 USS Commodore Perry, Pamunkey River, photographed by Timothy H. O'Sullivan
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Commodore Perry |
| Namesake | Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry |
| Launched | 1859 at Williamsburg, New York |
| Acquired | 2 October 1861 |
| Commissioned | October 1861 |
| Decommissioned | 26 June 1865 |
| Fate | Sold, 12 July 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Gunboat |
| Displacement | 512 long tons (520 t) |
| Length | 143 ft (44 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) |
| Complement | 125 |
| Armament |
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USS Commodore Perry was a 512-long-ton (520-tonne) steamer acquired by the Union Navy in 1861, the first year of the American Civil War. She was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819), a naval officer who had commanded American forces on Lake Erie in the War of 1812.[1] In January–February 1862, Commodore Perry was part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, taking part in the attack, in cooperation with the Union Army, which resulted in the surrender of Roanoke Island by the Confederate States of America. She participated in several other campaigns through 1862, including the capture of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and army–navy expeditions against Franklin, Virginia, and Hertford, North Carolina. From 1863 until the end of the war, she was engaged in patrols, both inland and in Virginia coastal waters.
Commodore Perry was outfitted as a gunboat with heavy guns and a large crew of 125 officers and enlisted personnel. Her powerful guns were capable of doing considerable damage to blockade runners or shore fortifications of the Confederate States of America.