View source for John Perkins (Royal Navy officer)

{{short description|British Royal Navy officer (died 1812)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| image           = Perkins signature.JPG
|birth_date=
|death_date= 27 January 1812
| caption         = Signature of Captain John Perkins from the Logbook of HMS ''Arab'' 1800, held at [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]], Kew, London
|nickname = Jack Punch
| birth_place  =[[Kingston, Jamaica]]
| death_place  =[[Kingston, Jamaica]]
|allegiance={{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
|branch={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|serviceyears= 1775–1804
|rank= [[Captain (naval)|Captain]]
|commands= HM Schooner ''Punch''<br /> HMS {{HMS|Endeavour|1781|2}}<br />HMS {{HMS|Spitfire|1793|2}}<br/> HMS {{HMS|Marie Antoinette|1793|2}} <br /> HMS {{HMS|Drake|1779|2}}<br /> HMS {{HMS|Meleager|1785|2}}<br /> HMS {{HMS|Arab|1798|2}}<br /> HMS {{HMS|Tartar|1801|2}}
|battles=[[American Revolution]]<br /> [[Fourth Anglo-Dutch War]]<br /> [[French Revolutionary Wars]]<br /> [[Napoleonic War]]|}}

'''John Perkins''' (died 27 January 1812), nicknamed '''Jack Punch''', was a British [[Royal Navy]] officer. Perkins was perhaps the first [[mixed race]] commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. He rose from obscurity to be a successful [[Captain (naval)|ship's captain]] in the [[Georgian era|Georgian]] Royal Navy. He captained a 10-gun schooner during the [[American War of Independence]] and in a two-year period captured at least 315 enemy ships.

Later in his career, Perkins acted for the navy as a [[Espionage|spy]] and undertook missions to [[Cuba]] and [[Saint-Domingue]] (modern day [[Haiti]]). At the start of the [[Haitian Revolution|slave revolt in Saint-Domingue]], he was captured in [[Cap-Haïtien|Cap-Français]] and sentenced to death for supplying the rebel slaves with weapons.

After his rescue, he was promoted to commander in 1797 and then to [[post-captain]] in 1800. Perkins went on to cause an international incident with [[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 [[Sint Eustatius|Saint Eustatia]] and [[Saba (island)|Saba]] from the French. Perkins also attacked a [[74-gun]] [[ship-of-the-line]] with a 32-gun [[frigate]].

==Early life and career==
John Perkins was probably born in [[Kingston, Jamaica]] 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.<ref>Donnithorne.</ref> At the time in the colonial [[West Indies]], 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.<ref name="Costello p.97">Costello (2012), p. 97</ref>

In 1775, Perkins first appears in the records of the Royal Navy when he was appointed to the 50-gun {{HMS|Antelope|1703|6}}, the [[flagship]] of the commander-in-chief of the [[Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)|Jamaica station]] as an extra [[maritime pilot|pilot]]. "His knowledge of the different ports, &C. in the West Indies was, perhaps, seldom equalled, and never surpassed."<ref name="NC27">''[[Naval Chronicle]]'', 27 (1812), pp. 351–352</ref>

In 1778, he was placed in command of the [[schooner]] ''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]].<ref name="JJHA8">Journals of the Jamaican house of assembly, 8</ref>
  
Admiral [[Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet|Sir Peter Parker]], and subsequent admirals, used Perkins in clandestine missions against the French at [[Cap-Haïtien|Cap-Français]], a province on the north coast of [[Saint-Domingue]], and the Spanish in [[Havana]], Cuba. Parker eventually commissioned Perkins as a [[lieutenant]] and gave him command of {{HMS|Endeavour|1781|2}}.<ref name="END1">ADM 51/4181 Captains' logs Endeavour 31 May 1776 – 21 Feb 1781</ref> The 12-gun ''Endeavour''<ref name="JJC114">Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.114.</ref> was an American-built schooner with a [[keel]] of 60 feet and [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of 20.<ref name="LBOB230">Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. Page 230</ref> Governor [[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer)|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."<ref name="JJHA8"/>
 
