LAST YEARS OF THE AMERICAN CLIPPER SHIP ERA--SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA
PASSAGES
During the Crimean War a large number of merchant ships, many of which
were American, were chartered by the British and French Governments to
carry troops, but when peace was declared in 1856 and this demand for
tonnage ceased, it was found that there were more ships afloat than
could find profitable employment, or indeed employment of any kind.
Only eight ships were added to the California fleet in 1856--the
_Alarm_, _Euterpe_, _Flying Mist_, _Florence_, _Intrepid_, _Mary L.
Sutton_, _Norseman_, and the second _Witch of the Wave_. These were all
handsome medium clippers, and possessed what is so sadly lacking in
sailing ships of the present day--style, distinction. The _Florence_ was
built by Samuel Hall, Jr., who had succeeded his father as a
ship-builder and continued in the same yard at East Boston. She was
owned by Captain R. B. Forbes and others of Boston. Captain Dumaresq
commanded her and also owned an interest in her until his death in 1860.
As Captain Forbes used to say, “He was the prince of sea captains.”
The _Sweepstakes_ made the fastest passage to San Francisco in 1856--94
days from New York--followed by the _Antelope_, 97 days; _Phantom_, 101
days; and _David Brown_, 103 days; the _Ringleader_ made the passage
from Boston in 100 days. The abstract log of the _Sweepstakes_ is as
follows:
From Sandy Hook to the equator 18 days.
From the equator to 50° S. 23 “
From 50° in the Atlantic to 50° in the
Pacific 15 “
From 50° S. to the equator 17 “
From the equator to San Francisco 21 “
--
Total 94 “
The year 1857 was one of financial depression throughout the United
States, which was severely felt by the shipping interests of the country
and continued until the Civil War. The rates of freight from New York to
San Francisco, which during the years immediately following the
discovery of gold in California were $60 a ton, gradually declined, and
in 1857 had fallen to $10 per ton. Ships that had formerly loaded
cargoes for San Francisco night and day and were hurried to sea as
quickly as possible, now lay at their loading berths for weeks,
leisurely taking on board such cargo as their agents could engage.
During this period vessels lay idle at the wharves of Atlantic ports for
weeks and even months, in charge of ship-keepers, with sails unbent,
waiting for employment.
The former activity in the ship-building yards had also subsided. During
the four years prior to the Civil War, Donald McKay built only one
ship,
[Illustration: The “Sweepstakes”]
the _Alhambra_ (1857), and William H. Webb built only one ship for the
California trade, the _Black Hawk_, beside the _Resolute_, and the
barque _Trieste_ (1857), and the barque _Harvest Queen_ (1858). The same
depression was felt in all the yards along the Atlantic coast. British
ship-builders had made such rapid progress in the construction and speed
of their vessels that it was now difficult for American ships to obtain
charters from China to England. From 1857 to 1861, they were to be found
lying idle for months at a time in Manila Bay, Hong-kong harbor,
Foo-chow, Shanghai, and Calcutta, seeking employment.
The depression in the oversea carrying trade was felt quite as much by
the ship-owners of Great Britain as by those of the United States, and
while of short duration, was as serious there as in the United States.
It was at this period, however, that Great Britain began to feel the
benefit of Free Trade in her ship building industry, and entered upon
her conquest of the world’s oversea carrying trade. In this her
ship-builders were greatly assisted by the introduction of iron as a
material for construction. In 1855 the Committee of Lloyd’s Register had
framed rules for the classification of iron ships, as their number had
so increased, and the demand of ship-owners for their official
recognition had become so general, that they could no longer be ignored.
The screw propeller was also beginning to supersede side-wheels as a
means of propulsion, and some of the ablest men in Great Britain were
engaged upon the development and improvement of the marine engine and
boiler.
The steam tonnage of the British Empire--mostly engaged in the oversea
carrying trade--had increased from 204,654 tons in 1851 to 417,717 tons
in 1856, whereas the steam tonnage of the United States engaged in the
oversea carrying trade had increased from 62,390 tons in 1851 to 115,045
tons in 1855, but had decreased to 89,715 tons in 1856. It should be
noted that while a large proportion of the steam tonnage of Great
Britain consisted of iron vessels, many of them being screw steamers,
the steam vessels of the United States were very nearly, if not all,
still constructed of wood and propelled by side-wheels.
