Details
[HAWAII]. Lord GEORGE ANSON BYRON, Commander. Manuscript ship's log and diary recording the voyage of H.M.S. Blonde to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), 10 June 1824 - 19 November 1825. 522 pages, 4to, 229 x 184 mm. (9 x 7 1/4 in.), bound in reversed calf, covers with blind-tooled borders, worn, joints cracked, spine defective, occasional minor dampstaining to upper margins. Ruled in red throughout, each page divided into columns or spaces for the hour, courses, winds, remarks, barometer and thermometer, latitude, longitude, bearing and distance, etc., neatly written in two different hands.
THE LOG OF COMMANDER BYRON'S VOYAGE TO HAWAII, 1824-1825
Captain George Anson Byron, grandson of the circumnavigator, was elevated to the peerage upon the death of his cousin the poet in 1824. The present log recounts the maiden voyage of the 46-gun frigate H.M.S. Blonde, Byron's last voyage, whose mission was the repatriation of the remains of the sovereigns of the Sandwich Islands, King Liholiho (or Kamehameha II, reigned 1819-1824) and his favorite wife Queen Kamamalu. The sovereigns' state visit to London in early 1824, undertaken in order to obtain confirmation of the British Government's intention to protect the Islands from foreign encroachments, had ended tragically, the King and Queen both succumbing to measles within a single week in July. H.M.S. Blonde was commissioned on 10 June 1824, and the first section of the journal gives a glimpse of life aboard ship in port, recording the weather, repairs to the hulk, the reception of new crew members, the acquisition of fresh victuals, etc. On 7 September "72 Packages belonging to the Sandwich Islanders" were brought aboard, to be joined on the 8th by "the Remains of the Late King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands," and on the 19th, with Boko, governor of Oahu, and the other surviving members of the Hawaiian delegation aboard, the stately new ship set sail. Entries record landfalls at Funchal in the Madeira islands, Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian island of Santa Catarina, Cape Horn and Valparaiso (in a state of anarchy at the conclusion of the war of independence from Chile). One of the Hawaiian passengers died on February 8th, followed by the ship's purser on the 13th. On February 23, the Captain notes the punishment of a sailor with 30 lashes for desertion; three weeks later, on February 16th and again on March 15th, a litany of whippings --for "disobedience and contempt," "desertion," "neglect of duty," "striking a petty officer," "theft," "drunkenness," "fighting," etc., indicate a distinct lowering of morale aboard ship. After a calmer crossing, marred only by water rationing, Hawaiian canoes came abreast of the ship on 3 May, and on the 11th the "Bodies of the deceased King and Queen" were brought ashore at Lahaina, accompanied by the entire crew: "Towed the Bodies on shore attended by the Captain, Officers, Seamen & Marines, fired 26 Minute Guns after the Boats had left the ship and hoisted the colours half mast, formed on landing and marched in Procession to the Place of Interment, the Band in Attendance." The funeral procession was greeted by an outpouring of grief from the awaiting throngs (this and other episodes during Byron's visit are related in Maria Graham, Voyage of H.M. S. Blonde to the Sandwich Islands, London 1826, and, more recently, in Paul Bailey, A Mele to their Memory, those Kings and Queens of Old Hawaii, Los Angeles 1975.) From Lahaina, the Blonde sailed for Oahu, anchoring in the "Honoruru" [Honolulu] Roads," later moving to the newly named Byron Bay off the islands of Hawaii, where the crew remained until mid-July. During the visit the ship was honored by the visits of the principal members of the Hawaiian royal family, including the formidable though now elderly Queen Kaahumanu, who had accepted the Captain's invitation to accompany him to the island of Hawaii, and ensured that he was welcomed there as a state dignitary. An excursion was even organized for him and the ship's scientists to the volcano of Mauna Loa, forty miles away. Commander Byron is known to have impressed the Hawaiians with his impeccable courtesy, respect for their civilization and capacity for self-government, and his sincere concern for their well-being. On July 16th the Blonde set sail for the return voyage, stopping on the leeward side of Hawaii to erect a monument upon the grave of Captain Cook. The last entry in the log is dated 19 November 1825, from Valparaiso.
THE LOG OF COMMANDER BYRON'S VOYAGE TO HAWAII, 1824-1825
Captain George Anson Byron, grandson of the circumnavigator, was elevated to the peerage upon the death of his cousin the poet in 1824. The present log recounts the maiden voyage of the 46-gun frigate H.M.S. Blonde, Byron's last voyage, whose mission was the repatriation of the remains of the sovereigns of the Sandwich Islands, King Liholiho (or Kamehameha II, reigned 1819-1824) and his favorite wife Queen Kamamalu. The sovereigns' state visit to London in early 1824, undertaken in order to obtain confirmation of the British Government's intention to protect the Islands from foreign encroachments, had ended tragically, the King and Queen both succumbing to measles within a single week in July. H.M.S. Blonde was commissioned on 10 June 1824, and the first section of the journal gives a glimpse of life aboard ship in port, recording the weather, repairs to the hulk, the reception of new crew members, the acquisition of fresh victuals, etc. On 7 September "72 Packages belonging to the Sandwich Islanders" were brought aboard, to be joined on the 8th by "the Remains of the Late King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands," and on the 19th, with Boko, governor of Oahu, and the other surviving members of the Hawaiian delegation aboard, the stately new ship set sail. Entries record landfalls at Funchal in the Madeira islands, Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian island of Santa Catarina, Cape Horn and Valparaiso (in a state of anarchy at the conclusion of the war of independence from Chile). One of the Hawaiian passengers died on February 8th, followed by the ship's purser on the 13th. On February 23, the Captain notes the punishment of a sailor with 30 lashes for desertion; three weeks later, on February 16th and again on March 15th, a litany of whippings --for "disobedience and contempt," "desertion," "neglect of duty," "striking a petty officer," "theft," "drunkenness," "fighting," etc., indicate a distinct lowering of morale aboard ship. After a calmer crossing, marred only by water rationing, Hawaiian canoes came abreast of the ship on 3 May, and on the 11th the "Bodies of the deceased King and Queen" were brought ashore at Lahaina, accompanied by the entire crew: "Towed the Bodies on shore attended by the Captain, Officers, Seamen & Marines, fired 26 Minute Guns after the Boats had left the ship and hoisted the colours half mast, formed on landing and marched in Procession to the Place of Interment, the Band in Attendance." The funeral procession was greeted by an outpouring of grief from the awaiting throngs (this and other episodes during Byron's visit are related in Maria Graham, Voyage of H.M. S. Blonde to the Sandwich Islands, London 1826, and, more recently, in Paul Bailey, A Mele to their Memory, those Kings and Queens of Old Hawaii, Los Angeles 1975.) From Lahaina, the Blonde sailed for Oahu, anchoring in the "Honoruru" [Honolulu] Roads," later moving to the newly named Byron Bay off the islands of Hawaii, where the crew remained until mid-July. During the visit the ship was honored by the visits of the principal members of the Hawaiian royal family, including the formidable though now elderly Queen Kaahumanu, who had accepted the Captain's invitation to accompany him to the island of Hawaii, and ensured that he was welcomed there as a state dignitary. An excursion was even organized for him and the ship's scientists to the volcano of Mauna Loa, forty miles away. Commander Byron is known to have impressed the Hawaiians with his impeccable courtesy, respect for their civilization and capacity for self-government, and his sincere concern for their well-being. On July 16th the Blonde set sail for the return voyage, stopping on the leeward side of Hawaii to erect a monument upon the grave of Captain Cook. The last entry in the log is dated 19 November 1825, from Valparaiso.