Barnes Island is a small island in the San Juan Islands

San Juan Islands

The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Washington. It is located near Clark Island

Clark Island (Washington)

Clark Island is an island in the San Juan Islands of the U.S. state of Washington. It is located near Barnes Island off the northeast coast of Orcas Island...

 off the northeast coast of Orcas Island

Orcas Island

Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, which are located in the northwestern corner of Washington state in San Juan County, Washington.-History:...

.

The name was given by Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...

 during the Wilkes Expedition

United States Exploring Expedition

The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. The voyage was authorized by Congress in...

 of 1838-1842, to honor a sailor who was killed during the Battle of Lake Erie

Battle of Lake Erie

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...

 of the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. The island, along with nearby Clark Island, had been named in 1792 Islas de Aquays, by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza

Francisco de Eliza

Francisco de Eliza y Reventa was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest...

, in honor of Eliza's patron the Viceroy of Mexico, Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo