Bald Eagle (clipper)


Bald Eagle was a clipper ship launched in 1852 which made four round-trip passages from eastern U.S. ports before being lost on her fifth voyage in the Pacific Ocean in 1861. She set the record, 78 days 22 hours, for the fastest passage of a fully loaded ship between San Francisco and New York.

Her voyages

The Bald Eagle's voyages are listed here. Sources disagree on some departure and arrival dates and passage lengths; disagreements or ambiguities are individually cited. City names are entered as spelled at the time.
VoyageOriginDepartDestinationArriveDaysCaptain
1New YorkDecember 25 or 26, 1852San FranciscoApril 11, 1853108 or 107Philip Dumaresq
1San FranciscoMay 8, 1853New YorkAugust 13, 185396Philip Dumaresq
2New YorkOctober 1 or 2, 1853San FranciscoJanuary 25, 1854116 or 115Albert Henry Caldwell
2San FranciscoMarch 1 or 2, 1854New YorkMay 19, 185478 days 22 hours or 79Albert Henry Caldwell
3New YorkSan FranciscoFebruary 23, 1855115 or 117Albert Henry Caldwell
3San FranciscoHong Kong47Charles T. Treadwell
3Swatow, ChinaCallao, PeruNovember 26, 1855Charles T. Treadwell
3CallaoPhiladelphiaMay 4, 1856Charles T. Treadwell
4New YorkJuly 18, 1856San FranciscoNovember 15, 1856120Charles T. Treadwell
4San FranciscoDecember 7, 1856CalcuttaFebruary 5, 185758 or 59Charles T. Treadwell
4CalcuttaApril 26, 1857BostonAugust 2, 185798Charles T. Treadwell
5BostonSeptember 21, 1857Hong Kong108 or 109Edward Nickels
5Shanghai or Hong KongAugust 6, 1859LiverpoolDecember 21, 1859120Edward Nickels
5LiverpoolFebruary 21, 1860Anjer, IndonesiaMay 24, 186093 or 94Edward Nickels
5Anjer, IndonesiaShanghaiJune 25, 186032Edward Nickels
5Hong KongSan FranciscoApril 24 or 25, 186141Edward Nickels
5San FranciscoJune 16, 1861Hong Kong via HonoluluAugust 25, 196156Edward Nickels
5Hong KongOctober 15, 1861San FranciscoLost during voyageMorris

Her fate

Although Basil Lubbock wrote an account that in October 1861 Bald Eagle came under attack by Chinese pirates while en route to Peru with a cargo of Chinese laborers, was put on fire, and then abandoned at sea some 500 miles east of Manila, there is little evidence to support his account. Richard McKay calls it a "fake yarn" and cites F. C. Matthews, a "well-known authority of ships...of the past" that Bald Eagle sailed from Hong Kong for San Francisco with a cargo including rice, sugar, tea, and "treasure" and was never heard of again.