The first symptoms of the decadence of the American merchant marine were
the falling-off in the sales of American tonnage to foreign
countries--the reduction being from 65,000 tons in 1855 to 42,000 tons
in 1856, declining to 26,000 tons in 1858 and to 17,000 tons in 1860, a
falling-off of 75% in five years--then in the total tonnage of vessels
built in the United States, which fell from 583,450 tons in 1855 to
469,393 tons in 1856, and to 378,804 tons in 1857.
These facts refute the historic falsehood that the _Alabama_ and her
consorts were the first and immediate cause of decadence in the American
merchant marine. As a matter of fact, neither the depression preceding
the Civil War, nor the depredations of Confederate privateers, nor the
Civil War itself, have had any material bearing upon the decline of
American shipping during the last fifty years. The gigantic task of
driving the American flag from the ocean has been accomplished by far
more insidious and potent means than these. It has been the inevitable
consequence of irrational and unjust laws, and until these are repealed,
as those of Great Britain were in 1849, we may hope in vain that the
ensign of the United States will be restored to its place upon the sea.
Amid the discouraging conditions of these years preceding the Civil War,
American sea-captains never lost faith in their ships nor in themselves.
They seemed to think, the lower the rate of freight, the more reason
that it should be earned quickly, and when once clear of the
disheartening influences of a seaport and well off soundings, they sent
their ships along with the same energy and skill for which they had
become famous in more prosperous days.
It was in the year 1857 that the _Great Republic_ made her remarkable
passage of 92 days from New York to San Francisco, and established a new
record of 16 days from Sandy Hook to the equator. She was still
commanded by Captain Limeburner, who had as his first officer,
Montgomery Parker, an accomplished seaman and navigator, afterward
commander of the ships _Judge Shaw_ and _Lord Lyndhurst_. The crew of 50
men before the mast were the usual assortment, 15 or 20 good seamen, the
rest adventurers and mongrels of various brands, of whom little could be
expected. Captain Limeburner and his officers always went armed, and it
was perhaps fortunate, with such a crew, that the topgallantsails were
never clewed up during the passage, and that Cape Horn was rounded with
skysails set.
The abstract log of the _Great Republic_ is as follows:
From Sandy Hook to the equator 16 days.
From the equator to 50° S. 25 “
From 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S.
in the Pacific 9 “
From 50° S. to the equator 23 “
From the equator to San Francisco 19 “
--
Total 92 “
Lieutenant Maury, in a letter on the subject to the Secretary of the
Navy, remarks: “This vessel did not have the luck to get a wind that
could keep her up to her mettle for twenty-four hours consecutively.
Here and there she got into favorable streaks of wind, but she appears
to have run out of them faster than they could follow. She made the run
to San Francisco in 92 days.
“The shortest passage that in the present state of ship-building will
probably ever be made from New York to San Francisco, is 85 days; and
the very clever first officer of this ship, writing from California,
expresses the opinion that ‘should she continue to run between New York
and San Francisco, from the experience of this voyage, she will one day
make the trip within your possible 85 days.’
“The friends of this noble specimen of naval architecture, however, can
scarcely hope for a fair trial and proper display of her prowess until
she shall be sent on a voyage to Australia. The brave west winds of the
Southern hemisphere, which she will then encounter, will enable her to
show herself; elsewhere, she can scarcely find a sea wide enough, with
belts of wind broad enough for the full display of her qualities and
capabilities.”
There can be little doubt that with her original spars and sail plan,
the _Great Republic_ would have made this passage in 85 days or less,
and it is to be regretted that, even with her reduced rig, she never
made a voyage between England and Australia, the service for which she
was built and especially adapted. Her best twenty-four hours’ run, made
upon a subsequent voyage while under the command of Captain Josiah Paul,
was 413 miles.
In 1857 the _Flying Dragon_ made the passage to San Francisco in 97
days; the _Westward Ho_ and the _Andrew Jackson_ in 100 days, both from
New York; and the _Flying Fish_ in 106 days from Boston. In 1858 the
_Twilight_ made the passage from New York in 100 days; the _Andrew
Jackson_ in 103 days; and in 1859 the _Sierra Nevada_ in 97 days and the
_Andrew Jackson_ in 102 days. In 1860 the _Andrew Jackson_ made the trip
in 89 days.
As before noted, the _Andrew Jackson_ was built in 1855. Her builders
were Irons & Grinnell, of Mystic, Connecticut; she was owned by J. H.
Brower & Co., of New York, and was commanded by Captain John E.
