was said by the Rev. Daniel C. Roberts, D. D., vice-rector of St. Paul's Episcopal church. The ceremony of unveiling was a beautiful one. Mrs. Larz Anderson, escorted by her uncle, Mr. Hamilton 8 THE PERKINS STATUE Perkins, of Boston, left the platform and went for- ward in front of the statue, which was draped with the national flag. As Mrs. Anderson touched the cord, the colors fell apart, disclosing the bronze reproduction of her gallant father's sturdy form and determined coun- tenance. At the moment of the unveiling a detachment of sailors from the Portsmouth navy yard ran up the Commodore's flag on a tall staflT erected near the monu- ment ; the drums gave a ruffle and the trumpets a flour- ish, and from the distance came the sound of a salute of eleven guns fired by the First Light Battery, Cap- tain Silas R. Wallace, New Hampshire National Guard. The band gave the martial strains of " Under the Dou- \ ble Eagle," and the comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic and a company of the United States Ma- rine Corps from the Portsmouth Navy Yard presented arms as Mrs. Anderson and Mr. Perkins returned to their places upon the platform. In behalf of the donors. Rear Admiral George E. Belknap, United States Navy, presented the statue to the State of New Hampshire in the following words : ADDRESS OF REAR ADMIRAL BELKNAP. T'oTir Excellency : The heart and intent, the love and devotion, of the wife, Mrs. Perkins, and of the daughter, Mrs. Ander- son, planned and had wrought and placed here, this splendid memorial to the husband and father, Commo- dore George Hamilton Perkins, which Mrs. Anderson has just unveiled to us and this notable company, for presentation to this, his native commonwealth. The memorial stands for one of the most strenuous and battle-renowned of New Hampshire's sons ; for a man of magnetic temperament and engaging person- ality, genial and gentle in peace, strong and lion-like in war ; for a distinguished officer of the Navy of flag rank, skilled and resourceful as a seaman, tactful and just as a commanding officer, intrepid in spirit and heroic in doing in the storm and stress of battle ; for a man, staunch and true as a friend ; of bearing and speech so quiet and modest that few outside his own family circle and its environment ever heard him speak of or hint at the splendor of his own work in war's dire time ; an alert and heartsome man of the sea, whom Farragut, our greatest admiral, loved and delighted to honor as one of the most trusted and dashing of his captains — ever ready for movement, ever eager to grapple with the foe, never failing in what he undertook ; one whose fine lO THE PERKINS STATUE record in peace and lustrous deeds in the tragic years of the great RebelHon make it eminently fitting that this statue of him, so striking, so lifelike in lineaments and figure, should stand in company with the bronze pre- sentments of those other distinguished sons of the State whose statues people and adorn the grounds of this fair Capitol. And now, Your Excellency, as a long-time companion- at-arms of this masterful sailor of Viking strain and achieving might, whose memory we honor by these ceremonies of to-day, and bearing the commission of Mrs. Perkins and of Mrs. Anderson, I have the plea- sure and the high privilege of placing in your hands the deed, duly written, signed and sealed, conveying in perpetuity this beautiful memorial to the State, feeling sure that you will receive it with acclaim and gladness, and that you and your successors in the high office you hold, will take all reasonable means to have it guarded with loving care, and kept intact and unmarred from the touch of heedless or despoiling hands, so that this and the generations to come will gather about it with pride and admiration, and from the grand lessons of honor and loyalty, courage and fidelity, and deeds of high emprise it conveys, drink in fresh inspirations to patriotism and soulful purpose, good citizenship and love of state and country. THE DEED OF GIFT. Concord, New Hampshire, Twenty-fifth of April Nineteen hundred and two. The bronze statue of Commodore George Hamilton Perkins, United States Navy, this day unveiled in the State House grounds at Con- cord, the granite and marble structures connected there- with, and the bronze tablets and inscriptions thereon are hereby given and conveyed by us to the State of New Hampshire unconditionally and forever. Anna Weld Perkins. Isabel Weld Anderson. His Excellency Chester B. Jordan, Governor of New Hampshire, accepted the statue in behalf of the State, speaking as follows : ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR JORDAN. Mr. Chair-man^ Admiral Belknaf : It is my pleasure, my privilege, and my duty to be present on this occasion to receive and accept on behalf of all the people of New Hampshire this statue which you, in befitting speech for the donors, have tendered to the State. New Hampshire is not large in acres of land or in expanse of water. Many of the forty-five states of the Union surpass her in territory, in population, and in ma- terial wealth. Yet we long ago learned that lofty moun- tains, broad prairies, lovely vales, and placid lakes do not constitute the state, — they only add to it the charm of their beauty ; that the true greatness of a state lies in the strength, intelligence, virtue, and nobility of her men and women. And so it seems to me that in the few moments accorded me, in the presence of these invited guests, veterans in the service of their country on land and sea, and in all the exalted walks of civil life, I can with propriety speak a few words concerning the Old Granite State and her part in the great scheme for the greatest and best government under the sun. Here was the first royal government, and here, too, the first revolt against the king's arbitrar}^ decrees. Possessed of but one seaport, still our fathers, with one eighth of all the land forces and a seagoing craft, were at the siege of Louisburg ; in fact, William Vaughan of THE PERKINS STATUE 13 Portsmouth originated the plan for its capture, and was the intrepid leader of that crusade. More than seven hundred New Hampshire men were of the Rogers Ran- gers in their daring expedition into Canada. Ours is one of the original thirteen states declaring for independence, the ninth and then necessary state to ratify the federal constitution ; the first to adopt a written state constitution. John Sullivan lost no time, as the clouds lowered and threatened, in seizing Fort William and Mary and confiscating arms and ammunition, and Captain Demeritt was equally timely in taking the latter to Boston in ox-teams in season for use at Bunker Hill. Although we then had no nominal secretary of the navy, John Langdon of Portsmouth, the first president of the United States senate, seemed the moving spirit upon the waters as well as on the land. He gave all his plate, his money, his goods, and then, better than any or all, he gave his great energy, his exalted character — himself — to the work of freeing a people and founding a nation. As a member of the marine committee and the continental agent for building vessels, we find him constructing and directing a navy. He was not alone. From hillside and valley, country and town, loyal souls and brave hearts, in the field, on the sea, at home and abroad, willingly took up the burden and royally bore it for seven long, dark years. New Hampshire men fought in every important en- gagement from Bunker Hill to the surrender of Corn- wallis. When peace, glorious peace, at last dawned upon them, our people hailed it with glad acclaim and 14 THE PERKINS STATUE did their full share in setting in motion the machinery of the new