AMERICAN CLIPPERS OF 1854 AND 1855
During the year 1854 no less than twenty passages were made from
Atlantic ports to San Francisco in 110 days or less. The _Flying Cloud_
repeated her famous record passage of 89 days, and was followed by the
_Romance of the Seas_, 96 days; _Witchcraft_, 97 days; _David Brown_, 98
days, and _Hurricane_, 99 days. The abstract log of the _Flying Cloud_
is as follows:
Sandy Hook to the equator 17 days.
Equator to 50° South 25 “
From 50° South in the Atlantic to 50°
South in the Pacific 12 “
To the equator 20 “
To San Francisco 15 “
--
Total 89 “
On this passage the _Flying Cloud_ gave a fine example of her sailing
qualities. She sailed eight days after the _Archer_, also an exceedingly
fast ship, and led her into San Francisco by nine days. Captain Creesy
received a grand ovation on this, his second record passage, and the
merchants of San Francisco, always generous and hospitable, vied with
each other to do him honor. Upon his return to New York, a banquet was
given him at the Astor House, then the finest hotel in the city, and a
splendid service of silver plate was presented to him by the New York
and Boston Marine Underwriters.
The _Romance of the Seas_ sailed from Boston two days after the _David
Brown_, commanded by Captain George Brewster, of Stonington, had passed
out by Sandy Hook, but came up with her off the coast of Brazil. From
this point they were frequently in company for days together, finally
passing through the Golden Gate side by side, March 23, 1854. After
discharging their cargoes, they again passed out of the Golden Gate
together, this time bound for Hong-kong, and while they were not in
company during this passage of 45 days, they anchored in Hong-kong
harbor on the same day and almost at the same hour. The log of the
_Romance of the Seas_ records that skysails and royal studdingsails were
set just outside the Golden Gate and were not taken in during the
passage until entering the harbor of Hong-kong.
It is difficult to realize the intense interest with which these clipper
ship races were regarded in those days; and it is doubtful whether at
the present day any branch of sport inspires so much wholesome,
intelligent enthusiasm as did these splendid ocean matches of the old
clippers.
In this year a change came over the California trade. The wild rush to
the mines had subsided, and the markets of San Francisco, while not
over-stocked, were so sufficiently and regularly supplied as to render
great speed in the transportation of merchandise unnecessary; the rates
of freight had therefore declined, but were still good. Twenty ships,
the last of the extreme clippers, were built in 1854 for the California
trade, including some which became celebrated, such as the _Canvasback_,
_Fleetwing_, _Grace Darling_, _Harvey Birch_, _Nabob_, _Nonpareil_,
_Ocean Telegraph_, _Rattler_, _Robin Hood_, and _Sierra Nevada_; but we
miss from among the ship-builders of this year the names of Donald
McKay, William H. Webb, Samuel Hall, Jacob A. Westervelt, and George
Raynes, none of whom brought out California clippers.
Although no more extreme clippers were built for the California trade
after 1854, a fine class of ships, known as medium clippers, was
constructed, some of which proved exceedingly fast, and remarkable
passages continued to be made. Many of these medium clippers would be
considered very sharp and heavily sparred vessels at the present time.
The _Sunny South_, of 703 tons register, was one of the prettiest
clippers ever launched at New York, and was the only sailing ship built
by George Steers, the designer of the yacht _America_, steam frigate
_Niagara_, and Collins Line steamship _Adriatic_. She was built for the
China trade, was launched at Williamsburg, September 7, 1854; was owned
by Napier, Johnson & Co., and was commanded by Captain Michael Gregory.
It is a singular fact that while this ship was well known to possess
great speed when in company with other clippers, yet she never made a
passage worthy of being recorded, and was not a very successful ship
financially; although the product of the skill of a designer, who, dying
in early manhood, left a name so interwoven with his country’s triumphs
upon the sea that it can never be forgotten.
