Robert Gray
Encyclopedia
Robert Gray was an American
merchant sea-captain
who is known for his achievements in connection with two trading voyages to the northern Pacific coast of North America, between 1790 and 1793, which pioneered the American maritime fur trade
in that region. In the course of those voyages, Gray explored portions of that coast and, in 1790, completed the first American circumnavigation of the world. Perhaps his most remembered accomplishment from his explorations was his coming upon and then naming of the Columbia River
, in 1792 while on his second voyage.
Gray's earlier and later life are both comparatively obscure. He was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and may have served in the Continental Navy
during the American Revolutionary War
. After his two famous voyages, he carried on his career as a sea-captain, mainly of merchantmen in the Atlantic. This included what was meant to be a third voyage to the Northwest Coast, but was ended by the capture of his ship by French privateers, during the Franco-American Quasi-War
, and command of an American privateer later in that same conflict. Gray died at sea in 1806, near Charleston, South Carolina
, possibly of yellow fever
. Many geographic features along the Oregon
and Washington coasts bear Gray's name, as do numerous schools in the region.
during the American Revolutionary War
. He is known, however, to have served in the Triangular trade
of South Carolina
, aboard the Pacific.
in two ships, to trade along the north Pacific coast
. They were sent by Boston merchants including Charles Bulfinch
. Bulfinch and the other financial backers came up with the idea of trading pelts from the northwest coast of North America and taking them directly to China after Bulfinch had read about Captain Cook’s
success doing the same. Bulfinch had read Cook’s Journals, published in 1784, that in part discussed his success selling sea otter pelts in Canton
, and thus the American merchants thought they could copy that success. Prior to this, other America traders, such as Robert Morris
, had sent ships to trade with China, notably the Empress of China in 1784, but had had trouble finding goods for which the Chinese would trade. Bulfinch’s learning of Cook's pelt-trading solved this problem, so that New England
sea merchants could trade with China profitably. Gray might have been the first American to visit the Northwest Coast, but Simon Metcalfe
of the Eleanora may have arrived earlier—perhaps as much as a year earlier.
On the voyage of Kendrick and Gray, the ships' cargo included blankets, knives, iron bars, and other trade goods. Both ships had official letters from Congress and passports from Massachusetts for their trading voyage. Kendrick and Gray sailed around Cape Horn
at the southern tip of South America
, first stopping at the Cape Verde Islands and the Falkland Islands
in the Atlantic Ocean. In January after passing Cape Horn, the ships encountered a storm that separated the two vessels and damaged the Columbia. The damage forced Kendrick to sail for the nearest port, Juan Fernandez
. Juan Fernandez was a Spanish port under the control of Don Blas Gonzalez commandant of the garrison. There the Columbia was repaired before sailing for the northwest coast. Meanwhile Gray reached the coast in August. Upon reaching the coast, Gray ran aground attempting to enter a river near 46° in latitude. Here the ship was attacked by natives, with the ship losing one crew member before freeing itself and proceeding north. On September 17, 1788 the Lady Washington with Gray in command reached Nootka Sound
.
The Columbia arrived soon after and the two ships wintered at Nootka Sound. They were still in the vicinity when Esteban José Martínez
arrived in early May, 1789, to assert Spanish sovereignty. A number of British merchant ships soon arrived as well, and conflict between the Spanish and British resulted in the Nootka Crisis
, which almost resulted in war between the two nations. Martínez seized a number of ships, including the Princess Royal
. The two American ships were left alone, although Martínez captured a third American ship, the Fair American, when it arrived at Nootka Sound in the fall of 1789. Robert Gray witnessed much of the Nootka Incident.
During their trading up and down the coastlines of what is now British Columbia
, Washington, Oregon
, and California
the two explored many bays and inland waters. Gray then encountered Captain John Meares
of England. Meares subsequently published reports and maps of the Pacific Northwest that included a voyage by Robert Gray through a large, imaginary inland sea between the Strait of Juan de Fuca
and Dixon Entrance
. When George Vancouver
asked Gray about this in 1792 Gray said he never made such a voyage.
In 1788 Gray had attempted to enter a large river, but was unable to due to the tides, this river being the Columbia River. At the outset of the voyage, Gray captained the Lady Washington
and Kendrick captained the Columbia Rediviva
, but the captains swapped vessels during the voyage, putting Gray in command of the Columbia. After the switch, Kendrick stayed on the North American coast trading for pelts and furs, while Gray sailed their existing cargo of pelts to China, stopping off at the Sandwich Islands
en route. Gray arrived in Canton in early 1790 and traded his cargo for large amounts of tea. Gray then continued on west, sailing through the Indian Ocean
, around the Cape of Good Hope
, and across the Atlantic, arriving back in Boston on August 9, 1790. As such, the Columbia became the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe. Although the commercial venture was disappointing, Gray was paraded through Boston for the circumnavigation accomplishment. Accompanying Gray was a Hawaiian
native, dressed in traditional Hawaiian dress, who had taken passage on the Columbia. Gray then attended a reception held in his honor by governor John Hancock
.
