USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Boothbay > The shipping days of old Boothbay from the revolution to the world war : with mention of adjacent towns > Part 12
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FULL-RIGGED BRIG
BARQUE 'ARCHER' OF BOOTHBAY
THE BRIGS
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Possibly Sewall S. Wylie had been impressed with the sailing ability of Tangent, for after leaving the Windward he commanded the brig. In January 1860 she lay in her home port of Boothbay, to sail for the West Indies. His mate was Benjamin F. Blair, who had been in the brig before the mast under James Reed. The late Captain William Reed related how he watched Captain Wylie, with a sailor's appreciative eye, sail into the inner harbor of Boothbay, come up into the wind, back the yards and berth his brig at Marson's Wharf.
The Eugene A. Reed, launched late in 1853, was named after the youngest child of the first master, John Reed 3d. Although Lloyd's list states that J. A. Lewis was the builder, other facts point to Benjamin Reed as the constructor. One of the first trips was to Saint Marys River to load Georgia timber for shipyards in New York, where in company with brig Ada the E. A. Reed arrived in June 1854.
En voyage to Belize, Honduras, the recent wreck of the clipper ship Sea Witch was passed, lost in 1856 on a reef near Havana. On return to New York a wintry passage to Bermuda followed. Roughly the dis- tance from Sandy Hook to the light of Saint David is about 666 miles, but in the heavy weather of January 1857 the trip took two weeks' time, and twenty-five head of cattle were lost overboard. Later, in a heavy gale off Barnegat, Captain Reed was obliged to lie to under bare poles for fourteen hours. Rufus Tibbetts relieved him.
In 1859 the E. A. Reed was owned by Benjamin and John Reed, Paul G. Pinkham, and also nonresidents, who sold her for $4800 to a Connecticut firm. Masters named Crane, E. Furber and Hayden com- manded until about the winter of 1864-65, when the brig went under the English flag and hailed from Jamaica.
On a passage from Nicaragua to New York in June 1866, the E. A. Reed was struck by lightning, which splintered the royal, topgallant and topsail yards, the topgallant-mast and foremast, knocked clew-line blocks to pieces and burned several holes in the sails. Two years later the brig, northbound from Old Harbour, Jamaica, put in at Nassau leaking and in need of repair. Soon after her name was dropped from Lloyd's.
The Havana was constructed on the eastern side of the inner harbor of Boothbay by Charles F. Sargent, and launched in November 1853.
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THE SHIPPING DAYS OF OLD BOOTHBAY
This full-modeled hermaphrodite brig was owned by Allen Lewis, Paul Harris, Thomas Hodgdon, William S. Emerson and the master, Samuel Miller Reed. James Bliss, Webster Greenleaf and James Tar- box, nonresidents, also owned shares.
It had been found advantageous to name ships after Cuban seaports, and in February the maiden voyage appropriately was from Boothbay to Havana. In the fall guano was loaded at Aves, one of the Lesser Antilles, and after sailing a whirlwind suddenly and totally dismasted the brig. Jury-masts were rigged and Reed was spoken by ship Curri- tuck, which reported he was making for Saint Thomas to refit. The cargo was consigned to Baltimore, and arrival followed New Year's Day. In the summer lumber was carried from Nova Scotia to Europe, and late in 1855 the Havana arrived in New York from Hamburg. After a cargo of ice was carried from Boston to Aspinwall early in 1856, Reed crossed to Ireland, thence to Cardiff for coal to be discharged at the Mediter- ranean port of Messina, where he had portraits of himself and the brig painted by an Italian artist. Late in the year Reed arrived in New York.
In 1857 Allen Lewis and Captain Reed decided to have a larger vessel-the Gan-Eden-built, and Captain J. R. Curtis took the Havana. During the year he voyaged to Africa, and on proceeding to Malaga an unknown vessel collided with and damaged the brig for- ward. Raisins, wine, olive oil, lemons and figs were carried to New York. On leaving the Saint Johns River the next year the Havana struck heavily on the bar, which had little more depth of water then than the brig's draft of eleven feet. After lumber was thrown overboard to lighten her, she floated off at high water. Two days later, however, Curtis put in at Charleston with a badly leaking vessel.
On sailing from New York early in 1860 a gale arose and the Cap- tain anchored, nevertheless the brig dragged and drifted and fouled the inbound D. Jex. Anent this he wrote: 'In that heavy blow last Thursday a bark came a foul and carried away jibboom and all at- tached, so that I had to stop and repair. I am going the same voyage again-Constantinople-and this is the third voyage from the same house; the brig is good and strong.' A year later Captain Curtis was in New York again; his brig managed by Yates, Porterfield and Company. What finally became of her is unknown.
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THE BRIGS
The Ada, named after a daughter of James Chase, was constructed by John W. Weymouth during the winter of 1853-54, and launched in February. In dimensions and tonnage the brig was similar to the J. H. Kent and was owned chiefly at her home port, Bath; and by Enoch and James Chase, master, and Woodbridge Clifford.
On her maiden trip from Wiscasset the Ada rescued Captain Leavitt and five seamen of the Pittston-built brig Globe, wrecked on Salt Cay, and landed them in Havana. On proceeding to Sagua la Grande Cap- tain Chase found the brig Rainbow moored in a snug place named La Isabella. Six years before, by edict of the Queen of Spain, the river town became a port of entry. Thereafter it became important in Cuban trade on the northern coast and in April 1881 Captain Freeman K. Reed noted forty-three sail of large vessels there.
During the summer Captain Chase crossed to England and loaded coal for the port he had sailed from, New York. In going out of the English Channel he encountered strong head winds, and in a squall the mainmast went over the side. Immediately the head of the foremast carried away with everything attached, and before the wreckage could be cut away in a high running sea the thumping of spars and mast against the counter started a leakage. The Ada put in at Fayal to refit, and having no bill of health was required to remain at quarantine, but later obtained pratique. The brig was there some time, but finally ar- rived in New York.
In 1855 the ocean was crossed to Liverpool, and either then or later the Captain was accompanied by his daughter Lydia Ann, who was made happy by an invitation to visit a palace owned by the Earl of Derby. She was taken thither in a coach drawn by white horses, royally entertained, and served with wine and fruit cake in a stately dining room adorned with costly paintings. These youthful impressions and a story of the pursuit of the Ada by a piratical-looking vessel were fond recollections later in life.
Captain Chase took a larger vessel, and in midyear 1857 Winthrop B. Smith took command of the Ada for a time, followed by a Captain Chadbourne, who was master when the brig was lost. Early in Decem- ber 1861 the Ada sailed from Montevideo for Falmouth for orders. The passage was long and tedious, and when nearing her destination in
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thick weather the following March she collided with the British brig Brill. The shock of collision was terrific, and the Ada sank with barely · time for all hands to save their lives. Three days later they were landed at Cardiff.
The Howard was launched at Hodgdon's Mills in the summer of 1854 for Sewall and Morse of Bath, the home port, and was a full- modeled hermaphrodite brig ninety-six feet in length. John Race owned a master's interest, and one of his early voyages in the vessel was to Saint Marys River to load timber for Bath yards. Shipbuilding of the 'fifties then and there reached its zenith.
After a trip to Matanzas Captain Race in the spring of 1856 voyaged to the Coatzacoalcos River, Isthmus of Tehauntepec, and on his return to New York sailed for the Haitian port of Gonaïves. In its excellent harbor were several vessels loading logwood. In July and about to sail the Captain saw the Rainbow pass in, and soon after one of her crew died of fever.
The scourge of seamen in West Indian ports was the dreaded yellow fever, or 'yellow jack' in sailors' lingo. Seaport towns invariably were insanitary, and epidemics of smallpox and fever were of common oc- currence. It was then not known that the malady was communicated by the bite of a mosquito. An incident which happened that summer will illustrate what mariners had to contend with: Heeding a distress signal, the ship Wide Awake spoke the British brig Isabella and Doro- thy and found the first officer and two sailors, who died later, sick; and learned that the master, second mate and a boy had died, all of yellow fever. It was very prevalent during the summer of 1856, and there was a fever panic in New York.
Late in the year Captain Race voyaged to Martinique where he, too, contracted yellow fever. The Howard was put to sea homeward bound, nevertheless he died in January 1857. The body was placed in a sealed metallic coffin with the intention of taking it home. However, a few sailors were superstitious about having a corpse on board, and in defer- ence to their wishes the officer consented to a burial at sea. The ship- bell tolled and all hands gathered in the waist with bared heads as the acting master read: 'I am the resurrection and the life.' . . . A splash in the water and all was over. To a small crew on the wide lonely ocean
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death comes in a sad and solemn and impressive way. The man is great- ly missed by his shipmates.
. On later passages the Howard went to Port au Prince, thence to Boston and Wilmington, and in August was spoken on another voyage to Martinique. The final trip was in 1858 under a Captain Magune, who sailed from Boston for Pictou, and in August the brig stranded on the southern end of Point Micheaux. No lives were lost. The Howard, valued at $4500, was stripped and condemned and the hull advertised for sale.
The H. G. Berry. In 1855 the keel of a large brig was laid down in the yard of William and James Seavey at Race Point, Hodgdon's Mills, by the master-builder, Charles Murray. When finished the wales, planking and top were of New Hampshire white oak. Of full model, the vessel had good carrying capacity and a long poop-deck extended well forward; the length overall was 112 feet. A feature was the large cabin, which extended from side to side with space aft for the wheel. The brig was owned by the builders and others of Boothbay, H. S. Bradley of Boston, and James L. Race, for whose command she was launched in November. He and others thought the vessel large enough for a bark rig, but the hermaphrodite brig type prevailed, and later the large square topsail was altered to the double-topsail rig.
In December the brig was ready for sea, and Captain Race, accom- panied by his wife and sons, Edward and Alfred, aged six and four, respectively, sailed for Portland, chartered by J. Rhynas and Company to load for Cuba. The mate was Freeman Hall, of Rockland, and Gran- ville Seavey was one of the crew. With a favorable west wind and in company with the bark Peri the trip to Matanzas began and ended twenty days later; the new brig outsailed the bark by four days. It was January of 1856, and in ten days the Captain sailed for and arrived in New Orleans very ill with smallpox. This caused a delay, but finally the Berry sailed with five passengers and a cargo of molasses for Boston and arrived in June. Edward was left at home to attend school; Alfred remained on board, voyaged hither and thither on the broad Atlantic for a few years, and took to the sea as a duck to water. Two pleasant summer voyages to the Mediterranean were made, and in voicing boy- ish recollection of foreign shores he says:
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Only a few things impressed themselves upon my memory: One was going through the catacombs in Palermo; secondly, the very narrow streets - of Constantinople, where there was no respect for a pedestrian, who had to get out of the way or be run over and crushed. Another thing was the Dardanelles, very narrow with strong currents. The wind seldom changes, only on the change of the moon. After a few days of waiting Father con- cluded to beat through. He was told it could not be done. He succeeded, and I can almost hear the sound of 'Hard-a lee' and 'Let go and haul.'
We met Captain Robert Montgomery of brig Torrent there. He had two donkeys on board, which several years after I had the pleasure of riding. The Captain lived in this house which I now own, and it was here that I got permission to ride them on the old road over the hill, now discontinued. When I asked the loan of them, it was with fear and trembling. How little did I think then of owning the farm.
May of 1859 found the Berry at Havana in company with the bark Windward, brig Rainbow and Sumner R. Tibbetts's new bark, the James E. Ward. 'I was with my father on that voyage,' relates Alfred Race, 'and I recall Captain Tibbetts being there in the James E. Ward.' On completion of the trip the boy was placed in school, but the lure and salt of the sea was in his blood, and in due time his seafaring career was resumed.
Early in 1861 and twenty days from New York the Berry discharged a cargo consigned to the George A. Fosdick Company of New Orleans, cleared for Boston with cotton and hides, and en voyage the same March storm in which the Rainbow was lost was encountered. The Berry received trifling damage. The next trip was to Havana, where some of the crew caught yellow fever. The brig was put to sea, and on the Fourth of July John Lang died in his twenty-third year. In the latitude of Darien, Georgia, he was buried in the Gulf Stream and two days later Pratt Wheeler and another sailor shared the same fate.
A little later Captain Race disposed of his interest in the Berry, which went under the English flag to avoid possible destruction by a Confederate cruiser. However, the brig was American owned by H. Lincoln and Company, and early in 1863 was in Boston under com- mand of one Dixon. The following August he entered the Kennebec to load ice. In 1823 a Boston merchant named Tudor constructed an ice house at Gardiner, which was demolished in a freshet two years
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later, and shipping ice from the Kennebec languished until the lower Mississippi was opened up with Federal occupation in 1862. It was from Gardiner the Berry sailed, and after a very long passage with light winds and calms arrived in New Orleans with a diminished cargo of ice. In October the brig proceeded to Matamoras and thereby became involved in a war episode, noted in General Nathaniel P. Banks's re- port of a Federal expedition to the coast of Texas:
A full statement of the vessels' forces, guns, etc., the losses sustained on the voyage, was sent to the rebel officer in Matamoras and received there on the evening of the day that my troops occupied Brownsville. Had it been received earlier by the rebels, it would have prevented their evacuation, and might have defeated our landing at Brazos Santiago. If this had occurred, the expedition would have failed. The information as to our forces was con- veyed to the rebels by the H. G. Berry, a British schooner, either by passen- ger or by letter, and her detention by my order caused the delay in its trans- mission which enabled the forces of the United States to occupy the position in advance of the reports of this spy. .. . It is not probable that the owners of the vessel were parties to the treason.
While the General calls the Berry a schooner, undoubtedly the sub- ject of this sketch was the one referred to. After the brig was released she returned to New Orleans, thence to Havana and New York in January 1864. While carrying sugar from Havana to New York in the fall of 1865, heavy squalls carried away topmasts and spars, caused a leak in heavy seas and the master bore away for Key West to refit. Later the Berry was owned in New York by James E. Ward and Company, commanded by J. A. Colson; and at the time of her loss hailed from Baltimore. Northbound from Cardenas in the summer of 1871, the good old brig was wrecked on the coast of Florida, fifteen miles south of Cape Canaveral.
The vessel was named after a prominent and patriotic citizen of Rockland, Mr. Hiram G. Berry. At the beginning of the Civil War he organized and commanded a Maine regiment of infantry and, at the age of thirty-nine in 1862, fell on the field of battle at Chancellorsville, a major general of volunteers. The Grand Army of the Republic Post in Malden, Massachusetts, was named in his honor and also the Thom- aston ship General Berry.
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In the summer of 1854 a large hermaphrodite brig, christened Tor- rent amid cheers, slid down the ways in the yard at Hodgdon's Mills, now occupied by Goudy and Stevens. About 110 feet in length by twenty-eight in beam, the vessel was well built and a credit to her builders, Bradford Baker and Leonard Montgomery. A partial change of ownership occurred in the fall, and in lieu of the original register the new one listed the owners as Arthur Libby of Boston, the home port, Allen Lewis, J. P. Baker, Thomas Hodgdon, George W. Jewett, Ezekiel Tarbox and the master, Robert Montgomery.
In 1855 the Torrent was in European waters and made two trips with English coal, first, from Swansea to Constantinople; secondly, from Shields to Genoa, where the brig was loading for Boston in July 1856. At Genoa an Italian artist made a painting of the vessel, now highly prized by the Captain's daughter. Then came another voyage to the Mediterranean, described in the following chapter. Captain Montgomery continued in command for several years, followed by his brother Leonard, and in 1869-70 Thomas Gould was master, with the brig managed by Metcalf and Duncan of Boston.
Later Lincoln W. Tibbetts took the Torrent, and since the timbers were decayed, he had her repaired. An unusual feature was that the cabin extended the entire width of the deck and aft to the taffrail. In working the vessel this made it necessary for the hands to mount the house. Moreover, the wheel was forward of the cabin, and in rough weather the rudder chains running aft made so much noise that sleep- ing was difficult. He did not like the arrangement, and had the after part of the cabin cut away and the steering gear placed in the usual way. Like the Berry's the big topsail had been replaced by the handier double-topsail rig. The Torrent was considered able and a fine sailer.
In the later days, in the 'seventies, the Torrent put in at Charleston disabled; was a little later owned by the J. S. Winslow Company of Portland, whence she hailed; made a winter trip to Cardenas under a Captain Wall, and after a slight mishap there arrived in New York early in 1876. Soon afterward, off the Capes of the Delaware, the brig foundered with a cargo of coal. No lives were lost.
HERMAPHRODITE BRIG 'HAVANA'
HERMAPHRODITE BRIG 'TORRENT' ENTERING GENOA
HERBERT B. CUSHING
CHAPTER IX
A VOYAGE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN
B ECAUSE a bright and studious lad was methodical, he, like the author of Two Years Before the Mast, kept a journal of his first deep- water voyage. Consequently, eighty years after a boyish hand penned the words, his narrative of a round trip to the Mediterranean in the good brig Torrent is available to those interested in the maritime history of Boothbay.
The following is part of a letter written by an American woman mentioned in the journal:
Constantinople, January 3, 1857.
There is a little boy staying here, who arrived last week in the Torrent, from Boston. He is a son of Mr. Cushing who teaches the Chauncy Place School for boys. He is a very intelligent little fellow, a credit to Yankee land. I suspect he had a very dismal passage, for he was seasick whenever the weather was rough, and there was no other passenger.
He is but thirteen and was sent for his health, having some affection caused by hard study. Everyone here is very kind to him, and I think he will carry away many pleasant recollections of this odd land that will cheer him on the voyage home. He left a week ago Monday for Smyrna in the Torrent.