government. Soldiers, sailors, lawyers, doc- tors, the clergy, the common people, yeomanry of the state, all vied each with the other in their devotion to the order of things and in their desire that the founda- tions of government be laid deep and strong for all time, all conditions, and all classes of deserving peoples. No other state sent forth such an expounder of the constitu- tion as New Hampshire raised up, as it now seems, for that purpose. In the War of 1812 our forces led by Dearborn, Rip- ley, Miller, McNiel, Bedel, Weeks, and others, won deserved renown ; and in the Mexican war a New Hampshire man fought his way to the presidency. In 1861 sons of our state were wanted and had in positions of high trust and great responsibility. In the trying years for the maintenance of government and supremacy of law we see Wilson, Grimes, Fessenden, Chase, Clark, Chandler, and Hale in charge of important committees and places in the administration of civil affairs, while the military field was alive with such men as Dix, But- ler, Foster, Griffin, Marston, Porter, another Bedel, Stevens, Cross, Harriman, and thirty-five thousand others equally brave and loyal, though they wore not the insignia of rank so high, while three thousand of our weather-beaten, storm-tossed men were doing duty in the web-foot of the army. Ladd, of New Hampshire, was the first sacrifice on his country's altar. I will not dwell upon the importance of the navy in that grand struggle for liberty, lest I trench upon ground THE PERKINS STATUE 15 most likely covered by the orator of the day, whose grace, eloquence, learning, and worth are the pride of New Hampshire men and women everywhere. And yet I know I will be permitted to observe that New Hampshire has furnished her full quota of sailing craft in every emergency from earliest colonial times to the present. And most surely is this the proud history she has made from the time John Paul Jones sailed out of Portsmouth harbor in command of the Ranger in 1777, to be followed two years later by the America, the first ship of the line ever built on this continent. Then came other battleships, the Independence and the Washing- ton, and those of lesser note. In 1817 the keel of the Alabama was laid, and in 1864 she was launched under the name of The Nezv Ha7n^shire. The interesting story of the old frigate Constitution in her varied cruisings and career ; of the Kearsarge under Commodore Winslow, and Thornton, grandson of Matthew Thornton, whose portraits adorn the interior of our Capitol, in that terrific engagement in 1864, when the Confederate steamer Alabama went to the bottom of the sea ; of the Franklin, the first United States ship to wear the flag of an admiral at the main on foreisfn service, in command of grand old Farragut, who later breathed his last in our city by the sea, and of the many, many ships of various kinds sent out from Ports- mouth, I need not stop to relate. New Hampshire peo- ple know this history, delight in it, and the country knows it. Not only has our state furnished ships, but men as well. I must not take time to recount the 1 6 THE PERKINS STATUE names of all who have gone down to the sea in ships from here, or to tell of their valor, their heroism, and their sacrifices for the flag and all it symbolizes. Their achievements, their unfailing courage and patriotism, shed lustre upon the historic page of state and nation. You, Rear Admiral Belknap, have done your share to emblazon it, and the record of him whose praises to-day are on all our lips, and whose chivalric deeds this statue is forever to commemorate, is written high on the scroll of fame. As I name the Walkers, Cravens, Parrott, Pearson, Pickering, Prentiss, Storer, Spence, Wyman, Browne, Long, Miller, and Park, you will readily call to mind their faithful service for coun- try. Dr. Browne, a native of Hinsdale, was on the Kearsarge with Thornton, under Winslow, at the time of the engagement with the Alabama, and afterward made chief of the bureau of medicine and surgery in the Navy. Dr. White of Sandwich, medical director of the Navy, was on the Huron, the Lehigh, and the Roanoke during the Civil War, and retired only last year. In the late contest with Spain, we had Daniel A. Smith of the flagship Olympta, paymaster of the fleet; Lieutenant William Winder of the Raleigh ; Assistant Surgeon Dudley N. Carpenter of the same ship ; Pay Inspector Edward Bellows of the Baltimore ; Com- mander Asa Walker of the Concord', and Lieutenant Charles L. Hussey of the Oregon in her voyage to Cuban waters, to participate in the eventful engagement off Santiago, July 3, 1898. Hon. Levi Woodbury was made secretary of the THE PERKINS STATUE jtj Navy in 1831, and Hon. William E. Chandler, the father of the new Navy, as Hon. John Langdon was of the old, was called to that important position fifty-one years later. Mr. Chandler's son is in the Navy still. Not to the Army and Navy is limited the list of our great men. Educators, inventors, journalists, lawyers, jurists, philanthropists, statesmen, doctors, scientists, clergymen, and scholars of our state have made a repu- tation world wide. And to-day in every part of this great country, in Cuba, Porto Rico, the Sandwich Islands, and in the Philippines, men of our state are giving evidence of the virility, the stamina, transmitted by the fathers, the pure and practical teaching of the mothers, and the superior training of our schools, colleges, and churches. Ours is a hardy state, and she produces hardy, rugged sons and daughters, in whose records we glory. Within the State House and the Library building we find portraits of many men who were famous. We like to study their faces and read of their deeds. In front of the Capitol we behold standing in imperial majesty the statue of Webster, the lawyer, the diplomat, the unri- valed statesman; we see also the stern features of Stark, the soldier, a hero in the War for Independence ; there, too, we look upon the bronzed form and features of Hale, who represents and typifies the transition from the old to the new order of politics, from slavery to freedom. In other sections of the state we have statues of, and monuments to, good men and women who were loyal to people, to principle, to government, and to God. 1 8 THE PERKINS STATUE But nowhere within the confines of the state until to-day has there been unveiled to human vision the enduring> material figure of one representing the Navy, and no- where is there written as there should be a fair, com- plete history of New Hampshire in the Nav}^ It is fit- ting that this statue should occupy this conspicuous place, this point of vantage, to tell to those gazing upon the heroic features, in this unsurpassed work of art, something of the life and character of Commodore Perkins, and men like him commanding the Chickasaws of the Navy. The people of the state accept the gift in the same high and patriotic spirit actuating the donors in making it, and here and now extend sincerest thanks to Mrs. Perkins and Mrs. Anderson, and all who have so willingly striven for the consummation of this glad hour. Personally, I may be allowed to felicitate myself upon the pleasure afibrded me in receiving this gift at the hands of our New Hampshire Rear Admiral, the friend of Commodore Perkins, a New Plampshire man through and through, and also, that I can extend a glad welcome to all these distinguished guests who have honored us and graced the occasion by their presence. The hymn, "From all that Dwell Below the Skies," by the chorus, was followed by the oration of Rev. William Jewett Tucker, D. D., President of Dartmouth College, who said : PRESIDENT TUCKER'S ORATION. Mr. President^ Your Excellency^ Comrades and Friends of