The Great Republic

The Great Republic was fitted out with masts, spars, sails, and rigging over at the Charlestown Navy Yard and final preparations were made before the R. B. Forbes came to escort her to New York to load cargo for her maiden run to Liverpool.

Donald McKay intended to put the Great Republic up for the Australian trade and either sell her or charter her to James Baines to compete with British clippers that were coming out of Aberdeen shipyards at that time. The plan first called for to bring the Great Republic to New York for a cargo of grain to transport to Liverpool.

But a ship of 4555 registered tons was perhaps, even to someone like Baines, too large. Such a giant clipper would certainly do well making her easting down across the southern oceans of the world to Australia and around Cape Horn, but she was just too large for the Mersey River docks and too large for many of the other ports of the world as well.

Around this time, Captain R. B. Forbes became president of the recently incorporated "Sailors' Snug Harbor," a benevolent organization that looked after the welfare of sailors, and Forbes sent the following letter to Donald McKay:

Donald McKay, Esq.,

My dear Sir:-

As your ship, the Great Republic, is likely to be visited by thousands of admirers, I suggest that you make her the medium of doing a great service to an institution which is about going into operation, and of which I am, for want of a better, the presiding officer. The "Sailors' Snug Harbor of Boston" has the sympathy of all those who take an interest in ships, and they would willingly pay a "York shilling" to see your ship and at the same time serve a benevolent object. If you approve of the suggestion, I will carry it out at once by sending a competent agent on board, and if any one should by mistake drop a dollar in the purse, I will give him credit for it.

I am a very truly

Your friend and servant

(signed) R. B. Forbes.

East Boston, Oct. 8, 1853

Donald McKay replied in kind:

Capt. R. B. Forbes:

Dear Sir:

Yours requesting my concurrence in your very benevolent suggestion, that of having the privilege of collecting a small sum from the visitors to the Great Republic for the benefit of the "Sailors' of Snug Harbor" in Boston, has been received. I assure you that nothing will give me more pleasure than to afford you such an opportunity. This class of men have too long been neglected: they do the labor, they sail the clippers of which we boast as a nation; and any little reward that they may be able to collect along this way, will be highly pleasing to me. And I hope the public will contribute in this way, and feel it to be a privilege to be able to build up a bulwark to shelter the weather-beaten sailor, now no longer able to earn his bread by his perilous profession.

I am, dear sir, yours truly

(signed) Donald McKay

Before departing Boston, the Great Republic was thrown open to inspection to the public and soon $1,000 was collected for the "Sailor's Snug Harbor of Boston" which enabled this organization to start operations.

The R. B. Forbes towed the Great Republic out of Boston Harbor the last week in November, and while rounding Cape Cod Captain McKay raised her topsails and courses and checked her steering to get a feel of just what the ship could do on the open sea. Soon, the Great Republic was sailing so fast that she pulled away from her towboat and dragged the R. B. Forbes astern for many miles.

By the time they reached Sandy Hook, the Great Republic had reefed in her sails and the R. B. Forbes towed her on through the Narrows, past the Battery and up the East River to pier 28, where the Black Ball Line of Liverpool packets normally docked.

The sight of this majestic clipper being towed up the East River drew much attention and caused a great excitement all along the shore as Boston once more took the honors of having built the largest clipper in the world. The immense proportions of this clipper became the topic of the day and caused much speculation among New York shipbuilders and ship owners.

Thousands of people, including the governor of New York, came to the pier at the foot of Dover Street for a look at the Great Republic. It was the favorable season for a swift passage to be made across the Atlantic and many predicted that the Great Republic would make a record run. Others looked upon the giant clipper as "a white elephant" that would prove to be too large to operate profitably and too large for most ports of the world.

The Great Republic soon began taking on a cargo of mixed merchandise and grains valued at $300,000 for her maiden voyage to Liverpool. Her cargo manifest reveals her immense cargo that incredibly did not exhaust her carrying capacity:

Manifest.

Beef, * tierces.................896

Lard, tierces.....................97

Lard, barrels...................53

Wheat , bushels....23,406

Corn, bushels........23,500

Flour, bushels........6,629

Cotton, bales..........1,023

Tea, half-chests......639

Resin, barrels.......4,046

Tobacco, hhds...........14

Argols, * casks........10

Maple and Cedar

Wood pieces......367

* tierce is an old liquid measure, equal to 1/3 pipe (42 gallons)

* Argols är'gol, n. unrefined or crude tartar, a substance deposited on the sides of wine casks.

