The Havre Union transatlantic packet line was organized in the 1830s from the joining of the Havre Old Line and the Havre Whitlock Line. In the shipping industry, the term packet ship was used to describe a vessel that featured regularly scheduled service on a specific point-to-point line. Usually, the individual ship operated exclusively for the line.

The first American packet line to sail between an American and European port began operating in 1818. It employed four ships and offered a monthly service between New York and Liverpool, England. In 1822 and 1823, three packet lines were organized between New York and Le Havre, France.

Havre Old Line

Packet ship Isacc Webb of the Havre Old Line, 1851 – 1854

The early success of the Liverpool packet lines encouraged the organization of packet service between New York and Le Havre, France. In 1822 Francis Depau established the first packet line to run between those two ports. The first ship sailed September 10, 1822, with Miles R. Burke as its captain. The line came to be known as the Havre Old Line.[1]

Francis Depau was born in France in 1773. In 1789, when he was sixteen years old, he went to Saint-Domingue (today's Haiti) to work at his uncle's merchant house. The slave revolt of 1791 forced Depau to relocate to Charleston, South Carolina, where he established his own merchant house. In 1798, he married Sylvie de Grasse, the youngest daughter of the Comte de Grasse. (de Grasse was the Admiral who commanded the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake.) By 1812 Depau had moved his merchant house to New York City, where he was running a mercantile trading business and a shipping business.[2]

The Havre Old Line stated with two ships, the Stephania and Montano. Francis Depau, Isaac Bell, and Capt. Miles R. Burke were the joint owners of the ships. Within a year the Havre Old Line was operating four ships, the Henry and Lewis being added alongside the first two vessels.

Francis Depau's merchant house handled the line's business. His firm owned warehouse space for the storage of goods. It shipped and received goods on its own accounts. It acted as a commission agent for importing goods from France. The firm also moved general freight (cotton, grain, naval stores) for other enterprises. Finally, the firm handled the growing passenger business.[3]

Only four months after the Havre Old Line inaugurated service to Le Havre, the Havre Second Line was organized (January 1823), and shortly after that, William Whitlock, Jr. began a third line.

Havre Old Line ships

Ships in Service for the Havre Old Line[4]

Name Tons Built Service
Years		 Ave Westbound
Passage (days)
Stephania 315 1819 1822 – 1828 39
Montano 365 1822 1822 – 1829 38
Henry 257 1822 1823 – 1826 44
Lewis 412 1822 1823 – 1827 37
Henri IV 427 1826 1826 – 1837 36
Sully 456 1827 1827 – 1846 38
Francois I 496 1828 1828 – 1847 36
Havre (I) 480 1828 1829 – 1837 39
De Rham 492 1829 1829 – 1832 36
Rhone 471 1831 1831 – 1843 38
Charlemagne 442 1828 1832 – 1838 34
Manchester 561 1825 1832 – 1834 41
Francis Depau 595 1833 1833 – 1836 41
Normandie 500 1833 1834 – 1837 37
Sylvie De Grasse 641 1833 1834 – 1848 35
Burgundy 762 1836 1836 – 1848 34
Louis Philippe 794 1837 1837 – 1848 34
Ville de Lyon 791 1837 1837 – 1845 37
Iowa 874 1839 1839 – 1848 33
Zurich 817 1844 1844 – 1863 35
Havre (II) 870 1845 1845 – 1863 34
Admiral 929 1846 1846 – 1863 33
New York 991 1847 1847 – 1855 33
Samuel M. Fox 1062 1850 1851 – 1855 34
Isaac Bell 1072 1851 1851 – 1854 33

Havre Whitlock Line

In 1823 William Whitlock, Jr. established the third packet line between New York and Le Havre, France. Whitlock was the son of a sea captain and ship owner and would become an extensive exporter of raw cotton. In the early 1820s, Whitlock was responsible for establishing coastal packet service between Savannah, Georgia and New York City. These ships delivered southern cotton to New York, which was then transshipped to Europe on Atlantic packet ships. Whitlock's business flourished until the beginning of the American Civil War.[5]

Whitlock began his line with one ship, the 306-ton Cadmus. This vessel sailed in a one-ship line for five years. The Cadmus was replaced in 1829 by the Formosa, a new, 450-ton ship which ran alone until 1831. In that year a second ship, the Albany, was added to make a two-ship line. Then a third ship was added in 1833. By the end of 1838 the Whitlock line was operating four ships, the Albany, Poland, Emerald, and Duchesse d'Orleans.[1]

Unlike other American packet lines, Whitlock was the sole owner and operator of his ships. Usually the agents, builders, and captains of the individual ships were part owners of the vessels. Ships, each with a variety of owners, were then controlled and managed by the line in strict conformity with a general plan. William Whitlock, Jr. was unique in that he owned his ships outright and operated them in his own name.[6]

Havre Whitlock Line ships

Ships in Service for the Havre Whitlock Line[7]

Name Tons Built Service
Years		 Ave Westbound
Passage (days)
Cadmus 306 1818 1823 – 1828 37
Formosa 450 1829 1829 – 1838 40
Albany 468 1831 1831 – 1847 39
Poland 546 1832 1833 – 1840 35
Emerald 518 1835 1838 – 1846 36
Duchesse d'Orleans 798 1838 1838 – 1852 38
Argo 967 1841 1841 – 1849 37
Bavaria 908 1846 1846 – 1853 33
Splendid 642 1846 1847 – 1853 41
Gallia 1190 1849 1849 – 1852 33
Germania 996 1850 1850 – 1863 38
Helvetia 971 1850 1851 – 1864 36
Carolus Magnus 1349 1853 – 1863 34
William Nelson 1039 1850 1856 – 1863 42

Havre Union Line

Map of the Port of New York on the south tip of Manhattan Island in 1851. Heavy broken line marks the waterfront below City Hall park in 1784. Area filled in prior to 1820. The Havre Union Line was at Pier 14.

