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Construction

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Charles Wahn Morgan chose Jethro and Zachariah Hillman's shipyard to construct a new ship at their shipyard in New Bedford, Connecticut.[1]: 23  The Morgan's live oak keel was laid down in February 1841 and fastened together with copper bolts. The bow and stern pieces of live oak were secured to the keel by an apron piece. The sturdy stern post was strengthen with hemlock root and white oak. Yellow pine shipped from North Carolina was used for the ship's beams and hemlock or hackmatack was used for the hanging knees.[1]: 29 

Construction of the Morgan proceeded until April 19, 1841, when the workers went on strike; demanding a ten hour work day.[1]: 30  The strike gathered support until it encompassed the shipyard, the oil refineries and the cooper shops; Charles Morgan was appointed chairman of the employers and tasked to resolve the strike.[1]: 30  Morgan opposed their demands for a ten hour workday and a meeting with four master mechanics ended in failure. On May 6, an agreement was reached when the workers accepted a ten and one half hour workday.[1]: 32  Work resumed on the ship without incident and it was launched on July 21, 1841.[1]: 32  The ship was registered as a carvel of 106½ feet in length, 27 feet 2½ inches in breath, 13 feet 7¼ inches in depth and weighing 351 tons.[1]: 33  The ships construction and rigging cost a total of $32,562.08 and was assessed a shipyard fee of $2.25 per day for its 258 construction; labor charges was billed at $1.75 a day for 129½ days.[1]: 25 

The ship was outfitted at Rotch's Wharf for the next two months while preparations were made for its first voyage.[1]: 34–35  The name Charles W. Morgan was initially rejected by its namesake builder before being used. Captain Thomas Norton sailed the Morgan into the Atlantic alongside the Adeline Gibbs and the Nassau towards the Azores.[1]: 35  A stop was made on the island of Horta to gather supplies before crossing the Atlantic and passing Cape Horn before charting a course to the north.[1]: 38  On December 13, the men launched in their whaling boats and took their first whale, harpooning it and killing it with the thrust of a lance under the side fin.[1]: 43  The Morgan entered the port of Callau in early February and departed again on the 10th for the Galapagos Islands. In 1844, the ship sailed to the Kodiak Grounds before sailing for home on August 18.[1]: 60  The Morgan returned to her home port in New Bedford on January 2 in 1845.[1]: 60  The voyage of three years and three months resulted in 59 whales being processed for 1600 barrels of sperm oil, 800 barrels of right whale oil and five tons of whale bone that netted a total of $53,052.56.[1]: 61 

History

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Voyage Summary

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Voyage Port Captain Departure Arrival Mainly operated in
1st New Bedford Thomas A. Norton September 6, 1841 January 2, 1845 Pacific
2nd New Bedford J.D. Samson June 10, 1845 Pacific
3rd New Bedford J.D. Samson June 5, 1849 Pacific
4th New Bedford Tristram P. Ripley September 20, 1853 North Pacific
5th New Bedford Thomas N. Fisher September 15, 1856 North Pacific
6th New Bedford James. A. Hamilton October 4, 1859 North Pacific
7th New Bedford Thomas C. Landers December 1, 1863 North Pacific
8th New Bedford George Athearn July 17, 1867 Pacific
9th New Bedford John M. Tinkham September 26, 1871 Indian
10th New Bedford John M. Tinkham April 23, 1875 Atlantic
11th New Bedford Thomas L. Ellis July 17, 1878 Atlantic
12th New Bedford Charles F. Keith July 13, 1881 Pacific
13th New Bedford George A. Smith October 6, 1886 North Pacific
14th San Francisco George A. Smith December 4, 1887 North Pacific
15th San Francisco John S. Layton November 27, 1888 North Pacific
16th San Francisco John S. Layton December 5, 1889 Japan and Okhotsk
17th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle December 2, 1890 Japan and Okhotsk
18th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle November 24, 1891 Japan and Okhotsk
19th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle December 8, 1892 Japan and Okhotsk
20th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle December 6, 1893 Japan and Okhotsk
21th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle December 2, 1895 Pacific
22th San Francisco John S. Layton December 3, 1896 Pacific
23th San Francisco Thomas Scullion November 11, 1897 Japan and Okhotsk
24th San Francisco Thomas Scullion November 26, 1898 Japan and Okhotsk
25th San Francisco Thomas Scullion December 7, 1899 Japan and Okhotsk
26th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle November 22, 1900 Japan and Okhotsk
27th San Francisco Thomas Scullion November 27, 1901 Japan and Okhotsk
28th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle November 20, 1902 Japan and Okhotsk
29th San Francisco J. A. M. Earle November 18, 1903 Japan and Okhotsk
30th San Francisco Edwin J. Reed November 25, 1904 South Pacific
31th New Bedford J. A. M. Earle,
Hiram Nye
August 11, 1906 Atlantic
32th New Bedford A. O. Gibbons,
Charles S. Church
September 2, 1908 Atlantic
33th New Bedford Charles S. Church May 10, 1911 Atlantic
34th New Bedford Benjamin D. Cleveland September 7, 1916 Atlantic
35th Provincetown Joseph F. Edwards July 17, 1918 Atlantic
36th Provincetown Joseph F. Edwards October 18, 1919 Atlantic
37th Provincetown N. Gonsalves September 9, 1920 Atlantic
38th* New Bedford George Fred Tilton May 7, 1925 May 7, 1925
39th* Fairhaven William H. Tripp November 5, 1941 November 8, 1941

