The colonial despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871
Skiddy, 1820-1859
Little information is available on this vessel while it was called the Skiddy, a New York pilot boat; however, it was purchased by the US Navy in January 1853
and renamed the Fennimore Cooper—it was used as a tender on a surveying expedition to the Bering Strait, North Pacific,
and China Seas.1
According to this private correspondence, the Fennimore Cooper was a US surveying schooner, that was scheduled to make a stop in Japanese waters
sometime in late 1858. The final destination for the Fennimore Cooper is not specified in the despatch, but its stop in Japan was for the purpose of delivering
Joseph Hui, whom Rowlandson recommends as a prospective interpreter & to Lord Elgins Japan Expedition.
1. Fenimore Cooper,Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.