Williams, of Mystic. She was 1679 tons register and measured: length 222
feet, breadth 40 feet, depth 22 feet, and while not an extreme clipper,
she was a very handsome, well-designed ship. She was heavily sparred and
carried double topsails, skysails, and royal studdingsails. Her
figurehead was a full-length statue of the famous warrior and statesman
in whose honor she was named.
Upon Captain Williams’s arrival at San Francisco, in 89 days from New
York, he was presented with a Commodore’s pennant, and on his return to
New York the owners presented him with a valuable chronometer watch
bearing the following inscription: “Presented by J. H. Brower & Co. to
Captain J. E. Williams of the clipper ship _Andrew Jackson_ for the
shortest passage to San Francisco. Time 89 days 4 hours, 1860.”
With this superb record by the _Andrew Jackson_--four consecutive
passages averaging 98½ days each--the American clipper ship era may well
bring its brilliant career to a close.
It would be invidious, even if it were possible, to name the fastest of
the splendid fleet of California clippers which sailed during the years
1850-1860, as their voyages were made in different years and at
different seasons of the year; still, a comparison of their records is
of interest.
Eighteen ships made single passages of less than 100 days from New York
or Boston to San Francisco during this period. The _Flying Cloud_ and
_Andrew Jackson_ share the honor of 89 days each, and are closely
followed by the _Sword Fish_, 90 days; _Flying Fish_ and _Great
Republic_, 92 days; _John Gilpin_, 93 days; _Sweepstakes_, 94 days;
_Surprise_ and _Romance of the Seas_, 96 days; _Sea Witch_, _Contest_,
_Antelope_, _Sierra Nevada_, _Flying Dragon_, and _Witchcraft_, 97 days;
_Flying Fish_ and _David Brown_, 98 days, and _Herald of the Morning_
and _Hurricane_, 99 days each.
Four of these ships, the _Flying Cloud_, _Flying Fish_, _Great
Republic_, and _Romance of the Seas_, were built by Donald McKay, and
two of the four, the _Flying Cloud_ and _Flying Fish_, each came within
the limit twice. Two others, the _John Gilpin_ and _Surprise_, were
built by Samuel Hall, and two, the _Contest_ and _Sweepstakes_, by Jacob
A. Westervelt, with one ship each by other builders. Beside Captain
Creesy of the _Flying Cloud_ and Captain Nickels of the _Flying Fish_,
Captain Dumaresq also made the passage twice in less than 100 days, in
command of the _Surprise_ and _Romance of the Seas_.
For an average of the two fastest passages by one ship, the record of
the _Flying Cloud_--two in 89 days each--stands at the head. The others
are: the _Andrew Jackson_, 98 and 100--94½ days; _Flying Fish_, 92 and
98--95 days; _Sword-Fish_, 90 and 105--97½ days; _David Brown_, 98 and
103--101½ days; _Westward Ho_, 100 and 103--101½ days; _Sea Witch_, 97
and 108--102½ days; _Contest_, 108 and 97--102½ days; _Herald of the
Morning_, 99 and 106--102½; _Phantom_, 101 and 104--102½ days; _John
Gilpin_, 93 and 115--104 days; _Romance of the Seas_, 96 and 113--104½
days; _Ringleader_, 100 and 109--104½ days; _Sweepstakes_, 94 and
116--105 days; _Flying Dutchman_, 104 and 106--105 days; _Flying
Dragon_, 97 and 114--105½ days; _Surprise_, 96 and 116--106 days; _Young
America_, 105 and 109--107 days; _Neptune’s Car_, 100 and 112--106;
_Eagle_, 103 and 111--107 days; _Comet_, 103 and 112--107½ days; _Golden
Gate_, 102 and 113--107½ days; _Golden City_, 105 and 113--109 days;
_Flyaway_, 106 and 112--109 days; _Sea Serpent_, 107 and 112--109½
days; _Shooting Star_, 105 and 115--110 days.
The fastest three passages in 1850-1860 were made by the _Flying Cloud_,
89, 89, 105--94⅓ days; _Andrew Jackson_, 89, 100, 102--97 days; _Flying
Fish_, 92, 98, 105--98⅓ days; _Westward Ho_, 103, 106, 100--103 days;
_Sword-Fish_, 90, 105, 116--103⅔ days; _Sea Witch_, 97, 108, 110--105
days; _Young America_, 105, 107, 110--107⅓ days; _Surprise_, 96, 116,
117--109⅔ days; _Sea Serpent_, 107, 112, 115--111⅓ days.
