Christopher Raymond Perry (December 4, 1761 – June 1, 1818) was an officer in the United States Navy who was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Washington County, Rhode Island, in 1780 and served until 1791.

On his mother's side Perry was a seventh-generation descendant of Captain Richard Raymond (1602–1692), and his wife, Julia,[2] who was likely born in Essex, England, in 1602 and arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, about 1629, possibly with a contingent led by the Rev.

Christopher Perry enlisted, at the age of 14, in a local militia company named the Kingston Reds early in the American Revolution.

Mifflin was captured by the British and Perry was confined to the infamous prison ship Jersey in New York harbor for three months before he managed to escape.

[5] In 1779, Perry joined the Continental Navy as a seaman aboard the frigate USS Trumbull commanded by Captain James Nicholson.

Perry managed another escape by masquerading as a British seaman and taking passage to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

[8] Perry then pursued his career as a merchant captain, making voyages all over the world and amassing a small fortune in the process.

He then decided to move his family to Newport, which was then an important shipping center and one of the largest cities in the newly independent United States.

By 1797, Perry had achieved enough financial security that he was able to retire to the small coastal town of Westerly in the southwest corner of Rhode Island.

Perry fired a shot across the bow of the boat, and the captain of the British warship brought his ship alongside the much smaller General Greene.

Following the enquiry President John Adams ordered Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddart to suspend Perry from the Service for 3 months without pay in a letter dated 28 November.

Some of his notable descendants include:[21] His eldest son, Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819), hero of the Battle of Lake Erie.

Brevet Brigadier General Alexander James Perry (1828–1913) was a career Army officer who graduated from West Point and served during the American Civil War.

Roosevelt's Rough Riders), died of yellow fever shortly after returning to the United States following his service in Cuba during the Spanish–American War.