Battle of Woody Point

The Tonquin being boarded by Tla-o-qui-aht.

Date	June 15–16, 1811 206 years ago
Location	off Woody Point, Vancouver Island, Clayoquot Sound, Pacific Ocean
Result	Ship destroyed

Belligerents

Pacific Fur Company

Nuu-chah-nulth

Commanders and leaders

Jonathan Thorn †

unknown

Strength

1 barque

2 war-canoes

Casualties and losses

22 killed
1 bark scuttled

~200 killed or wounded

The Battle of Woody Point was an incident in 1811 in western Canada involving the Tla-o-qui-aht natives of the Pacific Northwest and the Tonquin (1807), a merchant ship of the Astor Expedition. The vessel had arrived in Clayoquot Sound off Vancouver Island to trade for furs. the Tla-o-qui-aht captured the vessel and massacred most of the crew; the one remaining sailor scuttled her.

On March 22, 1811, the Tonquin, a 290-ton barque commanded by Lieutenant Jonathan Thorn, reached the Columbia River with the intention of trading with the natives of the northern Pacific coast. To do this a trading post was necessary. After sailing around the Columbia River's mouth for a while, the traders established Fort Astoria, the first American claim on the Pacific coast. The Tonquin had departed New York the previous September, with brief stops in the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic and the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands in the mid-Pacific. Now after establishing a base of operations, the traders were free to explore the region in pursuit of fine furs.

The Tonquin was crewed by twenty-three men during the time of battle, and carried ten cannons. Though the vessel was American-flagged and commanded by a United States Navy officer, most of her crew were British subjects. On June 5, the Tonquin left Fort Astoria and sailed north to trade with the Nuu-chah-nulth around Nootka Sound. About two weeks later, off Vancouver Island, at a place named Woody Point, the Tonquin began trading with the Tla-o-qui-aht Nuu-chah-nulth.

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