The loading of cargo proceeded on through the month of December. While the loading went on, the Great Republic was thrown open to inspection to the public, as she was in Boston, with the moneys collected intended for the Sailor's Snug Harbor of Boston. Over the month, at least 40,000 people came aboard, each paying 12 1/2 cents for the privilege and over $4,000 had been collected by Christmas.

South Street bustled with activity through the months of November and December as a number of clippers loaded cargo for the favorable season run around the Horn and had recently departed. These included: Lightfoot, Electric, Chief of the Clippers, Edwin Forrest, David Crockett, Golden Fleece, Quickstep, Dreadnaught, Pride of America, and Lookout.

The Flying Cloud was moored at Pier 19 at the foot of Maiden Lane, several blocks downstream from the Great Republic, taking on cargo as final refitting and rerigging took place for her fourth voyage around the Horn to San Francisco, scheduled to depart in January. The Clipper ship Tinqua was moored nearby the Flying Cloud.

The David Brown had recently sailed from New York on her maiden voyage on December 13, 1853, under the command of Captain George S. Brewster. The extreme clipper David Brown had been launched earlier that year from Jacob Bell's shipyard on October 8, 1853, and was named for Jacob Bell's old partner, then deceased. She was a beautiful faultless heavily-sparred clipper of 1717 tons, and measured out at 225 x 41 x 22: 6 feet.

The McKay clipper Romance of the Seas, with Captain Phillip Dumaresq in command, sailed from Boston three days later on December 16th to chase after the David Brown and caught up with her off the coast of Brazil. A considerable sum of money rode on this exciting race.

The White Squall, that well known handsome clipper that had come out of Jacob Bell's East River shipyard in 1850, returned from her third voyage from San Francisco in ballast around the Horn. She arrived at New York under the command of Captain Joseph Kennedy, on December 20, 1853, after a passage of 97 days, and moored alongside the Great Republic at pier 27.

Her crew soon began unloading her ballast before taking on cargo for another run around the Horn. The White Squall was owned by Philadelphia merchants Messrs. Platt & Son and Mssrs. Booth & Edgar of 95 Front Street were her agents.

Moored nearby the White Squall, were the Red Rover and the Whirlwind that had arrived on November 17th and 26th respectively. Both clippers had returned from their Deep Sea Derby runs back around the Horn.

On the other side of the Great Republic moored at pier 29, was the Joseph Walker, a packet of 1,315 tons, 180 x 40 x 23 feet. She was built in 1850 by William Webb for $100,000, and was owned by the Black Star Line of Thompson & Nephew and under the command of Captain John Hoxie. Already loaded aboard was a mixed cargo of wheat, corn, resin, and cotton, and the Joseph Walker was scheduled to sail on Saturday, December 31st for Liverpool on her tenth voyage.

Three more packets, the Andrew Foster, the Constellation, and the Albert Gallatin were moored at nearby Burling Slip.

The last of the wheat and corn cargo came aboard the Great Republic and her hatches were sealed. December 26th was the day after Christmas and a cold blustery day along the waterfront with the winds blowing out of the northwest. Much of the populace was still recovering from and sleeping off their Christmas revelry and not much was going on along South Street or on the East River. The winds picked up as night came on bringing with it a bitter cold and still the winds came on in growing gusts from the northwest.

At shortly past midnight during the first minutes of December 27th, a mysterious fire broke out a block away from the piers. The flames first appeared from the rear building that housed the Novelty Bakery on 244 Front Street that was owned by Messrs. Treadwell & Son. Large stocks of flour had caught on fire.

The flames quickly spread to the front building of the same address that was occupied by Davidson & Young, dealers in shipbread. High winds from the west quickly fanned the flames, which spread to all the nearby buildings in the vicinity.

The next building to catch fire was 242 Front Street, occupied by Messrs. Jones, Rowland & Co., who were extensive flour dealers.

Next to go up in flames was 246 1/2 Front Street, a building occupied by David W. Manwaring, importer of Russian matting, etc.

The fire quickly spread to the other side of 242 Front Street and the six-story building at 240 Front Street that was occupied by Messrs. Harris & Co., a packing house of beef, pork, and hams. Both buildings blazed away.

