The U.S. ship S. C. TWING was built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1855. 1177 net register tons. I know nothing of her early career, except that on one of her earliest voyages, the S. C. TWING stranded off Göteborg, Sweden.

In 1856, the S. C. TWING was purchased for 88,000 Taler by the Bremen firm of D. H. Wätjen, who renamed her MOBILE, and placed her in the North American trade. At 1290 Lasten/1856 tons, the MOBILE became at the time of her purchase the largest sailing vessel in the Bremen merchant fleet. She was destroyed by fire at Mobile, Alabama, in January 1867. The following is an account of her destruction, printed in the New York Herald for 28 January 1867, and taken in turn from the Mobile Advertiser of 19 January 1867:

At about 12 o'clock on Thursday night last [17/18 January 1867] flames were discovered issuing from the fore hatch of the Bremen ship MOBILE, then at anchor in the lower bay, some 30 miles below the city. Capt. Lee, of the steamer JACKSON, was alongside of the ship PROGRESS, with a load of cotton, and as soon as he was informed of the fire immediately cast off and stood for the burning ship. The wind was blowing fresh from the north at the time, and it was impossible for Capt. Lee to get to leeward of the MOBILE without running great risk of losing his own boat and cargo, but he took his vessel to windward and ahead of the MOBILE, and made a successful effort to bring a stream of water from the pumps of his steamer to bear upon the fire; a hawser was got out from the bow of the M[OBILE] to the JACKSON, up which Mr. Jessup, of the latter vessel, gallantly made his way and led the hose from the steamer to the fore hatch of the ship. The flames had made such headway, however, that the intense heat prevented anything more being done than lying by to pick up any one who might chance be compelled to jump overboard. Fortunately for the mate and the three men who had so courageously remained at their posts, the boats of the Br[itish] ship TUDOR, under charge of Capt. Wherland, pulled under the counter of the burning ship and rescued them from their dangerous position. With the exception of the ship's chronometer and two quadrants the captain and officers lost all their clothing and personal effects saving only the clothes they stood in. The M[OBILE] was a vessel of abut 5,000 bales capacity, and an excellent ship in every particular. She was owned in Bremen and sailed under that flag, but was American built, being one of the numerous vessels placed under foreign colors during the war. She was under charter for Liverpool and was about half loaded, having 2,350 bales of cotton aboard. Rumor has it that the ship was fuly insured, and we understand from a gentleman in a position to know that the cotton is fully covered by the policies of foreign offices. The fire was undoubtedly the work of an incendiary, as no smoking is ever allowed in the 'tween decks of a vessel loading with cotton. There is as yet no suspicion as to who the scoundrel is that could thus peril so many lives and destroy so much property.

Sources: Otto Höver, Von der Galiot zum Fünfmaster; Unsere Segelschiffe (Bremen: Angelsachsen Verlag, 1934), pp. 277f;
Rolf Reinemuth, Segel aus Downeast; Die unerschrockenen Männer von der Weser und ihre prächtigen Schiffe aus Neu-England (Herford: Koehler, 1971), p. 40; Hans Wätjen, Weisses W im blauen Feld (Wolfsburg 1983), pp. 116f; Johannes Lachs, Schiffe aus Bremen; Bilder und Modelle im Focke-Museum (Bremen: H. M. Hauschild, [1994]), p. 137, no. 110.