Baltimore Clippers
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With the cessation of hostilities, there was little need for fast, armed schooners
with limited cargo space. American commerce required larger vessels that could
carry more goods. In the 1840s a new generation of fast large ships evolved that
came to be known as Yankee Clippers or simply Clipper Ships. These were three
masted, full-rigged ships, that is, they had square sails on all three masts.
Although the design and construction of these vessels is generally attributed to
New England shipyards, some were built in Fells Point, including the beautiful
Ann
McKim, one of the largest and swiftest clippers ever to sail.
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In the meantime, the owners and masters of the fleet of Baltimore Clippers built
before 1815 searched for ways to keep themselves and their vessels profitably
occupied after the war. They had three options. They could: 1) enter the
emerging China trade, as depicted below in Whampao (Canton) harbor, where delivery
of even a small cargo of exotic goods from the
Orient could bring a profit; 2) continue as armed privateers, only this time in
service to one or another of the Central or South American countries in revolt
from Spain; or 3) enter the lucrative, but illegal, slave trade.
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Chasseur's history is illustrative of the fate of Baltimore Clippers. Just
three
months after her triumphal return to Baltimore from her exploits against the
British Isles, she set sail for Canton, China. According to the super cargo's log
of the
six month voyage around Africa, through the Indian Ocean, and up the coast of
Southeast Asia, she encountered gale force winds, but sailed well. In Canton, she
loaded on a cargo of tea, silk, satin, porcelain and other high demand items for
the return voyage. Despite deteriorating conditions of the ship, she set a speed
record from Canton to the Virginia Capes in 95 days. This Orient-to-America
record held for 16 years until it was broken by the clipper Atlantic in
1832. Her
cargo of exotic goods did indeed sell for a handsome profit for her owners.
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Shortly thereafter, Chasseur was sold to the Spanish Royal Navy and renamed
Cazador. She ended her days as an armed patrol vessel in the Caribbean -
ironically in the service of a colonial power.
Thus the era of the Baltimore Clipper had come to an end. However, the tradition of imaginative ship design and audacious sailing flourished in the shipyards of America. Baltimore's tradition of maritime adventure has been rekindled by the Prides of Baltimore.
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