Perry (Commodore Perry), 1884
Named for Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, who was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on 10 April 1794, and became a midshipman in the Navy in 1809. Perry commanded the Gulf Squadron during the latter stages of the Mexican War, and in 1853-54, while commanding the East India Squadron, negotiated the historic treaty which opened Japan to American commerce. He died 4 March 1858 in New York City.
Builder: Union Drydock Company, Buffalo, New York
Length: 165'
Beam: 25'
Draft: 11' 2"
Displacement: 282 tons
Cost: $83,000
Commissioned: 29 June 1884
Decommissioned: N/A
Disposition: Lost on 27 July 1910
Machinery: Direct-acting steam engine; 1 propeller
Performance & Endurance:
Max:
Cruising:
Complement: 41
Armament: 2
Cutter History:
The iron-hulled Perry was a replacement for an 1860s vessel of the same name. She cost $83,000. She was assigned to Lake Erie for duty and her assigned cruising grounds were the entire lake. She was placed out of commission each winter at the close of the shipping season, typically in mid-November, and her crew released. She was placed back in commission at the start of the shipping season, typically during May of each year. On 23 September 1893 she was ordered to New York to be fitted out for a cruise to the Pacific. She arrived at New York on 20 October 1893 where she carried out "temporary duty" in New York waters.
After fitting out she was ordered to sail to San Francisco, via the Straits of Magellan, on 7 December 1894. She arrived at San Francisco on 25 April 1895. She was then assigned to duty with the Bering Sea Patrol.
On 9 April 1898 she was ordered to "cooperate" with the Navy during the Spanish-American War and was ordered to report to the Commandant of the Puget Sound Naval Station. She was returned to Treasury Department control on 15 August 1898.
She was lost on Tonki Point, St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands on 27 July 1910. All hands were saved and were "distributed among the fleet." The wreck remained visible for the next few years and slowly deteriorated.
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown.
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown.
Historic postcard.
"U.S. Revenue Steamer [Cutter] 'Perry'"; no date; photo number 9638; photographer unknown.
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown. Scanned from E.P. Bertholf's scrapbook (MB 318).
A photo of the wreck of the USRC Perry.
"U.S. Rev. Cutter PERRY wrecked on Tonki Point, St. Paul Island."; no date/photo number; photographer unknown. Scanned from E.P. Bertholf's scrapbook (MB 318).
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown. Scanned from E.P. Bertholf's scrapbook (MB 318).
A photo of the wreck of the USRC Perry.
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown. Scanned from E.P. Bertholf's scrapbook (MB 318).
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown. Scanned from E.P. Bertholf's scrapbook (MB 318).
Photos of the wreck of the USRC Perry.
No caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown. Scanned from E.P. Bertholf's scrapbook (MB 318).
A photo of the wreck of the USRC Perry.
Sources:
Cutter History File, Coast Guard Historian's Office.
Donald Canney. U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.
U.S. Coast Guard. Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).