Commodore Perkins^ and Ladies and Gentlemen : Reputation rests upon long accumulations of charac- ter and service : fame springs out of the deed of the moment. And yet it is easier to acquire reputation than it is to achieve fame. The two are not incon- sistent. The man of reputation may become famous, but not simply by virtue of those things which give him reputation. Somewhere within the years of character and service there must lie the pregnant moment out of which comes the utterance or the deed which thrills men or which m.akes them think. The man of fame, on the other hand, ought to be in himself evidently sufficient to say the word or to do the deed which makes him famous. He ought to be able to stand undiminished in the light which the accomplished act flashes back upon him. It is pathetic when the great act separates itself from the actor, and leaves him behind, or when in his changing career the man falls away from the hero. Fame, to carry the distinction a little further, is more rare than reputation because of the extraordinary and sudden demand which it makes upon personal power. It is for the most part inseparable from the passing 20 THE PERKINS STATUE opportunity or from the opportunity which if permanent is out of common reach. Possibly the man of thought may take his time to become famous. Discovery may wait on investigation. The man of action must always be the man of the occasion, and occasions demand that concentration and final use of personal power of which few men are capable, even among those who have power. The number of really capable aspirants after fame is at no time large. It is not the absence of opportunity which restricts so much as it is the absence of that last element of personal power, the clearer insight or the more daring courage, which can com- mand the opportunity when it arrives. The high distinction, however, of fame is that it rests longest and most lovingly upon those who deserve best of their fellow-men. It expresses not simply the admiration and wonder of men but their gratitude. Gratitude is on the whole the surest test of a lasting fame. So mankind marks this " survival of the fittest" by perpetuating their names, by rehearsing their deeds, by committing to the care of the noblest of the arts their very features and form that they may still have their place among living men. The memorial of Commodore Perkins has now passed into the custody of the State of New Hampshire. The gift of his wife and daughter, it has become the property of us all, open henceforth to the public view. The man whom it commemorates is before us. The record of his deeds, above which he stands, tells us why he is here. THE PERKINS STATUE 21 I congratulate the citizens of the state, and especially the residents of this city, upon the possession of this statue. The genius who has enriched other states by his works has wrought no inferior work in this his first contribution to his native state. The same touch which idealized the Minute Man of the Revolution has shaped the real and the actual in this hero of the later struggle. Many a lover of art, it is safe to predict, who has made his pilgrimage to other places where this sculptor has wrought will come hither on a like errand : many a man who walks these streets will find himself irresisti- bly drawn here even in the midst of the weariness of the day's work : many a boy from city or country coming here in mere curiosity will stay longer than he meant to stay, not knowing why, and will come again, not knowing why, till little by little he begins to learn the power of art to interpret heroism. So much are we indebted to the medium, through which we can best express our gratitude to our noble dead, and bequeath something of their essential nobleness to posterity. It remains to me to attempt to retell in simple words, and in its own setting, the story of the New Hampshire lad, who before he had reached the age of thirty had made for himself a lasting name, and had added a new lustre to the honor of his state. At fifteen enrolled as a midshipman at Annapolis, at twenty-eight he had earned the title of " the hero of Mobile Bay." I shall try to show how the intervening years led up to this height of fame : I shall also show how the years which followed gave that solid support in reputation upon 22 THE PERKINS STATUE which the fame of the earlier years rests securely. The sources of information are open to all in the reports, histories, and public prints, which have to do with the Civil War, but I desire to make special acknowledgment of the letters of Commodore Perkins, preserved by his mother, and edited by his sister, and of the tribute so generous and so full paid by his gallant brother-in-arms, himself a son of New Hampshire and worthy of a like place in its history — Rear Admiral Belknap. The presumption is always in favor of the well born. All honor to the man who announces himself to the world. All honor to the man who makes his own beginning, whose first step is to escape from his en- vironment, who makes his future out of the contrast with his past. The very antagonisms of such an origin may create personal power. But the advantage is still with the well born, for a part of his birthright is free- dom of spirit. The absolutely self-made man is seldom free from the tone of bitterness or of pathos which runs as a refrain through his life. The difference between him and other men of equal success is usually a differ- ence in tone. The joyousness of childhood, which was never his, is always missing. The great things which go before other men, and begin life for them, have no place in his life, and in their absence the spirit has no retreat into memories which can cheer and gladden it. The characteristic of George Hamilton Perkins was his freedom of spirit. He was born free. He was a child of nature. His home was dear to him, present or THE PERKINS STATUE 23 absent. All the beginnings of his life, all his early surroundings, went to make up the fiber of his nature and to give it tone. His courage was natural, almost unconscious. He did not dare to do the things which boys are wont to do, he did them. And as a man, when really brave things were to be done, he simply did them. His moral courage took the character of his natural courage, simple, prompt, unhesitating, un- conscious. I find in his letters no morbid apprehension of danger, no premonitions, no hesitancies. All is healthful, natural, free. And this same freedom of spirit declared itself in un- failing good humor. "Always keep your men and yourself in good heart," he said to DeLong as he started for the North Pole. Here lay in part the secret of his own leadership. He kept his men in good heart be- cause he kept himself in good heart. He carried into action more than coolness, a certain exhilaration of spirit which was yet utterly different from the thought- less joy of the fray. Fighting was always sad business to him. It simply could not repress the buoyancy of his nature. There was a close connection between his passionate love of kindred and his loyalty. He could not separate between his love of home and his love of duty. I know of nothing finer than the constancy and tenderness of this young man's affection for his mother. It was bound up in his love of country. On the eve of the Battle of Mobile Bay he wrote to his mother, — " I know I shall not disgrace myself, no matter how hot the 24 THE PERKINS STATUE fighting may be, for I shall be thinking of you all the time." " O Mother, Mother, I wish I could put my arms around your neck and receive your blessing and good-by once more." And this after the first engage- ment : — " For your sake I am glad to say that the Chick- asazv has won for herself a