Also on this voyage, Kendrick and Gray were instructed to purchase as much land as they could from native Indians in the region. Kendrick did so on at least two occasions, including on August 5, 1791, when he purchased 18 square miles (46.6 km²) from a native tribe, near latitude 49°50′N, this purchase occurring while Gray had completed his voyage and since returned.
The success in profits realized by this voyage had the most immediate effect of Gray's setting out for the north Pacific coast again, only six weeks after returning thence. The further effect was that other New England sea merchants began to send vessels of their own thither, to take part in this new trade opportunity, including the dispatch of the Hope
in September 1790, under the command of Joseph Ingraham
, Gray's first mate on his first voyage. Within a few years, many Yankee merchants were involved in the continuous trade of pelts
to China, and by 1801 sixteen American vessels were engaged in this triangular route. These mercantile activities encroached upon territorial claims by other nations to this disputed region, notably those of Spain
and of Russia
, and in the coming years they would be used in support of American claims the Oregon Country
, and would contribute to the limiting to California
and to Alaska
, respectively, the Spanish and Russian claims.
signed by President George Washington
. Gray put in at Nootka Sound
on June 5, 1791, and wintered at a stockade they built and named Fort Defiance
. Over this winter the crew built a 45-ton sloop
named Adventure
, which was launched in the spring with Gray’s first mate, Robert Haswell
, in charge. He sailed as far north as the Queen Charlotte Islands
during this voyage.
Once April came Gray and the Columbia sailed south while the Adventure
sailed north. After wintering on Vancouver Island
, Gray set sail again on April 2, 1792 when he left the trading post of Clayoquot. As he departed Gray ordered the destruction of the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) village of Opitsitah (Opitsaht
). The attack was a retaliation for insults he thought he had endured and in response to rumors of a plot against his men conceived by some local natives and a Sandwich Islander of his own crew. The plot may have been real, but might have been a misunderstanding. The village of Opitsaht which consisted of about 200 houses with much carved work—a "fine village, the Work of Ages", according to Gray's officer John Boit, which was "in a short time totally destroy'd". Fortunately, it was deserted at the time. John Boit, the keeper of his own ship's log wrote that Gray had let his passions go too far. In 2005, descendants of Gray formally apologized for the destruction of Opitsaht. Gray ordered several other attacks during the 1792 voyage. In May 1792 Gray ordered an attack on a Chicklisaht Nuu-chah-nulth village in Esperanza Inlet or Nasparti Inlet north of Nootka Sound, killing seven and seizing the natives' sea otter furs. The Chicklisaht took their wounded to the Spanish post at Nootka Sound and asked the commandant, Bodega y Quadra, to punish Gray. This attack came after a breakdown in trading negotiations. The price of sea otter furs had increased dramatically since the late 1780s. Gray was one of a number of captains who decided to use force to acquire furs. Later in 1792, in Grays Harbor, Captain Gray fired on a group of Chinooks, killing twenty. Still later, in Clayoquot Sound again, Gray killed or wounded at least 25 natives who were approaching his ship in a war canoe during the night. He battled a group of Kwakiutl
s in late 1792.
During his 1792 journey aboard the Columbia Rediviva
Gray noticed muddy waters flowing from shore and decided to investigate whether he might have encountered the "Great River of the West." While waiting for favorable weather, on April 29 Gray spotted a ship and exchanged greetings with her. This ship was the HMS Discovery
commanded by British
Naval officer Captain George Vancouver
. The two captains met and discussed the geography of the coastlines: Gray told Vancouver about the large river he had attempted to enter in 1788, but Vancouver doubted there was a large river at that latitude. So Gray continued south, leaving the Strait of Juan de Fuca
on April 30, 1792, trading for more pelts as the ship sailed. On May 7, he took the Columbia into the estuarine bay of Grays Harbor, Washington. (Gray himself actually named this Bullfinch Harbor, but Vancouver's after-the-fact choice was the name that stuck.)
Afterward, Gray carried on south to what was, he rightly suspected, the mouth of a great river, and looked further for a way into this river. On May 11 his men discovered what he sought, and he ordered a small sailboat
launched to attempt to find a safe passage across the sand bars in the process known as sounding. Finally in the evening of May 11, 1792, Gray's men found a safe channel
, and so ship and crew sailed into the estuary of the Columbia River. Once there, they sailed upriver and Gray named this large river Columbia after his ship.
After entering the Columbia, they were met by many natives in their canoe
s, while the crew prepared to take on fresh water. The ship and crew traveled approximately 13 miles (20.9 km) upriver and traded items such as nails for pelts
, salmon
, and animal meat over a nine-day period. In addition to naming the river, Gray also named other landmarks such as Adams Point and Cape Hancock. However, many of these places have since been re-named. The farthest point Gray explored upriver is now known as Grays Bay, and the river that flows into it Grays River. These names were not given by Gray, but by William Broughton
, George Vancouver's
lieutenant, who explored the Columbia in October 1792. Robert Gray had made a chart of the bay and the mouth of the river and a copy was acquired by Vancouver.
Gray's success in entering the river would eventually form part of the basis for U.S. territorial claims to the Oregon Country. On May 20, Gray and crew sailed from the Columbia, heading north to rendezvous with their sloop Adventure before setting sail for China.
was present as the commandant of the Spanish settlement there. Bodega was awaiting the arrival of George Vancouver
so that the two could implement the first Nootka Convention
. Bodega had intended to turn over the entire establishment to Vancouver, but while waiting for Vanouver he began to change his mind. Over the summer Bodega had begun to realize that John Meares
had not only greatly exaggerated his losses during the Nootka Crisis, but had illegally operated British trading ships under the flag of Portugal. When Gray and Ingraham arrived at Nootka Vancouver was still en route. Bodega took the opportunity to ask the Americans if they would give him their account of the events of 1789 that led to the Nootka Crisis. Ingraham answered Bodega's letter at length. He wrote, "as I knew every circumstance, Captain Gray desired I would answer and he would sign it jointly."
According to the letter signed by Ingraham and Gray, Meares had made many false claims about the events of 1789. The Portuguese ships, Ingraham said, were definitely British ships pretending to be Portuguese. The "house" that Meares said he built at Nootka Sound, and which was explicitly mentioned in the Nootka Convention, was only a "rough hut", built and torn down in 1788. By 1789, when the Spanish arrived, "there was no vestige of any house remaining". The Nootka Convention said that Spain had seized buildings and that these must be restored to Britain. Further, Ingraham wrote that Meares not purchased any land from Maquinna
, as claimed. About the arrest of James Colnett
by Esteban José Martínez
, Ingraham and Gray wrote that Colnett had insulted and threatened Martínez, and that Colnett had drawn his sword on Martínez, justifying Colnett's arrest. The letter closed with a statement of friendship: "We sincerely hope, sir, when things are represented with truth, it will rescue our friend Don Estevan J. Martínez from censure... As to the treatment of the Americans by Don Estevan, we have ever testified to it in terms due to such hospitality, and we are again happy to have it in our power to do what we deem justice to his conduct." It should be noted that the Americans were not a neutral party. The United States had only gained its independence from Britain through war a few years before. Also, the Americans were in direct competition with the British, but not the Spanish, for the fur trade of the North West coast. It was in their interest to support the Spanish case.
Bodega was pleased to receive Ingraham and Gray's account. Once Vancouver arrived, Bodega used the report, along with other tactics, to force Vancouver into a diplomatic deadlock once negotiations had begun. Were it not for Ingraham and Gray's letter, along with Vancouver's late arrival, and several other factors, it is likely that Bodega would have turned the entire Spanish establishment at Nootka over to the British. Instead, Bodega offered only to turn over the small cove where Meares had built his hut in 1789. Vancouver could not accept this. In the end the two agreed to let their governments work it out. As a result, the settlement at Nootka remained Spanish for several years, until under the third Nootka Convention both nations agreed to abandon the port.
While Gray was at Nootka Sound, Bodega provided a small house near his own. Gray stayed there until he left Nootka Sound. In addition, Bodega had the Columbia repaired by the Spanish caulkers, blacksmiths, and carpenters. Bodega also provided fresh food, such as vegetables and hot bread, every day. When Gray and Ingraham left they were given large amounts of food, such as salmon, pork, eggs, butter, fresh bread, wine, brandy, and large amounts of cabbage and salad. Bodega refused any payment for any of his services. Ingraham wrote in his journal, "Considering the part of the world we were in, I thought this a very handsome present. Not a day passed during our stay in this port, but every ship—without respect to nation or person—received marks of Don Juan's hospitality."
In September most of the ships that had visited Nootka Sound left, including the Columbia, under Gray, along with the sloop Adventure. Bodega also left, on the Activa. Bodega and Gray met shortly after leaving and agreed to sail to Neah Bay
where, in the last week of September, Bodega purchased the Adventure from Gray. After this, Gray took the Columbia across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port San Juan (today the site of Port Renfrew, British Columbia
), where the final preparations were made for the long voyage across the Pacific. Gray left North America on October 3, 1792, arriving in the Hawaiian Islands
on October 29, and in Macau
on December, 8.
of 1798–1800, an undeclared and purely maritime conflict related to the Napoleonic Wars
.
On September 10, 1798, Gray set sail from Salem in command of the bark Alert, on another trading voyage bound for the Northwest Coast, where he was meant to spend a season or two fur-trading, and thence for Canton and home again, as before. This voyage was cut short while yet outbound, though, by the capture of Gray's ship in the South Atlantic, by a French privateer
. Alert was taken by La Republicaine on November 17, about 500 miles (804.7 km) east of Rio de Janeiro
, then sailed by a prize crew (though under Gray's command) to the Spanish port of Montevideo
, on the River Plate
, arriving on December 14. There, Alert and its cargo were sold as prizes of the French ship. Alert left port on January 11, with a Spanish crew under the Spanish flag, bound for the Pacific. Gray returned to the United States and went on with his sailing career.
In 1799, Gray commanded the privateer Lucy in the continuing issue with the French. The Lucy was a 12-gun ship with a crew of twenty-five.
, where he arrived on April 18, 1801. He also made subsequent voyages to England and the southern United States. Gray died at sea in 1806, near Charleston, South Carolina
. The cause of his death is believed to have been yellow fever
. He left behind his wife and four daughters, who later petitioned the U.S. Congress for a government pension, based on his voyages and a claim that he was a naval officer for the Continental Navy
during the Revolutionary War.
. The rival British claimants called the more southerly portion of this disputed area the Columbia District
, which they derived from the river-name chosen by Gray. Columbia District eventually lent itself to the name of the mid-19th century colony of British Columbia
. When that colony joined Canada in 1871, it became the existing province of British Columbia.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
merchant sea-captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
who is known for his achievements in connection with two trading voyages to the northern Pacific coast of North America, between 1790 and 1793, which pioneered the American maritime fur trade
Maritime Fur Trade
The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
in that region. In the course of those voyages, Gray explored portions of that coast and, in 1790, completed the first American circumnavigation of the world. Perhaps his most remembered accomplishment from his explorations was his coming upon and then naming of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, in 1792 while on his second voyage.
Gray's earlier and later life are both comparatively obscure. He was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and may have served in the Continental Navy
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. After his two famous voyages, he carried on his career as a sea-captain, mainly of merchantmen in the Atlantic. This included what was meant to be a third voyage to the Northwest Coast, but was ended by the capture of his ship by French privateers, during the Franco-American Quasi-War
Quasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
, and command of an American privateer later in that same conflict. Gray died at sea in 1806, near Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, possibly of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
. Many geographic features along the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Washington coasts bear Gray's name, as do numerous schools in the region.
Early life
Robert Gray was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, on May 10, 1755, to William Gray. Little is known of his early life. It is said, but not documented, that he served in the Continental NavyContinental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He is known, however, to have served in the Triangular trade
Triangular trade
Triangular trade, or triangle trade, is a historical term indicating among three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, aboard the Pacific.
Voyage to Pacific Northwest Coast 1787-1790
On September 30, 1787, Robert Gray and Captain John Kendrick left BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in two ships, to trade along the north Pacific coast
History of the west coast of North America
The human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along a now-submerged coastal plain, through the development of significant pre-Columbian cultures and population densities, to the arrival...
. They were sent by Boston merchants including Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
. Bulfinch and the other financial backers came up with the idea of trading pelts from the northwest coast of North America and taking them directly to China after Bulfinch had read about Captain Cook’s
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
success doing the same. Bulfinch had read Cook’s Journals, published in 1784, that in part discussed his success selling sea otter pelts in Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, and thus the American merchants thought they could copy that success. Prior to this, other America traders, such as Robert Morris
Robert Morris (merchant)
Robert Morris, Jr. was a British-born American merchant, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution...
, had sent ships to trade with China, notably the Empress of China in 1784, but had had trouble finding goods for which the Chinese would trade. Bulfinch’s learning of Cook's pelt-trading solved this problem, so that New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
sea merchants could trade with China profitably. Gray might have been the first American to visit the Northwest Coast, but Simon Metcalfe
Simon Metcalfe
Simon Metcalfe was a British American surveyor and one of the first American maritime fur traders to visit the Pacific Northwest coast...
of the Eleanora may have arrived earlier—perhaps as much as a year earlier.
On the voyage of Kendrick and Gray, the ships' cargo included blankets, knives, iron bars, and other trade goods. Both ships had official letters from Congress and passports from Massachusetts for their trading voyage. Kendrick and Gray sailed around Cape Horn
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...
at the southern tip of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, first stopping at the Cape Verde Islands and the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
in the Atlantic Ocean. In January after passing Cape Horn, the ships encountered a storm that separated the two vessels and damaged the Columbia. The damage forced Kendrick to sail for the nearest port, Juan Fernandez
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first...
. Juan Fernandez was a Spanish port under the control of Don Blas Gonzalez commandant of the garrison. There the Columbia was repaired before sailing for the northwest coast. Meanwhile Gray reached the coast in August. Upon reaching the coast, Gray ran aground attempting to enter a river near 46° in latitude. Here the ship was attacked by natives, with the ship losing one crew member before freeing itself and proceeding north. On September 17, 1788 the Lady Washington with Gray in command reached Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
.
The Columbia arrived soon after and the two ships wintered at Nootka Sound. They were still in the vicinity when Esteban José Martínez
Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra
Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra, or simply Esteban José Martínez was a Spanish navigator and explorer, native of Seville...
arrived in early May, 1789, to assert Spanish sovereignty. A number of British merchant ships soon arrived as well, and conflict between the Spanish and British resulted in the Nootka Crisis
Nootka Crisis
The Nootka Crisis was an international incident and political dispute between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain, triggered by a series of events that took place during the summer of 1789 at Nootka Sound...
, which almost resulted in war between the two nations. Martínez seized a number of ships, including the Princess Royal
Princess Royal (sloop)
Princess Royal was a British merchant ship that sailed on fur trading ventures in the late 1780s, and was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban José Martínez of Spain during the Nootka Crisis of 1789...
. The two American ships were left alone, although Martínez captured a third American ship, the Fair American, when it arrived at Nootka Sound in the fall of 1789. Robert Gray witnessed much of the Nootka Incident.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Washington, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
the two explored many bays and inland waters. Gray then encountered Captain John Meares
John Meares
John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.- Career :...
of England. Meares subsequently published reports and maps of the Pacific Northwest that included a voyage by Robert Gray through a large, imaginary inland sea between the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
and Dixon Entrance
Dixon Entrance
The Dixon Entrance is a strait about long and wide in the Pacific Ocean at the International Boundary between the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia in Canada. It was named by Joseph Banks for Captain George Dixon, a Royal Navy officer, fur trader, and explorer, who...
. When George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
asked Gray about this in 1792 Gray said he never made such a voyage.
In 1788 Gray had attempted to enter a large river, but was unable to due to the tides, this river being the Columbia River. At the outset of the voyage, Gray captained the Lady Washington
Lady Washington
Lady Washington is a ship name that is shared by at least 4 different small wooden merchant sailing vessels during two different time periods. They should not be confused with USS Lady Washington. The original sailed for about 10 years in the 18th century. A somewhat updated modern replica was...
and Kendrick captained the Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...
, but the captains swapped vessels during the voyage, putting Gray in command of the Columbia. After the switch, Kendrick stayed on the North American coast trading for pelts and furs, while Gray sailed their existing cargo of pelts to China, stopping off at the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
en route. Gray arrived in Canton in early 1790 and traded his cargo for large amounts of tea. Gray then continued on west, sailing through the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, around the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, and across the Atlantic, arriving back in Boston on August 9, 1790. As such, the Columbia became the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe. Although the commercial venture was disappointing, Gray was paraded through Boston for the circumnavigation accomplishment. Accompanying Gray was a Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
native, dressed in traditional Hawaiian dress, who had taken passage on the Columbia. Gray then attended a reception held in his honor by governor John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
.
Also on this voyage, Kendrick and Gray were instructed to purchase as much land as they could from native Indians in the region. Kendrick did so on at least two occasions, including on August 5, 1791, when he purchased 18 square miles (46.6 km²) from a native tribe, near latitude 49°50′N, this purchase occurring while Gray had completed his voyage and since returned.
The success in profits realized by this voyage had the most immediate effect of Gray's setting out for the north Pacific coast again, only six weeks after returning thence. The further effect was that other New England sea merchants began to send vessels of their own thither, to take part in this new trade opportunity, including the dispatch of the Hope
Hope (ship)
The Hope was an American brig class merchant ship involved in the Maritime Fur Trade along the northwest coast of North America and discovery in the Pacific Ocean...
in September 1790, under the command of Joseph Ingraham
Joseph Ingraham
Joseph Ingraham was an American sailor and Maritime Fur Trader who discovered several islands of the Marquesas Islands while on his way to trade along the West Coast of North America...
, Gray's first mate on his first voyage. Within a few years, many Yankee merchants were involved in the continuous trade of pelts
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
to China, and by 1801 sixteen American vessels were engaged in this triangular route. These mercantile activities encroached upon territorial claims by other nations to this disputed region, notably those of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and in the coming years they would be used in support of American claims the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
, and would contribute to the limiting to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, respectively, the Spanish and Russian claims.
Return to Pacific Northwest Coast, 1790-1793
Gray set sail for the northwest coast again in the Columbia on September 28, 1790, reaching his destination in 1792. Gray and Kendrick rejoined each other for a time, after Gray's return to the region. On this voyage Gray, though he was still a private merchant, was sailing under papers of the United States of AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
signed by President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. Gray put in at Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
on June 5, 1791, and wintered at a stockade they built and named Fort Defiance
Fort Defiance (British Columbia)
Fort Defiance was a small outpost built by the crew of the Columbia Rediviva during the winter of 1791-1792. The crew under the command of American merchant and maritime fur trader Captain Robert Gray built the establishment on Meares Island in present day British Columbia, Canada.-History:In early...
. Over this winter the crew built a 45-ton sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
named Adventure
Adventure (ship)
The Adventure was a sloop maritime fur trade ship built by the crew of Captain Robert Gray on his second voyage to the Northwest Coast of North America. The 45-ton sloop was built to allow the trading venture to access smaller inlets the Columbia could not reach. At the end of his second voyage...
, which was launched in the spring with Gray’s first mate, Robert Haswell
Robert Haswell
Robert Haswell was an early American maritime fur trader to the Pacific Northwest of North America. His journals of these voyages are the main records of Captain Robert Gray's circumnavigation of the globe...
, in charge. He sailed as far north as the Queen Charlotte Islands
Queen Charlotte Islands
Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...
during this voyage.
Once April came Gray and the Columbia sailed south while the Adventure
Adventure (ship)
The Adventure was a sloop maritime fur trade ship built by the crew of Captain Robert Gray on his second voyage to the Northwest Coast of North America. The 45-ton sloop was built to allow the trading venture to access smaller inlets the Columbia could not reach. At the end of his second voyage...
sailed north. After wintering on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, Gray set sail again on April 2, 1792 when he left the trading post of Clayoquot. As he departed Gray ordered the destruction of the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) village of Opitsitah (Opitsaht
Opitsaht
Opitsaht, spelled also as Opitsat and Opitsitah, is a community of the Tla-o-qui-aht people of the Nuu-chah-nulth nation, located at the SW end of Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound. During the era of the Maritime Fur Trade, Opitsaht was the seat of Wickaninnish, chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht, and...
). The attack was a retaliation for insults he thought he had endured and in response to rumors of a plot against his men conceived by some local natives and a Sandwich Islander of his own crew. The plot may have been real, but might have been a misunderstanding. The village of Opitsaht which consisted of about 200 houses with much carved work—a "fine village, the Work of Ages", according to Gray's officer John Boit, which was "in a short time totally destroy'd". Fortunately, it was deserted at the time. John Boit, the keeper of his own ship's log wrote that Gray had let his passions go too far. In 2005, descendants of Gray formally apologized for the destruction of Opitsaht. Gray ordered several other attacks during the 1792 voyage. In May 1792 Gray ordered an attack on a Chicklisaht Nuu-chah-nulth village in Esperanza Inlet or Nasparti Inlet north of Nootka Sound, killing seven and seizing the natives' sea otter furs. The Chicklisaht took their wounded to the Spanish post at Nootka Sound and asked the commandant, Bodega y Quadra, to punish Gray. This attack came after a breakdown in trading negotiations. The price of sea otter furs had increased dramatically since the late 1780s. Gray was one of a number of captains who decided to use force to acquire furs. Later in 1792, in Grays Harbor, Captain Gray fired on a group of Chinooks, killing twenty. Still later, in Clayoquot Sound again, Gray killed or wounded at least 25 natives who were approaching his ship in a war canoe during the night. He battled a group of Kwakiutl
Kwakiutl
The term Kwakiutl, historically applied to the entire Kwakwaka'wakw ethno-linguistic group of originally 28 tribes, comes from one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes, the Kwagu'ł or Kwagyeulth, at Fort Rupert, with whom Franz Boas did most of his anthropological work and whose Indian Act Band government...
s in late 1792.
During his 1792 journey aboard the Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...
Gray noticed muddy waters flowing from shore and decided to investigate whether he might have encountered the "Great River of the West." While waiting for favorable weather, on April 29 Gray spotted a ship and exchanged greetings with her. This ship was the HMS Discovery
HMS Discovery (1789)
HMS Discovery was a Royal Navy ship launched in 1789 and best known as the lead ship in George Vancouver's exploration of the west coast of North America in his famous 1791-1795 expedition. She was converted to a bomb vessel in 1798 and participated in the Battle of Copenhagen. Thereafter she...
commanded by British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
Naval officer Captain George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
. The two captains met and discussed the geography of the coastlines: Gray told Vancouver about the large river he had attempted to enter in 1788, but Vancouver doubted there was a large river at that latitude. So Gray continued south, leaving the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
on April 30, 1792, trading for more pelts as the ship sailed. On May 7, he took the Columbia into the estuarine bay of Grays Harbor, Washington. (Gray himself actually named this Bullfinch Harbor, but Vancouver's after-the-fact choice was the name that stuck.)
Entering the Columbia
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
launched to attempt to find a safe passage across the sand bars in the process known as sounding. Finally in the evening of May 11, 1792, Gray's men found a safe channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
, and so ship and crew sailed into the estuary of the Columbia River. Once there, they sailed upriver and Gray named this large river Columbia after his ship.
After entering the Columbia, they were met by many natives in their canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s, while the crew prepared to take on fresh water. The ship and crew traveled approximately 13 miles (20.9 km) upriver and traded items such as nails for pelts
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, and animal meat over a nine-day period. In addition to naming the river, Gray also named other landmarks such as Adams Point and Cape Hancock. However, many of these places have since been re-named. The farthest point Gray explored upriver is now known as Grays Bay, and the river that flows into it Grays River. These names were not given by Gray, but by William Broughton
William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS Chatham as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through the Pacific Ocean led by Captain George Vancouver in the early 1790s.-With Vancouver:In...
, George Vancouver's
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
lieutenant, who explored the Columbia in October 1792. Robert Gray had made a chart of the bay and the mouth of the river and a copy was acquired by Vancouver.
Gray's success in entering the river would eventually form part of the basis for U.S. territorial claims to the Oregon Country. On May 20, Gray and crew sailed from the Columbia, heading north to rendezvous with their sloop Adventure before setting sail for China.
At Nootka Sound
On July 22, 1792 Gray sailed the Columbia into the Nootka Sound accompanied by the Hope under Ingraham. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y QuadraJuan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , this navigator explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska.Juan...
was present as the commandant of the Spanish settlement there. Bodega was awaiting the arrival of George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
so that the two could implement the first Nootka Convention
Nootka Convention
The Nootka Conventions were a series of three agreements between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Great Britain, signed in the 1790s which averted a war between the two empires over overlapping claims to portions of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America.The claims of Spain dated back...
. Bodega had intended to turn over the entire establishment to Vancouver, but while waiting for Vanouver he began to change his mind. Over the summer Bodega had begun to realize that John Meares
John Meares
John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.- Career :...
had not only greatly exaggerated his losses during the Nootka Crisis, but had illegally operated British trading ships under the flag of Portugal. When Gray and Ingraham arrived at Nootka Vancouver was still en route. Bodega took the opportunity to ask the Americans if they would give him their account of the events of 1789 that led to the Nootka Crisis. Ingraham answered Bodega's letter at length. He wrote, "as I knew every circumstance, Captain Gray desired I would answer and he would sign it jointly."
According to the letter signed by Ingraham and Gray, Meares had made many false claims about the events of 1789. The Portuguese ships, Ingraham said, were definitely British ships pretending to be Portuguese. The "house" that Meares said he built at Nootka Sound, and which was explicitly mentioned in the Nootka Convention, was only a "rough hut", built and torn down in 1788. By 1789, when the Spanish arrived, "there was no vestige of any house remaining". The Nootka Convention said that Spain had seized buildings and that these must be restored to Britain. Further, Ingraham wrote that Meares not purchased any land from Maquinna
Maquinna
Maquinna was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest Coast...
, as claimed. About the arrest of James Colnett
James Colnett
James Colnett was an officer of the British Royal Navy, an explorer, and a maritime fur trader. He served under James Cook during Cook's second voyage of exploration...
by Esteban José Martínez
Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra
Esteban José Martínez Fernández y Martínez de la Sierra, or simply Esteban José Martínez was a Spanish navigator and explorer, native of Seville...
, Ingraham and Gray wrote that Colnett had insulted and threatened Martínez, and that Colnett had drawn his sword on Martínez, justifying Colnett's arrest. The letter closed with a statement of friendship: "We sincerely hope, sir, when things are represented with truth, it will rescue our friend Don Estevan J. Martínez from censure... As to the treatment of the Americans by Don Estevan, we have ever testified to it in terms due to such hospitality, and we are again happy to have it in our power to do what we deem justice to his conduct." It should be noted that the Americans were not a neutral party. The United States had only gained its independence from Britain through war a few years before. Also, the Americans were in direct competition with the British, but not the Spanish, for the fur trade of the North West coast. It was in their interest to support the Spanish case.
Bodega was pleased to receive Ingraham and Gray's account. Once Vancouver arrived, Bodega used the report, along with other tactics, to force Vancouver into a diplomatic deadlock once negotiations had begun. Were it not for Ingraham and Gray's letter, along with Vancouver's late arrival, and several other factors, it is likely that Bodega would have turned the entire Spanish establishment at Nootka over to the British. Instead, Bodega offered only to turn over the small cove where Meares had built his hut in 1789. Vancouver could not accept this. In the end the two agreed to let their governments work it out. As a result, the settlement at Nootka remained Spanish for several years, until under the third Nootka Convention both nations agreed to abandon the port.
While Gray was at Nootka Sound, Bodega provided a small house near his own. Gray stayed there until he left Nootka Sound. In addition, Bodega had the Columbia repaired by the Spanish caulkers, blacksmiths, and carpenters. Bodega also provided fresh food, such as vegetables and hot bread, every day. When Gray and Ingraham left they were given large amounts of food, such as salmon, pork, eggs, butter, fresh bread, wine, brandy, and large amounts of cabbage and salad. Bodega refused any payment for any of his services. Ingraham wrote in his journal, "Considering the part of the world we were in, I thought this a very handsome present. Not a day passed during our stay in this port, but every ship—without respect to nation or person—received marks of Don Juan's hospitality."
In September most of the ships that had visited Nootka Sound left, including the Columbia, under Gray, along with the sloop Adventure. Bodega also left, on the Activa. Bodega and Gray met shortly after leaving and agreed to sail to Neah Bay
Neah Bay, Washington
Neah Bay is a census-designated place on the Makah Indian reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 794 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Neah Bay is located at ....
where, in the last week of September, Bodega purchased the Adventure from Gray. After this, Gray took the Columbia across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port San Juan (today the site of Port Renfrew, British Columbia
Port Renfrew, British Columbia
Port Renfrew is a community on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 2 hours' drive west of Victoria, British Columbia. Port Renfrew is the western terminus of the Juan de Fuca Trail. Tall Tree Music Festival also calls Port Renfrew home, proving to be...
), where the final preparations were made for the long voyage across the Pacific. Gray left North America on October 3, 1792, arriving in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
on October 29, and in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
on December, 8.
Return to Boston
In Canton, Gray again traded his cargo for tea and then sailed west towards the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Gray returned to Boston in July 1793, after again circumnavigating the globe. On February 3, 1794, he took a wife named Martha Atkins, in a marriage performed in Boston by the Reverend John Eliott. The couple had five children together.Role in the Quasi-War
Later in his career, Gray was involved in the Franco-American Quasi-WarQuasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
of 1798–1800, an undeclared and purely maritime conflict related to the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
On September 10, 1798, Gray set sail from Salem in command of the bark Alert, on another trading voyage bound for the Northwest Coast, where he was meant to spend a season or two fur-trading, and thence for Canton and home again, as before. This voyage was cut short while yet outbound, though, by the capture of Gray's ship in the South Atlantic, by a French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
. Alert was taken by La Republicaine on November 17, about 500 miles (804.7 km) east of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, then sailed by a prize crew (though under Gray's command) to the Spanish port of Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, on the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
, arriving on December 14. There, Alert and its cargo were sold as prizes of the French ship. Alert left port on January 11, with a Spanish crew under the Spanish flag, bound for the Pacific. Gray returned to the United States and went on with his sailing career.
In 1799, Gray commanded the privateer Lucy in the continuing issue with the French. The Lucy was a 12-gun ship with a crew of twenty-five.
Later voyages and death
On November 21, 1800, Gray left Boston in command of the schooner James, with a cargo of iron and stone ballast, bound for Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, where he arrived on April 18, 1801. He also made subsequent voyages to England and the southern United States. Gray died at sea in 1806, near Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The cause of his death is believed to have been yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
. He left behind his wife and four daughters, who later petitioned the U.S. Congress for a government pension, based on his voyages and a claim that he was a naval officer for the Continental Navy
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
during the Revolutionary War.
Legacy
Gray did not publish his geographic discoveries on the Columbia River, nor those elsewhere along the Pacific coast. Captain Vancouver did publish Gray's discoveries in England, along with his own explorations, and gave Gray credit. At the time these discoveries by Gray did not gain him any renown nor were thought important. However, the trading opportunities Gray pioneered (in regard to Americans) were soon followed up by other New England merchants, with the result that the Indians of the Northwest Coast came to call Americans "Boston men". Moreover, Gray's priority in entering of the Columbia was later used by the United States in support of its territorial claims to what Americans called the Oregon CountryOregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
. The rival British claimants called the more southerly portion of this disputed area the Columbia District
Columbia District
The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
, which they derived from the river-name chosen by Gray. Columbia District eventually lent itself to the name of the mid-19th century colony of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. When that colony joined Canada in 1871, it became the existing province of British Columbia.
Namesakes
- Grays Harbor and Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County, WashingtonGrays Harbor County is a county in the state of Washington, in the United States of America. As of 2010, the population was 72,797. The county seat is at Montesano, and its largest city is Aberdeen. The county is named after a large estuarine bay near its southwestern corner...
, in Washington State - Grays Bay, on the north shore of the Columbia River estuary
- Grays Point, at the west of Grays Bay
- Grays River, a tributary of the Columbia River, flowing into Grays Bay
- Grays River, WashingtonGrays River, WashingtonGrays River is an unincorporated rural village in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States.Grays River stands on the north bank of the lower Grays River, which flows into the Columbia River estuary. The National Register of Historic Places-listed Grays River Covered Bridge crosses the Grays...
, a small, unincorporated rural village on the river of the same name - Robert Gray Avenue in Tiverton, Rhode Island
- Robert Gray Middle School in Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
- Robert Gray Middle School in Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
- Captain Robert Gray Elementary in Astoria, OregonAstoria, OregonAstoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
- Robert Gray Elementary School in Aberdeen, WashingtonAberdeen, WashingtonAberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, founded by Samuel Benn in 1884. Aberdeen was incorporated on May 12, 1890. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis...
- Robert Gray Elementary School in Longview, WashingtonLongview, WashingtonLongview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census and is the largest city in Cowlitz County...
- Robert Gray Elementary School in Pasco, WashingtonPasco, WashingtonPasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...