Racoon

Racoon

Racoon was a 26-gun British sloop of war sent to seize Astoria, the American Pacific Fur Company post at the Columbia River mouth, and to establish an outpost there during the War of 1812. When the vessel, under Captain William Black, arrived 30 November 1813, Astoria had already been purchased by Nor'Westers led by John George McTavish. On December 13 Black, following his original orders from the British government, nevertheless claimed the country for King George III, naming the post Fort George. The Treaty of Ghent provided for a return to the status quo ante bellum; since Black had claimed the territory as a conquest of war, Astoria was returned to the US. The voyage of the Racoon constituted official government support for Canadian fur trade interests and initiated co-operation between fur traders and the Royal Navy on the Northwest Coast.