The entire block was soon on fire and the heat so intense that the fire now jumped to other blocks and more buildings were soon engulfed in flames. These included an extensive flour warehouse at 247 Front Street owned by Messrs. R. W. Reynolds & Co. that was entirely destroyed; as was the building next door at 249 Front Street occupied by Mr. Edward Owens, a cooper by trade. A wholesale wine and liquor store at 251 Front Street was reduced to ruins. Businesses on nearby Water Street were also much damaged by fire and water although the damage was not as extensive.

Flames shot up into the night sky and the high winds blew the sparks toward where the Great Republic and the other clippers, packets, and other vessels lay moored along the piers.

William Sanders, the Second Mate aboard the Tinqua, had just returned from a night on the town and was getting ready to retire for the night. When the watchman's urgent shout of "fire" brought him running to the deck, there to be greeted by the sight of the raging inferno that lit up the sky beyond the first row of buildings along the East River waterfront.

At Pier 28, the night watchman standing his watch aboard the Great Republic looked on in horror as the sparks like thousands of fireflies flew from the raging fires toward the ships, schooners, and sloops moored alongside the East River piers and into their riggings.

The glowing cinders soon fell all about their decks. All the sails of the Great Republic were bent below the royals and were partially unfurled as the gale winds blew the sparks from the north west across the river that winter night and many of the cinders soon lodged in the clipper's canvas and freshly tarred rigging.

The watchman called the Second Mate who immediately called all hands on deck and sailors were soon sent up the foretops, maintops, and mizzentops, and buckets of water were hastily sent aloft.

The foresail was the first to burst into flame, then the topsails and the topgallant sails caught fire and were soon blazing fiercely away. Valiant efforts were made to cut the sails from the yards, but to no avail as the men were driven back by the flames and smoke and were exhausted by the time the firemen from hose companies numbers 19 and 30 arrived.

The masts of the Great Republic were so high that it was impossible for the water from the fire hoses to reach the flames. The firemen refused to come near the ship or on board the deck for fear of the falling spars and rigging, which soon set the deck on fire and blazed on out of control.

While the fires raged aloft, Captain Lauchlan McKay made an urgent offer of $1,000 to any man who would go aloft with an ax and cut away the burning sails, spars, and rigging, but there were no takers.

At neighboring pier 29, the Joseph Walker was also engulfed in flames aloft and the fire soon spread to her decks and she ended up a total loss. Captain Hoxie lost all his possessions and money when he fled the burning ship with his crew.

Sailors aboard the magnificent White Squall hastily slipped her cable and she drifted down the East River in flames and grounded along the riverbank near Hudson Street where she burned to the water's edge. So did the Wright.

Several other schooners and sloops, along with the Red Rover, lost their masts and rigging to the flames but were able to escape total destruction by slipping their cables and drawing out in the stream.

The Whirlwind was able to escape out into the river in this way unharmed.

Miraculously, the Flying Cloud escaped destruction for she was moored at Pier 19, 500-600 yards away, two long blocks downstream from Pier 28 where the Great Republic was burning and fortunately away from the direct path of the main shower of sparks blowing across the East River, and escaped destruction. As the Flying Cloud was undergoing refitting and rerigging at the time, her sails were not in place and this fact undoubtedly saved her from a similar fate.

Captain McKay had a hurried consultation with Captain Ellis who represented the underwriters and it was mutually decided to cut away the masts in order to save the hull. The foretopmast, stays, and rigging were hastily cut and fell crashing on to the deck, as the foretopmast came down on her end smashing through three decks.

Next to be cut away, were the mainmast and mizzenmast and they fell and crushed the boats, deckhouses, and steam engine, and smashed off the rails. Burning masts, yards, rigging, and sails cluttered the decks, but at last the firemen could now get to work and by morning the fires on deck were extinguished.

After the firemen left, smoke was suddenly discovered coming for the hold. Apparently, the falling burning foretopmast that had crashed on through the decks had set fire to the grain cargo and by the time this was discovered the fire was beyond control.

It was therefore decided that the ship had to be scuttled in three places, where she then sunk ten feet to the bottom. But the fire smoldered on for two days until the flames reached the water.

Considering the circumstances of these horrendous ship fires, it was surprising that no one died and there was only one serious injury where a man fell out of the rigging of one of the burning ships and broke his back.

Soon after the fire had broken out, an urgent telegraphic dispatch was sent to Donald McKay at his East Boston home at Eagle Hill informing him of this disaster. For the rest of the night, Donald McKay paced the floor holding the telegram saying nothing to his wife or family members and could not be consoled from his private grief.

