Memnon (clipper)

Last updated
MEMNON (Ship) (c112-02-03).jpg
History
US flag 30 stars.svgUnited States
NameMemnon
Owner Warren Delano II [1]
Builder Smith & Dimon, New York City
Launched1848
FateLost in the Gaspar Strait, 1851
General characteristics
Class and type Clipper
Tons burthen1068 tons
Length170 ft.
Beam36 ft.
Draft21 ft. [2]
Sail plan Barque

The Memnon was the first clipper ship to arrive in San Francisco after the Gold Rush, and the only clipper to arrive in San Francisco before 1850. Built in 1848, she made record passages to San Francisco and to China, and sailed in the first clipper race around Cape Horn.

Contents

Record passage to San Francisco

"The only clipper ship to make the voyage to San Francisco prior to 1850 was the Memnon, under Captain George Gordon, which arrived there July 28, 1849 after a record passage of one hundred and twenty days from New York." [3] [4]

Cutler lists this passage as 122 days, leaving New York April 11, 1849 under Capt. J.R. Gordon, and arriving in San Francisco on August 28, 1849. [5]

"Era of the Clipper Ships" lists the captain's name as Joseph R. Gordon, and puts the voyage at 123 days, noting a mutiny en route:

"Gordon had it in his mind to set the record with this voyage around the Horn and was driving his new crew hard, and soon had a mutiny with "all hands refusing duty." Belaying pins and hand spikes were soon flying, and the Memnon was forced to put into Montevideo, where Gordon discharged the troublemakers. He took on a new crew before proceeding on the Memnon's record breaking voyage of 123 sailing days from Sandy Hook, arriving in San Francisco Bay on August 28, 1849." [6]

Faster time than steamships

"In 1852 there were in commission the clipper ships Surprise , Celestial, Sea Witch , Samuel Russell, Staghound , George E. Webster, and barks Race Horse and Memnon, all of which had made the passage from New York to San Francisco in from ninety to one hundred and twenty days, the average steamer time being one hundred and fifty." [7]

Record broken by Flying Cloud

"Memnon's record 120 day passage was broken again two years later by the Flying Cloud, which made her famous day’s run of 374 miles on that trip, arriving in San Francisco after 89 days, 21 hours." [8]

Construction

The Clipper Memnon of New York by James E. Buttersworth The Clipper Memnon of New York by James E. Buttersworth.jpg
The Clipper Memnon of New York by James E. Buttersworth

The Memnon was a sharp, heavily sparred clipper much like the Sea Witch. She was designed by John Willis Griffiths at the Smith & Dimon yard in New York. [6]

Voyages: "I am now convinced the ship can sail"

"The Memnon had sailed on her maiden run to Liverpool on November 6, 1848, in fourteen days, seven hours, very good time", [6] under Captain Pulaski Benjamin. [9] She was the first American clipper to call at the Port of Liverpool. [10]

In his Notes on Ships of the Past, Captain R.B. Forbes describes the following voyages in the Memnon:

"She crossed from San Francisco to Hong Kong in 1850 in 36 days, in charge of Captain Gordon. Captain L. M. Goldsborough was passenger in her, and spoke very highly of her performances. [11]

This China passage was a record, according to Cutler; however, the New York Herald of January 24, 1853 stated that it ended in Whampoa rather than Hong Kong. [12]

"On the 30th July, 1848, she left New York, under command of Oliver Eldridge, for Liverpool, and made the passage to Cape Lynas in 21 days; the winds were generally light, and the captain seems to have been disappointed in the sailing qualities of the ship; but on the 14th day out, in longitude 32°, the log says: — "At 1 P.M., made a sail ahead; at 5 passed her; at 7.30 she is hull down astern; she was the Woodside, an American ship;" and on the 19th she made 241, with a moderate south-west wind, and the log says: — "I am now convinced the ship can sail." The distance sailed was 3,413 ; the first 6 days she averaged only 77. Leaving Liverpool on the 6th of September, for New York, she went out by the north channel, and had much bad weather, and much reefing; was 23 days and 17 hours on the way, and logged 3,868." [11]

First Clipper Race Around the Horn, 1850

"The keen rivalry between clippers led to races over thousands of miles of seas; and upon the result thousands of dollars were often wagered." [13]

