Post Revolutionary War Merchant Ships

The Proclamation of Congress announcing a cessation of hostilities between Great Britain and the United States, was published April 11, 1783. Christopher Leffingwell was the first naval officer of the port of Norwich.

Trade with the West Indies ignited soon after the close of the Revolution. Overseas trade was very beneficial and profitable to Norwich and many of her citizens. Livestock, provisions, and lumber were the principal exports and rum, molasses, and sugar were the principal imports.

VESSELS USING NORWICH AS HOME PORT : 1788-1789

TypeNumberTotal capacity
Sloops20940 tons
Schooners5325 tons
Brigs5545 tons
Ships1200 tons

Most of the voyages in the late 1700s were undertaken in vessels of very light burden and small draft. A large proportion of the trade of New England was accomplished in sloops, schooners and brigs. These vessels could carry anywhere from 35 to 100 tons. Ships (i.e. merchant vessels, rigged with three masts), could generally transport 100 – 200 tons of cargo.

In 1788 there were a total of 31 seafaring merchant ships that used Norwich as their home port. The types of vessels and their shipping capacities are shown in the table on the left.

The following tables provide an example of the type and quantity of the exports and imports to/from Norwich during the 14-month time period, January 1, 1788 to March 4, 1789.

Exports

ItemAmountIn 1788 £In 2021 $
Horses549£6,588$1,499,724
Mules205£3,075$700,008
Horned Cattle205£1,435$326,670
Sheep321£160$36,423
Hogs566£424$96,521
Beef1903 barrels£4$866
Pork1744 barrels£5,322$1,211,526
Butter25,000 lbs£625$142,278
Cheese92,100 lbs£1,535$349,435
Ham6,600 lbs£137$31,187
Grain16,000 bushels£2,200$500,819
Hoops174000£612$139,319
Staves160000£640$145,693
Hayseed14,600 lbs£365$83,090
Pottash586 barrels£2,880$655,617
Homemade cloth25,000 yards£2,500$569,112
Flaxseed631 hogsheads£1,264$287,743
Hayseed276 tons£828$188,490
Gingerbread4 barrels£20$4,553
TOTAL£30,614$6,969,074

Imports

ItemAmountIn 1788 £In 2021 $
EuropeanGoods£3,900$887,796
Hides1,500£900$204,876
Salt7,675 bushels£638$145,234
Molasses112,625 gal£7,540$1,716,406
Rum18,300 gal£2,287$520,613
Bohea Tea1,271 lbs£127$28,910
Coffee20,700 lbs£1,045$237,884
Sugar417,200 lbs£8,345$1,899,656
TOTAL£24,782$5,641,374

During this period the two items with the largest dollar value exported were horses and beef. And, the two items with the greatest dollar value imported were sugar and molasses. It is interesting to note that the dollar value of the exports  exceeded imports. Eight times more coffee than tea was imported.

BOHEA TEA - Was by the main type of tea imported in colonial times. Has a smoky, winey warm taste. It is the type of tea that was thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party.

Civil War Navy Ships

USS NORWICH

Built :  Norwich by J.M. Huntington & Company in 1861
Service period : January 1862 – June 1865
Commander : Lieutenant James M. Duncan
Owner : Union Navy
Size : 132′-5″ long by 24′-6″ wide

The USS Norwich was a screw steamer built at Norwich Connecticut in 1861 and purchased by the Union Navy. She was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on December 28, 1861 and got underway on January 2, 1862.

Her first assignment was as an escort for troop transport ships in the St. John’s River area near Jacksonville Florida. While in the area the USS Norwich and the USS Hale destroyed a Confederate signal station.

On February 7, 1864, while still near Jacksonville, the USS Norwich trapped a Confederate blockade runner. The runner, St. Mary’s was scuttled and her cotton cargo was destroyed.

The USS Norwich continued to blockade duty along the coast of Florida and Georgia through the end of the war.

USS Uncas

General Burnside’s Expedition of 1862 — Place cursor on engraving to see location of USS Norwich & USS Uncas

Name : USS Uncas
Built : In 1843 in New York City
Service period : March 1862 – July 1863
Commander : Acting Master Lemuel G. Crane
Owner : Union Navy
Size : 118′-6″ long by 23′-4″ wide

The USS Uncas was a 192-ton steamer that served in the Civil War in the Union Navy

Both the USS Uncas and the USS Norwich were members of General Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition between February and June 1862. The Expedition was a series of engagements fought along the North Carolina Coast.

The amphibious portion of the operation was carried out primarily by New England and North Carolina troops.

Post Civil War Yachts

Narwhal

Designer : Gustav Hillman
Type : Screw Schooner
Built : 1886 by Theodore Durand in  New York City
Owner : Charles H. Osgood, son of Mayor Dr. Charles Osgood
Size : 143′ long x 18′-4″ wide, 12 crew member capacity
NOTE : Charles H. Osgood’s brother owned the Fedalma

Fedalma

Designer : P. Ellsworth
Type : Screw Schooner
Built : 1887 by Robert Palmer & Sons in Noank Connecticut
Owner : Fred Osgood, son of Mayor Dr. Charles Osgood
Size : 121′ long x 20′-4″ wide
NOTE : Fred Osgood’s brother owned the Narwhal

Narwhal Signal Flag
Fedalma Signal Flag

Eleanor

Eleanor : The Maltese Port (1894)

by Vincenzo D’Esposito 

Boat Designer : Charles Ridgely Hanscom
Interior Designer : Tiffany & Company
Type : Screw Barque
Built : 1893-1894 by Bath Iron Works in Bath Maine
Owner : William A. Slater, son of John Fox Slater
Size : 232′ long x 32′ wide

NOTE : William A. Slater and his family sailed to Marseilles, Cannes, Naples and Sicily aboard this yacht in 1894 

Eleanor Signal Flag