FOUGHT THE AMERICANS.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 22, 26 January 1921, Page 5

FOUGHT THE AMERICANS.

During the war of American Independence the Chatham was employed chiefly on the American coast. She was one of the squadron which occupied Rhode Island, and thus provided the British with an admirably situated base in 1776; in 1781 she ought to have been with Graves, so Hood thought, in his action off the Chesapeake, when want of force had such serious results, but was detached. She took a French frigate at the time, the Magieienne off Boston, inflicting very heavy loss on her; but from a national point of view this was but -light compensation. After the war the ship was converted into a hospital hulk and served in that capacity at Falmouth till the end of the century.

The next Chatham was only a small tender of 135 tons, but she has a distinguished record, for she sailed with Captain Vancouver in 1791 to take over N'ootka from the Spaniards, and took part in his survey of the Oregon and British Columbia coast, and especially of the island which now bears his name. There have been no other men of war named Chatham, though the name was borne from 1815 to 1870 by an old line of battleship converted into a sheer hulk, and also by a yacht used as a tender in the Medway in the middle of the century.

Later in the afternoon both <khe Gov-ernor-General and the Prime Minister returned the Commodore's visit on board the Chatham.