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Charles W. Morgan: Did You Know

The Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaling ship, underwent extensive restoration from 2008 to 2013 at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. In 2014, she embarked on her first voyage in nearly 100 years to educate the public about her history and the history of whaling. Her planned route included stops in several New England ports. Now fully restored, the Morgan will demonstrate traditional sailing and help tell the story of the Yankee whaling industry.

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Hartford Courant
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105 views

Charles W. Morgan: Did You Know

The Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaling ship, underwent extensive restoration from 2008 to 2013 at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. In 2014, she embarked on her first voyage in nearly 100 years to educate the public about her history and the history of whaling. Her planned route included stops in several New England ports. Now fully restored, the Morgan will demonstrate traditional sailing and help tell the story of the Yankee whaling industry.

Uploaded by

Hartford Courant
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Year of the

CHARLES
W. MORGAN

Common Core State Standard: ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 • ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5• ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 • ELA-Literacy.RI.5.1 • ELA-Literacy.RI.5.2 • ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3

The Charles W. Morgan (Part 2) Written by Amanda E. Schuff, Mystic Seaport Museum Educator

By 1924 the Charles W. Morgan, singed from an encounter with a burning steamer, sat quietly rotting away in a wharf in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, her whaling
days over. With her owners disinterested in the aging ship and no firm plans in place for her future, a local artist was able to secure a berth for the Morgan at
the estate of a wealthy local eccentric, Colonel Edward H.R. Green. Col. Green, the grandson of a principal owner of the ship in the 1850s, moved the Morgan
to his mansion, Round Hill, and had her completely renovated, refitted and rerigged. He also created replicas of a counting house, cooperage and whale oil
refinery and even hired a crew of retired whalemen, complete with a captain, to add to the authenticity of the exhibit called “Whaling Enshrined.” The Charles
W. Morgan attracted around 100,000 visitors a year who paid a small fee to see a relic of a vanishing era, but upon the Colonel’s death in 1936, the ship once
again faced an uncertain future. Damaged by the ferocious 1938 hurricane and with no provisions made for her in Col. Green’s will, it was time once again for
the Morgan to leave New Bedford. This time her destination was Mystic, Connecticut, where curators of the Marine Historical Association (which became Mystic
Seaport) had promised to protect and preserve her.

On November 8, 1941, at 100 years old, the Charles W. Morgan was towed up the Mystic River by a Coast Guard cutter to her final home. In need of extensive
repairs, she rested upon sand for years while materials and funding were gathered for preservation. In 1966, the Morgan was declared a National Historic
Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and five years later she even got her own U.S. postal stamp. With the building of the Henry B.
DuPont shipyard at the Seaport in the early 1970s, the Morgan was at last hauled out of her sand berth to undergo restoration on her hull, and was put back
into the water in the spring of 1974. Her current restoration, which began in November 2008, has been the most extensive yet. In dry dock for almost five
years, the Charles W. Morgan was launched back into the Mystic River on July 21, 2013, exactly 172 years after her first launch.

What’s next for the Morgan? This summer of 2014 the Charles W. Morgan will embark on her 38th voyage, her first in nearly a century. She will start her jour-
ney with a quick trip from Mystic to New London, which has deep enough waters for her crew to practice sailing and get ready for the sea. Next on her itinerary
will be Newport, Vineyard Haven, New Bedford, Provincetown, Boston and then back to New London/Mystic. Her voyage will take around several weeks and
is designed to educate visitors about her history and be a “make peace” opportunity for whales, including day sails at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine
Sanctuary near Provincetown. Dockside exhibits and information will help museum staff tell the story of Yankee whaling. We hope to see you dockside as the
last wooden whaleship in the world sails again, a sight no one has witnessed since 1921!

*Ships are referred to as ‘she’ in nautical tradition,


though the exact reason why is unknown.

Look for our next article in December - “Whaling 101 - What, Why, How, Where and When”

Did You Know


• Five of the Morgan’s 20 captains brought their wives aboard, turning the
ship into a “hen frigate.” The longest-serving captain, James A. M. Earle,
Connections Literature, Art & Music

• Whaling voyages could last for years at a time in an era before the internet, telephones, and even reliable mail
service made staying in touch with loved ones back home easier. Whalemen homesick for wives or sweethearts back
brought both his wife and three-year-old son, Jamie, on the 28th voyage. home might make or buy sailor’s valentines to give them. At its simplest, a sailor’s valentine is seashells glued onto
Thanks to Jamie’s recollections, recorded in the 1970s, we have a vivid pic- some sort of backing, but with time to spare, sailors and artists could create complex, beautiful designs or messages
ture of what life was like on the Morgan during the waning days of whaling. inside of boxes or frames. Gather up lots of shells, a wooden box or frame, reliable glue and craft a present for some-
one very special in your life.
• The Morgan is an accomplished actress. She was featured in the silent http://crafting.squidoo.com/Sailors-Valentine
movies Miss Petticoats (1916), Down to the Sea in Ships (1922) and Java http://www.pugetsoundnavymuseum.org/documents/SailorsValentines.pdf
Head (1923). Much more recently, she has appeared in Amistad (1998) and
Gangs of New York (2002). Director Ric Burns, who filmed scenes aboard • Another way sailors on the Charles W. Morgan would have entertained themselves during boring stretches of down-
her decks for the PBS American Experience time or tedious tasks is known as a sea song or sea chantey. (If you’ve ever watched the beginning of Spongebob
documentary Into the Deep: America, Whaling Squarepants, you’ve heard a sea chantey, or at least a goofy cartoon version of one.) Make up a version of your own
& the World (2010), delivered the keynote to sing with your friends when you’ve got work to do, or try these links for a sample of chanteys sailors have sung for
address as the Charles W. Morgan was re- years.
launched in July 2013. http://www.folkways.si.edu/classic-maritime-music-from-folkways/american-folk-celtic-historical-song-world/music/
album/smithsonian
• Once current restoration is complete, about www.youtube.com (search: mystic seaport sea music)
18% of the Morgan’s wood will remain from You can also have a chanteyman come visit your classroom! For more information visit http://www.mysticseaport.
its construction at the Hillman Bros. Shipyard org/learn/educators/.
in 1841.

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