"The first contest of clippers around Cape Horn took place in 1850, between the Hoqua, the Sea Witch , Samuel Russell, and Memnon, old rivals on China voyages, and the new clippers Celestial, Mandarin, and Race Horse ... Large sums of money were wagered on the result, the four older vessels having established high reputations for speed. The Samuel Russell was commanded by Charles Low, previously of the Hoqua, while the Hoqua was now commanded by Captain McKenzie; Captain Gordon was again in the Memnon, and Captain George Fraser, who had sailed with Captain Waterman as chief mate.”

The Samuel Russell knocked eleven days off the record, arriving in San Francisco after 109 days from New York. Hoqua arrived next, in 120 days from New York, and the following day Sea Witch arrived after a 97-day passage, knocking an additional 12 days off the record. The performance of Sea Witch was particularly astonishing because she had rounded Cape Horn during the Antarctic midwinter.

"The remaining ships arrived in the following order: Memnon, 123 days, Celestial, 104 days, Race Horse, 109 days from Boston, and Mandarin, 126 days from New York-- all 'exceptionally fine passages,' average passages of the time being 159 days." [14]

1852 Challenge to British Clippers for a Race Around the Horn

"On January 3, 1852, the Illustrated London News ... published a portrait of the Chrysolite accompanying an article in which it was stated that both the Chrysolite and the Stornoway had beaten the Surprise , and that the Chrysolite had completely beaten the Memnon during a race in the Gaspar Straits. The article caused a good deal of interest in the United States, and it caused the formation by a number of high-spirited young merchants and ship-owners at Boston of a society called the "American Navigation Club", which consisted of Daniel C. Bacon, President Thomas H. Perkins, John P. Cushing, William H. Boardman, John M. Forbes, Warren Delano, and Edward King. In due time they issued the following challenge ... 'The American Navigation Club challenges the ship builders of Great Britain to a ship-race, with cargo on board, to a port in China and back. One ship to be entered by each party, and to be named within a week of the start ... The stakes to be L10,00 a side ...' However, the challenge was not accepted." [15]

Loss of the ship

The Clipper Memnon Under Tow by James E. Buttersworth The Clipper Memnon Under Tow by James E. Buttersworth.jpg
The Clipper Memnon Under Tow by James E. Buttersworth

The Memnon was one of fifteen American ships that sailed from China to London and Liverpool with cargoes of tea in 1851, of which four were clippers: Memnon, Surprise , Oriental and White Squall. Memnon left Whampoa August 16, 1851, and was lost in the Gaspar Strait, on September 14 or 16, near the Alceste Rock. [16] [17]

Charles Burr Todd cites a date of 1854 for the sinking, "After sailing the sea for twelve years was lost in 1854 with a cargo of 2,000,000 pounds of tea for London, for which she was to have had $70,000 freight." [18] In his Journal of Voyages to China and their Return 1851-1853, Henry Blane described the circumstances of Memnon's loss:

“At sunrise the faint outlines of Gaspar Island could be seen and as we were running with a free wind 6 knots, by daylight were within 15 miles of it on our starboard bow. This is the Island where Capt. Gordon landed from the Memnon on Pulo Leat.

At 10 A.M. was abreast of Pulo Leat and could distinctly see the spot where Capt. Gordon ran Memnon ashore four months since. He was beating down through the Straits and was warned by his mate Mr. Fisher that he was standing too near in shore, and Capt. G.'s reply was, " he knew his business " — ten minutes after she struck. Capt. G. found it was impossible to get her off, and he with his wife and crew took to the boats — (the Malay pirates swarming up one side while they were going over the other) — and started for Gaspar Island which lay 25 miles north. The next day Mr. Fisher (mate) with one of the boats and a pair of sails with part of the crew started for Singapore bearing N.W. distance 300 miles. The first days run was 156 miles and two days after arrived at Singapore where he reported the loss of the Memnon. A vessel was sent for Capt. Gordon but he had put off 8 days after Mr. Fisher in the other boat for a ship which was coming down through the straits bound for Singapore where he and his wife and crew arrived without any further accident. By the following mail Capt. G and wife started overland to Boston where they belonged. This Island Pulo Lea [19] has been the cause of a great many shipwrecks. It stands directly in the centre of the passage through which a 5 knot current is constantly running, changing its direction once in six months with the Monsoon. The passage is about two miles wide and bounded on the opposite side by shoals. [20]

