" Was there ever an undertaking of more merit, of more honor and more enterprising, attended with a greater variety of misfortune?" - John Jacob Astor.

With the War of 1812 underway, the North West Company tried once again to petition the British government to aid them in their western ventures. This time, the British saw an interest in the unclaimed west and responded. They would escort the naval ship, the Isaac Todd to the mouth of the Columbia and challenge the American post. Furthermore, a land contingent of North Westerners would travel west and meet the Astorians.

Astor sensed the British threat and devised his own plans of protection. In yet another deal with the Russian America Company, Astor sent the Lark to defend and resupply Astoria and then carry Russian furs to China. Astor also persisted with his pleadings to the American government to fund his protection of a supposed site of national importance. Finally, Secretary Jones agreed to send the USS Adams to Astoria, but in the end, the plan was never put into action. The Lark plan also was a failure. While at the stopoff point in Hawaii it met a gale and was destroyed.

Meanwhile, at Astoria, McDougall and Mackenzie lobbied to leave the fort by Spring 1813 once word trickled down to them about the conflicts with the British. Although the contract only allowed an abondonment if the venture proved unprofitable, the leaders felt war was a good enough reason. The word was brought from the overland party of the North West Company, who also informed the Astorians of the naval frigate which they expected soon to arrive. However, the Astorians held out for the upcoming months, uncertain of the North West Company's threats.

Beavers thrived in the Northwest and provided valuable pelts.

In fact, the Northwesterners lived a mutal life with the Astorians for much of 1813. In August, Hunt unexpectantly arrived aboard the Albatross. As it turned out, the Beaver had ended up in Hawaii, where later Hunt met with the shipless captain of the Lark. Together they purchased the Albatross and came to Astoria. While Hunt was opposed to abondonment, the power was no longer in his hands. Surely, McDougall and Mackenzie were the influential leaders now.

By October, the North West Company's men were still waiting for the Isaac Todd to arrive. Their food supply was running vey low. The only real option they saw was to purchase the fort from the Americans. On October 22, 1813, the Astorians, led by McDougall, agreed to sell the fort to the Northwesterners, who named the post Fort George. Nowhere in the contract was selling an option. In return also, the Astorians were promised a ride home to the east coast. The sell was somewhat justified n November when the HMS Racoon reached Astoria and claimed the fort in the name of Britain. The Isaac Todd's plan had been abondoned and the Racoon sent instead. Whatever ship it was, it was British, and its arrival seemed to cement the transition of Astoria from American control to British dominance.

Hunt would leave with some clerks in April of 1814 and arrive in 1816. Astor would learn about his loss bit by bit.. However, by November of 1814, the east coast newspapers were reporting the death of Astor's Pacific Fur Company. But Astor was a shrewd businessman who didnt give up. Once the Treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Day, 1814, he suddenly saw a golden opportunity. The treaty provided that all lands gained by the war were to be returned to their original inhabitants.

Thus, Astor argued with the US government to support his claims that the North West Company was unlawfully in control of Astoria. Ignoring the apparantly valid sale, Astor argued that McDougall had acted out of his power, and thus the post still belonged to Astor. Furthermore, the American government ought to assert itself along the Pacific coast.

Meanwhile, the North West Company claimed Astoria based on the tradition of discovery. Surely, Britain's Drake, Cook, Vancouver, and Mackenzie were the earliest explorers. Astor countered with the claims of Robert Gray and Lewis and Clark. Luckily for Astor, the government saw reason to support him. Secretary John Quincy Adams sent the USS Ontario to the Pacific, ordered to make a symbolic claim on the coast. However, the Onatrio's claim was hardly significant. Arriving in August 1817, Captain Biddle nailed a plaque to a coastal tree and promply returned to the east coast. However, the government's attitude was a precurser of things to come. It revealed the American attitude that the Pacific coast was theirs.

Britain, on the other hand, could care less about Astoria by 1815. In 1818, they were willing to comply with a Joint Occupation Treaty, where North West Company, Hudson Bay Company, Northwest Fur Company (Astor's existing fur contingent) and other American and Canadien trappers could harvest the far west of its valuable furs.. However, the next generation of Americans were not satisfied with joint occupaton of what they believed was solely American soil.

Picture credits: Ross, page 265.

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