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Matthew Perry (naval officer)

Commodore
Matthew Perry
Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry.png
Perry in the 1850s, in a photograph by Mathew Brady.
Birth name Matthew Calbraith Perry
Born (1794-04-10)April 10, 1794
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died March 4, 1858(1858-03-04) (aged 63)
New York, New York, U.S.
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch  United States Navy
Years of service 1809–1858
Rank Commodore
Commands held USS Shark
Africa Squadron
USS Fulton
New York Navy Yard
USS Mississippi
Mosquito Fleet
Battles/wars

Little Belt Affair
War of 1812

Second Barbary War
Suppression of the Slave Trade

Opening of Japan
Mexican–American War

Spouse(s) Jane (Slidell) Perry
Relations
  • Christopher Perry (father)
  • Sarah Wallace (Alexander) Perry (mother)
  • Raymond Henry Jones Perry (brother)
  • Oliver Hazard Perry (brother)
  • James Alexander Perry (brother)
  • Nathaniel Hazard Perry (brother)
  • Sarah Wallace Perry (sister)
  • Anna Marie Perry Rodgers (sister)
  • Jane Tweedy Perry Butler (sister)

Little Belt Affair
War of 1812

Second Barbary War
Suppression of the Slave Trade

Opening of Japan
Mexican–American War

Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a Commodore of the United States Navy and commanded a number of ships. He served in several wars, most notably in the Mexican–American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.

Perry was very concerned with the education of naval officers and helped develop an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the US Navy and came to be considered The Father of the Steam Navy in the United States.

Matthew Perry was the son of Sarah Wallace (Alexander) and Navy Captain Christopher R. Perry and the younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry. Matthew Perry received a midshipman's commission in the Navy in 1809, and was initially assigned to the USS Revenge, under the command of his elder brother.

Perry's early career saw him assigned to several ships, including the USS President (where he served as an aide to Commodore John Rodgers (1772–1838)) which had been in a victorious engagement over a British vessel, HMS Little Belt, shortly before the War of 1812 was officially declared. He continued in this capacity during the War of 1812. Perry was also aboard President when it engaged HMS Belvidera when Rodgers himself fired the first shot of the war at this vessel with a following shot that resulted in a cannon bursting, wounding Rodgers and Perry and killing and wounding others. Perry transferred to the USS United States, and saw little fighting in the war afterwards, since the ship was trapped in port at New London, Connecticut.


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