name. I tell you this be- cause I thought you would like to hear it. It is now nothing but fight, fight, fight, all the time. I can only tell you that I am well." Is it not of high advantage to be well born if that means the endowment of a free and brave spirit, and the inspiration of early associations in the hour of duty ? But the advantage of being well born may be easily lost if it is not followed by the even greater advantage of being well trained. It is difficult to measure the significance of the great callings in which men are trained until we see their effect upon the fortune of a given life. Here was a fresh, gladsome, brave boy, satisfied with the ordinary routine of study and sport, but with his future entirely undetermined. The offer of an appointment for him to the Naval Academy was made to his parents. The offer was somewhat reluctantly accepted. Doubtless the chief meaning of its accept- ance to young Perkins lay in the new surroundings, in that mixture of routine, discipline, and fun which the old graduates of the Naval Academy recall to us with so much of genuine feeling. The real meaning of the change was the commitment of a lad to a great and imperative calling. He had been taken out of the unorganized and undirected life around him that his GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS. COMMODORE UNITED STATES NAVY. BORN AT HOPKINTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE, OCTOBER 20, 1835. Died in Boston, Massachusetts, Octo- ber 28, 1899. Enteredthe Navy as Midshipman Octo- ber I, 1851, AND served HIS COUNTRY WITH Honor Forty-eight years. GENIAL AND LOVABLE AS A MAN-ABLE AND RESOURCEFUL AS AN OFFICER-GALLANT AND INSPIRING AS A LEADER-HIS IN- TREPID CONDUCT AT THE PASSAGE OF THE Forts below New Orleans-His heroism in the surrender of that CITY— His skill and Daring on Nota- ble OCCASIONS ON THE MISSISSIPPI River and in the Gulf of Mexico- his achievements in mobile bay when as commander of the chicka- SAW He Compelled the surrender of the tennessee won from the Navy Unqualified Admiration and FROM FARRAGUT THESE WORDS I "The bravest Man That Ever Trod the deck of a ship." INSCRIPTION BENEATH STATUE. THE PERKINS STATUE 25 own life might thenceforth have order and direction. Such is the power of every high caUing, of all the pro- fessions, over the individual life. They organize, train, and then direct it. But nowhere is the training so dis- tinct and absolute as in the Navy. Nowhere is it so difficult to pass from the unorganized life which lies around a profession into the organized life within. The higher grades in the Navy are practically inacces- sible from the ranks, not necessarily because of social disqualifications — men enter Annapolis without social standing — but because of the lack of scientific and pro- fessional training. The Naval Academy is entirely democratic in its terms of admission, but through the necessities of its scientific and professional training it becomes an aristocracy closer and more exclusive than can be found elsewhere in this country. The Navy as a profession has its limitations like all exclusive forms of life, but no one can fail to see its high moral bear- ings. It keeps the life entrusted to it in close contact with such moral terms as obedience, honor, and duty. When the fitting opportunity comes, the life thus trained is ready for heroism. Character and training aHke need opportunity. It was in 1856 that young Perkins graduated from Annapolis. Two years later he took his final exami- nation for the grade of passed midshipman. Even then there was no indication that his opportunity was at hand. By a singular coincidence, however, the chief service which he rendered previous to the war, his entire service after passing to the full grade of midship- 26 THE PERKIA'S STATUE man, was associated indirectly with the cause of the war. He was assigned for duty as acting master to the steamer Sumter, which was to join the United States squadron stationed off the west coast of Africa to cooper- ate with a British squadron for the suppression of the slave trade. It is a fact, which has doubtless passed out of the remembrance of most of those before me who were con- versant with the events leading up to the Civil War, that the decade from 1850 to i860 was marked by a serious agitation in the South for the reopening of the slave trade. The movement naturally originated in the Gulf or adjacent states, and found its chief support there. In 1857 the committee of the South Carolina legislature, to which the governor's slave-trade mes- sage was referred, declared in italics, "The South at large does need a reopening of the African slave trade." In Georgia an attempt to expunge the slave-trade pro- hibition from the state constitution lacked but one vote of passage. In Louisiana a bill passed the house of representatives, authorizing a company, indentured for fifteen years, to import two thousand five hundred Africans. The bill needed but two votes of passing the senate. It is not probable that a majority of the people, even of the Gulf states, were in favor of the reopening of the trade, but the movement itself was strong and constant, and was productive of increasing results. In i860 Stephen A. Douglas declared that "there was not a shadow of doubt that the slave trade had been carried on quite extensively for a long time back, and that THE PERKINS STATUE 27 there had been more slaves imported into the Southern states during the past year, 1859, than had ever been imported before in any one year, even when the slave trade was legal. It was his confident belief that over fifteen thousand slaves had been brought into this country during the past year." It is, of course, a simple coincidence, but a most sug- gestive one, that we have in the first assignment of young Perkins to responsible duty, such a vivid glimpse of the situation immediately preceding and compelling the Civil War. I say compelling, for in what other way than through war could the nation have resisted in the long issue the pressure of those economic conditions under which men were beginning to demand the revival of the slave trade ; under which so sane a man as Alexander H. Stephens was led to declare to his con- stituents in his farewell address in 1859: " My object is simply to bring clearly to your mind the great truth — that without an increase of African slaves from abroad, you may not expect or look for many more slave states. If the policy of this country, settled in its early history, of prohibiting further importations or immigrations of this class of population, is to be adhered to, the race of competition between us and our brethren of the North in the colonization of new states, which heretofore has been so well maintained by us, will soon have to be abandoned." It is perhaps not to be wondered at that at the time of the assignment of young Perkins to duty on the West African coast, there was little effectiveness in the at- 28 THE PERKINS STATUE tempts made to suppress the slave trade. The failure to accomplish anything is a matter of constant complaint in his letters. "We meet a good many slavers," he writes soon after arrival, "which carry on the traffic as palm-oil traders, and there are a great many vessels engaged in the slave trade ; but under the present sys- tem it is almost useless for us to try to do anything to stop the slave trade. Our cruisers cannot do much under our laws, and the English make the principal captures." Doubtless something of the contrast between the efficiency of the British and the American cruisers was due to the difference in the positions of their respec- tive governments in regard to the right of search, but doubtless more was due to a difference