John Perkins (Royal Navy officer)

John Perkins was probably born in Kingston, Jamaica in the middle of the 18th century. Very little is known of his birth or early life. One account written 30 years after his death described him as of mixed race.[1] At the time, mixed-race people typically became slaves like their black parent. But occasionally a mixed-race son of a prominent white man was acknowledged by his father and given an education to prepare him for a clerical or administrative career; this may have been the case with Perkins.[2]

In 1775 Perkins first appears in the records of the Royal Navy when he was appointed to the 50-gun HMS Antelope, the flagship of the commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station as an extra pilot. "His knowledge of the different ports, &C. in the West Indies was, perhaps, seldom equalled, and never surpassed."[3]

In 1778 he was placed in command of the schooner Punch, a ship probably armed with ten 2 or 4-pounder guns, though no detailed records survive. At this time he received his nickname Jack Punch, most probably earned because of the name of his command. During the next two years Perkins claimed to have captured 315 ships, an average of three per week, a claim that was later endorsed by the Jamaican House of Assembly.[4]

Admiral Sir Peter Parker, and subsequent admirals, used Perkins in clandestine missions against the French at Cap-Français, a province on the North Coast of Saint-Domingue, and the Spanish in Havana, Cuba. Parker eventually commissioned Perkins as a lieutenant and gave him command of Endeavour.[5] The 12-gun Endeavour[6] was an American-built schooner with a keel of 60 feet and beam of 20.[7] Governor Archibald Campbell stated in a letter of recommendation that "By the gallant exertions of this officer some hundred vessels were taken, burnt, or destroyed, and above three thousand men added to the list of prisoners of war in favour of Britain; in short, the character and conduct of Captain Perkins were not less admired by his superior officers in Jamaica, than respected by those of the enemy."[4]

In 1782 Perkins captured a much larger vessel containing several important French officers.[4][8] The commander of the Jamaica station, Admiral George Rodney, promoted Perkins to master and commander of Endeavour, and added two guns to her raising her armament to fourteen guns, thus putting her on the official Navy List as a sloop-of-war.[9][10][11] Rodney's promotion of Perkins was disallowed.[9] Rodney wrote later to Philip Stephens, First Secretary to the Admiralty, in an attempt to confirm the promotion. "I must therefore desire you will please represent to their Lordships, that on my arrival at Jamaica, I found Mr. Perkins lieutenant and commander of the Endeavour schooner – that he bore an excellent character, and had done great service."[9] Despite his request Perkins was demoted back to the rank of lieutenant and the guns ordered to be removed. At the end of the American War of Independence he was "on the beach" (meaning that he was without a posting on a ship) as a half-pay lieutenant.

For several years between 1783 and 1790 Perkins disappeared from the books of the Royal Navy. It may be during this time that he turned to piracy as there is a French source and several English records that describe him as such.[12][13]

In 1790, fifteen years after he had first joined the navy, Perkins made an application to the Jamaican House of Assembly for their assistance in achieving his promotion. After presenting his certificates to the assembly, the assembly investigated Perkins’ claim and resolved to make an application to the Admiralty for his promotion to post-captain.[4]

In 1790 Perkins volunteered once more and served under Admiral Philip Affleck. For several years there is no record that he held an official command but in 1792 Captain Thomas McNamara Russell of the 32-gun frigate HMS Diana, on a relief mission to the authorities on Saint-Domingue, was informed that a British officer was under arrest and due to be executed in Jérémie for supplying arms to the rebel slaves. Officially Britain and France were not at war and Russell requested that Perkins be released. The French authorities promised that he would be and then later refused. After numerous letters had been exchanged Russell determined that the French had no intention to release Perkins. Russell sailed around Cap-Français to Jérémie and met with the 12-gun HMS Ferret under Captain Nowell. It was agreed that Nowell's first lieutenant, an officer named Godby, would go ashore and recover Perkins whilst the two ships remained offshore within cannon shot, ready to land an invasion force if need be.[3] Lieutenant Godby landed and after negotiations Perkins was released.[14] Perkins then disappears once more from the records for a short time.

In September 1793 Perkins returned to the books of the Navy. Perkins is listed as commanding HMS Spitfire, a 4-gun schooner.[15] He accompanied Commodore John Ford's squadron when the British, at the request of French Royalists mounted a campaign against Saint-Domingue.[16] On arrival Ford's squadron captured amongst other vessels a schooner belonging to the French Navy named Convention Nationale.[17] She was renamed HMS Marie Antoinette and Ford gave command of her to Perkins. Ford described Perkins as "an Officer of Zeal, Vigilance and Activity."[18] In 1794 Marie Antoinette made up part of the squadron commanded by the newly promoted Rear-Admiral Ford that accompanied Brigadier-General John Whyte that briefly captured Port-au-Prince. At the time some forty five vessels lay in harbour and these were all made prizes.[19] In 1796 Marie Antoinette made up part of a small squadron that captured the schooner Charlotte and brig Sally.[20] Perkins remained with her until he was promoted master and commander.

