Although the details are obscure, Robert went to sea and ended up in
Boston, Massachusetts. There, in September 1787, he was enrolled as
third mate on the
Columbia Rediviva, a Boston vessel trading fur in the Pacific Northwest, under command of
John Kendrick. At the
Cape Verde Islands, Haswell's friend and mentor, first mate Joseph Woodruff, squabbled with Kendrick and was dismissed from the ship, but as a consequence Haswell became
second mate. Haswell himself then ran afoul of Kendrick over the disciplining of a sailor, and he agreed to be sent home when they reached the Falkland Islands. However, no other ship was present, and Haswell agreed to move to the accompanying sloop, the
Lady Washington (
Captain Robert Gray). Although still second mate, the move to the much smaller vessel represented a demotion, which Haswell attributed to Kendrick's desire to promote his own son. In this role he cruised up and down the coast, trading for furs. In mid-1789, Gray and Kendrick exchanged ships, and Haswell accompanied Gray on the
Columbia across the
Pacific, stopping at the
Sandwich Isles, and sailing on to
Canton, China to sell the furs. They returned to Boston via the
Cape of Good Hope and
Saint Helena, the voyage being the first American
circumnavigation of the globe. In 1790, the
Columbia set out on a second voyage under Gray, this time with Haswell as first mate. After reaching the northwest, in March 1792, a small
sloop was constructed, the . Haswell was placed in charge, his first command, and he again plied the coast for pelts.
Adventure was sold the following September, and Haswell returned to the
Columbia as first mate for the return home. On the return of the
Columbia from her second voyage, Haswell was given command of the
Hannah on a twenty-seven month trading voyage, and next captained the
John Jay to the East Indies. He married at
Reading, Massachusetts, October 1, 1798, Mary Cordis, sister of former
Columbia boatswain
John Blake Cordis, and settled in
Charlestown, Massachusetts, by her having two daughters, Mary and Rebecca (the latter being wife of
John Jones Clarke and great-grandmother of poet
E. E. Cummings).
Navy service With the outbreak of the
Quasi-War with
France, in 1799 he became a
Lieutenant in the
United States Navy, on the
frigate Boston, his brother John Montresor Haswell serving as
midshipman. In these roles they were involved in the taking of
Le Berceau in October, 1800, in which action brother 'Monty' was severely injured. Following their capture, the French officers singled out Haswell for his gentlemanly behavior toward them. By April of the next year, Haswell was given leave of the Navy to make a trading voyage to India. He took command of the
Louisa, bound for the northwest and
China. Sailing from Boston in early August 1801, the ship never returned, and it is unclear whether it ever made it to the northwest. Widow Mary joined sister-in-law
Susanna (Haswell) Rowson in the operation of her school for girls in
Newton, eventually remarrying merchant John Lemist. The family eventually placed a stone memorializing Robert, his brother John Montresor Haswell, and sister Susanna Rowson, in the
Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston's
Jamaica Plain neighborhood. ==Legacy==