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
United States
Name:	Bald Eagle
Owner:	George B. Upton
Builder:	Donald McKay of East Boston, MA
Launched:	November 1852
Fate:	Disappeared on a voyage after leaving Hong Kong on 15 October 1861
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

1. Howe, Octavius T.; Matthews, Frederick C. (1926). America Clipper Ships 1833-1858. I. Marine Research Society. pp. 33–35.
2. Cutler, Carl C. (1967). Greyhounds of the Sea. United States Naval Institute. pp. 284, 419, 451, 492, 506.
3. McKay, Richard C. (1928). Some Famous Sailing Ships and Their Builder Donald McKay. G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 201–225.
4. Duncan McLean (Lars Bruzelius, transcriber) (November 17, 1852). "The New Clipper Ship Bald Eagle, of Boston". The Boston Daily Atlas. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
5. Fairburn, William Armstrong (1992). Merchant sail. Volume 6. Higginson Book Co. p. 3841.
6. Lubbock, Basil (1876-1914). The China Clippers. ISBN 0-7126-0341-7. OCLC 490651672.
7. McKay, Richard C. (2013). Donald McKay and His Famous Sailing Ships. Dover Publications, New York. pp. 220–225.

See also

List of clipper ships