In 1859, the _Sunny South_ was sold at Havana, her name being changed to
_Emanuela_. At that time her royal studdingsail booms and skysail masts
and yards were removed. On August 10, 1860, she was seized in the
Mozambique Channel flying the Chilian flag, with a cargo of slaves on
board, by the British man-of-war _Brisk_, and the following particulars
of her capture are given by one of the officers of that vessel:
“At 11:30 A.M. on the 10th of August last, as Her Majesty’s ship
_Brisk_, Captain De Horsey, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral the Hon.
Sir Henry Keppel, K. C. B., was running to the northward in the
Mozambique Channel, a sail was reported as seen from the masthead. Steam
was got up without delay, and sail made in chase. It being hazy, the
stranger was shortly lost sight of. When the weather had partially
cleared the stranger was reported four points on our starboard bow, and
the ship’s course was altered in that direction. We were now going
eleven knots and a half, and the Captain, feeling that it must be
something out of the common that would alter bearings at that distance
in so short a time, proceeded himself with his glass to the foretopmast
head, officers mounting the rigging.
“That a general excitement prevailed was evident from the manner in
which our sails were trimmed, taken in, and set again. Hottentots and
landsmen, who on other occasions only looked at ropes, now laid hold of
them with a will. The Captain’s order from the masthead to keep away
two points showed that he had observed something suspicious--in fact, he
had noticed a sudden alteration in the course of the chase, and
pronounced her to be a long, rakish-looking ship, too large to be a
slaver, but thought there was something very suspicious in the sudden
alteration of her course, her crowd of sail, and the unusual number of
staysails.
“At about 3 P.M. we could see her hull from the deck, and, carrying with
us a fresh breeze, while she was in the doldrums, we closed on her
rapidly. When within half a mile we hoisted our colors, when every glass
was pointed toward her peak, and all sorts of conjectures were made as
to what colors she would show. No one could imagine that so large a
vessel could be a slaver.
“On closing under her lee, and when within a cable’s length, a white
package was thrown from her side into the sea; and the experienced then
exclaimed, ‘A slaver, and there go her papers!’ A few minutes more, and
we sheered up alongside to leeward of as beautiful model of a ship as
ever was seen. Some forty dejected looking individuals, apparently a
mixture of all nations, stood on her deck; still no colors, nor did she
appear inclined to shorten sail or heave-to. The Captain then determined
to run ahead and lower the quarter-boats to drop down and board; and as
this manœuvre was being carried out a blank gun caused her to square the
mainyard, which she did with studding-sails hanging to the yard, and
luffed up into the wind.
[Illustration:
The “Brisk” The “Emanuela”
]
“It was an anxious five minutes to those on board while the boats were
away. A small white British ensign run up at her peak showed that she
was a prize, and a voice hailed us, ‘Eight hundred and fifty slaves on
board!’”
In 1855 the California fleet was increased by the building of thirteen
medium clipper ships, among which were the _Andrew Jackson_, _Carrier
Dove_, _Charmer_, _Daring_, _Herald of the Morning_, _Mary Whitridge_,
and _Ocean Express_. Only three passages were made from Atlantic ports
to San Francisco during this year in 100 days or less; the _Herald of
the Morning_, from New York, 99 days; _Neptune’s Car_, from New York,
and _Westward Ho_, from Boston, each 100 days. Thirteen ships made the
passage in over 100 days and less than 110 days; among them being the
_Boston Light_, from Boston, 102 days; the _Cleopatra_ and _Red Rover_,
from New York, each 107 days; the _Flying Cloud_, from New York, and
_Meteor_ and _Don Quixote_, from Boston, each 108 days; the _Flying
Fish_, two passages from Boston in 109 and 105 days, and the _Governor
Morton_, from New York in 104 days.