In 1782, Perkins captured a much larger vessel containing several important French officers.<ref name="JJHA8"/><ref name="LBOB490">Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. Page 490</ref> The commander of the Jamaica station, Admiral [[George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney|George Rodney]], promoted Perkins to [[Commander (Royal Navy)|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]].<ref name="LAR344">The Life and Correspondence of the Late Admiral Rodney. Godfrey Basil Mundy, p. 344,345</ref><ref name="LBOB511">Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1. Page 511</ref><ref name="2LBOB685">Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 2. 685</ref> Rodney's promotion of Perkins was disallowed.<ref name="LAR344"/> Rodney wrote later to [[Sir Philip Stephens, 1st Baronet|Philip Stephens]], [[Secretary to the Admiralty|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."<ref name="LAR344"/> 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]] 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]] as there is a French source and several English records that describe him as such.<ref name="LN311">Lady Nugent's Journal of Her Residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805, Shepherd, p. 311,312</ref><ref name="CKH303">Christophe: King of Haiti, Cole, p. 303</ref>

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 [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] for his promotion to [[post-captain]].<ref name="JJHA8"/>

==Capture on Saint-Domingue==
In 1790, Perkins volunteered once more and served under Admiral [[Philip Affleck (Royal Navy officer)|Philip Affleck]]. 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 {{HMS|Diana|1757|6}}, 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 {{HMS|Ferret|1784|6}} under Captain Nowell. It was agreed that Nowell's first lieutenant, an officer named Godby, would go ashore and recover Perkins while the two ships remained offshore within cannon shot, ready to land an invasion force if need be.<ref name="NC27"/> Lieutenant Godby landed and, after negotiations, Perkins was released.<ref name="NC17">'[[Naval Chronicle]]'', 17 (1807), pp. 458–462</ref> 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 {{HMS|Spitfire|1793|6}}, a 4-gun schooner.<ref name="ADM8/69"> ADM 8/69 Admiralty Records held at The National Archives, Kew</ref> He accompanied Commodore [[John Ford (Royal Navy officer)|John Ford's]] squadron when the British, at the request of French Royalists, mounted a campaign against Saint-Domingue.<ref name="WLC214">The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, Volume 4, p. 214</ref> On arrival, Ford's squadron captured, amongst other vessels, a schooner belonging to the French Navy named ''Convention Nationale''.<ref name="JJC216">Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.216</ref> She was renamed {{HMS|Marie Antoinette|1793|6}} and Ford gave command of her to Perkins. Ford described Perkins as "an Officer of Zeal, Vigilance and Activity."<ref name="LG13600">{{London Gazette|issue=13600|date=10 December 1793|page=1096}}</ref> In 1794, ''Marie Antoinette'' made up part of the squadron commanded by the newly promoted Rear Admiral Ford that accompanied [[Brigadier General]] [[John Whyte (British Army officer)|John Whyte]] that briefly captured [[Port-au-Prince]]. At the time, some forty-five vessels lay in harbour and these were all captured.<ref name="LG13684">{{London Gazette|issue=13684|date=17 July 1794|pages=723–725}}</ref> In 1796, ''Marie Antoinette'' made up part of a small squadron that captured the schooner ''Charlotte'' and brig ''Sally''.<ref name="LG15717">{{London Gazette|issue=15717|date= 7 July 1804|page=841}}</ref> Perkins remained with her until he was promoted to master and commander.

===Promotion to commander===
The circumstances of his promotion are unrecorded, but in 1797, Admiral [[Hyde Parker (admiral)|Hyde Parker]] promoted Perkins to commander of {{HMS|Drake|1779|6}},<ref name="RW313">British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792, Winfield, p. 313</ref><ref name="JJC102">Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.102</ref><ref name="NAK3">National Archives, Kew: ADM 36/14999 Admiralty: Royal Navy Ships' Musters (Series I) 1795 May – 1798 Aug HMS Drake</ref> a [[brig]] of 14 guns. Subsequently, HMS ''Drake'', in company with a squadron under Captain [[Hugh Pigot (Royal Navy captain)|Hugh Pigot]], consisting of the 32-gun frigates {{HMS|Hermione|1782|6}} and {{HMS|Quebec|1781|6}}, and the [[cutter (boat)|cutter]] {{HMS|Penelope|1794|6}}, were involved in the cutting out of eight enemy ships at [[Port-de-Paix]] on 20 April 1797.<ref name="WLC334">The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, p. 334, 335</ref><ref name="WJ2113">Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 2, James, p. 113</ref> On 25 October 1798, ''Drake'' captured the French [[privateer]] ''La Favorite''. The [[prize money]] for Perkins (amounting to 2/8 of the total value of the vessel) was 53 [[pounds sterling|pounds]], 13 [[shillings]] and 9 [[pence]].<ref name="LG18729">{{London Gazette|issue=18729|date= 24 September 1830|page=2022}}</ref> [[File:Archive visit 5 4 07 009.JPG|left|thumb|100px|The front page of the HMS ''Arab'' logbook 1800 from The National Archives, Kew]] In inflation-adjusted terms, this would be approximately £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|53.69|1797|r=-2}}}} as of 20{{CURRENTYEARYY}}.{{Inflation-fn|UK}}