The best four passages were made by the _Flying Cloud_, 89, 89, 105,
108--97¾ days; _Andrew Jackson_, 89, 100, 102, 103--98½ days; _Flying
Fish_, 92, 98, 105, 106--100¼ days.
By dividing this great race-course into sections, a further comparison
of the relative speed of the clipper ships may be obtained. Thus the
following separate runs were made during the years in question:
From Sandy Hook to the equator: _Great Republic_, 16 days; _Flying
Cloud_, _Northern Light_, _Sea Serpent_, _Storm_ (barque), _White
Swallow_, 17 days; _Adelaide_, _Jacob Bell_, _Surprise_, _Sweepstakes_,
18 days; _Atlanta_, _Flying Fish_, _Golden Gate_, _Hornet_, _Samuel
Russell_, _Tingqua_, 19 days; _Archer_, _Antelope_, _Climax_, _Courier_,
_Comet_, _David Brown_, _Hazard_, _Sirocco_, _Tornado_, _White Squall_,
20 days. In February, 1858, the _Stag Hound_, commanded by Captain
Hussey, made the run from Boston Light to the equator in the phenomenal
time of 13 days, eclipsing all records.
From Cape St. Roque to 50° S.: _Samuel Russell_, 16 days; _Hornet_,
_Ocean Pearl_, 17 days; _Bald Eagle_, _Comet_, _Electric_, _Hurricane_,
_Ocean Express_, _Raven_, 18 days; _Electric Spark_, _Galatea_,
_Governor Morton_, _John Gilpin_, _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Sword-Fish_,
_Witch of the Wave_, 19 days; _Aurora_, _Flying Fish_, _Golden Gate_,
_John Wade_, _Mandarin_, _North America_, _Panama_, _Ringleader_,
_Seaman_, _Sea Witch_, _Skylark_, _Trade Wind_, 20 days.
From 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific: _Young America_, 6
days; _Flying Fish_, _Flying Cloud_, _Robin Hood_, 7 days; _Flying
Dutchman_ (twice), _Herald of the Morning_, _Stag Hound_, _Sword-Fish_,
8 days; _Mary L. Sutton_, _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Great Republic_, 9
days; _Atlanta_, _Golden City_, _Hornet_, _Snap Dragon_ (barque),
_Sweepstakes_, _Typhoon_, _Whistler_, 10 days.
From 50° S. in the Pacific to the equator: _Live Yankee_, _Mary L.
Sutton_, 16 days; _Flying Cloud_, _Sweepstakes_, 17 days; _Celestial_,
_Eagle_, _Hurricane_, _John Bertram_, _Surprise_, _Young America_, 18
days; _Belle of the West_, _Courser_, _Don Quixote_, _Flying Dutchman_
(twice), _Flying Fish_, _Mermaid_, _Neptune’s Car_, _Ocean Telegraph_,
_Sirocco_, _Starlight_, _Sword-Fish_, _Wild Pigeon_, _Winged Arrow_, 19
days; _Alarm_, _Archer_, _Electric_, _Flying Dragon_, _Golden Eagle_,
_John Gilpin_, _Malay_, _Stag Hound_, _Starr King_, _Syren_, _Shooting
Star_, _Telegraph_, _Unknown_, 20 days.
From the equator to San Francisco: _White Squall_, 14 days; _Flying
Cloud_, _John Gilpin_, _Phantom_, 15 days; _Antelope_, _Comet_,
_Contest_, _Flying Dutchman_, _Game-Cock_, _Trade Wind_, 16 days;
_Aurora_, _Flying Fish_ (twice), _Sovereign of the Seas_, _Surprise_,
_Young America_, 17 days; _Cleopatra_, _Challenge_, _Golden City_,
_John Bertram_, _Samuel Appleton_, _Seaman_, _Sea Witch_,
_Staffordshire_, _Typhoon_, _Westward Ho_, _Winged Arrow_, 18 days;
_Bald Eagle_, _Boston Light_, _Defender_, _Eagle_, _Electric_, _Golden
Eagle_, _Great Republic_, _Hornet_, _N. B. Palmer_, _Wild Pigeon_, 19
days; _Celestial_, _Cyclone_, _Eureka_, _Governor Morton_, _Herald of
the Morning_, _Intrepid_, _Living Age_, _Ocean Telegraph_, _Raven_,
_Samuel Russell_, _Sparkling Wave_, _Sword-Fish_, 20 days.