Mrs. Edward A. Wild.
Herbert Baldwin Cushing was born in Boston October 6 1843 and died there April 3 1922. He was the son of Thomas Cushing, second principal of the famous Chauncy-Hall School in Boston since its estab- lishment in 1828; and himself became a teacher, and later president of the corporation owning the school. Although he traveled extensively during his long life and was not again seasick, he always retained vivid and happy memories of his first voyage and kept as souvenirs the stir- rups, fezzes and other articles mentioned in his journal, which he had bought at the foreign ports.
H. B. CUSHING'S JOURNAL DURING A SEA VOYAGE COMMENCING NOVEMBER 5, 1856
Wednesday, November 5. Started from Rowe's Wharf, in Brig Torrent, Captain Montgomery, on a voyage to Malta, Constantinople, and Smyrna; possibly Zante and London. Saw Cunard steam-ship starting at the same
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time. Passed Long Island light. Saw a shoal white with gulls. Saw two of the Scituate churches; could not see our house. At 5 o'clock lost sight of - land and began to feel sick on the sea. Lost no time in turning in.
Thursday, November 6. (Lat. 41º 54'. Long 67º 12'.) Utter blank, except getting up a few minutes from necessity, and eating a little at tea time from principle.
Friday, November 7. (Lat. 41º 42'. Long. 64° 41'.) Not much seasick, very little. Saw a sail, appeared to be a brig. Saw lots of noddies and a great flock of gulls. Saw a barque far off on the weather quarter.
Saturday, November 8. (Lat. 40° 56'. Long. 61º 42'.) Barque still in sight. Saw two ships on the lee side, going in the opposite direction from us. Two ships passed us on the weather side, quite near. The first was the Albert Gal- latin and was crowded with emigrants. The second was the Emigrant, of Bremen; she had a few passengers and a poodle dog on board. Saw a vessel on the lee beam with her sails down. Saw a vessel on the weather bow. Saw two coots flying separately. Towards night began to feel sick and turned in.
Sunday, November 9. (Lat. 40° 11'. Long. 57º 49'.) Very sick. Vessel pitch- ing and rolling dreadfully.
Monday, November 10. (Lat. 39º 51'. Long. 55° 03'.) The same. Blowing hard. Carried away the flying jib.
Tuesday, November 11. (Lat. 39º 14'. Long. 52º 51'.) All the same, but carrying away the jib.
Wednesday, November 12. (Lat. 39º 08'. Long. 51º 47') Weather more moderate. Got up to tea. Played cards with the captain after tea.
Thursday, November 13. (Lat. 38° 28'. Long. 49° 11'.) About well. Half past four o'clock saw a topsail schooner with colours hoisted, we slackened sail somewhat and wrote the latitude on a board. She came slightly behind us, out of hail, but as she still followed without lowering her flag we slack- ened sail still more and allowed her to come up with us. The Captain hailed them through his trumpet and they asked us if we wanted any water. The Captain thereupon desired him to 'Go to thunder, and go home,' and we parted. Our Captain has since let fall various expletives concerning him and threats of what he would do if he caught him ashore. We have had a good breeze and pleasant weather today.
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Friday, November 14. (Lat. 38º 39'. Long. 45° 40'.) It was today that that vessel came along. Yesterday a vessel signaled us bearing the English flag. . We thought that she also was in distress, but she only wanted the latitude. The former vessel hoisted the Dutch flag and had Curacao painted on her stern.
Saturday, November 15. (Lat. 38° 31'. Long. 43º 11'. Calculated by myself without assistance.) Ten days out. We certainly ought to arrive in Malta in three weeks more at utmost. Malta! forever associated with bravery and Christianity. I have now come to Saturday the verge of another Sabbath on the great waters. May those at home remember me as I remember them. This morning at about five bells, I was awakened by a crash, occasioned by the overturn of a box of herrings in the steward's room, together with other eatables, sundry and various chairs and stools, in the cabin, not to mention the slamming of doors, and the fall of various small articles everywhere. This was caused by the tremendous rolling of the ship, not in sudden jerks, but by a long regular motion. This was caused by the ship's not being bal- anced by the main-sail which was lowered just then, on account of the per- fect calm. A breeze however soon sprang up, and we have been going beau- tifully all day under as pleasant a sky as could be desired. The men are set- ting up the rigging. There is a ship in sight at about NE by N. Wind S.S.W. Breezing up. First time we have sailed on this tack.
Sunday, November 16. It rained and stormed all day. We had no meals. Eat what you can get and be thankful was the rule.
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