The USS Powhatan was a United States Navy frigate. It was one of the so-called "black ships" that entered Edo Bay in 1854, and the site of the signing of the Harris Treaty in 1858; in 1860, it carried the first Japanese embassy to the United States from Yokohama to San Francisco.
The Powhatan was a 2400-ton steam sidewheel frigate armed with 44 guns. It was one of eight ships which accompanied Commodore Matthew Perry on his second visit to Japan.
The 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed onboard the Powhatan, which then carried the Treaty back to the US in 1860 to be ratified by Congress. Carrying as well the 170 samurai members of the first Japanese mission to the US, the Powhatan departed Yokohama on 1860/1/19 (Feb 10), and stopped for supplies in Honolulu before continuing on to San Francisco. While in Hawai'i, the Japanese ambassadors met with King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma.
References
- Gallery labels and pamphlet from exhibition "Samurai in New York." Museum of the City of New York. 25 June - 7 Nov. 2010.