John Perkins (died 27 January 1812), nicknamed Jack Punch, was a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer. Perkins was perhaps the first mixed race commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. He rose from obscurity to be a successful

ship's captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

in the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Royal Navy. He captained a 10-gun schooner during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and in a two-year period captured at least 315 enemy ships. Later in his career Perkins acted for the navy as a

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

and undertook missions to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

(modern day

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

). At the start of the slave revolt in Saint-Domingue he was captured in Cap-Français and sentenced to death for supplying the rebel slaves with weapons. After his rescue he was promoted commander in 1797 and then post-captain in 1800. Perkins went on to cause an international incident with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

when he fired on two of their ships during peacetime. Toward the end of his career he participated in the capture of the islands of Saint Eustatia and Saba from the French. Perkins also attacked a 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 colum ...

with a 32-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 ...

Early life and career

John Perkins was probably born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

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. At the time in the colonial

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, 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.Costello (2012), p. 97 In 1775 Perkins first appears in the records of the Royal Navy when he was appointed to the 50-gun , the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station as an extra

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. "His knowledge of the different ports, &C. in the West Indies was, perhaps, seldom equalled, and never surpassed."'' Naval Chronicle'', 27 (1812), pp. 351–352 In 1778 he was placed in command of the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''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 House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

.Journals of the Jamaican house of assembly, 8 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

, and the Spanish in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. Parker eventually commissioned Perkins as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and gave him command of .ADM 51/4181 Captains' logs Endeavour 31 May 1776 – 21 Feb 1781 The 12-gun ''Endeavour''Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.114. was an American-built schooner with a

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

of 60 feet and

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of 20.Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. Page 230 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." In 1782 Perkins captured a much larger vessel containing several important French officers.Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. Page 490 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 In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

.The Life and Correspondence of the Late Admiral Rodney. Godfrey Basil Mundy, p. 344,345Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. Page 511Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 2. 685 Rodney's promotion of Perkins was disallowed. 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." 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 Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

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 Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

as there is a French source and several English records that describe him as such.Lady Nugent's Journal of Her Residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805, Shepherd, p. 311,312Christophe: King of Haiti, Cole, p. 303 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 Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

for his promotion to post-captain.

Capture on Saint-Domingue

In 1790 Perkins volunteered once more and served under Admiral

Philip Affleck Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Philip Affleck ( December 21, 1799) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. He was the younger brother of Sir Edmund Affleck. Affleck held various commands throughout the latter half of the 18th Century, most notably as ...

. 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 , 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 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. Lieutenant Godby landed and after negotiations Perkins was released.' Naval Chronicle'', 17 (1807), pp. 458–462 Perkins then disappears once more from the records for a short time.

Return to service

In September 1793 Perkins returned to the books of the Navy. Perkins is listed as commanding , a 4-gun schooner. ADM 8/69 Admiralty Records held at The National Archives, Kew He accompanied Commodore John Ford's squadron when the British, at the request of French Royalists mounted a campaign against Saint-Domingue.The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, Volume 4, p. 214 On arrival Ford's squadron captured amongst other vessels a schooner belonging to the French Navy named ''Convention Nationale''.Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.216 She was renamed and Ford gave command of her to Perkins. Ford described Perkins as "an Officer of Zeal, Vigilance and Activity." In 1794 ''Marie Antoinette'' made up part of the squadron commanded by the newly promoted Rear-Admiral Ford that accompanied

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

John Whyte that briefly captured

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

. At the time some forty five vessels lay in harbour and these were all made prizes. In 1796 ''Marie Antoinette'' made up part of a small squadron that captured the schooner ''Charlotte'' and brig ''Sally''. 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 ,British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792, Winfield, p. 313Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.102National Archives, Kew: ADM 36/14999 Admiralty: Royal Navy Ships' Musters (Series I) 1795 May – 1798 Aug HMS Drake a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

of 14 guns. Subsequently, HMS ''Drake'', in company with a squadron under Captain Hugh Pigot, consisting of the 32-gun frigates and , and the cutter , were involved in the cutting out of eight enemy ships at Port-de-Paix on 20 April 1797.The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, p. 334, 335Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 2, James, p. 113 On 25 October 1798 ''Drake'' captured the French

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

''La Favorite''. The

prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to t ...

for Perkins (amounting to 2/8 of the total value of the vessel) was 53 pounds 13

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or ...

and 9

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

. In inflation-adjusted terms this would be approximately £ as of 20. In ''Drake'', in company with , 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.British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792, Winfield, p. 214

Promotion to post-captain

Perkins was promoted on 6 September 1800 to post-captain in the 32-gun frigate .Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.222 In early 1801 Perkins moved to the 22-gun .Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.18 HMS Arab Privateer Experiment and Danish Brig Lougen 1801