In ''Drake'', in company with {{HMS|Solebay|1785|2}}, 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.<ref name="LG15872">{{London Gazette|issue=15872|date= 14 December 1805|page=1570}}</ref><ref name="RW214">British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792, Winfield, p. 214</ref>

===Promotion to post-captain===
Perkins was promoted on 6 September 1800 to [[post-captain]]<ref name="ISV5378">{{cite book|title=Naval chronology; or, An historical summary of naval & maritime events, from the time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace, 1802| year=1802|author=Isaac Schomberg|publisher=C, Rowarth, Bell Lane, Fleet Street|url= https://archive.org/details/navalchronologyo05schoiala|page=[https://archive.org/details/navalchronologyo05schoiala/page/378 378]}}</ref> in the 32-gun frigate {{HMS|Meleager|1785|6}}.<ref name="JJC222">Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.222</ref> In early 1801, Perkins moved to the 22-gun {{HMS|Arab|1798|6}}.<ref name="JJC18">Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.18</ref> [[File:HMS Arab Privateer Experiment and Danish Brig Lougen 1801.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Battle of West Key 1801 courtesy of the [[National Maritime Museum]], Greenwich, London.]]

====Battle of West Key====
In March 1801, ''Arab'', in company with the 18-gun British privateer ''Experiment'', caught and challenged two Danish vessels, the [[brig]] {{HDMS|Lougen|1791|2}}, under the command of Captain [[Carl Wilhelm Jessen]], and the [[schooner]] ''Den Aarvaagne''.<ref name="JEB1">{{cite web |url=http://www.navalhistory.dk/english/History/1801_1814/Lougen_WestKay_1801.htm |title=Battle of West Kay 1801 |author=Johnny Erik Balsved |date=17 February 2003 |publisher=2009&ndash;2011 Johnny E. Balsved |access-date=30 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817175819/http://www.navalhistory.dk/english/history/1801_1814/Lougen_WestKay_1801.htm |archive-date=17 August 2010 }}</ref> ''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, United States Virgin Islands|Christiansted]] on [[Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands|St Croix]] 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]] and loosed the bower anchor. (Perkins 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 [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St Thomas]]. Captain Jessen of the ''Lougen'' was awarded a presentation sword made of gold, a medal and 400 [[rixdollar]]s (the equivalent of a whole year's salary for a Captain in the Danish Navy) by the Danish government for his actions.<ref name="JEB1"/>

On 13 April 1801, ''Arab'' captured the Spanish privateer ''Duenda''.<ref name="LG16027">{{London Gazette|issue=16027|date= 9 May 1807|page=621}}</ref>

===Capture of Saint Eustatia and Saba Islands===
On 16 April 1801, Perkins, in company with [[Colonel]] Richard Blunt and a detachment of the [[Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)]], laid siege to and captured the wealthy islands of [[Sint Eustatius]] and [[Saba (island)|Saba]], capturing their French garrisons, forty-seven [[cannon]] and 338 barrels of [[gunpowder]].<ref name="WLC471">The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, p. 471</ref><ref name="WJ3150">Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 3, James, p. 150</ref> Eustatia had been the most profitable of the islands in the [[Dutch West Indies]].