Promotion to commander

The circumstances of his promotion are unrecorded, but in 1797 Admiral Sir Hyde Parker promoted Perkins to commander of HMS Drake,[21][22][23] a brig of 14 guns. Subsequently, HMS Drake, in company with a squadron under Captain Hugh Pigot, consisting of the 32-gun frigates HMS Hermione and HMS Quebec, and the cutter HMS Penelope, were involved in the cutting out of eight enemy ships at Port-de-Paix on 20 April 1797.[24][25] On 25 October 1798 Drake captured the French privateer La Favorite. The prize money for Perkins (amounting to 2/8 of the total value of the vessel) was 53 pounds 13 shillings and 9 pence.[26]

The front page of the HMS Arab logbook 1800 from the National Archives, Kew

In inflation-adjusted terms this would be approximately £5,600 as of 2021.[27]

In Drake, in company with Solebay, Captain Poyntz, Perkins captured four French corvettes, the 18-gun Egyptienne, the 16-gun Eole, the 12-gun Levrier and the 8-gun Vengeur on 24 November 1799 off Cape Tiburon.[28][29]

Promotion to post-captain

Perkins was promoted on 6 September 1800 to post-captain[30] in the 32-gun frigate HMS Meleager.[31] In early 1801 Perkins moved to the 22-gun HMS Arab.[32]

Battle of West Key 1801 courtesy of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.

Between 20 November and 4 December 1803 Tartar was in company with Commodore John Loring's squadron when the squadron captured the French ships of war Le Decouverte, La Clorinde, La Surveillante, La Vertu, and Le Cerf.[38] La Surveillante and La Clorinde were bought into British service. La Surveillante had on board at her surrender General Rochambeau the commander of the French forces on Saint-Domingue.[39] On 25 July 1804, while in company with HMS Vanguard under Captain James Walker, Tartar was involved in the capture of the French 74-gun ship of the line Duquesne, and two 16-gun brigs sailing with her. Tartar outsailed her larger companions and kept the Duquesne and her consorts engaged until the larger British ships came up and the French squadron surrendered.[40][41] A seaman's share of the prize money aboard the Tartar for the capture was 6 shillings and 8 pence. A petty officer's share was 1 pound, 13 shillings and 11 pence.[42]

In January 1804 Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the commander of the slave rebellion in Haiti declared independence from France. Perkins was sent by Admiral Duckworth and Governor Nugent in Tartar as a British observer to the island. Perkins was accompanied by Edward Corbet. Corbet was a government advisor appointed by Nugent.[43] Perkins described the situation on Haiti in his official letters to the Admiral. "I assure you that it is horrid to view the streets in different places stained with the Blood of these unfortunate people, whose bodies are now left exposed to view by the river and sea side. In hauling the seine the evening we came to our anchor several bodies got entangled in it, in fact such scenes of cruelty and devastation have been committed as is impossible to imagine or my pen describe."[44]

In March 1804 Perkins resigned his commission on health grounds. It is rumoured that Perkins finally visited England in 1805 although there is no supporting evidence for this. There is no further record of his involvement with the Navy or Haiti. Perkins died on 27 January 1812 at his home in Jamaica.[3] According to his obituary he suffered for many years with a condition described as "asthma" and that this was the cause of his demise.

There is no record of a wife and the records concerning his estate have disappeared.

His obituary in the Naval Chronicle described his actions while in command of the schooner Punch:

he annoyed the enemy more than any other officer, by his repeated feats of gallantry, and the immense number of prizes he took.[3]

• The Naval Chronicle. 17. Bunney & Gold.
• The Naval Chronicle. 27. Bunney & Gold.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Clowes, Sir William (2003). The Royal Navy: Vol. 4: A History – From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-013-2.
• Clowes, Sir William (2003). The Royal Navy: Vol. 5: A History – From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-014-0.
• Costello, Ray (2012). Black Salt: Seafarers of African Descent on British Ships. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-818-4.
• Hubert, Cole (1967). Christophe King of Haiti. Eyre & Spottiswoode. ISBN 0-413-25786-X.
• Donnithorne, Christopher H. (undated) Documentation of the British Ships and Battle with the Danes on March 3, 1801, St. Thomas, Danish West Indies. (Unpublished paper accessed 2 September 2015).
• James, William; Chamier, Frederick (1837). The naval history of Great Britain: from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV. 2. London: R. Bentley.
• James, William; Chamier, Frederick (1837). The naval history of Great Britain: from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV. 3. London: R. Bentley.
• Mundy, Basil (2007). The Life And Correspondence Of The Late Admiral Lord Rodney V2. Kessinger Publishing Co. ISBN 0-548-21801-3.
• Rodney, George Brydges (1932). Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. J.J. Little and Ives for The New-York Historical Society.
• Rodney, George Brydges (1932). Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 2. J.J. Little and Ives for The New-York Historical Society.
• Rodger, N.A.M. (2006). The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-102690-1.
• Isaac Schomberg (1802). Naval chronology; or, An historical summary of naval & maritime events, from the time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace, 1802. 5. C, Rowarth, Bell Lane, Fleet Street. p. 378.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-84415-700-8.
• Wright, Philip (2002). Lady Nugent's Journal of Her Residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805. University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 1-84415-143-3.

• Battle of the West Kay 1801, An account of the battle between HMS Arab and the Danish Brig Lougen
• The Rise of Emperor Dessalines including letters from Perkins to Admiral Duckworth 1804
• Ships of the Old Navy HMS Tartar
• HM Sloop Endeavour
• HMS Arab
• HMS Drake
• HMS Meleager
• HMS Ferret. The ship under Lieutenant Nowell that rescued Perkins from execution on Saint-Domingue in 1791
• National Maritime Museum
• The Institute of Jamaica