Willamette (steamer)
_RMG_BHC1776.jpg) The American paddle steamer Willamette at Canton, circa 1856
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Willamette |
| Namesake | Willamette River |
| Fate | Sold 1868 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Steamer |
| Displacement | 200 t (197 long tons) |
| Length | 160 ft (49 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draught | 7 ft (2.1 m) |
| Capacity | 390 t (384 long tons)[2] |
Willamette (Chinese: 威林密; pinyin: Wēilínmì) was an American steamer that was later purchased by China and saw action during the Taiping Rebellion.
History
[edit]Willamette was ordered by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and built in Wilmington, Delaware as a three-masted schooner. On 5 August 1850, captained by E. W. Willet, Willamette departed Philadelphia for Astoria, Oregon Territory, sailing around Cape Horn. Willamette arrived on 9 March 1851, and was further fitted as a steamer. She began running routes along the Willamette River, carrying mail between Portland and Astoria under Captain Durbrow. However, operating the ship along this route proved too expensive. In August 1852, after "a few trips", she was transferred to San Francisco where she served along the Sacramento River. There, she was sold to the California Steam Navigation Company and transferred to China.[2][3][4]
From January 1856, Willamette began operating along the Pearl River between Hong Kong and Canton, where she was commanded by William Curry of Savannah, Georgia. In October, her service was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second Opium War.[5][6]
By 1858, the ship was acquired by the American trading house Russell & Company.[7] Around August 1861, the managing partner of Russell & Co. in Shanghai, Edward Cunningham, persuaded Chinese merchants and compradors to invest in ownership of the ship, in order to entice the Chinese in the steamship business.[8]
In March or April 1862, Viceroy of Liangjiang Zeng Guofan purchased the ship for use as an auxiliary vessel in the Jiangsu region.[9] She saw service during the Taiping Rebellion as a part of a "mosquito fleet" under the Imperialist forces.[10] By 1868, she had grown decrepit, and Jiangsu Governor Ding Richang ordered her to be sold. She was sold in late 1868.[9]
Citations
[edit]- ^ Keeler 1985, p. 56.
- ^ a b Wright 1895, p. 35.
- ^ Gaston 1911, p. 265.
- ^ Victor 1888, p. 256.
- ^ Wood 1859, p. 428.
- ^ US Department of State 1869, pp. 111–113.
- ^ Quimby & Fernald 1986, p. 123.
- ^ Hao 1970, pp. 26–27.
- ^ a b Chen 2013, p. 4.
- ^ Li 2012, p. 480.
References
[edit]- Chen, Yue (2013). Zhōngguójūnjiàntúzhì 1855-1911 中國軍艦圖誌1855-1911 [Album of Chinese Warships 1855-1911] (in Chinese). Hong Kong: The Commercial Press (Hong Kong). ISBN 9789620703614.
- Gaston, Joseph (1911). "CHAPTER XV. 1850—1910.". Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders. Vol. 1. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.
- Hao, Yen-p'ing (1970). The Comprador in Nineteenth Century China: Bridge Between East and West. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-7837-1705-0.
- Keeler, Elizabeth Louise (1985). "Willamette Valley River Towns and Steamboats" (PDF).
- Li, Xiaobing (2012). China at War: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9789620703614.
- Quimby, Maureen O'Brien; Fernald, Jean Woollens (1986). "A Matter of Taste and Elegance: Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont and the Decorative Arts". Winterthur Portfolio. 21 (2/3): 103–132. doi:10.1086/496274. JSTOR 1181073. S2CID 161367314.
- United States. Department of State (1869). Executive Documents Printed by Order of the House of Representatives during the Third Session of the Fortieth Congress, 1868-'69. In Fourteen Volumes. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- Victor, Frances Fuller (1888). "CHAPTER IX. SURVEYS AND TOWN-MAKING. 1851–1853.". In Bancroft, Hubert Howe (ed.). History of Oregon. Vol. 2. San Francisco: The History Company.
- Wright, E. W. (1895). Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Review of the Growth and Development of the Maritime Industry, from the Advent of the Earliest Navigators to the Present Time, with Sketches and Portraits of a Number of Well Known Marine Men. Portland: Lewis & Dryden Printing Company.
- Wood, William Maxwell (1859). Fankwei, Or, The San Jacinto in the Seas of India, China, and Japan. New York: Harper & Brothers.