Nancy Perriam (April 1769 – January 24, 1865) was an English woman who served in Royal Navy warships during the Napoleonic Wars. Born Ann Letton and also known as Ann Perriam, she originated from

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

, Devon. She fought in several notable naval battles, including the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

in 1798, serving as a powder monkey and medical assistant. When not in battle she assisted with the domestic needs of officers. In retirement Perriam worked as a

street seller A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationa ...

of fish; she was one of three women denied the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 because of their sex.

Life

Military service

Ann Letton was born in April 1769 in

, Devon; she went by the forename Nancy. Letton married the Royal Navy seaman Edward Hopping in 1788. Hopping served in the 36-gun

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Crescent'', commanded by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

James Saumarez. With the French Revolutionary Wars ongoing, in 1795 ''Crescent'' returned to England for repairs after serving off the coast of France. From there Letton, as a woman of good character and wife of one of the crew members, was allowed to come on board ''Crescent'' and sail with her husband. Later in the same year Saumarez was given command of a different ship, the 74-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

HMS ''Orion''. He brought Hopping with him and thus Letton also joined ''Orion''. Also serving in the ship was her brother. Letton continued with her husband, who served as the second gunner in ''Orion'', during battles helping to prepare gun cartridges for the guns as a powder monkey. Letton fought in such a role at the Battle of Groix on 23 June the same year, at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 14 February 1797, and at the

on 1 August 1798. When not in battle Letton was employed with domestic duties on behalf of Saumarez and his officers. As they went into battle at Cape St. Vincent she was mending one of Saumarez's shirts, and subsequently during that battle also assisted with the tending of the wounded. She recalled how while assisting the ship's surgeon with an operation on an injured

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

Retirement

Hopping drowned in 1802, and Letton instead married John Perriam in 1805. Now known as Nancy, or Ann, Perriam, after her second husband also died she worked as a

of fish in Exmouth until the age of 80 when she retired, unable to continue to work. Locals campaigned for her to receive a government pension for her service, and in retirement she was given £10 a year. In 1847 the Naval General Service Medal was created for veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. It was stipulated that anyone "without any reservation as to sex" would be entitled to the award. Perriam was one of three women who applied to receive the medal, alongside Nile veteran Mary Anne Ridley and Battle of Trafalgar veteran Jane Townshend. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Byam Martin was appointed to consider applications for the medal; his committee was initially going to accept Townshend's request because of strong testimonies from her ex-captain. This decision was reversed, likely because of disapproval from Queen Victoria who was an opponent of burgeoning women's rights. Martin wrote that "there were too many people in the fleet equally useful and it will leave the army exposed to innumerable applications of the same nature". Historian Suzanne J. Stark argues that this reasoning was "clearly nonsense", highlighting that Daniel Tremendous McKenzie received the medal because he was born on board the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Tremendous'' during the Glorious First of June. His rank on the medal roll is listed as "baby"; when Perriam and Ridley sent in their applications for the medal they were immediately refused. Perriam died on 24 January 1865, aged 95, having outlived all of her children. She left a will worth £100. Perriam was buried in Littleham churchyard.

Citations

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perriam, Nancy 1769 births 1865 deaths 18th-century English women 19th-century English women 18th-century English people 19th-century English people People from Exmouth Women in 18th-century warfare People of the French Revolutionary Wars Women in European warfare