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Historical Significance
In the 1840s, a Quaker whaling merchant named
Charles W. Morgan ordered a whaleship from the
shipbuilders Jethro and Zachariah Hillman of New
Bedford, Massachusetts.
The hull and deck of Morgan reflected the
industry which she was built to serve. A typical
whaleship has three functions:
- 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 oil tankers.
Morgan's maiden voyage began on September 6,
1841. She sailed around Cape Horn and cruised
the Pacific Ocean. Following Morgan's three year
and four month voyage, she came home with 2,400
barrels of whale oil and 10,000 lbs of
whalebone, known as baleen, which was worth
around USD$56,000.
Later Service
In her 80 years of service,
she would make 37 voyages ranging in length from
nine months to five years. Charles W. Morgan, in
total, brought home 54,483 barrels of 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 1800s, Morgan often was home
to the captain's family.
Charles W. Morgan was used in 3 movies: the
1916 movie Miss Petticoats, the 1922 Down to the
Sea in Ships, and in the 1930s in Java Head.
On the night of June 30, 1924, the Charles W.
Morgan caught fire when the flaming wreck of the
steamer Sankaty, which had drifted across the
Achushnet River from New Bedford harbor in
flames, collided with it. Badly charred, Morgan
narrowly escaped destruction.
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 still stands to this day.
Restoration
The Charles W. Morgan arrived at Mystic
Seaport in December of 1941, narrowly avoiding
destruction during WWII. A major restoration and
preservation project was begun in 1968. In 1977
Morgan was designated a National Historic
Landmark. Mystic Seaport is completing a
multi-million dollar shipyard upgrade to
accommodate the next phase of Morgan's
restoration. She is the oldest whaler and
commercial vessel surviving in America.
The United States Postal Service issued a
commemorative stamp honoring the Charles W.
Morgan.
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