The Republican journal., 1905-06-15
The Passing of the Brig.
Not Single Vessel of That Rig Now
Owned in Boston.

1Hc bOStOn SUNDAY UlOUC IcCcutly
published an article under the above
caption, although the vessels referred
to are not briggs but brigantines. The
Telos was at this port few years ago
and Edward johnson, Esq, who takes
great interest in marine affairs, had an
enlarged photograph made showing her
beating in. The Telos was lost about a
year later. Following is the Globe
| article:
The recent sale of the brig Sullivan
OF Boston, following the sale of the
| boston brig Gabrielle, closes out the
| INST OF this city's craft of that character.
For half a century the term Boston
brlg'' has been recognized throughout
the country as applying to certain
| type-embracing the brig, the hermaph-
| rodlte and the half brig-rigs which
only an expert can tell apart-not be-
cause it was originated here, but be-
cause it was peculiarly favorite rig
with Boston vessel owners and mari
ners
In the palmy days of the sailing YES
| sci, between 1910 and 1860, Boston
boasted large fleet of these half -brigs.
! 1t is estimated that 100 of them hailed
from the neighborlng ports whose COM
| merce has now become merged with
that of the Hub.
They carried the American flag to tie
most out of the way corners of the
world.
In the ports of China they competed
with the great British Indiamen and
thrifty Dutch merchant ships, and
never failed to secure the freights they
We're after, They followed Perry to
Japan, and did profitable business
All the cities and coast towns of
South America and Australia had &C
qualntance with them. and Europeans
from the BoSporus to the Baltic sea
knew of Boston through the Boston
brigs.
The west coast of Africa trade was a
favorite one with the old Boston briggs
They would load up in Boston harbor
with assorted cargo, of which rum was
one OF the principal items, and this was
traded for ivory, oil and other staples.
The women of New England were as
hardy seafarers as the men. Many of
the brig captains were accompanied on
all voyages by their wives. Their chill
dren were born on shipbOard and grew
up around the briggs. One case is known
where the shippers wife acted as cook,
his eldest son was mate and his four
sons formed the crew.
Many of Boston's wealthiest families
owe the foundation of their fortunes to
the briggs owned by their grandfathers.
Some of these vessels paid for them
selves in a couple of voyages; all Sc
cured enormous prices for freights and
paid big dividends.
When the civil war started the Yam
kee fleet of briggs was spread all over
the world. The swift steam commerce
destroyers of the confederates were
soon turned loose upon them, and that
was the beginning of the end. During
the years of the war they were practi-
cally driven from the seas. Many of
them were sunk and burned, many
were sold to English shippers, and the
remainder lay III the harbors of the
north waiting for the strife to cease.
When peace returned steam vessels
were built everywhere.
1t was in the early seventies that
Yankee shipowners discovered more
economical sailing craft than the brig
or half brig. Several three masted and
four-masted schooners had been used
in the coasting trade for few years.
and the type was tried OH long voyage
when the three-master Rebecca J.
Moulton sailed from this port for Aus
tralia. She had crew of about 10 men,
and carried three times the cargo Of a
half brig. She was the first big schoon-
er to round Cape Horn, and the first
three masted schooner to visit Aus
tralia She returned in safety, and her
owners made big profit Other Bos-
ha0pn n hnll6
schooners and run them on long voy-
ages, and this, with the enterprise of
y mer lean and foreign steamers,
sounded the knell Of the brig and the
half brig.
There are a number of these vessels
still in existence, but not one is now
owned in the city for which they did so
much commercially.
OF the briggs which were left when the
age of briggs had passed, some were
turned into coal barges, losing their
identity. \ few continue to be listed
as seaworthy, and now the Sullivan, the
last of the Boston fleet, is gone.
The Sullivan deserves more than pass
ing notice, for she was one of the finest
and most successful of her class. She
was a double-decked brig of 344 gross
tons, and was built at GouldsbOro, Me-,
in 1862, by Owen W. and George Whita-
ker. She was commanded for many
years by Capt. Jesse Perry of Goulds-
boro, and was owned and managed by
John S. Emery & Co. of Boston.
Her first voyage was from Savannah
TO Liverpool, with cotton. for which
she was paid a half penny pound
freight. Today the steamers in the
same trade carry cotton for less than
one-quarter of this rate. She loaded
salt and returned to Boston and has
since been in various kinds of trade.
She was not the fastest vessel OF her
kind, but she once made the voyage
from the west coast of Africa to st.
Thomas in ~ days, and frequently
logged 25O miles day.
The Sullivan has never been ashore
or met with loss that has cost the un-
derwriters dollar in all her 40 years of
active service.
Under Capt. Hagerty of New Bed
ford, her new owner and master, she
will hunt for whales in the south At
lantic.
The latest hermaphrodite brig built in
the United States was the Telos, which
was launched in Bangor in 1888. She
is no longer in existence, having passed
in her checks some years ago.
In few years more the last OF the
briggs will 60 the way of the rest. 1t
is impossible that the type should ever
he revived except. perhaps, as the