John Kendrick (American Sea Captain) - The Sandwich Islands and Death

The Sandwich Islands and Death

Kendrick arrived in Honolulu (then called Fair Haven) on December 3, 1794. There were also two other British vessels: the Jackal under Captain William Brown and the Prince Lee Boo under a Captain Gordon.

This was coincidentally when a Kaeokulani, the chief of Kauai, invaded Oahu, meeting little resistance from his nephew Kalanikūpule. Brown sent eight men and a mate to aid Kalanikūpule's forces. Kendrick also probably sent some of his men to help the Hawaiian chief in what was later called the Battle of Kalauao. The muskets of the sailors drove Kaeo’s warriors into some hills that overshadowed Honolulu. They finally retreated into a little ravine. Kaeo tried to escape, but Brown’s men and Kenrick’s men saw his ʻahuʻula, his feather cloak, and fired at the enemy chief from their boats in the harbor to show his position to Kalanikūpule's men. The Oahu warriors killed Kaeo along with his wives and chiefs. The battle ended with Kalanikūpule as the victor.

At 10:00 the next morning, December 12, 1794, Kendrick’s brig fired a thirteen-gun salute, to which the Jackal answered with a salute back. One of the cannons was loaded with real grapeshot, though, and the shot smashed into the Washington, killing Captain Kenrick at his table on deck along with several other men. Kendrick’s body and the bodies of his dead men were taken ashore and buried on the beach in a hidden grove of palm trees. John Howel, Kendrick’s clerk, read the ship's prayer book for the captain’s funeral.