Joseph Whidbey

Joseph Whidbey (1757- October 9, 1833) was a member of the Royal Navy who served on the Vancouver Expedition 1791–1795, and later achieved renown as a naval engineer.cite book
author=Naish, John
title=The Interwoven Lives of George Vancouver, Archibald Menzies, Joseph Whidbey and Peter Puget: The Vancouver Voyage of 1791-1795
publisher=The Edward Mellen Press, Ltd.
year=1996|id=ISBN 0-7734-8857-X]

Little is recorded of Whidbey's life before his warranting as a sailing master in 1779. After years of service during the war of American Independence, he received a peacetime appointment to HMS "Europa", where with then-Lieutenant Vancouver, he conducted a detailed survey of Port Royal.

"Europa" paid off, but Whidbey soon gained a berth, along with Vancouver, in the newly-built HMS "Discovery"cite web
url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mymhiwe:@field(DOCID+@lit(mymhiwef897p9m4div13))
title=Muster Table of His Majesties Sloop The Discovery
year=1791
accessdate=December 15|accessyear=2006
publisher=Admiralty Records in the Public Record Office, U.K.] . During the Nootka Crisis, both men were transferred to HMS "Courageux", but returned to "Discovery" and departed for the Northwest Coast of America. "(See Vancouver Expedition)"

In 1792, Whidbey accompanied Lieutenant Peter Puget in small boats to explore what was later named Puget Sound. On June 2, the team discovered Deception Pass, establishing the insularity of the Sound's largest island, which Vancouver named Whidbey Island.

Upon "Discovery"'s return to England, Whidbey served briefly in HMS "Sans Pareil", but eventually turned to a shoreside career. In 1799, then-Earl St. Vincent commissioned him to make of feasibility survey making Tor Bay a fleet anchorage; Whidbey recommended this be done by building a great breakwater. Surviving correspondence suggests that around this time he apparently struck up a lifelong friendly and professional relationship with the engineer John Rennie.

Whidbey was appointed Master Attendant at Sheerness in 1799. His innovative salvage of the Dutch frigate "Ambuscade" was the subject of a paper read to the Royal Society in 1803.cite web
url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0365-5695(1800%2F1814)1%3C124%3AAAOTSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A
title=An Account of the Sinking of the Dutch Frigate Ambuscade, of 32 Guns, near the Great Nore; with the Mode Used in Recovering Her.|year=1803
author=Joseph Whidbey|accessdate=February 01|accessyear=2007
publisher=Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 1, 1800 - 1814 (1800 - 1814), pp. 124-125] In 1804 he received the prestigious appointment as Master Attendant at Woolwich, one of the Royal Navy's greatest dockyards. In 1805, Whidbey became a Fellow of the Royal Society, sponsored by a long list of distinguished men of science: Alexander Dalrymple, James Rennell, William Marsden, James Stanier Clarke, Sir Gilbert Blane, Mark Beaufoy, Joseph Huddart, and John Rennie.

In 1806, as the Napoleonic Wars impended, Whidbey joined Rennie in planning the Plymouth Breakwater, at St. Vincent's request; in 1811 came the order to begin construction and Whidbey was appointed Acting Superintending Engineer. This task required great engineering, organizational and political skills, as the many strictly technical challenges were complicated by the significant resources devoted to the project, from which various parties evidenced a desire for advantage. Nearly 4,000,000 (four million) "tons" of stone were quarried and transported, using about a dozen ships innovatively designed by the two men.

Construction started on August 8, 1812; it was sufficiently completed by 1814 to shelter ships of the line, although work continued for over 50 years. Napoleon was reported as commenting that it was a grand thing, as he passed by it on the way to exile on St. Helena in 1815.

Whidbey continued to work on the breakwater and other engineering projects, including the breakwater's lighthouse (designed by Trinity House), until retirement around 1830. His contributions to the Royal Society includes a paper on fossils found in the Plymouth quarries 1817cite web
url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0261-0523(1821)111%3C133%3AAFAOFB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J
title=A Farther Account of Fossil Bones Discovered in Caverns Inclosed in the Lime Stone Rocks at Plymouth|year=1817
author=Joseph Whidbey|accessdate=February 01|accessyear=2007
publisher=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 111, 1821 (1821), pp. 133-135]

Character

Records of the Vancouver expedition suggest that Whidbey was an expert and reliable seaman, entrusted with difficult tasks. However, upon his return to England, he provided testimony for Sir Joseph Banks' campaign against Vancouver (Whidbey was at the time competing with Vancouver for the pay accrued as Astronomer for the voyage.) Vancouver soon died, perhaps mooting difficulties in their relationship.

At any rate, Whidbey rose swiftly from his humble beginnings, undoubtedly due to his proven technical skill as much as his connections.

Correspondence between Whidbey and Rennie suggests a close and honest working relationship, and an earthy sense of humor. For example, when a certain Sir Francis Northwell pestered the two with the idea that a large hole in the floor of Plymouth bay might complicate construction, Whidbey wrote to Rennie that, should such a feature be discovered, it would be named "Lady Northwell's Hole".

Legacy

It is not known that Whidbey had children. Whidbey's house near Plymouth still stands, and is called Bovisand House.

Numerous features around Whidbey Island bear the Whidbey name, such as Joseph Whidbey State Park and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. From the latter comes the name of the Whidbey Island class dock landing ship. In Britain, the Whidbey Automatic Light (Occulting Green) was constructed at the eastern end of Plymouth Sound in 1980.

References