, erected in 1902 Born in
Contoocook, New Hampshire, in the northern part of
Hopkinton to the Honorable
Hamilton Eliot Perkins, George was appointed as acting
midshipman in October 1851 and graduated from the
U.S. Naval Academy with the class of 1856.
Early career During the rest of that decade Midshipman Perkins served on at sea on the
sloop of war Cyane, the storeship
Release and the
steamer Sumpter. He attained the ranks of master in 1859 and
lieutenant in February 1861, on the eve of the Civil War. Perkins spent the conflict's first several months in the
Sumpter, operating on anti-
slavery patrols. In early 1862 he was assigned as executive officer to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron (WGBS) Unadilla-class gunboat under its commanding officer Lieutenant N.B. (Napoleon Bonaparte) Harrison in which he performed distinguished service during the 1862 campaigns to capture
New Orleans and the lower
Mississippi River. During Admiral Farragut's assault up-river towards
New Orleans April 24–25, the
Cayuga, with Lt. Perkins at the wheel through the storm of shot and shell, was the first warship to pass forts Jackson and St. Phillip. The
Cayuga found itself alone north of the forts and being assailed by eleven Confederate vessels, including the sloop rigged steamer C.S.S.
Governor Moore which the
Cayuga sank, and the ram C.S.S.
Manassas, whose attack narrowly missed the ''Cayuga's'' stern. Once the fleet lay at anchor in the river off
New Orleans, Lieutenant Perkins accompanied Captain
Theodorus Bailey, U.S.N., in the first boat sent ashore, to demand the surrender of the city (which was refused). He was next
executive officer of the steam sloop
Pensacola, receiving promotion to
lieutenant commander at the end of 1862. His service on the Mississippi and in the
Gulf of Mexico continued in 1863–1865, including command of gunboats
New London and
Sciota, and the
monitor Chickasaw. While in the latter ship, his aggressive and effective conduct during the August 1864
Battle of Mobile Bay was a major factor in the capture of the
Confederate ironclad Tennessee.
Post-Civil War In the years immediately following the Civil War, Lieutenant Commander Perkins was superintendent of iron-clads at New Orleans, executive officer of the steam sloop
Lackawanna in the
North Pacific, and had ordnance duty at the
Boston Navy Yard. Reaching the rank of
commander in early 1871, he spent the next decade as commanding officer of the storeship
Relief and gunboat
Ashuelot and had further shore duty at
Boston. Perkins was promoted to
captain in 1882 and commanded the Pacific Station
flagship during the mid-1880s. Captain Perkins' subsequent active service was limited to
court-martial duty. He was transferred to the Retired List in October 1891, but in 1896 received a Congressionally authorized promotion to the retired rank of commodore in recognition of his gallantry and skill during the Battle of Mobile Bay three decades earlier. Commodore Perkins died at Boston on 28 October 1899. Perkins was a First Class Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. ==Family==