After several further cruises, Perkins was transferred in 1802 to the 32-gun frigate {{HMS|Tartar|1801|6}}.<ref name="JJC345">Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.345</ref>

==Later career==
Between 20 November and 4 December 1803, ''Tartar'' was in company with Commodore [[John Loring (d. 1808)|John Loring's]] squadron when the squadron captured the French ships of war ''Le Decouverte'', [[French frigate Clorinde (1801)|''La Clorinde'']], [[French frigate Surveillante (1802)|''La Surveillante'']], ''La Vertu'', and ''Le Cerf''.<ref name="LG15935">{{London Gazette|issue=15935|date= 8 July 1806|page=861}}</ref> ''La Surveillante'' and ''La Clorinde'' were bought into British service. [[Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau|General Rochambeau]], the commander of the French forces on Saint-Domingue, was on board ''La Surveillante'' at the time of her surrender.<ref name="LG15672">{{London Gazette|issue=15672|date= 4 February 1804|pages=165–167}}</ref> On 25 July 1804, while in company with {{HMS|Vanguard|1787|6}} under Captain [[James Walker (Royal Navy officer)|James Walker]], ''Tartar'' was involved in the capture of the French 74-gun ship of the line [[French ship Duquesne (1788)|''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.<ref name="WJ3186">Naval History of Great Britain Vol. 3, James, p. 186</ref><ref name="NAK2">National Archives, Kew: ADM 51/1447 Captains' logs Tartar 16 Apr 1802 – 30 Apr 1804</ref> A seaman's share of the [[prize money]] aboard the ''Tartar'' for the capture was 6 [[shillings]] and 8 [[pence]]. A [[petty officer| petty officer's]] share was 1 [[Pound sterling|pound]], 13 [[shillings]] and 11 [[pence]].<ref name="LG15889">{{London Gazette|issue=15889|date= 11 February 1806|page=196}}</ref>

==Final mission to Haiti==
In January 1804 [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]], the commander of the slave rebellion in [[Haiti]] declared independence from France. Perkins was sent by Admiral [[John Thomas Duckworth|Duckworth]] and Governor [[Sir George Nugent, 1st Baronet|Nugent]] in ''Tartar'' as a British observer to the island. Perkins was accompanied by Edward Corbet, a government advisor appointed by Nugent.<ref name="LN">Lady Nugent's Journal of Her Residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805, Shepherd</ref> 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."<ref name="CKH140">Christophe: King of Haiti, Cole, pp. 140–143</ref>

==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.<ref name="NC27"/> According to his obituary he suffered for many years with a condition described as "[[asthma]]" 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."<ref name="NC27"/> The will of John Perkins of Kingston, "a captain in His Majesty's Royal Navy", was proved in 1819.<ref>[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]; TNA, PROB 11/1617/236</ref>

The ''Jamaica Almanac'' for 1812 records Perkins as owning the Mount Dorothy estate in [[Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica]] and 26 slaves.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jamaica Almanac, 1812 |url=http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/a/a1812and.htm |access-date=21 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=John Perkins |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146647609 |website=Legacies of British Slave-ownership |publisher=[[University College London]] |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215155007/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146647609 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |location=London|date=2020}}</ref> It is probable that he had used some of his prize money to acquire property in Jamaica. In his will Perkins directs that on his death all his property should be sold and, after payment of funeral expenses and debts, the money used to make provision for two women, Roberta Walker and Judith Lassley, both of Kingston; and for seven boys and four girls he acknowledges as his children.<ref>[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]; TNA, PROB 11/1617/236 : "...to pay unto Roberta Walker of the City and parish of Kingston aforesaid the sum of one hundred pounds sterling money of Great Britain at the expiration of six months after my decease the sum of one hundred pounds current money of Jamaica to my reputed son Henry Perkins at the expiration of six months after my decease and also an annuity or yearly sum of Fifty pounds like current money unto Judith Lassley of the said City and Parish of Kingston by four even and equal quarterly payments during the term of her natural life and as to the surplus or remainder thereof... in trust to divide the same in equal shares and proportions to and among my reputed Children Henry Perkins John Perkins George Perkins Joseph Perkins Charles Perkins Philip Perkins Arthur Perkins my two reputed daughters respectively named Bessy alias Elizabeth Perkins Sally alias Sarah Perkins & Mary Glotion(?) Perkins and Louise Perkins or such of them as shall then be living share and share alike..." </ref>