Restoration

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The Morgan was nearly destroyed in 1924 when the Sankaty, a steamer, caught fire and broke free of its mooring lines.[1]: 5  The burning Sankaty drifted across the river and into the Morgan's port quarter, but the Fairhaven firemen managed to save the Morgan.[1]: 5  This event spurred Harry Neyland and some New Bedford citizens to restore and preserve the Morgan. Unsuccessful in their efforts, Neyland persuaded Colonel Edward Howland Robinson Green to save the ship.[1]: 5  Neyland appealed to Green that the Morgan was of historicial importance and was a family heirloom because the Morgan was once co-owned by Green's grandfather and his wife's company.[1]: 5  Green had the ship towed to his estate in Round Hills, South Dartmouth and founded Whaling Enshrined consisting of himself, Neyland and John Bullard, the great-grandson of Charles Waln Morgan.[1]: 6 

The Morgan underwent restoration by Captain George Fred Tilton and was turned into an exhibition for Green's estate in a berth constructed by Frank Tayor.[1]: 6  On the 86th anniversary of the Morgan's launch, Green held a dedicatory ceremony and gave the ship to Whaling Enshrined on July 21, 1926.[1]: 6  The Morgan's fate came into question when Tilton died in 1932 and Green died in 1935; resulting in lengthy court proceedings over the Green's estate.[1]: 7–9  The 1938 New England hurricane damaged the Morgan's hull and tore the sails; Whaling Enshrined attempted, but could not secure funds for the ship. [1]: 9 In 1941, the Morgan was saved by the Marine Historical Association based on Taylor's word that the ship could be freed and towed to Mystic, Connecticut.[1]: 10  Taylor's crew dug the Morgan from its berth and dredged a channel for it to pass through, but the first attempt to pull the ship free was unsuccessful. More digging and caulking of the ship preceded the Morgan's successful tugging into the channel and the century old hull withstood the move and floated into bay provided by the Coast Guard cutter General Greene.[1]: 11  The Morgan was towed to the old berth in Fairhaven for several days of preparations and repairs prior to the trip to Mystic.[1]: 11 

On November 5, 1941, the General Greene pulled the Morgan from the wharf only to have it be caught by the tide and swept downstream, coming to rest on a mud flat and requiring two hours to be freed.[1]: 4  The journey came to an end on November 8th when the Morgan passed through the Mystic bridge and was moored in the Mystic Seaport.[1]: 17–18  The Mystic Seaport took shape around the Morgan with the restoration of its buildings and historic ships that came to reside at the museum.[1]: 18  Stackpole writes, "Over it all, the Morgan presided like Old Neptune-the centerpiece, the king seated seated on a throne of gravel, towering high above the scene."[1]: 19 

Discrepency in Sources

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In The Last Sail Down East the Morgan's length was misreported as being "just over 105 feet long and 314 gross tons".[2]: 198  It also conflicts with Stackpole by listing the ship's return from its first voyage on January 1, 1845 instead of the following day.[2]: 199  The goods detailed within match, but the figure of $69,591 is listed instead of $53,052.56.[2]: 199  Note to self: Checked through paragraph 3 of Tod to confirm. Analysis of the source collaborates much of the other sources, but Stackpole's addition of the records is preferential.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Stackpole, Edouard (1967). The Charles W. Morgan. Meredith Press.
  2. ^ a b c Tod, Giles (1965). The Last Sail Down East. Barre.