Andrew Jackson (clipper)

Andrew Jackson

History
United States
Name| Belle Hoxie
Builder| Irons & Grinnell, Mystic, Connecticut
Launched| March 1855
Renamed| Andrew Jackson
Owner| John H. Brower & Company
Fate| Sold to British owners, 1863
United Kingdom
Owner| H. L. Seligman, Glasgow (in 1868)
Acquired| By British owners, 1863
Fate| Wrecked 4 December 1868, East Indies
General characteristics
Class & type| Medium clipper
Tons burthen| 1679 tons OM
Length| 220 ft (67 m).
Beam| 41 ft 2 in (12.55 m)
Draft| 22 ft (6.7 m). 3 in.[1]

The Andrew Jackson was a 1,679-registered-ton medium clipper built by the firm of Irons & Grinnell in Mystic, Connecticut in 1855. The vessel was designed for the shipping firm of J.H. Brower & Co. to carry cargo intended for sale to participants in the California Gold Rush.

## Construction

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The ship was 220 feet (67 m) in length, had a beam of 41 ft., 2 in., and a draft 22 ft., 3 in.[1] The vessel was described as "a very handsome, well-designed ship. She was heavily sparred and carried double topsails, skysails, and royal studdingsails."[2]

## Voyages

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Andrew Jackson made seven passages from New York to San Francisco, with an average time of 1061⁄3 days. These times compare well with the passages of extreme clippers such as Flying Cloud and Flying Fish, which averaged 1055⁄7 days and 1031⁄3 days respectively,[1] and the vessel was advertised as "The Fastest Ship in the World."[3]

## Record passage to San Francisco

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Advertising card for Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson is best known for her 1859–1860 run around Cape Horn from New York City to San Francisco, which the vessel performed in 89 days and 4 hours. The run began at noon on Christmas Day, 1859, and ended at 4 p.m. on 23 March 1860 at the Farallon Islands.[4]

This was one of only three 89-day runs performed by square-rigged ships driving from New York City to California. The other two runs were both posted by Flying Cloud. Flying Cloud's fastest New York-to-California run had taken 89 days and 8 hours; Andrew Jackson's run was, by four hours, widely acclaimed in the newspapers as the fastest in history.[4]

Andrew Jackson's run, as calculated above, was from New York City to the Farallon Islands, the pilot boat entry point to the harbor of San Francisco. Andrew Jackson did not get a pilot boat in a timely manner and did not actually tie up at a San Francisco wharf until the next day.[4]

### Andrew Jackson vs. Flying Cloud

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Some clipper ship authorities, including Howe and Matthews, assert that Andrew Jackson did not actually set the record described above. They concede, however, that this medium clipper, perhaps not naturally as fast as Flying Cloud, achieved a remarkable passage as the result of a combination of hard driving by the captain and favorable winds.[1]

However, after careful scrutiny of the logbooks, one author, Carl C. Cutler, concludes that a case can be made for either Flying Cloud or Andrew Jackson holding the record. Some will consider the passage from pilot-to-pilot as the appropriate indicator of fastest sailing performance around Cape Horn. Flying Cloud holds the record time for a passage anchor-to-anchor from New York to San Francisco, of 89 days 8 hours, while Andrew Jackson's completed passage anchor-to-anchor may have been as long as 89 days 20 hours.[5]

## Loss

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Andrew Jackson was lost on December 4, 1868, after going aground on a reef in the Gaspar Strait.[1]

## Legacy

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Andrew Jackson's 1859–1860 run was to be one of the final sailing-ship records posted by an American clipper ship. During the 1860s, the advance of steamships, and the creation of a worldwide network of coaling stations to serve them with a reliable supply of fuel, led to a collapse in the market for clipper-ship freight.

## Images

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* Painting of clipper ship Andrew Jackson, Mystic Seaport Museum
* Painting by Percy Sanborn, Clipper Ship Andrew Jackson, sold in 2012.

## See also

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* List of clipper ships

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e Howe, Octavius T; Matthews, Frederick C. (1986) [First published 1926–1927]. American Clipper Ships 1833–1858. Volume 1, Adelaide-Lotus. New York: Dover Publications. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-0-486-25115-8.
2. ^ Clark, Arthur H. (1910). The Clipper Ship Era. G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 295. OCLC 7530341. "clipper ship era 1910."
3. ^ Lyon, Jane (1962). Clipper Ships and Captains. American Heritage Publishing Co. p. 121\. OCLC 248617.
4. ^ a b c Lyon, Jane (1962). Clipper Ships and Captains. American Heritage Publishing Co. p. 132\. OCLC 248617.
5. ^ Cutler, Carl C. (1960). Greyhounds of the Sea. Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute. pp. 360–368\. OCLC 569193.