in the disposi- tion of the governments. In following out their Instruc- tions the captains of American cruisers were obliged to release ship after ship of whose illegal character there was no doubt. The cruise became under these condi- tions monotonous and discouraging, because futile. " Our vessels," he writes under date of April 15, i860, " cruise very little now after slavers. The captain thinks it useless under existing laws. A few days ago we overhauled a barque already to take her negroes on board, but after detaining her two da3^s our captain de- cided there was nothing on board that was not on her manifest and so let her go. The clipper ship Nightin- gale has just gone ashore with two thousand negroes on board. If she gets them to Havana they will bring on an average six hundred dollars apiece ; so you can cal- culate how much money will be made on her. This THE PERKINS STATUE 29 Nightingale is a powerful clipper ship, and is the prop- erty of its captain, Bowen, who is called the prince of slavers. The first time I was up the Congo, the Stimter went up fifteen miles after a slaver under his command, called the Stillana. I had information that slavers were fitting out up the river, and told the captain, and he took the Sumter up. We found the barque Sultana and the brig Kibhy with their slave decks all laid and everything perfectly ready for that cargo. We took both of the ships and detained one of them three days, and then after all our captain let her go, declaring against every proof that there was nothing in the ships but what was in her manifest. Of course these ships at once filled up with slaves and escaped — calmly sailed off' — there was no ' escape' about it, and with the money Bowen made from the sale of those slaves he has purchased this Nightingale^ one of the fastest clipper ships known." It was in the midst of this disheartening business that rumors came to the squadron of the outbreak which pre- ceded the rebellion. Under date of February 13, i860, he writes, "The mail brings us to-day very exciting news, all about the Southern insurrection. I cannot take much stock in it, nor credit such an awful thing as any prospect of the dissolution of the Union." For more than a year the men on the cruise were in a state of sus- pense, the news reaching them only in most irregular ways, but through such word as came to hand young Perkins was forming his opinion and settling into his principles of action. "I do not say much," he writes on May i, 1861, " but I feel and know that if I had the 30 THE PERKINS STATUE power I would act. I am thankful to see by the papers that the North has at last become of pretty much one mind as to the course to be pursued in regard to the re- bellion, that it must be put down and the Union must be saved." On July I, 1861, the Stmiter was ordered to proceed at once to New York, with Mr. Perkins advanced to the position of executive officer. "This old Sufnter,'" he said, " is pretty well used up, and they have not thought her fast enough to chase slavers. But as I am now first lieutenant of her, her power of speed will be thoroughly tested on her run home," a promise which he made good, making the run in thirty-six days, the quickest on record at the time. Summing up the results of the two years' cruise, saved from an utterly inglorious result by the capture of a slaver just before starting homeward, he says in his humorous vein, "As I have been both navigator and caterer of the mess, I have been making some calcula- tions and find that since we left New York we have run over fifty thousand miles, and that five of us have eaten three thousand chickens." Such, in brief statement, was the introduction of Com- modore Perkins to his career. The story which follows seems like a mere thread shot into the warp and woof of the events of the war, but it is a thread of light. It is the story of a young man just now approaching his twenty-fifth birthday, concerning whom the record often repeats itself, — " he was the youngest officer in com- mand." It is the story of a young officer promoted THE PERKINS STATUE 31 from one post of danger to another. It is the story which reaches its end, not in rank, but in duty and achievement. The war, as we have seen, was well under way when Lieutenant Perkins reached this country. As soon as he had recruited his health he was ordered as first lieu- tenant to the Cayuga, then fitting out at New York and known as one of the ninety-day gunboats. The Cayuga was under orders when he joined her, but there was a delay of several weeks in sailing, due no doubt in large degree to the fact to which Lieutenant Perkins refers in one of his letters, that none of the officers except the captain had ever been to sea before in a man-of-war ; and that here were ninety-five green hands among the crew to be broken in and gotten into some kind of dis- cipline. It was March 31, 1862, when the Cayuga reached her destination at Ship Island to take her place in the fleet there assembling, under the command of Captain Farra- gut, for the campaign of the lower Mississippi. The blockade of the Mississippi had been established within two months after the opening of the war, but as late as the spring of 1862 the river was in the possession of the Confederates from Cairo to the Gulf. The task of opening the river from above was entrusted to Captain Foote. Captain Foote was greatly assisted in his plans by Captain Eads through the peculiar type of gunboat which he had invented for river draft. The plan pro- posed for the opening of the lower Mississippi was the scheme of Assistant Secretary Fox of the Navy. The 32 THE PERKINS STATUE chief defenses of New Orleans, some ninety miles below the city, were Forts Jackson and St. Philip on either side of the river, forts constructed by the government and greatly strengthened by the enemy. It was the daring project of running the forts, chiefly with wooden ships, and capturing New Orleans, which was entrusted to Farragut. The forts were not the only defense of the approaches to the city. Across the river between the forts was a huge cable of rafts anchored at frequent points to hold it against the current. Above the forts lay the powerful ironclads, Louisiana and Manassas, with a complement of river boats which had been made ready for attack or defense. There was great activity in building other and more powerful ironclads. It was in part to anticipate their construction that the plan of running the forts was devised. Farragut arrived at Ship Island in the Hartford on February 20th, but it was not until April 23d that he was able to get every- thing in readiness for the attack. On the afternoon of that day he visited the different ships of the fleet to make sure that his orders were understood. At two o'clock on the following morning the signal to advance was given from the flag-ship. The Cayuga, which had been made the flag-ship of Captain Bailey's division of the fleet, was ordered to take the lead, and the ship was put in charge of Lieutenant Perkins as pilot — a rare tribute to the courage, judgment, and skill of this young oflicer, who had never been in action and who had never seen a length of the way over which he was to lead the fleet. The story of the advance must be told in his own FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP. APRIL 24., 1862. CAPTURE OF THE GOV. MOORE AND THREE SHIPS OF THE MONTGOMERY FLOTILLA. BELOW NEW ORLEANS, APRIL 25, 1862. SURRENDER OF NEW ORLEANS, APRIL 25, 1862. SKIRMISHES ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. JULY, 1862. PORT HUDSON AND WHITEHALL'S POINT, JULY. 1863. CAPTURE OF THE MARY SORLEY, AUGUST 5, 1864. battle of mobile bay. August 5, 1864. capture of the tennessee, AUGUST 5, 1864 Fort Powell, AUGUST 5, 1864. fort gaines, August 8, 1864. FORT Morgan, AUGUST 23, 1864. INSCRIPTION IN FRONT OF STATUE. THE PERKINS STATUE 33 modest but graphic words : " Captain Harrison paid me the compliment of letting me pilot the vessel, and though it was a starlight night 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 steer- ing of the vessel being under my charge gave me really the whole management 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 tr3nng to see my way, for I had never been up the river before. I soon saw that the guns of the forts were all aimed for the mid-stream, so I steered close under the w^alls 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 up 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, look- ing 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 eleven-inch gun settled the Gov. Mooj-e, which was one of them. A ram, the Manassas, in attempting to butt us, just missed our stern, and we soon settled the third fellow. 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 around. The Veruna fired a broadside into us instead of the enemy. Another of our 3 34 THE PERKINS STATUE gunboats attacked one of the Cayuga's prizes, — I shout- ed out, ' Don't fire into that ship, she has surrendered !' Three of the enemy's ships had surrendered to us be- fore 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. " The Cayuga still led the way up the river, and at daylight we discovered a regiment of infantry encamped on the 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 surrendering 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 Chal- mette regiment, and has been quite a famous one. "Soon after this the commodore came up in the Hartfo7'd and ordered us all to anchor and take a little rest before attacking New Orleans, which was now within twenty miles. By this time our ship had re- ceived forty-two shots in masts and hull, and six of our men had been wounded. All this time, night and day, fire-rafts and ships loaded with burning cotton had been coming down the river, and surrounded us everwhere. Besides these, the bombardment was continuous and perfectly awful. 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 ! THE PERKINS STATUE 35 " The next morning, April 25, we all got under weigh 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 ! " The first news of the passage of the forts came in a message through the Confederate lines. It ran as fol- lows : "One of the enemy's gunboats, the Cayuga, above the forts." To follow the fortune of one man in a great fight may seem to violate the sense of proportion as much as the message which put the Cayuga alone "above the forts." But this is our present interest. We are not studying the history of a campaign nor of a battle, but the career of a young man and how he bore himself in his first fight. He was given a place of rare responsibility. The result shows that he was worthy of it. The passage of the forts left New Orleans not only defenseless, but humiliated and exasperated. The city was entirely unprepared for this quick change of for- tune. There had been no sobering effect of a siege, only the irritating effect of a blockade. It was like a blow to a man in comparative health, unable to resist, but able to feel. As the fleet stood before the city on the morning of the 25th, the whole city was wrought up to the highest tension of feeling. The process of de- struction was everywhere going on. The store-houses and ships were in flames. The army of defense had withdrawn. The mob was in possession. At noon Captain Bailey was ordered to proceed to the city hall to demand the formal surrender of the city. He chose Lieutenant Perkins as his escort. The two went 36 THE PERKINS STATUE alone. As they landed they were greeted with jeers, imprecations, and threats. The mob grew more violent as they passed from the levee into the streets out of im- mediate sight of the ships. Every step added to their peril. It was a far more perilous trip than the passage of the forts. Mr. George W. Cable, who was an eye- witness of the scene, has described it in these words : " About one or two o'clock in the afternoon [as I re- member] , I being again in the store with but one door ajar, 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, bawling with the rest, 'Hurrah for Jeft' Davis ! ' About every third man there had a weapon out. Two officers of the United States Navy were walking abreast, unguarded and alone, look- ing 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 to demand the town's sur- render. It was one of the bravest deeds I ever saw done." The command of Farragut covered the Gulf. His squadron was known as the Gulf squadron. His first orders were " to clear the Mississippi." This he now proceeded to do, though contrary to his own judgment. Proceeding up the river he ran the batteries at Port Hudson and Vicksburg, but it soon became evident that THE PERKINS STATUE yj the river could not be held until the army was ready to cooperate in full measure. So long as Vicksburg re- mained in the hands of the Confederates the river could not be made free. It seemed advisable to withdraw the fleet from above New Orleans. The general disap- pointment was doubtless expressed by Lieutenant Per- kins, as he saw the movement from his position at the mouth of the Red river : " We had received orders to proceed up the Red river, but this morning we saw all the Commodore's fleet coming down the Mississippi from Vicksburg with all the troops, and there is a change of programme. It seems the Commodore has received positive orders from the department to take the fleet to Pensacola and prepare for more important service. I am sorry Commodore Farragut's winding up in this river has turned out so. I cannot help thinking that if the department had sustained him the river would have been cleared long ago." After the capture of New Orleans it was evident that the next important work of the Gulf squadron would be in Mobile Bay. It was so understood by the Confed- eracy ; with this understanding the city and harbor were put in the best possible state of defense. No more powerful fortifications were to be found along the Southern coast. But the chief reliance was placed upon the construction of ironclads. The largest naval station in the South was at Selma, one hundred and fifty miles up the Alabama river. The best engineers in the Southern navy were sent there to superintend the construction of new vessels. Admiral Buchanan, who 38 THE PERKINS STATUE commanded the Mer7'imac in her encounter with the Monitor^ was ordered from Richmond to build another ironclad on the model of the Merrhnac, but of superior power. The result was the Tennessee^ the most for- midable ironclad built in the South. Four gunboats were at the same time in process of construction. The impatience of Farragut while these preparations for attack as well as defense were going on can easily be understood. His call for men, for ships, above all for ironclads, grows almost pathetic : " Can you not spare me one of the many ironclads oft' Charleston or on the upper Mississippi?" But the exigencies of the war held him back. More than a year was to elapse after the capture of New Orleans before the new fleet could be gathered in Mobile Bay. Meanwhile the usual and commonplace work which follows a great victory was to be carried on, that of minor expeditions along the coast and up the rivers, policing and block- ading. There seems to be no fit provision in our Navy or Army for the recognition of particular acts of superior judgment or of heroism, except through promotion in rank which is liable to work an injustice. The skill and courage which Lieutenant Perkins displayed