Peter Puget


Peter Puget was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his exploration of Puget Sound.

Midshipman Puget

Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the Huguenots. His father, John, was a successful merchant and banker, but died in 1767, leaving Puget's mother, Esther, with two sons and three daughters. In 1778, twelve-year-old Peter entered the navy as a midshipman and served on the following ships:

Upon returning to England, Puget was assigned to HMS Discovery, temporarily as a master's mate, and then commissioned as her 3rd lieutenant on 11 June 1790
to assist in its fitting out for an exploration of the South Pacific. During the Nootka Crisis, however, it was used as a depot vessel. When the crisis ended with the Treaty of Nootka Sound, the mission changed; the first priority was to physically accept possession of the Sound from the Spanish. An accurate survey the North American Pacific Coast, and other surveys, were important secondary missions. Because the Admiralty, following the Mutiny on the Bounty incident, had ordered, as a precaution against mutiny, that ships no longer make such long voyages alone, the armed tender HMS Chatham was assigned to the expedition, and HMS Daedalus was to bring supplies a year later.
In 1791, Discovery and Chatham sailed to Cape Town, Australia, Tahiti and the Sandwich Isles before starting a detailed survey of the Pacific North American coast, from the Columbia River to Alaska. Many features were named after friends or persons of influence. When it was hoped that the Georgia Strait and Admiralty Inlet might lead to the Northwest Passage, Vancouver anchored the ships near modern-day Seattle, Washington and sent Puget in command of two rowing craft to survey south. In recognition of Puget's work, Vancouver named the south end Puget Sound ; it is unlikely that either man realized this name would encompass the whole region over time. Puget was also involved in the exploration by small boat of the Columbia River under the command of Chatham's captain, William Robert Broughton; Puget's name was applied to the tiny Puget Island opposite the Indian village at Cathlamet.
Puget was given command of Chatham when her first captain, Broughton, was sent with dispatches back to England with instructions to request further clarified orders from Admiralty as regarded the Crowns position on territorial negotiations with the Spanish.

Commander and captain

While only a lieutenant-in-command of Chatham, Puget served with distinction for the rest of the survey. He assisted Vancouver in negotiations with the Spanish at Nootka Sound. In 1795, the two-ship squadron returned to England by way of Cape Horn, capturing a Dutch East Indiaman along the way. Once home, Puget was confirmed in the rank of Commander.
In February 1796, Commander Puget was given the tiny Adelphi with which to protect a supply convoy to Gibraltar. To protect the return convoy, he fitted out an armed freighter, the Esther, using his own funds. On the return voyage, he captured a Spanish merchantman and sent it ahead with a prize crew. Then his convoy was attacked by French frigate La Bellona, and Puget interposed his tiny vessel to let the other ships flee. Puget then bribed the French captain and brought his command home. The British Admiralty found a way not to pay Puget prize money on the merchantman, although it did cover his expenses, including the bribe.
In 1797, Puget was given command of the sloop-of-war HMS Raven and joined the fleet of Sir John Jervis. Jervis put him in charge of the San Nicholas, a Spanish ship-of-the-line, still crewed by Spaniards; Puget suppressed a mutiny and delivered the crew to Lisbon.
In 1807, Puget played a decisive role at the Second Battle of Copenhagen. He led an inshore squadron of shallow-draft vessels to disable the Danish gunboats and to cover the army's seaward flank in a manoeuvre similar to Nelson's action in the First Battle of Copenhagen. However, British public reaction to the second attack was unfavourable, since it was an attack on a neutral country; no fame was attached to Puget's success.

Shore career

Thereafter, Puget settled into family life, living in Bath for reasons of health. He was gazetted a Companion of the Bath in 1818 and, according to the rules of seniority, he was commissioned Rear-Admiral of the Blue on 19 July 1821.
The Bath Chronicle memorialized him:

Personal life

Peter Puget married Hannah Elrington on 6 February 1797. They had seven sons and four daughters.
Their eldest son, Peter Richard Puget, went to America and became an actor. Other sons served in the British Army or Navy, one of whom retired as a captain. The daughters all married and it is through one of them, Eleanor Catherine, came the only known descendant of Peter and Hannah Puget.
Hannah Puget never remarried, died on 14 September 1849, and is buried next to Peter, in the churchyard of Woolley, near Bath. The original sarcophagus is heavily weatherworn, and has been supplemented by a bronze plaque donated by the Seattle Historical Society.