1858 ship Memnon

US flag 32 stars.svgUnited States
NameMemnon (1858)
BuilderE.H. & O. Briggs, South Boston
Launched1858
General characteristics
Class and typeClipper
Tons burthen789.34 tons
Length158 ft. 3 in.
Beam32 ft. 11 in.
Draft22 ft. [21]

An 1858 ship of clipper construction named Memnon, somewhat less heavily sparred, was built by E.H. & O Briggs in South Boston. She sailed from Boston under Captain Perez Jenkins on August 30, 1858 arriving in San Francisco on January 18, after a voyage of 159 days. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clipper</span> Very fast sailing ship of the 19th century

A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th-century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Clipper" does not refer to a specific sailplan; clippers may be schooners, brigs, brigantines, etc., as well as full-rigged ships. Clippers were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards, although France, Brazil, the Netherlands, and other nations also produced some. Clippers sailed all over the world, primarily on the trade routes between the United Kingdom and China, in transatlantic trade, and on the New York-to-San Francisco route around Cape Horn during the California Gold Rush. Dutch clippers were built beginning in the 1850s for the tea trade and passenger service to Java.

<i>Flying Cloud</i> (clipper) Clipper

Flying Cloud was a clipper ship that set the world's sailing record for the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco, 89 days 8 hours. The ship held this record for over 130 years, from 1854 to 1989.

The first USS Onward was a clipper in the Union Navy.

<i>Rainbow</i> (clipper) American cargo ship

Rainbow, launched in New York in 1845 to sail in the China trade for the firm Howland & Aspinwall, was a clipper, a type of sailing vessel designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed.

<i>Surprise</i> (clipper)

Surprise was a California clipper built in East Boston in 1850. It initially rounded Cape Horn to California, but the vessel's owners, A. A. Low & Brother, soon found that the vessel performed well in Far Eastern waters. From that point onward the vessel spent much of her working life in the China trade, although the vessel also made three trips from the East Coast of the United States to California.

<i>Young America</i> (clipper)

The Young America was built by William H. Webb of New York. She was launched in 1853, at the height of the clipper construction boom. She sailed in the California trade, on transatlantic routes, and made voyages to Australia and the Far East.

<i>Witchcraft</i> (clipper)

Witchcraft was a clipper built in 1850 for the California and China trade. She made record passages from Rio de Janeiro to San Francisco, and from San Francisco to Callao, Peru.

<i>Carrier Dove</i> (clipper) 1855 sailboat

Carrier Dove was an 1855 medium clipper. She was one of two well-known clippers launched in Baltimore that year, the other being Mary Whitridge.

Harriet Hoxie was an 1851 clipper in the California trade. She was known for carrying cargoes of whale oil from Honolulu, and for importing the first Brown Leghorn chickens to the United States.

<i>Herald of the Morning</i> (clipper)

Herald of the Morning was one of the few clipper ships with a passage to San Francisco in less than 100 days.

<i>Lookout</i> (clipper)

Lookout was an 1853 clipper known for her passages from New York to San Francisco, and as an offshore and coastal trader in the lumber and coal trades.

Race Horse

Race Horse was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn.

Antelope was a medium clipper built in 1851 in Medford, near Boston, Massachusetts. She sailed in the San Francisco, China, and Far East trades, and was known for her fine finish work and for her crew's escape from pirates. She is often called Antelope of Boston to distinguish her from the extreme clipper Antelope of New York launched in 1852.

Ganges was an 1854 clipper ship built by Hugh R. McKay in East Boston. Although she was famed for a race with Flying Cloud and Bald Eagle, the race actually never took place.

<i>Golden West</i> (clipper)

Golden West was an 1852 extreme clipper built by Paul Curtis. The ship had a very active career in the California trade, the guano trade, the coolie trade, the Far East, and Australia. She made a record passage between Japan and San Francisco in 1856.