in his first action entitled him to that kind of recognition for which men in the service of other nations receive distinguished marks of honor. But there is one recog- nition of such conduct which does not wait upon any formal honor. It is the confidence of brave men who know the worth of courage. " Perkins," said General THE PERKINS STATUE 39 Weitzel, who was organizing an expedition of ten thou- sand men and a fleet of gunboats to go up through the bayous into Red river, "Perkins, you are the only man I know of fitted to go through the desperate fight- ing we shall have ; but with ^^ou 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." Word came to Lieutenant Perkins that he had been ordered to take command of the Berwick Bay fleet with the Arizona for his vessel, but before the expedi- tion could be organized Berwick Bay was captured and the plan was abandoned. Remaining in service on the Cayuga^ Lieutenant Perkins was made at the close of the year lieutenant-commander, a new grade created by congress, and was soon after given command of the New London during the absence of the commanding officer, and upon his return was transferred to the com- mand of the gunboat Scioia, the best command at that time in the squadron for an officer of that grade, according to the authority of Admiral Belknap, and assigned to duty on the blockade off' the coast of Texas. He continued in this uneventful and somewhat common service for nine months, w^hen he was ordered home on leave of absence to recruit his health. It was at this juncture that, learning of the impending attack on Mobile, he asked to be allowed to remain on duty and to take part in the attack. The request was most gratifying to Admiral Farragut, who at once acceded 40 THE PERKINS STATUE to it, and put him in command of the Chickasaw, one of the ironclads of the fleet. The Chickasazv , one of Captain Eads' boats, built at St. Louis, was just from the works. She was hardly complete enough for service when she arrived off Mobile. Her new com- mander gave all his energy and skill to putting her and her crew into condition. The crew consisted of one hundred and twenty-five men and twenty-five officers. She carried four eleven-inch guns, and had two turrets. It required fifteen engines to work her. The preparation of the ship for the fight was not confined to its material condition. The night before the fight the commander called his officers into the cabin and addressed them : — " Gentlemen, by this time to-morrow the fate of this fleet and of Mobile will be sealed. We have a duty to perform and a victory to win. I have sent for you to say that not a drop of wine, liquor, or beer is to be drunk on board of this vessel from this hour until the battle is over and the victory won, or death has come to us. It is my wish that every officer and man shall go into battle with a clear head and strong nerves. I rely upon you to conform with this requirement, confident that the Chickasaw and her crew can thus best perform their whole duty." The fleet on the day of attack, August 5, 1864, con- sisted of twenty-one wooden ships and four ironclads. The old wooden ship Hartford was still the admiral's ship. The four ironclads went into battle in the order of the seniority of their commanding officers — the Tecumseh, Captain Craven; the Manhattan, Com- THE PERA'IiVS STATUE 41 mander Nicholson ; the Wmnebago, Commander Ste- vens ; and the Chickasaw ^ Lieutenant-Commander Per- kins. The chief concern of the wooden ships was with the forts. The defense of the fleet against the power- ful Tennessee, under Admiral Buchanan, lay with the ironclads. There was every reason to fear that the Tennessee might repeat in Mobile Bay the work of the Merrimac in Hampton Roads. It was the ambition of Captain Craven of the Teciimseh, which was in the lead, to meet and disable the Tennessee. As Admiral Farragut said of him, " his heart was bent on it." With this object in immediate view, and fearing through a turn of the Tennessee that the ram would pass out of his reach, he boldly set the course of his ship over a bed of torpedoes. The ship went on, neither the mon- itor nor the ram firing a gun until they were within one hundred yards of one another. Then came a dull, sullen explosion, and the Tecumseh began at once to sink. But there was time enough to show the heroism of her commander. As he and the pilot rushed instinc- tively for one narrow way of escape. Captain Craven drew back, "You first, sir." As the pilot said on his escape, "There was nothing after." The loss of the Tecumseh broke the line of battle, which Farragut quickly recovered by pressing to the front with the more rapid wooden ships. According to the accounts of the naval experts, the battle which was now on showed some of the most magnificent seaman- ship of the war. Success often hung upon the bold- ness of orders which Farragut alone could have issued. 42 THE PERKINS STATUE But as Captain Drayton said to him in the first lull of the fight, "What we have done has been well done, sir, but it all counts for nothing as long as the Tennessee is there under the guns of Fort Morgan." "I know it," Farragut replied, "and as soon as the people have had their breakfast I am going for her." The Tennessee did not wait for the attack, but herself resumed the off'ensive. Then came the general order, "Attack the ram not only with your guns, but bows at full speed," and to the monitors, "Attack the Tennessee.'''' The time of the monitors was now fully come, and especially of the Chickasaw as the least disabled of the three remaining. Lieutenant-Commander Perkins care- fully felt his way around the great ram to find its most vulnerable point. That proved to be the stern, and there he doggedly stuck to the end of the fight, keeping up a terrific fire from the eleven-inch guns of his ship. As the record of the naval historian reads, "From that time Lieutenant-Commander Perkins was never more than fifty yards from his antagonist, and frequently the vessels were in actual contact. He planted fifty-two eleven-inch shot on the Tennessee" s casemate, most of them on the after end, where the greatest injury was done and many plates were started. A well-directed shot from the Chickasaw jammed the Tennessee's stern- port shutter so that the gun could not be run in or out, and it was not long before the rudder-chains, which were exposed on the deck of the Tennessee, were shot away. Relieving tackles for steering the ship were THE PERKINS STATUE 43 adjusted, but these, also, in a short time were carried away. Seeing that the battle was against him and that there was no hope of contending successfully against the fleet, Buchanan now ordered Captain Johnston to steer for Fort Morgan, with a view of seeking the shelter of its guns. Buchanan at this time was direct- ing a gun, when a shot from the Chickasaw jammed the shutter so that it could not be moved. He sent to the engine-room for a machinist to push out the pin of the shutter, hoping that it would fall away, thus leav- ing the port open ; and while the machinist was endeavoring to do this a heavy shot struck the edge of the port-cover outside where the man was working. The same shot mortally wounded one of the gun-crew, and drove the washers and nuts across the deck with such force as to break Buchanan's leg below the knee. He was carried to the surgeon's table below, and while his wound was being dressed he sent for Johnston (who after the accident to the pilot had been directing the movements of the ram from the pilot-house) and said : "Well, Johnston, they've got me. You'll have to look out for her now." It soon became evident to Captain Johnston that it was useless to prolong the struggle. After