==See also==
*[[Slavery in the British and French Caribbean]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |title=The Naval Chronicle|publisher=Bunney & Gold| volume=17| url = https://archive.org/details/navalchronicleco17londiala}}
*{{cite book |title=The Naval Chronicle|publisher=Bunney & Gold| volume=27| url = https://archive.org/details/navalchronicleco27londiala}}
*{{Colledge}}
*{{cite book| last=Clowes | first=Sir William| title= The Royal Navy: Vol. 4: A History – From the Earliest Times to 1900 | publisher= Chatham Publishing| year=2003| isbn= 1-86176-013-2| author-link= William Laird Clowes}}
*{{cite book| last=Clowes | first=Sir William| title= The Royal Navy: Vol. 5: A History – From the Earliest Times to 1900 | publisher= Chatham Publishing| year=2003| isbn= 1-86176-014-0| author-link= William Laird Clowes}}
*{{cite book|last=Costello|first=Ray|title=Black Salt: Seafarers of African Descent on British Ships|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5uze6D-uSugC|year=2012|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=978-1-84631-818-4}}
*{{cite book| last=Hubert| first=Cole| title=Christophe King of Haiti| publisher=Eyre & Spottiswoode| year=1967| isbn=0-413-25786-X}}
*Donnithorne, Christopher H. (undated) ''Documentation of the British Ships and Battle with the Danes on March 3, 1801, St. Thomas, Danish West Indies''. ([http://www.hasselisland.org/wp-content/uploads/HMS-Arab-Donnithorne.pdf Unpublished paper accessed 2 September 2015).]
*{{cite book | last = James | first = William | author-link = William James (naval historian)|author2=Chamier, Frederick | title = The naval history of Great Britain: from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV | publisher =R. Bentley| year = 1837 | location =London|volume=2}}
*{{cite book | last = James | first = William | author-link = William James (naval historian)|author2=Chamier, Frederick | title = The naval history of Great Britain: from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV | publisher =R. Bentley| year = 1837 | location =London|volume=3}}
*{{cite book| last=Mundy| first=Basil| title= The Life And Correspondence of the Late Admiral Lord Rodney V2 | publisher= Kessinger Publishing Co| year=2007| isbn= 978-0-548-21801-3}}
*{{cite book| last=Rodney | first=George Brydges | title= Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 1| publisher= J.J. Little and Ives for The [[New-York Historical Society]]| year=1932}}
*{{cite book| last=Rodney | first=George Brydges | title= Letter-Books and Order-Books of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron, Volume 2| publisher= J.J. Little and Ives for The [[New-York Historical Society]]| year=1932}}
*{{cite book| last=Rodger| first=N.A.M.| title= The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815 | publisher= Penguin| year=2006| isbn= 0-14-102690-1| author-link= Nicholas Rodger}}
*{{cite book|title=Naval chronology; or, An historical summary of naval & maritime events, from the time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace, 1802| volume=5|year=1802|author=Isaac Schomberg|publisher=C, Rowarth, Bell Lane, Fleet Street|url= https://archive.org/details/navalchronologyo05schoiala|page=[https://archive.org/details/navalchronologyo05schoiala/page/378 378]}}
*{{cite book| last=Winfield | first=Rif| title= British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792
 | publisher= Seaforth Publishing| year=2007| isbn= 978-1-84415-700-6}}
*{{cite book| last=Wright| first=Philip | title= Lady Nugent's Journal of Her Residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805| publisher= University of the West Indies Press | year=2002| isbn= 1-84415-143-3}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100817175819/http://www.navalhistory.dk/english/history/1801_1814/Lougen_WestKay_1801.htm Battle of the West Kay 1801, An account of the battle between HMS Arab and the Danish Brig Lougen]
*[http://www.nathanielturner.com/dessalines.htm The Rise of Emperor Dessalines including letters from Perkins to Admiral Duckworth 1804]
*[http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=2190 Ships of the Old Navy HMS Tartar]
*[http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/liste.php?char=E#5283 HM Sloop Endeavour]
*[http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0192 HMS Arab]
*[http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0777 HMS Drake]
*[http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/liste.php?char=M#1457 HMS Meleager]
*[http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0905 HMS Ferret. The ship under Lieutenant Nowell that rescued Perkins from execution on Saint-Domingue in 1791]
*[http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/ National Maritime Museum]
*[http://www.instituteofjamaica.org.jm/ The Institute of Jamaica]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, John}}
[[Category:Royal Navy officers]]
[[Category:1812 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Kingston, Jamaica]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Black British history]]
[[Category:Black British military personnel]]
[[Category:Jamaican slave owners]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Royal Navy captains]]