This was Captain Creesy’s last voyage in the _Flying Cloud_, and he now
retired to his home in Salem until 1861, when he was appointed a
Commander in the United States Navy and assigned to the clipper ship
_Ino_. She carried a crew of eighty men from Marblehead, and on her
second cruise in 1862 made the record run of twelve days from New York
to Cadiz. Captain Creesy subsequently commanded the clipper ship
_Archer_, and made two voyages to China. He died at Salem in 1871, in
his fifty-seventh year. So long as the American clipper ships and their
brilliant exploits hold a place in the memory of man, the names of
Josiah Creesy and the _Flying Cloud_ will be remembered with pride.
The _Mary Whitridge_ became one of the most famous of the clippers
launched in 1855. She was built in Baltimore, where she was owned by
Thomas Whitridge & Co., and was commanded by Captain Robert B.
Cheesborough, also of that port. She was 877 tons register; length 168
feet, breadth 34 feet, depth 21 feet. On her first voyage she made the
remarkable run of 13 days 7 hours from Cape Charles to the Rock Light,
Liverpool. She was engaged for many years in the China trade under the
command of Captain Benjamin F. Cutler and bore the reputation of being
the finest and fastest ship sailing out of Baltimore.
At this time an important development took place in the California
trade. It had been found that the fertile soil of the Pacific slope
could be made to yield other treasures than gold, and in May, 1855, the
barque _Greenfield_, Captain Follansbee, loaded the first consignment of
wheat exported from California, consisting of 4752 bags. She was soon
followed by the _Charmer_, commanded by Captain Lucas, which loaded a
full cargo of 1400 tons of wheat for New York at $28 per ton freight.
The export of wheat in sailing vessels rapidly increased, enabling ships
to earn freights out and home, and this continued for many years.
In 1855 Donald McKay built three fine medium clipper ships, the
_Defender_, _Amos Lawrence_, and _Abbott Lawrence_, which remind us that
a number of Boston ships bore the names of her distinguished citizens.
There were the _Thomas H. Perkins_, _Rufus Choate_, _Starr King_,
_Edward Everett_, _R. B. Forbes_, _Enoch Train_, _John E. Thayer_,
_George Peabody_, _Samuel Appleton_, _Robert C. Winthrop_, _Russell
Sturgis_, and perhaps others now forgotten. There were already a ship, a
barque, two brigs, and two schooners named the _Daniel Webster_, besides
several steamboats and tugs and a pilot-boat; hence, the owners of ships
who were desirous of honoring the great statesman were obliged to adopt
some other means of expressing their admiration, and since Webster was
known as the Defender of the Constitution and also as the Expounder of
that document, there were two ships named the _Defender_ and the
_Expounder_. Some one suggested that the latter ship might, perhaps,
have been named in honor of Yankee Sullivan, a noted prize-fighter then
retired from the ring.
The _Defender_ was 1413 tons register, and carried a splendid
full-length figurehead of Daniel Webster. She was owned by D. S. Kendall
and H. P. Plympton, of Boston, and was commanded by Captain Isaac
Beauchamp.
My object in drawing attention to this vessel is to mention a notable
gathering at Mr. McKay’s house on the day of her launch, July 27, 1855.
The leading merchants of Boston and their families were his guests on
that occasion, and speeches were made by the Hon. Edward Everett,
ex-Mayor, the Hon. Benjamin Seaver, and Enoch Train. In the course of
his address, Mr. Everett remarked: “I was at a loss, I confess, to
comprehend the secret of the great success which has attended our friend
and host. Forty-two ships, I understand, he has built--all vessels such
as we have seen to-day. I do not mean that they were all as large, but
they were as well constructed and looked as splendidly, as they rode on
the waves. Forty-two vessels![11] No one else, certainly, has done more
than our friend to improve the commercial marine of this country, and it
has long seemed to me that there was a mystery about it. But since I
have been under this roof to-day, I have learned the secret of
it--excellent family government, and a good helpmeet to take counsel
with and encouragement from. A fair proportion of the credit and praise
for this success is, I am sure, due to our amiable and accomplished
hostess [Cheers]. I congratulate also the father of our host, the father
of such a family. He has, I am told, fourteen sons and daughters, and
fifty grandchildren. Nine of the latter were born during the last year.