* v
* t
* e

Clipper ships

* Baltimore Clipper
* Extreme clipper
* Medium clipper
* List of clippers
* List of people who sailed on clipper ships
* Clipper route

1840s|

* Anglona
* Houqua
* Memnon
* Rainbow
* Sea Witch
* Ticonderoga

1850–1852|

* Antelope of Boston
* Bald Eagle
* Carrier Pigeon
* Celestial Empire
* Challenge
* Challenger
* Comet
* Eastern State
* Flying Cloud
* Flying Fish
* Game Cock
* Golden South
* Golden West
* Harriet Hoxie
* Hippogriffe
* Hornet
* Hurricane
* Ino
* John Gilpin
* Marco Polo
* National Eagle
* N.B. Palmer
* Nightingale
* North American
* Northern Light
* Onward
* Race Horse
* Sea Nymph
* Sea Serpent
* Shooting Star
* Snow Squall
* Sovereign of the Seas
* Stag Hound
* Stornoway
* Surprise
* Swordfish
* Syren
* Westward Ho!
* Witch of the Wave
* Witchcraft

1853–1859|

* Andrew Jackson
* Belle of the West
* Blue Jacket
* Carrier Dove
* California
* Champion of the Seas
* Donald McKay
* Dreadnought
* Driver
* Duncan Dunbar
* Ganges
* Golden Fleece
* Golden State
* Gravina
* Great Republic
* Herald of the Morning
* James Baines
* King Philip
* Kingfisher
* Kosmopoliet
* Lammermuir
* Lightning
* Lookout
* Lord of the Isles
* Mary Robinson
* Mary Whitridge
* Mimosa
* Neptune's Car
* Newcastle
* Ocean Chief
* Ocean Telegraph
* Orient
* Red Jacket
* Robin Hood
* Royal Charter
* Santa Claus
* Scawfell
* Schomberg
* Stag
* Starlight
* Sunny South
* Sweepstakes
* Tayleur
* Tejuca
* Thatcher Magoun
* Wild Hunter
* White Swallow
* Windsor Castle
* Young America

1860s|

* Ambassador
* Ariel
* City of Adelaide
* Coonatto
* Cornwallis
* Cremorne
* Cutty Sark
* Fiery Cross
* Flying Spur
* Fusi Yama
* Kaisow
* Glory of the Seas
* Golden Spur
* Great Australia
* John R. Worcester
* Lahloo
* Lammermuir
* Leander
* Miako
* Norman Court
* Osaka
* Queen of Nations
* Seminole
* Serica
* Sir Lancelot
* South Australian
* Taeping
* Taitsing
* The Murray
* Thermopylae
* Sobraon
* Windhover
* Wylo
* Yatala

1870–1890s|

* Blackadder
* Cimba
* Cromdale
* Florence
* Hallowe'en
* Hereward
* Loch Ard
* Loch Vennachar
* Lothair
* Rodney
* Torrens

Modern|

* Cisne Branco
* Shabab Oman II
* Stad Amsterdam
* Type 2630 training ship

Related|

* Alfred Bulltop Stormalong

* v
* t
* e

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1868

Shipwrecks|

* 15 Feb: Abbey
* Mar: HMS Lavinia
* 1 Jun: Princess
* 14 Jun: Northumberland
* 24 Jun: Selma
* 15 Jul: Torrent
* 13 Aug: USS Fredonia
* 13 Aug: USS Wateree
* 19 Aug: USS Anacostia
* 25 Sep: Alexander Nevsky
* 23 Oct: F. T. Barney
* 15 Nov: Kaiyō Maru
* 29 Nov: Northerner
* 4 Dec: Andrew Jackson
* Unk: Tasmanian Maid

Other incidents|

* 1 Jan: HMS Research
* 30 Jan: HMS Endymion
* 19 Feb: Alagoas
* 19 Feb: Pará
* 19 Feb: Tamandaré
* 3 May: HMS Lord Warden
* 27 Jul: HMS Basilisk
* 13 Aug: USS Powhatan
* 31 Oct: HMS Pallas
* 2 Nov: HMS Galatea

* ← 1867
* 1869 →

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