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Construction
editCharles 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
editVoyage Summary
edit| 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
editThe 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
editIn 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.