I wish to know, my friends, if you do not call that being a good
citizen!”
When the _Abbott Lawrence_ was launched, in October of the same year.
Mr. McKay was called upon to respond to the toast, “In memory of Abbott
Lawrence,” and his brief speech has fortunately been preserved:
“Ladies and gentlemen: I regret my inability
[Illustration: Donald McKay]
to do justice to the name that is honored and respected in every part of
the civilized world. My speech is rude and uncultivated, but my
feelings, I trust, are warm and true, and could I express those
feelings, I would tell you how much I honor the memory of Abbott
Lawrence. I know you all honor it, for you all knew him, and to know him
was to love him. Love begets love. He loved our common country as a
statesman of enlarged and liberal views, and our state and city as the
scene of his personal labors. In Massachusetts he commenced his career;
here he toiled and triumphed, here he has bequeathed the richest tokens
of his love, and here all of him that can die mingles with the soil. He
was not only a great man, but a good man. In every relation of life, he
was a model for imitation. Ever be his memory green in the hearts of his
countrymen. When the ship which bears his name shall have been worn out
by the storms and the vicissitudes of the sea, may another, and another,
and so on, till the end of time, perpetuate it upon the ocean, for he
was the patron and friend of commerce as well as of the other great
interests of the state. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I again
give you the memory of Abbott Lawrence. May his name and noble example
never be forgotten.”
This speech seems to me to be most interesting, as showing the natural
refinement of a mind destitute of the culture of even a common-school
education, or perhaps it would be nearer the truth to say, a mind that
had escaped the restraining influence of the pedagogue.
“Yet is remembrance sweet,
Though well I know
The days of childhood
Are but days of woe;
Some rude restraint,
Some petty tyrant sours
What else should be
Our sweetest blithest hours.”
These lugubrious lines found no echo in the early life of Donald McKay,
for his boyhood was passed in earnest, healthy toil, and filled with a
keen desire for knowledge, while his manhood had known the joy of
well-earned success.
After the _Abbott Lawrence_, Mr. McKay built the medium clippers
_Minnehaha_, _Baltic_, _Adriatic_, _Mastiff_, and barque _Henry Hill_,
all in 1856; the _Alhambra_, 1857; the _Helen Morris_, and second
_Sovereign of the Seas_, 1868, and the _Glory of the Seas_, 1869. During
the Civil War, he built for the United States Government, the iron
gunboat _Ashuelot_, the ironclad monitor _Nausett_, the wooden gunboats
_Trefoil_ and _Yucca_, and the sloop of war _Adams_. In 1877 he retired
to his farm at Hamilton, Massachusetts, and there he died, September 20,
1880, in the seventy-first year of his age.
Donald McKay was a man of untiring energy and industry. He was a rapid
and skilful draughtsman and designed and superintended the construction
of every vessel that he built. This may also be said of almost every
ship-builder of that period, but Mr. McKay’s skill, the result of an
intuitive perception ripened by experience, gave him a peculiar insight
not only into how to create, but into what to create, and it was this
genius that made him pre-eminent as a builder of clipper ships. He was a
born artist and his ships were the finest expression of mechanical art.
They are entitled to a place in the realm of fine arts far more than
much of the merchandise that claims that distinction.
Mr. McKay was of a generous nature, and liberally rewarded the men who
assisted him, and he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less
fortunate than himself. So soon as he began to prosper he sent for his
parents and made a new home for them at East Boston, and their comfort
and happiness were always his care and greatest pleasure. In his later
years he endured misfortune and ingratitude with the same sturdy
sweetness and equanimity that he had shown in the days when fortune
smiled.