Baltimore Clipper
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A Baltimore clipper is a fast
History
Baltimore clippers were built as small, fast sailing vessels for trade around the coastlines of the United States and with the
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, has a one-page drawing labeled "A DRAWING OF HIS MAJESTY'S ARM'D SCHOONER BERBICE, THE 5TH AUG 1789" that comprises a sheer plan, body lines, deck plan, lines, and a view of her stern. These drawings of HMS Berbice represent the earliest draught of what became known as the Baltimore clipper.[3]
The Royal Navy found the schooners of only limited usefulness during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars because they were unstable gun platforms due to their design for extreme speed compared to their size. Furthermore, the schooner rig does not allow sails to be backed, creating a disadvantage in maneuverability in battle. They were adopted after the wars to pursue slave ships.[1]
They were especially suited to moving low-density, high value perishable cargoes such as
Similar merchant vessels were given letters of marque and served as
The Baltimore clippers' demise in use came about not because of outdated capabilities, but from people not wanting to be associated with the less-than-admirable activities for which they had become known, such as illegally importing slaves after the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves in 1807 and raiding in South America.[4]
One particularly famous Baltimore clipper, and one of the last of the type in commercial service, was the schooner
Famous Baltimore clippers
- Vigilant, 1794, one of the first and most famous Baltimore clippers. She sailed for over 130 years, bringing mail and passengers to ports in the Danish West Indies and around the Virgin Islands.[5]
- Chasseur, 1812, a fine example of Baltimore clipper, she was built by Thomas Kemp and commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle, an American privateer during the War of 1812.
- Lynx, 1812, was an excellent example of a Baltimore clipper built by Thomas Kemp for the War of 1812.[6]
- HMS Black Joke (1827), the captured slave ship, originally was built as a slave ship, but ended up freeing several hundred slaves in service of the West Africa Squadron.
- Kennard & Williamson.[7]
In popular culture
Capt. Jack Aubrey uses a captured Baltimore clipper, the Ringle, as his tender in the Patrick O'Brian novels The Commodore and The Yellow Admiral. The ship is named after the American writer who brought the clippers to O'Brian's attention.
Modern replicas
Modern replicas of an early 19th-century Baltimore clipper type include the ill-fated Pride of Baltimore, her replacement, Pride of Baltimore II, Californian, La Amistad, Shenandoah, and the Liberty Clipper and the privateer Lynx.
Citations
- ^ a b Gardiner 1999
- OCLC 17728233.
- ^ [1] Karl Heinz Marquardt F.A.S.M.A.: H.M. Armed Schooner BERBICE 1789.]
- ^ Klima, Jennifer. "The Baltimore Clipper". Maryland State Archives.
- ^ "BALTIMORE SCHOONER VIGILANT". www.blytmann.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
- ^ Brown, Daniel M. (2010). "The Need for Speed: Baltimore Clippers and the Origin of the First American Ship Type". Academia: 19.
- ^ La Grange, Helen (1936). "Clipper ships of America and Great Britain, 1833-1869". G. P. Putnam's sons, New York. Retrieved Apr 10, 2019.
References
- OCLC 13835078.