County of statue: Merrimack County
Location of statue: Sidewalk rear of State House, N. State St., Concord
Statue erected by: in Loving memory by his wife and daughter
Artist: Daniel Chester French, 1850-1931, sculptor
Architect: Henry Bacon, 1866-1924
Founder: Henry Bonnard Bronze Company, N.Y. 1901
Contractor: Troy White Granite Company
Inscribed text:
(On base, lengthy inscription summarizing his career):
GEORGE HAMILTON PERKINS
Born at Hopkinton * New Hampshire * October 20 * 1835
Died in Boston * Massachusetts * October 28 * 1899
Enter the Navy as Midshipman October 1 * 1851 and
Served His Country With Honor Forty Eight Years
Genial and Lovable as a Man * Able and Resourceful as an
Officer * Gallant and Inspiring as a Leader -- His Intrepid Conduct
at the Passage of the Forts Below New Orleans * His Heroism at
The Surrender of that City * His Skill and Daring on Notable
Occasions on the Mississippi River and in The Gulf of Mexico * His
Achievements in Mobile Bay When as Commander of the Chickasaw
He Compelled The Surrender of the Tennessee Won From The Navy
Unqualified Admiration and From Farragut These Words
"The Bravest Man That Ever Trod The Deck Of A Ship"
(On granite floor of monument in front of the centerpiece):
Forts Jackson and St. Philip
April 24, 1862
Capture of the "Governor Moore" and three
Ships of the Montgomery Flotilla
Below New Orleans
April 24, 1862
Capture of the Chalmette Batteries
April 25, 1862
Surrender of New Orleans
April 25, 1862
Skirmishes on the Mississippi River
July 1862
Fort Hudson and Whitehall's Point
July 1863
Capture of the Mary Sorley
April 7, 1864
Battle of Mobile Bay
August 5, 1864
Capture of the Tennessee
August 5, 1864
Fort Powell
August 5, 1864
Fort Gaines
August 8, 1864
Fort Morgan
August 23, 1864
(On bronze relief at south end of monument)
MOBILE BAY
AUGUST V. MCDDLXIV
AFTER A SEVERE BATTLE WITH THE
CHICKASAW THE
TENNESSEE SURRENDERED
(On bronze relief at north end of monument):
APRIL XXIV MDCCCLXII
IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
BELOW FORT ST PHILIP THE
CAUYGA DEFEATED THREE REBEL
GUNBOATS INCLUDING THE GOVERNOR
MOORE AND THE RAM MANASSAS
(On small bronze plaque on rear of centerpiece of the monument:) Erected in Loving memory by his wife and daughter
Proper Description:
"Bronze portrait statue of Commodore Perkins, stands on stone base carved to represent bow of ship. The statue is set within an arched niche on free standing 42 foot long exedra wall, with reliefs, seals and text plaques. Perkins is depicted standing in full dress uniform with epaulettes, proper right foot stepping forward. He holds a sword with his proper left hand, the tip of the sword resting on the ground. He holds a hat next to his side, in his proper right arm. The statue is stands on a projection, ornamented with a carved eagle's had, placed within an arched niche.
"On the front of the centerpiece above the niche are two nude relief figures representing Peace and War. The figures are mirror images of each other. Peace is a nude winged female figure, shown lying back with proper right arm extended to hold a palm branch and proper left arm holding a wreath. War is a nude winged male figure, dressed only in sandals. He holds a snake in his proper right hand; and blows a long horn which he holds with his proper left hand. On the sides of the centerpiece are trophies, each with crossed flags, a seal, and crowning eagle. On one side is the seal of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; on the other, the seal of the State of New Hampshire.
"At each end of the granite exedra is a bronze relief. The relief at the north end depicts the Battle of the Cayuga, with rebel gunboats on the Mississippi River. In the center of the relief, the two-masted Cayuga, fires its guns, sinking a rebel vessel on the left. Another sailing ship is in the background. The south relief depicts the battle of Mobile Bay. The relief shows the bay, with a masonry fort on land and palm trees. In the center, is the rebel ironclad Tennessee and the Chickasaw." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
"George Hamilton Perkins was born 20 October 1835 at Hopkinton, New Hampshire on 20 October 1835. Appointed acting midshipman in October 1851, he was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1856. During the late 1850s, Midshipman Perkins served in 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 first months of the Civil War in Sumpter, operating on anti-slavery patrols. Under Admiral Farragut, he participated in the passing of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the capture of Governor Moore and three ships of the Montgomery Flotilla, and the surrender of New Orleans in April 1862. He also fought at Port Hudson and Whitehall’s River in July 1862, at the capture of Mary Sorley and Tennessee, the Battle of Mobile Bay, and at Forts Powell, Gaines, and Morgan in August 1864.
"Following the Civil War, Lieutenant Commander Perkins served as Superintendent of Ironclads at New Orleans, executive officer of the steam sloop Lackawanna in the North Pacific, and had ordnance duty at the Boston Navy Yard. Promoted to 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 USS Hartford during the mid-1880s. In 1991, he was transferred to the Retired List 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. A large statue of him was erected on the grounds of the New Hampshire State Capitol at Concord." ~ Destroyer History Foundation
Remarks:
"George Hamilton Perkins, d. 1899, was a Hopkinton native, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1856, and served as first lieutenant of the Cayuga and commander of the Chickasaw at the Battle of Mobile Bay. The monument was a gift of Mrs. Isabel Anderson, daughter of George H. Perkins, and her mother Anna W. Perkins. It was dedicated on April 25, 1902, the 40th anniversary of the Passage of the Fort, Perkin's first battle." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum