Lady Washington HISTORY

In 1750 a trading sloop was built on Essex River, Massachusetts. It began with short runs, and twenty years later it was renamed from Washington to Lady Washington. Perhaps it had something to do with the rev war. According to Mark Olson it, "If you look at the registries of that era you see a glut of vessels named "Washington". She was renamed in order to cause a distinction between herself and the other vessels. That is why we are having so much trouble with her earlier life. She is too easily mixed up with other vessels. That, and remember what it must have been like in an early market-based economy. Business was a bit of a free for all. Not much was recorded." Also at that period the schooners were becoming more popular which might explain the Lady being sold.
      Thirty-seven years after its construction, the Lady Washington was bought for 1,300 by Joseph Barrell, Bullfinch, and company for a sister ship to a fur trade expedition. It outran her flagship by a week to the Cape, and stayed there for the winter. Later she went up and down the Pacific coast brieftly before going to Hawaii, China, and Japan under the Captain John Kendrick who commandeered her from Robert Gray.
      In 1790 she became the first American ship to go to Japan on a trading mission, Kendrick pretended to be seeking refuge from a storm in order to land. A year later on Queen Charlotte Island, some natives stole items off the ship and Kendrick took their chiefs captive until they were returned. The natives were enraged by this and later when the Captain was drunk they came aboard and attacked, not a smart move when dealing with a drunk former privateer. He opened fire and killed fifty of them. He had some excuse, as natives earlier had attacked a shore party and killed his son.
      That same year he set off for Hawaii, and then again in 1794. By that time the Lady Washington had become so famous that several British vessels in Honolulu Harbor decided upon a gun salute only they forgot they had loaded it with grapeshot which whammed into the Lady killing Captain Kendrick and several officers.
      The Lady Washington continued on to China under another man - possibly Roger or Robert Simpson. She left Canton in 1795 and struck a typhoon so went to Hawaii for repairs. She spent the winter there and left in 1796 for Nootka and her career finally ended around 1798 about 50 years after her construction. After Kendrick was killed, she was sent to the Philippines, but in that voyage there was low demand for her cargo and things were not going well. She ended up sneaking along a river to avoid the high tariff at the port but something went wrong with her main anchor and during the shuffle to get another she ran onto the bar. The crew got everything they could off but she was imovable and ended up slowly dashed to pieces and sank a few days later.
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