In the morning, he made a hasty trip to New York and by the time he arrived the Great Republic was lying at the bottom of the East River. Donald McKay looked on from the neighboring pier at the foot of Roosevelt Street and was overheard in conversation with a friend bemoaning the loss of his magnificent ship. After McKay left the scene, the friend that he had been talking to remarked to an acquaintance "that McKay had grown twenty years older overnight." Captain George L. Norton, the editor of the New York Marine Journal, overheard this conversation.

This sudden change of appearance was understandable, but only temporary. Brought on by seeing his beloved clipper at the bottom of the East River, his loss of sleep, along with the accompanying anxiety over his hasty journey to New York.

After consulting with his brother and the insurance underwriters, Donald McKay returned to East Boston and immediately went back to work in his shipyard, where the clipper Lightning lay on the stocks.

He was not one to remain idle and overcome with grief despite such a great loss. In a remarkably short time he had recovered his composure determined to press on with his other affairs. But in the back of his mind he would always wonder just how things might have gone if the Great Republic had gotten the chance to prove her sailing qualities on the high seas. In Donald McKay's mind's eye the Great Republic would have been the fastest sailing ship the world had ever seen.

Donald McKay received the sum of $235,000 from the insurance underwriters. This sum did not cover the entire amount of her building costs that were estimated to be around $300,000. So his financial losses from this disaster amounted to somewhere in the neighborhood of $65,000, a severe blow for sure, but not the financial disaster that has often been mistakenly attributed by some historians to this unfortunate incident.

Only a few days before the fire Donald McKay had been offered $280,000 for the Great Republic, but had turned down the offer preferring to sell the mammoth clipper to James Baines at a better price when she was scheduled to arrive at Liverpool.

The Headlines of the Wednesday, December 28, 1853 edition of the New York Daily Times read:

THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION.

________

THREE CLIPPER-SHIPS DESTROYED.

________

TOTAL LOSS OF THE 'GREAT REPUBLIC.'

________

Burning of the 'White Squall,' and 'Joseph Walker.'

________

NINE BUILDINGS DESTROYED ON FRONT-ST.

________

LOSS, $1,500,000

_______

INSURANCE, $500,000 to $700,000

_______

Additional Fires-Incendiarism, &c.

The following account of the disaster appeared in the Boston Post on December 28, 1853.

THE GREAT REPUBLIC BURNT.

Great Fire in New York City. . .

On Tuesday morning the Novelty Bakery, 242 Front Street was destroyed with a large amount of flour. The flames soon extended to the adjoining buildings. . . and through into Water Street. . . . The wind blew a gale from the north west, covering the shipping at the docks with burning cinders. The Great Republic was soon in flames and burned to the water's edge. The packet ship Joseph Walker of the Black Star Line is also a total loss. The clipper White Squall was towed down the river a mass of flames. The clipper Red Rover was towed out of dock in flames, and was eventually burned to the water's edge. The packet ship De Witt Clinton was also very seriously damaged. Many other vessels are burned in their spars, rigging or hulls. The ferry boats were busy towing out vessels into the stream by which many were saved.

The White Squall was sold as she lay for $5,500 and her new owners raised and rebuilt her as a bark with only one deck and was re-registered at 896 tons, draft, 15 feet.

Old photo of the Great Republic following the fire

The insurance underwriters sold the Great Republic to Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer, of Hoqua and Oriental fame, who purchased her from where she lay at the bottom of the East River, "as is and where is," as stated in the insurance terminology of the day.

He raised her up from the river bottom by building a temporary stern and drew canvas around her hull and used four steam pumps to draw the water out of her hull. The fire and water damage had rendered her cargo a total loss. The hull of the Great Republic was towed out to Greenpoint, Long Island, to the shipyard of Sneeden & Whitlock, where she was rebuilt under the superintendence of Captain Nat.

The upper deck was a total loss and the burnt wood removed which left her with three complete decks. Her replacement masts and spars were reduced by about 25 percent from her original plan and she still carried her forth spanker mast, also reduced.

The rebuilt Great Republic

The rebuilding of the Great Republic took more than a year to complete and then she was sold to A. A. Low & Brother. The rebuilt Great Republic now registered 3357 tons and was still the largest merchant ship in the world. With her reduced rig she would now only require 50 able-bodied seamen to handle her along with a dozen ordinaries and a few apprentices.

