The side-paddle steamship IMPÉRATRICE EUGENIE was built for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (commonly known as "CGT" or the "French Line") by Chantier de l'Atlantique de Penhoët (a wholly owned subsidiary of CGT), under the supervision of Scott & Co, at San Nazaire, and was launched on 23 April 1864. 3,200 tons; 105,63 x 13,41 meters (length x breadth); straight stem, 2 funnels, 2 masts; iron construction, side-lever engine (by Schneider, Creuzot), service speed 12 knots.

The IMPÉRATRICE EUGENIE was intended for CGT's West Indies and Central American service. 16 February 1865, maiden voyage, St. Nazaire-Vera Cruz. In 1871, with the fall of the Empire and the restoration of the French Republic, the IMPÉRATRICE EUGENIE was renamed ATLANTIQUE. 1873, extensively rebuilt by A. Leslie & Co, Hebburn-on-Tyne; length increased to 121,91 meters, tonnage to 4,585; mizzen mast added; paddle wheels removed and converted to single-screw; compound engines by Maudslay, Sons & Field, London; renamed AMÉRIQUE. 16 January 1874, first voyage under new name, Havre-New York. 14 April 1874, on the return voyage, with 83 passengers and 152 crew on board, the AMÉRIQUE encountered a violent storm, and after the passengers and crew were transferred to other vessels, the ship was abandoned; a British ship was sent out from Plymouth to look for her and, finding her still afloat, towed her back to Plymouth, where she was found to be sound, pumped dry, refloated, and taken back to Le Havre, where she underwent further repairs. 13 March 1875, resumed Havre-New York service. March 1876, fitted with "the lighthouse and electric light" (external only). 7 January 1877, stranded off Seabright, New Jersey. 10 April 1877, refloated; repaired. 11 August 1877, resumed Havre-New York service. 1 May 1886, last voyage, Havre-New York. 22 September 1886, first voyage, Havre-Panama. 1888, internal electric lighting installed. 1892, triple-expansion engines. 28 January 1895, wrecked at Savanilla.

Sources: 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. 2 (1978), p 654; John Adams, Ocean Steamers; A History of Ocean-going Passenger Steamshps, 1820-1970 (London: New Cavendish Books, 1993), p. 55.