<i>Witch of the Wave</i>

Witch of the Wave was a long-lived extreme clipper in the California trade, with a sailing life of over 34 years. In 1851, she sailed from Calcutta to Boston in 81 days, setting a record. It was renamed the Electra in 1871.

<i>Andrew Jackson</i> (clipper)

The sailing ship Andrew Jackson, a 1,679-registered-ton medium clipper, was built by the firm of Irons & Grinnell in Mystic, Connecticut in 1855. The vessel was designed for the shipping firm of J.H. Brower & Co. to carry cargo intended for sale to participants in the California Gold Rush.

<i>Sunny South</i> (clipper) 1854 extreme clipper

<i>Stornoway</i> (clipper)

Stornoway was a British tea clipper built by Alexander Hall and Sons in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1850. She was a further development by Hall on the clippers built in Aberdeen in 1848, being larger and more obviously suited to deep sea service. She was ordered by Jardine Matheson specifically for the tea trade. In the late 1840s, tea was available earlier in the season in China, so the first ships to load had to beat to windward against the north-east monsoon to get across the China Sea. The details of the hull shape designed by Hall had this requirement in mind.

<i>Hurricane</i> (clipper) American sailing ship, built 1851

Hurricane was a large extreme clipper of 1608 tons burthen built in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States in 1851. Reputedly the most extreme clipper ever built, Hurricane proved a very fast vessel, reportedly capable of speeds of up to 18 knots (33 km/h) in ideal conditions, and establishing a number of record passages in the early years of her career.

References

  1. ↑ Clark, Arthur H. (1910). The Clipper Ship Era, An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews, 1843-1869. Camden, ME: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. p.  79. The clipper ship era: an epitome of famous American and British clipper.
  2. ↑ Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. p. 399.
  3. ↑ Blane, Henry (1913). Journal of Voyages to China and Return, 1851-1853. Boston: Privately printed. p. 130.
  4. ↑ Clark, Arthur H. (1910). The Clipper Ship Era, An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews, 1843-1869. Camden, ME: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. p. 145.
  5. ↑ Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. p. 477.
  6. 1 2 3 Ross, Don. "The Era of the Clipper Ships". The Oriental. The Era of the Clipper Ships. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  7. ↑ Todd, Charles Burr (1907). In Olde New York: Sketches of Old Times and Places in Both the State and the City. New York: The Grafton Press. p.  13. clipper memnon.
  8. ↑ Clark, Arthur H. (1910). The Clipper Ship Era, An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews, 1843-1869. Camden, ME: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. pp. 179–180.
  9. ↑ Knapp, Lewis G.; Stratford Historical Society (2002). Stratford and the sea. Making of America series. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. pp. 162–163. ISBN   978-0-7385-2399-6.
  10. ↑ Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. p. 200.
  11. 1 2 Forbes, R B (1915). Notes on ships of the past. [s.n.] p. 19.
  12. ↑ Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. p. 459.
  13. ↑ Ships and shipping of old New York: a brief account of the interesting phases of the commerce of New York from the foundation of the city to the beginning of the Civil War. New York City: Walton Advertising and Printing Company (Boston, Mass.); Printed for Bank of Manhattan Co. 1915. p.  56. clipper memnon.
  14. ↑ Clark, Arthur H. (1910). The Clipper Ship Era, An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews, 1843-1869. Camden, ME: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. pp. 145–146.
  15. ↑ Clark, Arthur H. (1910). The Clipper Ship Era, An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews, 1843-1869. Camden, ME: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. pp. 202–205.
  16. ↑ Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. pp. 191, 195, 459.
  17. ↑ The Chinese Repository, Vol. XX, from January to December 1851. Canton: Printed for the proprietors. 1851. p. 558.
  18. ↑ Todd, Charles Burr (1907). In Olde Massachusetts: Sketches of Old Times and Places in Both the State and the City. New York: The Grafton Press. p. 104. ISBN   9783849672362.
  19. ↑ "China Sea - Gaspar Strait with its three channels".
  20. ↑ Blane, Henry (1913). Journal of Voyages to China and Return, 1851-1853. Boston: Privately printed. p. 78.
  21. 1 2 Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. pp. 342, 447, 512.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.