John Kendrick moved to Wareham from Barnstable in 1777 to outfit and take command of the Fanny, a US licensed privateer, or pirate boat boasting a crew of 100 and 18 guns. Its mission, loot British shipping. Much of the resulting booty furnished Kendrick's Wareham home but he didn't stick around long to enjoy it, dropping from sight at war's end in 1783. Historians assume Kendrick resumed whaling and the coasting trade until October 1, 1787, when the the Columbia Expedition sailed out of Boston Harbor, Kendrick commanding.

Kendrick's subsequent ignominious history is an unbroken record of quarrels, cheating, looting, slaughter and international ill-will until he was dispatched himself, grapeshot fragged by his own men in Honolulu (then called Fair Haven) on Dec 3, 1794. By most contemporary accounts, Kendrick had the personality of a decayed tooth.

The state will recognize "Captain John Kendrick Day" on October 1 and the local hysterical society is throwing a party! Whoopdee... Wareham has produced its share of better heroes.

Here's Kendrick's mercifully short wiki entry.

Last edited by billw (2012-09-26 01:32:51)