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Midway Island

Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean.[1]

The northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago. On August 28, 1867, the atoll was formally taken as a possession of the United States and named Midway for its position midway across the Pacific Ocean between North America and Asia.[1]

The Wrecker: In January of 1871,[2] the pearl-fishing schooner[3] Currency Lass[4] was chased by a Dutch cutter into a fog and broke up on a reef. Paul Carthew and the rest of the schooner's crew left the wreck behind[3] and managed to carry their shipment of pearls aboard a small boat to Midway Island[2] some forty miles away.[4] They set a signal fire which was spotted in February by the merchant brig Flying Scud. The brig's Captain Wicks learned of the[3] Currency Lass'[4] haul of pearls and demanded them in payment of their rescue.[2] When the castaways refused, a fight broke out and Carthew's shipmates killed Captain Wicks and his crew to protect their pearls. They tried to sail away in the Flying Scud[3] but, due to the more complicated rigging,[2] only managed to run it aground on a reef. A British man-of-war spotted them a day later and — asking few questions — took Carthew and his shipmates aboard, now posing as the crew of the Fyling Scud to cover up the killings. Taken to San Francisco by the man-of-war, the Flying Scud was reported beached at Midway to the Commission and her owners put her up for auction.[3] In December,[2] Bret Maverick bought the shipwreck at auction, and Brother Bart chartered Captain Nares' Norah Creina to take him to Midway to salvage the wreck's cargo. Carthew, anxious to retrieve Mate Elias Goddedaal's logue for its incriminating content, shipped aboard the Norah Creina under the assumed name of Matthew Higgins. Once back at Midway, Nares' crew discovered opium being smuggled inside the Flying Scud's cargo. With Carthew's help, Bart threw the illegal contraband overboard, but Nares and his crew objected, threatening to kill them for it. Bart and Carthew bound the crew of the Norah Creina aboard the Flying Scud and escaped in the shipwreck's jolly boat. Nares and his crew soon freed themselves3] and salvaged what they could of the Flying Scud before leaving Midway.[2]

The strategic location of Midway was critical during World War II and became an important U.S. Navy air station in 1941. From June 3 – 7, 1942, it was the site of a decisive air and sea battle won by the United States against the Empire of Japan.[1]