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
| Type | Number | Total capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Sloops | 20 | 940 tons |
| Schooners | 5 | 325 tons |
| Brigs | 5 | 545 tons |
| Ships | 1 | 200 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
| Item | Amount | In 1788 £ | In 2021 $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horses | 549 | £6,588 | $1,499,724 |
| Mules | 205 | £3,075 | $700,008 |
| Horned Cattle | 205 | £1,435 | $326,670 |
| Sheep | 321 | £160 | $36,423 |
| Hogs | 566 | £424 | $96,521 |
| Beef | 1903 barrels | £4 | $866 |
| Pork | 1744 barrels | £5,322 | $1,211,526 |
| Butter | 25,000 lbs | £625 | $142,278 |
| Cheese | 92,100 lbs | £1,535 | $349,435 |
| Ham | 6,600 lbs | £137 | $31,187 |
| Grain | 16,000 bushels | £2,200 | $500,819 |
| Hoops | 174000 | £612 | $139,319 |
| Staves | 160000 | £640 | $145,693 |
| Hayseed | 14,600 lbs | £365 | $83,090 |
| Pottash | 586 barrels | £2,880 | $655,617 |
| Homemade cloth | 25,000 yards | £2,500 | $569,112 |
| Flaxseed | 631 hogsheads | £1,264 | $287,743 |
| Hayseed | 276 tons | £828 | $188,490 |
| Gingerbread | 4 barrels | £20 | $4,553 |
| TOTAL | £30,614 | $6,969,074 |
Imports
| Item | Amount | In 1788 £ | In 2021 $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| European | Goods | £3,900 | $887,796 |
| Hides | 1,500 | £900 | $204,876 |
| Salt | 7,675 bushels | £638 | $145,234 |
| Molasses | 112,625 gal | £7,540 | $1,716,406 |
| Rum | 18,300 gal | £2,287 | $520,613 |
| Bohea Tea | 1,271 lbs | £127 | $28,910 |
| Coffee | 20,700 lbs | £1,045 | $237,884 |
| Sugar | 417,200 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
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