These records indicate the remarkable sailing qualities of the clipper
ships, for, if the quickest single runs are added together--the _Stag
Hound’s_ 13 days from Boston Light to the equator with an allowance of 2
days for the run from the equator to Cape St. Roque; the _Samuel
Russell’s_ 16 days from Cape St. Roque to 50° S.; the _Young America’s_
6 days from 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific; the _Live
Yankee’s_ and _Mary L. Sutton’s_ 16 days from 50° S. to the equator; and
the _White Squall’s_ 14 days from the equator to San Francisco--we find
that these six ships sailed long distances at the rate of a passage of
67 days from Boston Light to San Francisco, or 22 days less than the
record of the _Flying Cloud_ and _Andrew Jackson_--89 days. Yet no one
of the six ships which made these splendid runs made the passage from an
Atlantic port to San Francisco in less than 100 days.
The records of the other ships are even more remarkable, for allowing 20
days as the outside limit of the four longer runs, with 10 days from 50°
S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in the Pacific and 2 days from the equator
to Cape St. Roque, we find that no less than 157 runs were made over
distances of thousands of miles, most of them considerably within an
average rate of 92 days from Sandy Hook to San Francisco, or well within
3 days of the fastest record time. These records prove, if proof were
needed, that the reputation of American clipper ships for speed does not
rest upon the fast passages of a few ships, but is based upon the
established records of many swift vessels.
Judged by any standard of beauty, the American clipper ships were
handsome, noble-looking vessels. During the past fifty years I have seen
many fleets of men-of-war and merchant ships, besides naval reviews, and
at various times the squadrons of yachts that gather each summer in
Cowes Roads and Newport Harbor, but I have never seen a collection of
vessels which could compare in stately beauty with the fleet of American
clipper ships which lay in the harbor of Hong-kong during the autumn of
1858.
The American clippers were all built of wood and their hulls were
painted black from the metal up, though the _Invincible_ carried a
crimson stripe, and the _Challenge_, _N. B. Palmer_, _Sweepstakes_, and
perhaps two or three others, a stripe of gold. Their yards and bowsprits
were usually painted black, the lower masts white to the tops, with the
tops and doublings above scraped bright and varnished, but the
_Challenge_, _Young America_, and _Mandarin_ carried black lower masts,
and a few other ships kept their lower masts bright.
Many of their figureheads were of considerable artistic excellence,
being designed by skilful artists, some of whom have already been
mentioned. The _Romance of the Seas_ carried the full-length figure of
an ancient navigator, whose original might have stood on the high poop
of Magellan’s flag-ship, with head bent forward and right hand raised to
shade his eager eyes, as he gazed upon an unknown land in an uncharted
sea. The _Sea Serpent_ carried a long slender serpent, whose life-like,
slimy-looking body, picked out in shades of green and gold, suggested
his recent escape from the waters of one of the summer resorts along the
Atlantic coast. The _Nightingale_ carried a beautiful bust of Jenny
Lind, for whom she was named. The _Panama_ carried at her bow a nude,
full-length figure of a beautiful woman with arms extended, pure white
and of great artistic merit, perhaps the most beautiful figurehead ever
carried by a ship. The _Flying Fish_ carried a fish on the wing, of
life-like color and giving a vivid sense of speed; the _Witchcraft_, a
grim Salem witch riding upon her aerial broomstick; the _Game-Cock_, a
fighting bird with outstretched neck and head, apparently eager for
combat; the _Northern Light_, the full-length figure of an angelic
creature in flowing white drapery, one graceful arm extended above her
head, and bearing in her slender hand a torch with golden flame.
One of the most striking figureheads was the tall square-built sailor,
with dark curly hair and bronzed clean-shaven face, who stood at the bow
of the _Champion of the Seas_. A black belt with a massive brass buckle
supported his white trousers, which were as tight about the hips as the
skin of an eel, and had wide, bell-shaped bottoms that almost hid his
black polished pumps. He wore a loose-fitting blue-and-white-checked
shirt, with wide, rolling collar, and black neck handkerchief of ample
size, tied in the most rakish of square knots with long flowing ends.
But perhaps the most impressive of this mariner’s togs were his
dark-blue jacket, and the shiny tarpaulin hat which he waved aloft in
the grip of his brawny, tattooed right hand. The only exception that one
could possibly take to this stalwart sailorman was that his living
prototype was likely to be met with so very seldom in real life. There
were many other figureheads that might be mentioned, but these are best
remembered.