advising again with Admiral Buchanan he went on the casemate and put out a white flag, when at 10 a. m. the firing ceased. Through the courtesy of Commander Perkins the surrender was actually made to Captain LeRoy of the Ossipee. This is Commander Perkins's state- ment : " When Johnston came on the roof of the Tcji- ^4 THE PERKINS STATUE nessee and showed the white flag as signal of surren- der, no vessel of the fleet was as near as a quarter of a mile, but the Ossipec was approaching, and her captain was much older than myself. I was wet with perspira- tion, begrimed with powder, and exhausted by long- continued exertion. I drew back and allowed Captain LeRoy to receive the surrender, though my first lieu- tenant, Hamilton, said to me at the time : ' Captain, you are making a mistake.' " When the surrender was inade Commander Perkins took the Tennessee in tow and delivered her alongside the Hartford. Thus closed a sea fight second only in dramatic in- terest to the fight of the Merrimac and the Monitor. To no single ship, not to the Chtckasazu, belongs the whole glory of any one part of the conflict, but its part was glorious and has gone into history. The testimony from friend and foe assigns to Lieutenant-Commander Perkins the fatal work of that heroic struggle. The Tennessee's pilot asked, "Who commanded the monitor that grot under our stern?" and added, " He stuck to us like a leech. We could not get away from him. It was he who cut away the steering gear, jammed the stern-port shutters, and wounded Admiral Buchanan." Captain Johnston of the Tennessee said, "If it had not been for that 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." Admiral Bu- chanan said the Tennessee would have defeated the entire fleet if it had not been for that monitor, which THE PERKINS STATUE 45 seemed to move by magic. It would turn around three times to the Tennessee' s once and seemed to be every- where. The services of Lieutenant Perkins in this battle made such an impression on Captain James B. Eads, the builder of the Chickasaw^ that he said, "I would walk fifty miles to shake hands with the young man who commanded her." The following extract is from the report of Rear Admiral D. G. Farragut, of August 12, 1864 : " Our ironclads from their slow speed and bad steering had some difficulty in getting into and maintaining their position in line as we passed the forts, and in the subsequent encounter with the Tennessee from the same causes were not as effective as could have been desired, but I cannot give too much praise to Lieutenant-Commander Perkins who, though he had orders from the Department to return North, volun- teered to take command of the Chickasaw ^ and did his duty nobly." It was nearly a month before Fort Morgan and all the fortifications of the Bay came into the possession of the government, but with the fight of Mobile Bay the great work of the Gulf squadron ended. Admiral Farragut was soon afterwards relieved of duty, and returned to the North, the command devolving on Com- mander Palmer. Lieutenant-Commander Perkins re- mained in command of the Chickasaw until July ninth of the following year, when he was relieved of command and ordered home. On sick leave he had volunteered for the Mobile campaign, but remained in constant ser- vice for thirteen months. 46 THE PERKINS STATUE At the conclusion of the war Commander Perkins took up in dignity and with efficiency the various duties to which he was assigned from time to time at home and abroad. These duties do not generally test the commander but they do test the man. He bore the tests of his manhood as he had borne the tests of heroism. The promotion which might have naturally been expected, and which his friends in the Navy and without waited for, did not come, but no word of com- plaint ever crossed his lips. He continued to do his duty as if it had been fully recognized. He carried about with him the same cheer which had marked his early life. In all things and everywhere he declared himself to the full a gentleman. His fame has the con- stant and lasting support of his reputation. In 1896 through the efforts of the United States senators and congressmen from New Hampshire Mr. Perkins was given the rank of Commodore without pay. There were many points in the early life of Commo- dore Perkins of dramatic interest, some of which might have been seized upon for public presentation : the youthful figure standing at the bow of the Cayuga in the early dawn, leading the fleet in the passage of the forts ; the companion of Captain Bailey in the perilous march through the streets of New Orleans ; the com- mander of the Chichasazv delivering over the Tennessee to his ranking officer on the Ossipee. But the sculptor has done wisely in putting before us the man in his maturity. Commodore Perkins was more than any one or all of the incidents which declare his fame. He THE PERKINS STATUE 47 stands before us the man of capacity, great in action, great in reserve. As one recalls his history, as one looks upon the man, one feels assured that had he gone over into the service of the late war the fame of his later years would have equaled that of his earlier years. In placing the statue of Commodore Perkins, a hero of the Civil War, upon these grounds, the State of New Hampshire makes no comparison with other heroes of this or of other wars. The act is representative. It is the simple acknowledgment by the State of New Hamp- shire of that patriotism, whenever and wherever shown, which has its highest expression in heroism. And if it is asked why this revival, after the lapse of a genera- tion, of the memories of a civil war, my answer is still the same. Heroism is priceless ; the reminder of it is always timely. No nation may conserve its unit}- at the cost of sentiment. We have come together as a people, not by ignoring the great deeds of the past, nor by retiring those who wrought them. There has been liberty of remembrance and of expression North and South. A few years since I went out for the afternoon from Washington to Alexandria. My errand was to see old Christ church because of its association with Washingr- ton. But on my way my eye caught sight of a statue in one of the public squares. It was a statue, simple and unadorned, of a Confederate cavalryman, standing with drooped head, with his slouch hat under his left arm. It bore no name, but it told its story, — the story 48 THE PERKINS STATUE of a lost cause. I came back to it again and again. My errand was quickly done that I might return once more. I acknowledged, because I felt, the sentiment which it was meant to inspire. Let no false sensitiveness retire the heroism of the cause which won. In allowing and honoring that lib- erty which neither forbids nor denies to any the pathos of an irrevocable past, let us not withhold in any meas- ure the glory of that heroism which has made possible the future of a reunited land.. The chorus sang "America," the band gave "The Star Spangled Banner," and the benediction was pro- nounced by Right Reverend William W. Niles, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. As the closing act of the very interesting exercises the battery fired a commodore's salute of eleven guns, and, as the last gun sounded, the sailors hauled down the commo- dore's flag, the drums and trumpets giving the rufile and the flourish. H 99 78 ^'' ^... ^^" .' . « "^'^^ '••' A<^ .^^ ^1 0' V. > <'. " '•^'^"^""' /^^o ^>^1^^/ 0^ %. ^-^-^ , -^0^ .^q^ 1-^^ . A -^ <'.0\i*/J^_*. "o. J> c°V-. '^^ " O"^" -^'* "^-^ ' ' '^^ -"- ^^ 0'- /'>>^.i"-^ C" * vV o V •0^ ,0- o • 0^ V--...- y^ -o. ^^--^ ■^ . / .V --. \'^ . V- , o " o , <0 ^ ^O -1 o \,-i^ Z,^--. v./ .-kSfe'. 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