HMS Arab Privateer Experiment and Danish Brig Lougen 1801

Battle of West Key

In March 1801, ''Arab'', in company with the 18-gun British privateer ''Experiment'', caught and challenged two Danish vessels, the

, under the command of Captain Carl Wilhelm Jessen, and the

''Den Aarvaagne''. ''Arab'' approached the two Danish vessels and, according to Danish accounts, without warning, fired several broadsides at ''Lougen'' before the Danish ship was able to return fire. ''Lougen'', which had escaped serious damage, began to return fire steadily. ''Experiment'' initially attempted to capture ''Aarvaagne'', but ''Aarvaagne'' obeyed orders to stay out of the fight and instead escaped south to

Christiansted Christiansted is the largest town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. The town is named after King Christian VI of Denmark. History The town was founded ...

St Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

with its intelligence on British actions. ''Experiment'' then joined ''Arab'' in the attack on ''Lougen'', with the two British ships sandwiching the Danish ship. During the engagement, which lasted for over an hour, one of ''Lougen''s shots struck the ''Arab''s

cathead A cathead is a large wooden beam located on either side of the bow of a sailing ship, and angled forward at roughly 45 degrees. The beam is used to support the ship's anchor when raising it (weighing anchor) or lowering it (letting go), and for ...

and loosed the bower anchor. (Perkin's reported that it was the first shot from ''Lougen'' that loosed the bower anchor.) ''Arab''s crew was unable to cut the anchor free, leaving ''Arab'' unable to manoeuvre effectively. This allowed Jessen to steer a course that brought him under the protection of the shore batteries and then into St Thomas. Captain Jessen of the ''Lougen'' was awarded a presentation sword made of gold, a medal and 400 rixdollars (the equivalent of a whole year's salary for a Captain in the Danish Navy) by the Danish government for his actions. On 13 April 1801 ''Arab'' captured the Spanish privateer ''Duenda''.

Capture of Saint Eustatia and Saba Islands

On 16 April 1801 Perkins, in company with

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Richard Blunt and a detachment of the

Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

, laid siege to and captured the wealthy islands of

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius (, ), also known locally as Statia (), is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially " public body") of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, so ...

and Saba, capturing their French garrisons, forty-seven

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

and 338 barrels of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

.The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, p. 471Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 3, James, p. 150 Eustatia had been the most profitable of the islands in the Dutch West Indies. After several further cruises Perkins was transferred in 1802 into the 32-gun frigate .Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.345

Later career

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''. ''La Surveillante'' and ''La Clorinde'' were bought into British service. ''La Surveillante'' had on board at her surrender

General Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...

the commander of the French forces on Saint-Domingue. On 25 July 1804, while in company with 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.Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 3, James, p. 186National Archives, Kew: ADM 51/1447 Captains' logs Tartar 16 Apr 1802 – 30 Apr 1804 A seaman's share of the

aboard the ''Tartar'' for the capture was 6

and 8

. A petty officer's share was 1

pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: Units * Pound (currency), a unit of currency * Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom * Pound (mass), a unit of mass * Pound (force), a unit of force * Rail pound, in rail profile Symbols * Po ...

, 13

and 11

Final mission to Haiti

In January 1804

Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent First Empire of Haiti, Haiti under the Constitution of Haiti, 1 ...

, the commander of the slave rebellion in

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, a government advisor appointed by Nugent.Lady Nugent's Journal of Her Residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805, Shepherd 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."Christophe: King of Haiti, Cole, pp. 140–143

Retirement and death

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. According to his obituary he suffered for many years with a condition described as "

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

" and that this was the cause of his demise. 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." The will of John Perkins of Kingston, "a captain in His Majesty's Royal Navy", was proved in 1819. The ''Jamaica Almanac'' for 1812 records Perkins as owning the Mount Dorothy estate in

Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica Saint Andrew is a parish, situated in the southeast of Jamaica in the county of Surrey. It lies north, west and east of Kingston, and stretches into the Blue Mountains. In the 2011 census, it had 573,369, the highest population of any of th ...

and 26 slaves. It is probable that he had used some of his prize money to acquire property in Jamaica.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *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).
* * * * * * * * *

External links

* ttp://www.nathanielturner.com/dessalines.htm The Rise of Emperor Dessalines including letters from Perkins to Admiral Duckworth 1804br>Ships of the Old Navy HMS TartarHM Sloop EndeavourHMS ArabHMS DrakeHMS MeleagerHMS Ferret. The ship under Lieutenant Nowell that rescued Perkins from execution on Saint-Domingue in 1791National Maritime MuseumThe Institute of Jamaica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, John Royal Navy officers 1812 deaths People from Kingston, Jamaica Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Black British history Black British military personnel British slave owners Year of birth unknown