In those days New York was one of the most beautiful and picturesque
seaports of the world; the water-front was lined with majestic clippers,
stately Indiamen, and noble packet ships, their American ensigns and
well-known house flags of many brilliant colors floating in the
breeze.[13] The view and skyline of the port from the harbor were very
beautiful; Battery Park with its fine lawns and trees in the foreground,
the graceful spire of Trinity Church forming a prominent landmark, while
clustered on every side were the modest yet dignified and substantial
residences, gardens, and warehouses of the merchants, with a quiet,
refined atmosphere of prosperity and contentment, long since departed.
The New York pilot-boats were remarkably fast and able schooners of from
80 to 90 tons, which cruised to the eastward as far as the Grand Banks,
with a hand in the crow’s nest on the lookout for the packets and
steamships bound for New York. Among these stanch little vessels were
the _Washington_, _Ezra Nye_, _George W. Blunt_, _William H. Aspinwall_,
_Mary Taylor_, _Moses E. Grinnell_, _Charles H. Marshall_, _Mary Fish_,
_George Steers_, and _Jacob Bell_. The New York pilots themselves were a
very superior class of men, who always wore beaver hats when boarding a
vessel, and owned their boats, and it was regarded as a compliment and
an honor for a citizen of New York to have one of their vessels named
for him.
Of the men who commanded the American clipper ships, it may be said that
they carried the ensign of the United States to every quarter of the
globe, with honor to their country and themselves. They were not,
however, all cast in the same mould. Each had his strongly marked
individual traits of character, and his human weaknesses. Nothing could
be more remote from the truth than to imagine these men as blustering
bullies at sea or rollicking shell-backs on shore; neither were they
Chesterfields or carpet knights, afloat or ashore, nor at all the type
of skipper that one is apt to meet in works of fiction. Many of them
might easily have been mistaken for prosperous merchants or professional
men, until a more intimate acquaintance disclosed the aura of salted
winds and surging seas, and a world-wide knowledge of men and cities.
These were the qualities which made so many of these master mariners
delightful companions and welcome guests at the firesides of refined and
luxurious homes, whose doors could not be opened by golden keys. It may
well be doubted whether braver, truer-hearted gentlemen or finer seamen
than many of the American clipper ship captains of half a century ago
have ever sailed the seas.
Many of the clipper ship captains were accompanied on their voyages by
their wives, whose influence at sea was humanizing, while their
companionship was a comfort and solace to their husbands. In foreign
ports, especially in China and India, they were made much of. The
merchants vied with each other to render their visits enjoyable, and
nothing in the way of lavish entertainment or costly gift was regarded
as too good for them. Mrs. Babcock, of the _Sword-Fish_ and _Young
America_; Mrs. Low, of the _N. B. Palmer_; Mrs. Very, of the
_Hurricane_; Mrs. Creecy, of the _Flying Cloud_, and Mrs. Andrews, of
the _Red Gauntlet_, were veritable sea belles, while Mrs. Patten of the
_Neptune’s Car_ proved herself a true heroine.
The _Neptune’s Car_ sailed from New York for San Francisco in June,
1856, and before she reached Cape Horn, Captain Patten was compelled to
put his chief officer under arrest on account of incompetence and
neglect of duty. That winter off Cape Horn was unusually cold and
stormy, and the exposure and fatigue which Captain Patten was obliged to
endure brought on an attack of brain fever which soon resulted in his
becoming entirely blind. The second mate was a good seaman but knew
nothing about navigation. Mrs. Patten at that time was not more than
twenty-four years old, but she had acquired a thorough knowledge of
navigation upon a previous voyage with her husband round the globe, and
she at once assumed command of the ship. For 52 days she navigated this
heavily masted clipper of over 1600 tons, taking her safely into the
harbor of San Francisco, besides acting as nurse and physician to her
husband and keeping him alive by constant care and watchfulness. The
chief mate asked to return to duty, but Mrs. Patten declined his aid, as
she had no faith in his ability or loyalty, and preferred to trust the
faithful though illiterate second mate.
Captain Patten never recovered his health and died at Boston on July 26,
1857, in his thirty-sixth year. His funeral took place at Christ Church
in that city, with the colors of the shipping in the harbor at half
mast, and the bells of the church tolling in his honor. Captain Joshua
A. Patten was born in Rockland, Maine, and had followed the sea from
boyhood. He was a prominent Mason, and for several years had been a
member of Christ Church. Mrs. Mary Patten was a beautiful woman of the
finest New England type, with a refined, gentle voice and manner. While
not active in the then newly-organized women’s rights movement, she was
unwillingly made to appear as the star example of woman’s ability to
compete successfully in the pursuits and avocations of man.