HMS ''Chatham'' was a

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 ...

survey

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, built in 1788, that accompanied HMS ''Discovery'' on

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

's exploration of the West Coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in his 1791–1795 expedition.

Purchase

''Chatham'' was built by King, at

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, as a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

, and launched in early 1788. She was purchased for navy service as a tender on 12 February 1788.

The Vancouver Expedition

The first significant voyage by ''Chatham'' was Vancouver's five-year mission to the South Seas and Pacific Northwest coast of America. Her commander was Lieutenant William Robert Broughton, with 2nd Lieutenant James Hanson. In November 1791, while exploring the South Pacific, Broughton's crew were the first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

ans to sight the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

, which they named after the John Pitt, Earl of Chatham, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Among the other achievements of ''Chatham'' crew was the exploration of 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 ...

as far as the Columbia River Gorge, reaching present-day eastern Multnomah County east of Portland and north west of

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

. A plaque erected by the State of Oregon along Interstate 84 commemorates the spot where Broughton landed in 1792. In 1792, while near Fife Sound in Queen Charlotte Strait, the ship ran aground on rocks within a day, and about away, from where ''Discovery'' had done the same. In November 1792 ''Chatham'' commander was sent back to England with dispatches; Peter Puget was her commander through her return to England on 17 October 1794. ''Chatham'' was at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels,

East Indiamen East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European Trading company, trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belon ...

, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands. ''Chatham'' had suffered severe wear on her long voyage, and was repaired at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

in 1797.

Fate

''Chatham'' continued in Royal Navy service until 1830, when she was sold in

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 ...

The lost anchor

In 2008, a scuba fisherman found a anchor off Whidbey Island in Washington that he and others believe was lost from HMS ''Chatham'' on 9 June 1792. Northwest historian Richard Blumenthal stated that, "They indeed found an anchor that fits the description of the anchor lost at that time". In June 2014, the anchor was raised to be assessed to see if it is actually the sole remaining relic of Capt. George Vancouver's famed 1792 voyage into

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

. After conservation and testing at Texas A&M's Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, the weight of the anchor was put at —about heavier than anchors used in those years. An anchor weighing that much would have been used in the 1820s, not in 1792.

Plans

File:Chatham (1788) J0494.jpg, alt=drafted ship plan, Plan of the upper and lower decks with platforms, for the ''Chatham'' File:HMS Chatham (1758).jpg, alt=drafted ship plan, Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth, for the ''Chatham''

Citations

References

External links

Digitised copies of the original logs of HMS ChathamBritish Atmospheric Data Centre
The National Archives as part o
the CORRAL project
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham, HMS Survey vessels of the Royal Navy Brigs of the Royal Navy Exploration ships of the United Kingdom 1788 ships Age of Discovery ships