Bald Eagle (clipper)
Bald Eagle was a clipper ship launched in 1852 which made four round-trip passages from eastern U.S. ports before being lost on her fifth voyage in the Pacific ocean in 1861. She set the record, 78 days 22 hours, for the fastest passage of a fully loaded ship between San Francisco and New York.[1][2][3][4]
 Bald Eagle sailing card | |
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | Bald Eagle |
| Owner: | George B. Upton |
| Builder: | Donald McKay of East Boston, MA |
| Launched: | November 1852 |
| Fate: | Unknown; sailed from Hong Kong October 15, 1861 and was not heard from again |
| Status: | Disappeared |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Extreme clipper |
| Tons burthen: | 1705 tons |
| Length: | (keel) 195 ft. (59.4m) |
| Beam: | 41.6 ft. (12.6m) |
| Draft: | 22.5 ft. (6.9m) |
| Sail plan: | "10,500 yards of canvas"[1] |
| Notes: | Set a record for a fully loaded ship from San Francisco to New York |
Her voyages
The Bald Eagle's voyages are listed here. Sources disagree on some departure and arrival dates and passage lengths; disagreements or ambiguities are individually cited. City names are entered as spelled at the time.
| Voyage | Origin | Depart | Destination | Arrive | Days | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | December 25[2] or 26,[1][3] 1852 | San Francisco | April 11, 1853 | 108[2] or 107[1][3] | Philip Dumaresq |
| 1 | San Francisco | May 8, 1853 | New York | August 13, 1853 | 96 | Philip Dumaresq |
| 2 | New York | October 1 [2] or 2,[3] 1853 | San Francisco | January 25, 1854[2][1] | 116[2] or 115[1][3] | Albert Henry Caldwell |
| 2 | San Francisco | March 1[3] or March 2,[2] 1854 | New York | May 19, 1854 | 78 days 22 hours[2] or 79[3] | Albert Henry Caldwell |
| 3 | New York | San Francisco | February 23, 1855 | 115[3] or 117[1] | Albert Henry Caldwell | |
| 3 | San Francisco | Hong Kong | 47 | Charles T. Treadwell | ||
| 3 | Swatow, China | Callao, Peru | November 26, 1855 | Charles T. Treadwell | ||
| 3 | Callao | Philadelphia | May 4, 1856 | Charles T. Treadwell | ||
| 4 | New York | July 18, 1856 | San Francisco | November 15, 1856 | 120 | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 4 | San Francisco | December 7, 1856[1] | Calcutta | February 5, 1857[1] | 58[2] or 59[1][3] | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 4 | Calcutta | April 26, 1857 | Boston | August 2, 1857 | 98 | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 5 | Boston | September 21, 1857 | Hong Kong | 108[3] or 109[1] | Edward Nickels | |
| 5 | Shanghai[2] or Hong Kong[3] | August 6, 1859 | Liverpool | December 21, 1859 | 120 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Liverpool | February 21, 1860 | Anjer, Indonesia | May 24, 1860 | 93[1] or 94[3] | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Anjer, Indonesia | Shanghai[5] | June 25, 1860[5] | 32 | Edward Nickels | |
| 5 | Hong Kong | San Francisco | April 24[2] or 25,[1][3] 1861 | 41 | Edward Nickels | |
| 5 | San Francisco | June 16, 1861 | Hong Kong via Honolulu | August 25, 1961 | 56 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Hong Kong | October 15, 1861 | San Francisco | Lost during voyage | Morris (given name unknown) |
Her fate
Although Basil Lubbock wrote an account that in October 1861 Bald Eagle came under attack by Chinese pirates while enroute to Peru with a cargo of Chinese laborers, was put on fire, and then abandoned at sea some 500 miles east of Manila,[6] there is little evidence to support his account. Richard McKay calls it a "fake yarn" and cites F. C. Matthews, a "well-known authority of ships...of the past" that Bald Eagle sailed from Hong Kong for San Francisco with a cargo including rice, sugar, tea, and "treasure" and was never heard of again.[7]
References
- Howe, Octavius T.; Matthews, Frederick C. (1926). America Clipper Ships 1833-1858. I. Marine Research Society. pp. 33–35.
- Cutler, Carl C. (1967). Greyhounds of the Sea. United States Naval Institute. pp. 284, 419, 451, 492, 506.
- McKay, Richard C. (1928). Some Famous Sailing Ships and Their Builder Donald McKay. G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 201–225.
- Duncan McLean (Lars Bruzelius, transcriber) (November 17, 1852). "The New Clipper Ship Bald Eagle, of Boston". The Boston Daily Atlas. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- Fairburn, William Armstrong (1992). Merchant sail. Volume 6. Higginson Book Co. p. 3841.
- Lubbock, Basil (1876-1914). The China Clippers. ISBN 0-7126-0341-7. OCLC 490651672.
- McKay, Richard C. (2013). Donald McKay and His Famous Sailing Ships. Dover Publications, New York. pp. 220–225.