Talk:USS Commodore Perry

There is no "Newtogen Creek"
The USS Commodore Perry captured a schooner at New Begun Creek in 1862. New Begun Creek is south of Elizabeth City, NC. It runs into the Pasquotank River.

76.182.64.99 01:08, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Changed
I agree, and made the change to the text. Wikited (talk) 19:16, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Upgraded page
Replaced old blue infobox with new light blue ship infobox, Wikified text, retained initial added comments (under Notes) and expanded on who the ship was named after. Note that the second Perry died in 1858 and the Commodore Perry was built in 1859, probably more in honor of this Perry.

Moved illustration from old infobox to new shipbox and added caption.Wikited (talk) 19:11, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Picture used is not the USS Commodore Perry
There are two or three different ships identified as being the Commodore Perry in various books and at NARA, including the picture accompanying this article. This is not the Commodore Perry. I can send you several correct pictures of the Perry, including a drawing by Alfred Wald.

The Perry was photographed several types while operating on the James River in 1864. Paul Silverstone's 2 books on Civil War ships has a correct picture. (This picture is mislabeled as being the Commodore Barney in some places.)

Identifying the Perry is easy. It is a double-ended NY ferryboat with two low, square pilothouses. The rear one has a hawser coiled on top. There are 4 diamond-shaped decorative cutouts over the paddlebox. There are four square windows in front of the paddlebox and three behind. The windows on the front are square as well, two on each side. A ladder stands between these windows on each side. There are two pairs of double doors. The doors are painted white. Above the doors, there are three windows. Two buckets hang beside the doors. The doors are recessed appoximately 2 feet. Between the two sets of doors is an armory closet full of muskets. Pikes are stored beside each door. There is a walking beam engine. Movable iron rifle shielding was added around the quarterdeck and the forecastle.

It is easy to confuse the Perry with the Commodore Barney, as they were built at the same shipyard at the same time by the same builder. However, the Barney did not have a rear pilothouse. Other than that, there are some cosmetic differences. The Barney's doors were not painted but stained. The front windows were narrow and rectangular rather than square. The doors were recessed about four feet instead of two. The two buckets were not hanging beside the door as they were in the Perry.

76.182.77.91 (talk) 13:14, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Please send me the several correct pictures of the Perry, including the drawing by Alfred Wald. Can you supply me with a link Paul Silverstone's correct picture? Broichmore (talk) 18:25, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Why the photo isn't the Commodore Perry, part two.


There are two 100-pdr Parrott rifles and an IX-inch shell gun on the deck. The Commodore Perry never had more than one 100-pdr Parrott. The picture you have labeled as the Perry is really the USS Morse. There is a photo in the MOLLUS-Mass collection at USMHI that identifies it correctly as the Morse.

If you want to place a correct picture of the Perry on this page, use the one you have labeled as the Commodore Barney. That one is definitely the Perry instead of the Barney. Never trust NARA captions on ships!

76.182.77.91 (talk) 01:17, 13 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The Morse source claims the image for the USS Morse, it comes from the MOLLUS-Mass Civil War Photograph Collection Volume 64. See http://cdm16635.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16635coll12/id/12649/show/12641/rec/4


 * It is attributed to be the Morse'' on the card (in their possession) that the images were mounted on.


 * However the MET has revisited this image. Found here: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/268275https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/268275


 * Briefly they now say the Artist is Timothy H. O'Sullivan (American, born Ireland, 1840–1882), and that it was formerly attributed to Mathew B. Brady (American, born Ireland, 1823?–1896 New York). They riterate that it is the U.S. Gunboat "Commodore Perry". Broichmore (talk) 18:18, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

Concur that photo is incorrect
I fully agree that the photo is not of the Commodore Perry as the previous entries point out. If I could figure out how to take it down I would. Unfortunately this mistake has been repeated over and over in many texts. With an active archive like this we can finally correct it.

The tougher job is to correctly identify the ferry in the picture. The previous entry identifies it as the Morse. There are some inconsistensies to work out. The ferry in the picture clearly does not have a walking beam and so would have an inclined engine. In Silverstone's "Civil War Navies" he lists the Morse as having a vertical beam engine. Also, the dimensions and description of the Morse are very similar to the Commodore Perry and Commodore Barney and the owner was the same (Brooklyn Ferry company and Williamsburg Ferry Co. are the same per Cudahy in "Over and Back".) You would think they would look similar but they don't. In particular the ferry in the picture has an unusual squared off bow which doesn't appear on any other ferry I know of.

Eric Heyl identified the picture as Commodore Morris. This would work except that Commodore Morris was originally ordered by the Union Ferry Co. and looks nothing like their other ferries. Commodore Morris and Commodore McDonough are supposed to be similar but the ferry in the picture isn't at all similar to Commodore McDonough. Navarch41 (talk) 13:54, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
 * OK, I have taken care of the photo. The one that was previously in this article is now deleted (it is still viewable at the source at the following locations: and  -- the latter where it is not actually identified; the (mis)identification can be found at ) and the one previously identified to be the Barney is now titled as the Perry. If anyone can figure out what the other photo is, please let me know on my talk page and I will reupload it with the correct name.  howcheng   {chat} 16:58, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

The wrong photo has been added again
I see that the photo which we discussd above has been added again. If you compare the two photos on the page (and many others) you will see that the lower photo looks nothing like the upper photo. I will go to the photo location to try to get some clarification there. Navarch41 (talk) 20:38, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

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Featured picture scheduled for POTD
Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Commodore Perry, Pamunkey River MET DP70753.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for July 24, 2023. A preview of the POTD can be edited at Template:POTD/2023-07-24. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Aviafanboi (talk) 17:09, 14 July 2023 (UTC)