HMS Chatham was a Royal Navy survey brig launched in early 1788, constructed by King in Dover as a merchant brig before being purchased for naval service on 12 February 1788. Designed for exploration and surveying, she played a significant role in George Vancouver’s expedition to the Pacific Northwest and the South Seas from 1791 to 1795. During her notable voyage, HMS Chatham was commanded by Lieutenant William Robert Broughton, with Second Lieutenant James Hanson aboard. The vessel’s crew were the first Europeans to sight the Chatham Islands in November 1791, naming them after John Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Chatham contributed to the exploration of the Columbia River, reaching as far inland as the Columbia River Gorge in present-day eastern Multnomah County, Oregon. Her crew’s landing site in 1792 is commemorated by a plaque along Interstate 84. In 1792, HMS Chatham ran aground on rocks near Fife Sound in Queen Charlotte Strait, an incident that occurred within a day of the same area where HMS Discovery had previously run aground. That year, her commander was sent back to England with dispatches; she was later commanded by Peter Puget during her return to Britain, arriving on 17 October 1794. She was present at Plymouth in January 1795, sharing in the proceeds from the detention of Dutch vessels following Britain’s outbreak of war with the Netherlands. Due to the wear sustained during her long voyage, HMS Chatham underwent repairs at Deptford in 1797. She remained in service until 1830, when she was sold in Jamaica. Decades later, in 2008, a scuba diver discovered a large anchor off Whidbey Island, Washington, believed to be from HMS Chatham. After conservation efforts and testing in 2014, it was determined that the anchor’s weight—around 2,425 pounds—was inconsistent with the anchors used in 1792, suggesting it may date from a later period. HMS Chatham’s archaeological remains and her contributions to exploration mark her as a vessel of maritime historical significance.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.