John Perkins -- Jamaica

John Perkins, nicknamed Jack Punch, was the first black commissioned officer in the Royal Navy. He rose from obscurity to be one of the most successful ship captains of the Georgian navy, and in a two year period captured 315 enemy ships. Later in his career Perkins acted for the navy as a spy and undertook missions to Cuba and Saint Domingue (Haiti).  

At the start of the slave revolt in Saint Domingue he was captured in Cap-François and sentenced to death for supplying the rebel slave army with weapons.  After his rescue he was promoted commander in 1797 and then to post-captain in 1800.  

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 but several contemporary accounts describe him as mulatto.  Perkins first appears in the records of the Royal Navy when in 1775 he was appointed to HMS Antelope, the flagship of the commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station as an extra pilot. "His knowledge of the different ports, and sea in the West Indies was, perhaps, seldom equalled, and never surpassed."

In 1778 he was placed in command of the schooner Punch, it was at this time he received his nickname Jack Punch.  During the next two years Perkins captured 315 ships an average of three a week, this claim was later endorsed by the Jamaican House of Assembly.

Admiral Sir Peter Parker, and other admirals, used Perkins skills in clandestine missions against the French at Cap-François, and the Spanish in Havana, Cuba. Parker eventually commissioned Perkins as a lieutenant and gave him command of the schooner Endeavour.  Governor 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."

In 1782 Perkins captured several important French officers, the commander of the Jamaica station, Admiral George Rodney, promoted Perkins to master and commander of the 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.  However, Rodney's promotion of Perkins was disallowed, Rodney wrote later to Philip Stephens, First Secretary to the Admiralty, in an attempt to confirm the promotion.  Despite his request Perkins was demoted back to the rank of lieutenant and the guns ordered to be removed. 

In 1790, Perkins made an application to the Jamaican House of Assembly for their assistance in achieving his promotion. He once more volunteered for naval duty and under Admiral Philip Affleck he undertook several clandestine missions to Havana, Cuba, and to the French controlled Saint Domingue (Haiti).  In 1793 he was captured at Jeremie in Cap-Francois and was due to be executed for spying and for supplying weapons to rebel slaves. 

Officially Britain and France were not at war and Captain Russell requested that Perkins be released, but the French refused.  Captains Thomas Russell and William Nowell sailed to Jérémie and It was agreed that Nowell's first lieutenant, Godby, would go and recover Perkins whilst the two ships remained offshore, ready to land an invasion force if need be. Lieutenant Godby landed and after negotiations Perkins was released

Perkins is listed as commanding HMS Spitfire, he accompanied Commodore John Ford's squadron when the British, mounted a campaign against Saint-Domingue. Ford's squadron captured amongst other vessels a schooner belonging to the French Navy named Convention Nationale.  She was renamed HMS Marie Antoinette and Ford gave command of her to Perkins, Ford described Perkins as "an Officer of Zeal, Vigilance and Activity." In 1783 Perkins left the Navy and remained in reserve as a half-pay lieutenant, a practice that was common at the time.

By 1797 Admiral Sir Hyde Parker finally promoted Perkins to commander of the fourteen gun brig HMS Drake. The promotion was confirmed by the admiralty and he was further promoted to full captain and put in command of the frigate HMS Meleager.  In 1801 he transferred to HMS Arab where he caused an international incident by attacking two Danish ships in the Battle of West Key.  Later that year he captured the wealthy islands of Saint Eustatius and Saba in the Caribbean with Colonel Richard Blunt and a detachment of the 3rd Royal East Kent Regiment.

After several further cruises Perkins was transferred in 1802 into the 32-gun frigate HMS Tartar and subsequently attacked and fought the 74-gun Duquesne and two other sixteen gun vessels comprising a French naval squadron that was more than three times larger than his own. He kept the warships engaged long enough for help to arrive at which point the French surrendered.  A seaman's share of the prize money aboard the Tartar for the capture was 6 shillings and 8 pence.  A petty officer's share was 1 pound, 13 shillings and 11 pence.

In January 1804 Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the commander of the slave rebellion in Haiti declared independence from France.  Perkins was sent by Admiral Duckworth and Governor Nugent as a British observer to the island. 

In March 1804 Perkins resigned his commission on health grounds, there is no further record of his involvement with the Navy or Haiti.  Perkins died on 27 January 1812 at his home in Jamaica. According to his obituary he suffered for many years with "asthma" and that this was the cause of his death. “He annoyed the enemy more than any other officer, by his repeated feats of gallantry, and the immense number of prizes he took.” There is no record of a wife and the records concerning his estate have disappeared.