HMS ''Racoon'', sometimes spelled HMS ''Raccoon'', was an 18-gun ship sloop of the of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was built by John Preston, of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, and launched on 30 March 1808. She sailed as far as

Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary Fur trade, fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party tra ...

on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. She became a hospital ship in 1819 and finally was sold in 1838.

Service

Her first commander was Commander James Welsh, under whom she was sent to operate off the African coast. He sailed her to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

on 16 June 1809, but died there in November. His replacement was Commander William Black. She returned to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in 1812. On 14 January 1813 ''Racoon'' captured ''Hope'', which the enemy recaptured. Still, a £25,000 insurance payment was payable to ''Racoon''. ''Racoon'' sailed from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

on 6 July 1813 in company with , , and sailing around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

to the

Juan Fernandez Islands ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philipp ...

. The Royal Navy had been under pressure from the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

, who were agitating for them to capture the base of their rival, the

Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of G ...

. Captain Frazer Smith, of ''Isaac Todd'', had acquired a

letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...

, and her task was to seize

, the Pacific Fur Company's trading outpost on the

. However, she was a slow sailer and could not keep up with the warships. ''Racoon'' then sailed on to Fort Astoria while ''Phoebe'' and ''Cherub'' set off to search for . On the way to the Columbia River an accident during gunnery exercises killed eight men and wounded 20 on ''Racoon''. Before ''Racoon'' arrived at Fort Astoria on 30 November 1813, the North West Company had completed a deal with the Pacific Fur Company that since British ships would be imminently arriving to "take and destroy everything American on the Northwest coast," that they would purchase the assets, for a third of their value. Black arrived to find the matter already settled, though he went through a ceremony of possession and renamed the facility Fort George. (''Isaac Todd'' finally arrived on 23 April 1814. She then sailed for China on 26 September.Canadian Encyclopedia: ''Isaac Todd''/
/ref>) One person aboard ''Racoon'' when she arrived at Fort Astoria was

Naukane Naukane (c. 1779 – February 2, 1850), also known as John Coxe, Edward Cox, and Coxe was a Native Hawaiian chief who traveled widely through North America in the early 19th century. He was either considered a member of the royal household of Kam ...

(also known as John Coxe), a

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

. The North West Company had hired him as a laborer and to serve as an interpreter for future visits to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. ''Racoon'' sailed to San Francisco. From 13 to 19 March 1814, ''Racoon'' underwent repairs on the beach at Ayala Cove on the northern portion of Angel Island. This event gave the name Raccoon Strait to the deep-water channel between Tiburon and Angel Island. Black then sailed to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. On 15 January 1815 ''Cherub'' and ''Racoon'' left Rio de Janeiro, escorting a convoy that included the storeships and , and seven merchantmen. They left

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

on 6 March.
''LL'' 5 May 1815.] Lieutenant James Mangles (Royal Navy), James Mangles (acting) was in command of ''Raccoon'' at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in 1815. Captain Alexander Montgomerie replaced Black in 1815. Captain John Cook Carpenter was appointed to command in May 1815.

Post-war and fate

''Racoon'' was re-rated as a 20-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

in January 1817, under Captain Robert Worgan Festing in 1817. Between September and October 1819 she underwent conversion to a convict

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

at Portsmouth. She remained in service until the Navy sold her for £820 to Mr. Soames on 16 August 1838.

Notes

Citations

References

*
''History of British Columbia from its earliest discovery to the present time''
p. 108, Alexander Begg, publ. William Briggs, Toronto, 1894
''British Columbia from the earliest times to the present. Vol. 1''
p. 432, E.O.S. Scholefield & F.W. Howay, Vancouver, British Columbia: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1914 {{DEFAULTSORT:Racoon (1808) Cormorant-class ship-sloops War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Pre-statehood history of Oregon Fur trade History of the Pacific Northwest 1808 ships Convict ships Prison ships

Service

Post-war and fate

See also

Notes

Citations

References