Captain Nat removed the beautifully carved figurehead of an eagle's head from her bow and replaced it with a carved billet head and scroll. For many years, the figurehead resided at the Stonington, Connecticut home of Palmer's niece, Mrs. Richard Fanning Loper.

On February 21, 1855, the Great Republic sailed to Liverpool under the command of Captain Limeburner on her first voyage and arrived at Land's End in 12 days. Seven days later, she was anchored in the Mersey for she was too large to moor at the docks and had to sail over to the "Long Reach" to unload cargo. Captain Limeburner commented that over the course of the voyage, "the ship behaved nobly."

The Great Republic then sailed on to London, and arrived on the Thames River three days later and anchored, for no dock there could accommodate the great draft of this giant clipper either.

At both ports, the Great Republic created quite a sensation and people who came aboard made frequent inquiries of the captain as to whether he had left any lumber for shipbuilding in the United States or brought it all with him.

At the time of the Great Republic's arrival in London, the French Government needed troop transports for the Crimean War and the American clipper was chartered for this service and transported British soldiers to Marseilles.

On one such voyage in January 1856, she transported1600 British soldiers from Liverpool to Marseilles; from there, they then were transported by four steamships to the Black Sea.

At Marseilles, an American traveler observed the Great Republic loading stores alongside other American clippers in the harbor and captured the moment in his journal:

The French Flag floated from her mizzen mast, but the Stars and Stripes were at the peak. Prouder than the one hundred and twenty gun ship-of-the-line of the French, the Napoleon III, more dignified even than the Agamemnon of the English, the Great Republic of the Americans looked in her unassuming greatness-the commander of the fleet.

The Great Republic, Captain Limeburner; the Queen of the Clippers, Captain Zerega, and the Monarch of the Sea, Captain Gardiner, were anchored side by side, and I never felt prouder of my country than in witnessing these magnificent clippers from New York, so superior to any of the transports of other nations. America never sent better representatives abroad-the peaceful messenger of commerce is always welcomed, while we only hail the ship of war as a State necessity.

. . . All the American ships are in the employ of the French Government, the English having chartered no American transports. During the dull times, the transport charters have proved a splendid business for such of our ships as were so fortunate as to get employment. The Great Republic must have paid for herself by this time; but the game is now up, and a thousand sail of transports will shortly find their way back to assist in deadening freights and consequently depreciating shipping property.

The Great Republic proved to be astoundingly swift when she found a leading breeze in the Mediterranean and she often out distanced the fastest steamers while sailing between Marseilles and the Crimea.

At the close of the Crimean War, the Great Republic returned to New York late in 1856, where the Lows soon put her up for the California trade.

On December 7, 1856, the Great Republic sailed on her first voyage around the Horn with a crew of ruffians who bore a strong resemblance to buccaneers, so much so that Captain Limeburner and his officers carried sidearms about the ship at all times.

On the fifth day out from Sandy Hook, the Great Republic logged 413 miles and crossed the equator in 15 days, 18 hours, setting a record.

The ruffian crew proved to be good sailors and rounded Cape Horn in a little bit over 45 days with skysails set.

The Westward Ho set sail from New York on December 16, 1856, to chase after the Great Republic around the Horn. Large sums of money rode on the outcome of this race with New Yorkers mostly backing the Great Republic against the Boston backers of the Westward Ho this time around.

After rounding the Horn, the Great Republic made a swift passage up the Pacific and was within 500 miles of the Heads when she ran into the calms and fogs where she stayed for five days before arriving at the Golden Gate with a 92-day passage, the fastest California run of the year.

There was much speculation that if the Great Republic had not run into the calms and fogs that she would have beat the record passage set by the Flying Cloud.

The Westward Ho arrived at San Francisco Bay on March 26, 1857, with a fine passage of 100 days.

The Great Republic at San Francisco

Command of the Westward Ho passed from Captain Hussey to Captain Jones, who sailed on from San Francisco to Callao. where the Westward Ho was sold to Don Juan de Ugarte of Lima, and soon entered into the coolie trade.

The Great Republic also sailed on to Callao for a load of guano at the Chincha Islands to be transported to London back around the Horn.

Next: Red Jacket

The Era of the Clipper Ships
Bibliography / Sea Witch / Directory / Maritime Links
Home / McKay Clan / Ship's Store / Introduction / Tradewinds