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San Carlos (ship)

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San Carlos entering the bay of San Francisco on August 5, 1775
History
Spain
NameSan Carlos
OwnerSpanish Navy
BuilderRoyal Shipyard of Havana
LaunchedApril 30, 1765
General characteristics
Class and typepacket boat
TonnageTM
Length58 ft 0 in (17.68 m)
PropulsionSail
Armament80 guns (1765), 112 guns (1801)

The San Carlos was an 18th-century Spanish packet boat built in 1765 at the Royal Shipyard of Havana, Cuba. The ship entered service in 1765 with two-decks and 80 guns. In 1775, the San Carlos was the first ship to enter San Francisco Bay, under the command of Spanish naval officer and explorer Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala.

In 1801, it sailed to Cartagena, Spain, and was converted into a three-deck ship with 112 guns.

Construction and service

The San Carlos was built in 1765 at the Royal Shipyard of Havana, on the island of Cuba. Launched on April 30, 1765, the Spanish two-masted galleon was 58-ft. in length and carried 80 guns. It could handle a crew of 30 men.[1]

San Diego expedition

During the Spanish rule of California, Spain's inspector general José de Gálvez organized the Portola Expedition for a joint land-sea movement up the Pacific coast. It was led by Gaspar de Portolá, governor of Las Californias. The first leg of the expedition consisted of five groups all departing from Baja California and heading north for San Diego. Three groups traveled by sea while two others traveled by land in mule trains. The three ships built in San Blas, Mexico, set sail for San Diego in early 1768. The flagship San Carlos, captained by Vicente Vila, a lieutenant of Spain's Royal Navy;[2] the San Antonio, captained by Juan Pérez, a native of Palma de Majorca; and the San José. The ships crossed the Gulf of California, from San Blas and reached the east coast harbor of La Paz at the tip of Baja California, on December 1768, requiring repairs.[3] The San Carlos had to unload so that repairs could be made.[4]

On January 9, 1769, the flagship San Carlos left the port of La Paz. Inspector general Gálvez, padre Junípero Serra, and the town residents blessed and send off the San Carlos and its chaplain, Franciscan friar Fernando Parrón. Vicente Vila was still in command, followed by lieutenant Pedro Fages, who became Lieutenant Governor of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá, and the engineer and cartographer Miguel Costansó. Gálvez supervised the repairs and loading of the ship. It carried 25 Catalan soldiers under Fages' command; surgeon Pedro Prat of the Spanish Royal Navy, and Hernando Patron as chaplain.[5][4]

The San Antonio arrived in San Diego Bay on April 11, 1769, and the San Carlos on April 29. Many crew members on both ships had fallen ill, mostly from scurvy; all but two on the San Carlos had died.[6] The expedition's surgeon Prat struggled to treat the ill men, as he too was weakened from scurvy. Friar Parrón had become weak with scurvy as well.[7] Despite the efforts of Prat, many of the ill men died in San Diego. Because of the men lost on the San Carlos, it was decided that the San Carlos, Father Serra, and Vila would remain in San Diego.[8][4]: p37 

San Francisco Bay expedition

San Carlos, the first Spanish ship to enter San Francisco Bay.

Six years later, the San Carlos took on supplies and left Monterey on July 26, 1775, headed for San Francisco. After that, they continued north to locate the "Bay of San Francisco", and claim the area for Spain. The San Carlos was the first ship to enter the San Francisco Bay, under the command of Spanish naval officer and explorer, Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala. It was sent by viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli to survey the waters of the San Francisco Bay. The San Carlos reached the Golden Gate entrance to the San Francisco Bay on August 5, 1775.[6]: p55 [4]: p88 

The San Carlos dropped anchor by an island which was christened the Isla de los Ángeles, now known as Angel Island. The ship pilots set out in longboats to chart the rivers of the bay.[9] On August 12, 1775, Ayala gave the name La Isla de los Alcatraces, now called Yerba Buena Island. The ship remained in the Bay until September 18, 1775, returning to San Blas. Ayala gave a full account of the geography of the San Francisco Bay.[10]

The California Historical Landmark marker No. 236, honors the San Carlos, which was the first ship to enter San Francisco Bay. The marker is located in the Aquatic Park Historic District near the corner of Beach and Larkin Streets.[11][12] Below is a quote from this landmark.

First Ship Into San Francisco Bay

On August 5, 1775, the Spanish packet San Carlos, under the command of Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala, became the first ship to enter San Francisco Bay. A month and a half was spent in surveying the bay from its southernmost reaches to the northern end of present-day Suisun Bay. The San Carlos departed September 18, 1775.

California Registered Historical Landmark No. 236.

Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the San Francisco Twin Bicentennial, Inc., August 5, 1975.[13]

Conversion

In 1801, the San Carlos sailed to Cartagena, Spain and it was converted into a three-deck ship with 112 guns. She was broken up in 1819 in Cartagena.[14]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Carlos (ship, 1765).

References

  1. ^ "Cursed ship San Carlos' luck turns: 1st to sail into S.F. Bay". www.sfgate.com. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  2. ^ Rose, Robert Selden (1911). The Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770: Diary of Vicente Vila. University of California. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Rawls, James J.; Bean, Walton (2003). "California: An Interpretive History". McGraw-Hill. 8th edition: 35. ISBN 9780077433109.
  4. ^ a b c d Ford, Tirey L. Ford (1926). Dawn and the Dons; The Romance of Monterey. San Francisco, California. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ de Ayala, Juan Manuel; Eldredge, Zoeth Skinner (1909). The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b Eldredge, Zoeth (1909). The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco. pp. 27–28. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. ^ Geiger, Maynard (1959). "The Life and Times of Fray Junípero Serra: The Man Who Never Turned Back". Academy of American Franciscan History. 1: 231.
  8. ^ Treutlein, Theodore E. (December 1968). "The Official Account of the Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770". California Historical Society Quarterly. 47 (4): 291–313. doi:10.2307/25154307. JSTOR 25154307.
  9. ^ "The Spanish Era". angelisland.org. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  10. ^ "The March of Portolá and the Log of the San Carlos – Zoeth S. Eldredge & E. J. Molera – Log of the San Carlos". Books-about-california.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  11. ^ "Entrance of the San Carlos into San Francisco Bay". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  12. ^ "STORY OF THE SHIP SAN CARLOS. THE ARGOS OF THE GOLDEN GATE". San Francisco Call. 22 November 1896. Volume 80, Number 175
  13. ^ "California Historical Landmarks in San Francisco". noehill.com. San Francisco, California. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  14. ^ "San Carlos". www.navwar.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
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