Charles W. Morgan (ship)

Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport, CT
Career (United States)
Builder:	Jethro and Zachariah Hillman, New Bedford, Massachusetts
Launched:	1841
General characteristics
Length:	113 ft. LOA
Beam:	27 ft. 6 in.
Draft:	17. ft. 6 in.
Sail plan:	Appx. 13,000 square ft. of sail[1]

Charles W. Morgan
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location:	Mystic, Connecticut
Coordinates:	41°21′46.04″N 71°57′54.89″W / 41.3627889°N 71.9652472°W / 41.3627889; -71.9652472Coordinates: 41°21′46.04″N 71°57′54.89″W / 41.3627889°N 71.9652472°W / 41.3627889; -71.9652472
Built:	1841
Architectural style:	Other
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	66000804
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	November 13, 1966[2]
Designated NHL:	November 13, 1966[3]

For the naval officer, see Charles W. Morgan (naval officer).

Charles W. Morgan was a U.S. whaleship during the 19th and early 20th century. Ships of this type usually harvested the blubber of whales for whale oil, which was commonly used in lamps. The ship is an exhibit at the Mystic Seaport museum in Mystic, Connecticut, and is the world's oldest surviving merchant vessel.

History

The ship is named for its original owner, a Quaker whaling merchant who ordered its construction from the shipbuilders Jethro and Zachariah Hillman of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The ship's maiden voyage began on September 6, 1841, with a journey around Cape Horn and across the Pacific Ocean. Following the Morgan's initial three-year, four_month voyage, she came home with 1,600 barrels of sperm oil, 800 barrels of whale oil and 10,000 lbs of whalebone, known as baleen, which was worth around USD$56,000.

The hull and deck of Morgan reflected the three typical functions of a whaleship:

• to serve as a mother ship to a fleet of small whaleboats, which are stored on the davits when not in use,
• to serve as a factory and a refinery ship with tryworks for extracting oil from the whale blubber,
• to serve as an oil tanker.

In her 80 years of service, she made 37 voyages ranging in length from nine months to five years. Charles W. Morgan, in total, brought home 54,483 barrels of sperm and whale oil and 152,934 pounds of whalebone. She sailed in the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans, surviving ice and snow storms. Her crew survived a cannibal attack in the South Pacific. Between 1888 and 1904 she was based in San Francisco.

Morgan had more than 1,000 whalemen of all races and nationalities in her lifetime. Her crew included not only Americans, but sailors from Cape Verde, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Guadeloupe, and Norfolk Island. The ship's crew averaged around 33 men per voyage. As with other whaleships in the 19th century, Morgan often was home to the captain's family. The Morgan was owned and managed by the J. & W. R. Wing Company of New Bedford.^[4]

1971 U.S. commemorative stamp honoring Charles W. Morgan

During its years of service, Charles W. Morgan was used in several movies, including Miss Petticoats (1916), Java Head (1921) and Down to the Sea in Ships (1922).

On the night of June 30, 1924, the Charles W. Morgan caught fire when struck by the flaming wreck of the steamer Sankaty, which had drifted across the Acushnet River from New Bedford harbor. Badly charred, Morgan narrowly escaped destruction.^[5][6][7]

One of Charles W. Morgan's whaleboats, featuring models of crew members with oars and harpoons

Retirement

The whaling days came to an end with the perfection of refining petroleum. Morgan was under the care of Whaling Enshrined, Inc. until 1941, when she was transferred to Mystic Seaport, where she remains. The ship is the only surviving wooden whaleship from the 19th century American fleet.^[8]

Restoration

Charles W. Morgan in dry-dock undergoing restoration

The Charles W. Morgan arrived at Mystic Seaport in December 1941, narrowly avoiding destruction during World War II.^{[clarification needed]} The ship was declared a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.^[3][8][9]

In 1971, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring the Charles W. Morgan.

An initial restoration and preservation project was undertaken in 1968. In 2010 Mystic Seaport was engaged in a multi-million dollar restoration, intended to restore the ship to seaworthy status.^[10]

See also

Connecticut portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut
• List of museum ships

References

1. ^ "Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea" Charles W. Morgan". The Charles W. Morgan. Mystic Seaport. 2011. http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=B3E63C64-B3CA-45AE-A83D72C303A9C6BF. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2011. 
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "CHARLES W. MORGAN (Bark)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=613&ResourceType=Structure. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
4. ^ "Successful whaler returns.". The New York Times. 1900-10-30 
5. ^ The Dukes County Intelligencer. Vol. 24, No. 4. May 1983
6. ^ The American Neptune, 1941. Peabody & Essex Museum, Peabody Museum of Salem [1]
7. ^ Pacific Steam Navigation Company, Sea Breezes Vol. 56, no. 443 (Nov. 1982)[2]
8. ^ ^{a b} "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination". National Park Service. 1974-12-11. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000804.pdf. 
9. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination". National Park Service. 1974-12-11. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000804.pdf. 
10. ^ A Quest to Make the Morgan Seaworthy – New York Times

External links

• Charles W. Morgan
• Deck prisms on the Charles W. Morgan
• Restoring the Last Wooden Whaler - slideshow by The New York Times