Description
First edition of Letters of Capt. George Hamilton Perkins, U.S.N., inscribed by the author in 1897.
Octavo, 254pp, [4]. Maroon cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. Yellow endpapers. Solid text block, free of notable wear. This work is complete with a frontispiece portrait, two maps and four illustrated plates. Includes a tipped in addendum, signed by Rear Admiral James Henry Gillis. (Nevins I, 231)
This copy is signed on the front free endpaper: “Jany 18th, 1897 / W.A. Tomer Esq. / Compliments of Commodore George Hamilton Perkins / U.S. Navy.”
Commodore George Hamilton Perkins (1836-1899) was a U.S. Navy officer during the American Civil War. Born in New Hampshire, he joined the Navy in 1851 and was promoted through the ranks. As a lieutenant, he gained recognition for his actions during the Battle of New Orleans in April 1862, serving aboard the USS Cayuga. He also captured the Mary Sorley and the Tennessee, found at the Battle of Mobile Bay, and led blockades of Confederate naval shipments during the war. At retirement in 1896, he was commissioned a Commodore. Perkins died in Boston in 1899.
