Great Admiral

A wooden full-rigged ship built in 1869 by Robert E. Jackson, East Boston, to the design of W.H. Varney, US Navy. Dimensions 215'6"x40'2"x25'6 and tonnage 1497 NRT. Rigged with a main skysail. Her figurehead was a likeness of Admiral Farragut, the great admiral.

She had a crew of 28 men and boys in addition to captain, three mates, boatswain, carpenter, steward, and cook.

1869 April 10: Launched at the shipyard of Robert E. Jackson, East Boston, for William F. Weld & Co., Boston.
1869-1871: Under command of Captain I.N. Jackson.
1869: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 121 days.
1869: Sailed from San Francisco to Hong Kong in 37 days.
1870: Sailed from Manila to New York in 89 days.
1871: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 128 dasy.
1871: Sailed from San Francisco to Manila in 43 days.
1871: Sailed from Manila to New York in 114 days.
1871-1872: Under command of Captain William Chatfield, late of the clipper ship Glory of the Seas.
1873: Under command of Captain Isaac N. Jackson, late of the same owner's ship Anahuac.
1874-1883: Under command of Captain Benjamin Thompson, late of the Enoch Train.
1878: Sailed from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 38 days.
1879: Sailed from New York to San Francisco in 111 days.
1879: Sailed from San Francisco to Queenstown for orders in 111 days.
1881: Sailed from Philadelphia to Tacoma in 111 days.
1883: Re-rigged with steel wire rigging.
1884: Sailed from Hong Kong to New York in 95 days.
1883-1884: Under command of Captain J.F. Rowell, late of the ship Thomas Dana.
1885-1886: Under command of Captain Benjamin Thompson.
1885: Sailed from New York to Melbourne in 87 days.
1885: Sailed from Newcastle, NSW, to Hong Kong in 37 days.
1886: Sailed from Manila to New York in 126 days.
1887-1896: Under command of Captain J.F. Rowell.
1887: Sailed from New York to Melbourne in 73 days.
1888: Sailed from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 39 days.
1893: Sailed from New York to Sydney in 90 days.
1894: Sailed from Sydney to London in 92 days.
1897: Sold to Captain E.R. Sterling for $ 12.500. The owner also acted as master of the ship.
1906 December 2: Left Port Townsend for San Pedro, CA, with a cargo of timber.
1906 December 6: Sprung a leak and foundered in position 46°43'N, 127°58'W in a gale of hurricane force.
1906 December 8: The survivors were picked up by the British ship Barcore, of Liverpool. The ship's cook and the cabin boy had died from exposure.
1906 December 24: The survivors were transferred to the American barque Andrew Welch, Captain E. Kelly, on voyage from Honolulu to San Francisco.

References:

Square-rigged ships, general references.

Updated 1999-07-14 by Lars Bruzelius

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