Palmer List of Merchant Vessels

The U.S. ship BLACK HAWK, was built at Black Rock (Fairfield), Connecticut, by Hall & Teague, in 1853, for their own account, and launched as the CHIEF OF CLIPPERS. 1579 tons; 213 ft x 39 ft 10 in x 26 ft 10 in (length x beam x depth of hold). She was registered at New York on 16 November 1853 [William Armstrong Fairburn, Merchant Sail (Center Lovell, Maine: Fairburn Marine Educational Foundation, [1945-55]), I.262, II.1562, III.1660, V.2847, VI.3772; Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., List of American-flag Merchant Vessels that received Certificates of Enrollment or Registry at the Port of New York, 1789-1867 (Record Groups 41 and 36), National Archives Publication 68-10, Special Lists 22 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1968), p. 84].

The BLACK HAWK was intended for Sturges, Clearman & Co's line of sailing packets between New York and Liverpool (the vessels cleared Liverpool in the Black Star Line, J. T. Crook, agent), but never completed her maiden voyage. On 4 April 1854, D. M. Bunker, master, she sailed from Liverpool for New York, with a crew of 35, 823 passengers (790 adults, 2 additional in the cabin, the remainder infants), and a cargo of 665 tons of iron and tin, 52 tons of chemicals and flax; 140 tons of coal, and 38 tons of measurement goods. On 17 April, somewhere in the region of Lat 47 35 N, Lon 33 47 W / Lat 47 N, Lon 35 30 W, the BLACK HAWK was completely dismasted in a hurricane, and over the next week slowly foundered. Her passengers and crew were rescued by several vessels that chanced upon her:

the bark CAROLINE, of Poole, Harris, master, bound from Liverpool for Quebec;
the ship DIRIGO, of Glasgow, Young, master, bound for New York (which in turn transferred some of the rescued to the ship ELIZABETH DUNCAN, of Glasgow, Bowser, master, bound for Greenock); and
the ship CURRITUCK, of Norfolk, Virginia, 598 89/95 tons, Seth Foster, master, which had sailed from Antwerp on 8 April 1854, bound for New York, with 255 passengers, and which came upon the BLACK HAWK on 21 April.

The BLACK HAWK was finally abandoned on 24 April 1854, at which point the vessels proceeded in various directions

the CAROLINE to Falmouth, where she arrived on 3 May 1854, carrying 125 passengers, 3 infants having died on the voyage;
the ELIZABETH DUNCAN to Greenock, where she arrived on 4 May, carrying 45 men, 5 women, and 4 seamen; and
the DIRIGO and the CURRITUCK to New York.

The CURRITUCK reached New York first, on 17 May 1854, carrying, in addition to 250 of her own passengers (5 having died during the voyage), 356 of the passengers, the captain, doctor, 2nd mate, and 18 of the crew of the BLACK HAWK; 24 passengers from the BLACK HAWK died between the time of the rescue and the arrival in New York. The DIRIGO arrived at New York on 21 May 1854, carrying in addition to her own passengers 216 passengers rescued from the BLACK HAWK [New York Tribune, May 18, 20, 22, and 26, 1854; New York Times, May 18 and 20, 1854].

The ship CURRITUCK is usually referred to in secondary literature as the CURRITUCK BLACK HAWK, owing to a misrepresentation in Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby, ed., Germans to America; Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, vol. 7 (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, 1989), pp. 68-72, which abstracts the passenger manifest for the CURRITUCK, dated 18 May 1854, the day after arrival (a microfilm copy of the original list can be found on National Archives Microfilm Publication M237, roll 139, list #496 for 1854). The original manifest clearly differentiates between the CURRITUCK's original 255 passengers and the passengers and crew rescued from the BLACK HAWK, whose names are appended in a separate list. However, Germans to America elides the names of the two vessels, and makes no distinction between the passengers. (The names of the passengers on pp. 68-69, through "Wm. Morris Hubbard", are the original passengers on the CURRITUCK, who boarded the ship in Antwerp; those from "David Bancroft" onwards are the passengers and crew rescued from the BLACK HAWK.)

[18 May 1999]

BLACKWALL (1850)

The British ship BLACKWALL (Official No. 29,894; International Signal Code: PCRM) was built at London in 1850. Tonnage: 710/838 tons (old / new measurement); (1869/70) 674 tons; (1874/75) 674/710/710 tons (gross / net / under deck). Measurements (1863): 147 x 33 x 22 ft (readmeasured in 1874: 148.7 x 32.9 x 22.1 ft), length x beam x depth of hold. Originally ship-rigged, she was rerigged as a bark in 1874/75. The annual volumes of Lloyd's Register of Shipping for 1851/52-1881/82 give the following information for the BLACKWALL:

Master: 1851/52-1853/54 - J. Thorne 1854/55-1859/60 - McKerlie 1860/61 - Stewart 1861/62 - McKerlie 1861/62-1866/67 - Harrison 1866/67-1867/68 - P. Hancock 1867/68-1869/70 - J. Hancock 1869/70-1873/74 - D. Simpson 1873/74-1874/75 - W. Watkins 1874/75-1876/77 - G. T. Webb 1876/77-1880/81 - D. Chapman 1879/80-1881/82 - G. Webster Owner: 1851/52-1869/70 - R[ichard] Green 1869/70-1881/82 - J. Stewart & Co. Port of Registry: London Port of Survey: 1851/52-1873/74 - London 1873/74 - Rot[terdam?] 1874/75-1881/82 - London Destined Voyage (until 1873/74): 1851/52-1857/58 - Sydney 1858/59-1860/61 - Australia 1861/62 - [not given] 1862/63-1867/68 - Australia 1867/68-1869/70 - India 1869/70-1873/74 - Java

The BLACKWALL was still in service in 1881/82, the latest volume of Lloyd's Register to which I have immediate access

[27 May 1999]

BLENHEIM (1853)

The British bark BLENHEIM, was built according to a Lloyd's Register of Shipping Special Survey at Sunderland in 1853. 425/452 tons (old/new measurement, 1853) / 411 tons (1863/64); 118.5 x 27 x 17.8 ft (length x beam x depth of hold). The annual volume of Lloyd's Register of Shipping for 1854/55-1867/68 give the following:

Master: 1854/55-1856/57 - Nixon 1857/58-1858/59 - Uquhart 1859/60-1864/65 - J. Main 1864/65-1865/66 - H. Gaze 1865/66-1866/67 - M. Martin 1866/67-1867/68 - R. Huntley Owner: 1854/55-1865/66 - A. Strong 1865/66-1867/68 - M. Martin Port of Registry: North Shields Port of Survey: 1854/55-1856/57 - Sunderland 1857/58-1860/61 - London 1861/62-1863/64 - Shields 1863/64-1864/65 - London 1864/65-1867/68 - Shields Destined Voyage: 1854/55-1856/57 - Mediterranean 1857/58 - Black Sea 1858/59 - [not given] 1859/60-1860/61 - India 1861/62 - Mediterranean 1861/62-1863/64 - China 1863/64-1864/65 - North Shields 1864/65-1867/68 - Mediterranean

The BLENHEIM last appears in Lloyd's Register for 1868/69 (last surveyed January 1867); the entry, however, does not indicate why the vessel was removed from the register.

[10 May 1999]

Russian hulk BLOKSHIF N5 [1910] - See: HOLSATIA (1868)

British ship BLUE JACKET (1854) - See: WHITE STAR (1854)

BLÜCHER (1901)
LEOPOLDINA [1917]
SUFFREN [1923]

[Right] Photograph of the BLÜCHER. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. Source: Arnold Kludas, Die Geschichte der Deutschen Passagierschiffahrt, Bd. 3: Sprunghaftes Wachstum 1900 bis 1914, Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums, 24 (Hamburg: Kabel, c1988), p. 55. To request a larger copy of this scan, click on the picture.

[Left] Photograph of the LEOPOLDINA ex BLÜCHER, in French service. Source: Arnold Kludas and Herbert Bischoff, Die Schiffe der Hamburg-Amerika Linie, Bd. 1: 1847-1906 (Herford: Koehler, 1979), p. 119. To request a larger copy of this scan, click on the picture.

The steamship BLÜCHER was built for the Hamburg-America Line by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, and was launched on 23 November 1901. 12,334 tons; 160,2 x 18,9 meters (length x breadth); 2 funnels, 2 masts; twin-screw propulsion (2 quadruple-expansion engines), service speed 15.5 knots; accommodation for 333 passengers in 1st class, 169 in 2nd class, and 1,616 in steerage; crew of 252.

6 June 1902, maiden voyage, Hamburg - Boulogne - Southampton - New York. From 1906, Caribbean cruises (1st and 2nd class only); also cruises to Norway. 30 December 1911, last voyage, Hamburg - Boulogne - Southampton - New York. 1912, rebuilt, with luxury suites on her boat deck. 25 June 1912, first voyage, Hamburg - Brazil - River Plate. 3 August 1914, interned at Pernambuco. 1 June 1917, seized by the Brazilian government; renamed LEOPOLDINA. 27 February 1918, chartered to the French government. 11 March 1920, first voyage for C.G.T., New York - Havre. December 1921, laid up. March 1923, sold to C.G.T.; renamed SUFFREN. 8 May 1923, first voyage, Havre-New York; accommodation for 500 passengers in 1st class, 250 in 3rd class. May 1929, scrapped at Genoa.

Sources: Arnold Kludas and Herbert Bischoff, Die Schiffe der Hamburg-Amerika Linie, Bd. 1: 1847-1906 (Herford: Koehler, 1979), p. 118; Arnold Kludas, Die großen Passagierschiffe der Welt; Eine Dokumentation, Bd. 1: 1858-1912 (2nd ed.; Oldenburg/Hamburg; Gerhard Stalling, c1972), p. 30; Noel Reginald Pixell Bonsor, North Atlantic Seaway; An Illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World with the New (2nd ed.; Jersey, Channel Islands: Brookside Publications), vol. 1 (1975), p. 408; Noel Reginald Pixell Bonsor, South Atlantic Seaway; An illustrated history of the passenger lines and liners from Europe to Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina (Jersey, Channel Islands: Brookside Publications, c1983), pp. 353-354.

[23 Feb 1998]