In the 1830s, Whitlock owned three Havre packets outright, operated them in his own name, but ran them in conjunction with the Havre Old Line. Francis Depau had retired in 1830, and his sons-in-law, Samuel M. Fox and Mortimer Livingston, took over the Havre Old Line. After Depau died in 1836, the mercantile business became "Fox & Livingston."[8]

By 1833, the Havre Whitlock Line and the Havre Old Line had joined and were operating under the name Havre Union Line.[9] Whitlock continued to own his own vessels and to act as an agent for his ships while the Havre Old Line ships continued to be owned by various individuals and the firm Fox & Livingston acted as the agent for those vessels.

In 1835, for example, the New York Evening Post contained an announcement that "Havre Packets" on the "Union Line" departed "from New York on the 8th, 16th, and 24th of every month," while returning ships departed "from Havre on the 1st, 8th, and 16th of every month." Departure dates and captains were given for each of eleven ships. The list included eight vessels from the Havre Old Line and three vessels from the Havre Whitlock Line.[10] Today we might describe this arrangement as a "joint venture," although it lasted for quite some time.

The same arrangements existed ten years later. In 1845, The New York State Register identified the agents and ships that operated as the Havre Union Line. It announced that a Havre Union Line ship sailed from New York to Le Havre every month on the 8th, 16th, and 24th, and that a ship sailed from Le Havre every month on the 1st, 8th, and 24th. The sailing scheduled had not change over these ten years. Twelve ships were identified and the agents for the vessels were the firm of William Whitlock, Jr. and the firm of Fox & Livingston. This arrangement, too, had not changed.[11]

Packet Ships of the Havre Union Line, 1845

Name Tons Service Years
Sully 456 1827 – 1846
Albany * 468 1831 – 1847
Silvie de Grasse 641 1834 – 1848
Emerald * 518 1838 – 1846
Burgundy 762 1836 – 1848
Ville de Lyon 791 1837 – 1845
Louis Phillippe 794 1837 – 1848
Duchesse d’Orleans * 798 1838 – 1852
Iowa 874 1839 – 1848
Argo * 967 1841 – 1849
Zurich 817 1844 – 1863
Havre II 870 1845 – 1863
Agents,
C. Bolton, Fox & Livingston, No. 22 Broad Street
Wm. Whitlock, Jr., 46 South Street, New York

(* Ships owned by William Whitlock, Jr.)

The Havre Union Line never became twelve ships controlled by a single merchant house. In April 1845, the New York Evening Mirror contained an advertisement announcing that the "packet ship Argo" would sail on April 8. William Whitlock, Jr. was identified as the agent. The same newspaper contained announcements that the Sully would sail for Le Havre on April 16 and the Silvie de Grasse on April 24. The agent for the latter two ships was the firm of Fox & Livingston, the operators of the Havre Old Line.[12]

  • "Packet of the 8th of April—The packet ship Argo, C. Anthony, master, will sail [for Havre] on her regular day. For freight or passage, apply on board, at pier No. 13 East River, or to Wm. Whitlock, Jr., 46 South st."
  • "Packet of the 16th of April—The packet ship Sully, Captain Wm. C. Edgar, will sail on her regular day [for Havre]. For freight or passage, apply on board, or to Fox & Livingston, 22 Broad st."
  • "Packet of the 24th of April—The packet ship Silvie de Grasse, Capt. Wm. C. Thompson, will sail on her regular day [for Havre]. For freight or passage, apply on board, or to Fox & Livingston, 22 Broad st."

Cooperative control of the Havre Union Line continued until the service was discontinued during the Civil War.

Lost ships

The Havre Old Line had used 25 ships to provide packet service between the years 1822 and 1863. In this forty-year period, three ships were wrecked and two experienced accidents that withdrew them from service. Although the Francois I was repaired and reentered service, the Francis Depau had to be condemned and was sold. The three wrecked ships were lost.

Name Service Years Incident
Lewis 1823 – 1827 Wrecked Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey, Mar 6 1827
De Rham 1829 – 1832 Wrecked, Rockaway Beach, Long Island, Mar 31, 1832
Ville de Lyon 1837 – 1845 Wrecked near La Hogue, France, Feb 2, 1845
Francis Depau 1833 – 1836 Condemned and sold after an accident at Havre
Francois I 1828 – 1847 Out of service after an accident 1839-1841

The Havre Whitlock Line had used 14 ships between 1823 and 1864. Only one ship, Poland, was lost while functioning as a packet ship. The Poland entered service in 1833 and burned at sea in 1840. William A. Fairburn told the story of the disaster. The ship sailed from New York for Le Havre on May 11, 1840. Onboard the ship was a crew of thirty-four officers and men, twenty-four cabin passengers, and eleven steerage passengers—a total of sixty-nine people. The ship carried $108,000 in specie, and a cargo consisting of 270 bales of cotton, 2,700 barrels of flour, 22 barrels of potash, and 80 casks of tree bark. The cotton was stowed in the lower forward hold. Although cotton was known to be flammable, the Poland was carrying much less than was typically carried on an eastbound passage.

On May 16, only five days after the departure, a rainstorm occurred. A flash of lightning struck the foremast, ran into the fore hold, and set the cotton on fire. Because the cotton was stowed low, the crew could not get to it, so the men battened down the hatches hoping to smother it. The Poland did not have sufficient small boats to carry all sixty-nine people on the ship. Thus, the passengers filled the boats and were towed astern while the crew remained on the ship. This situation continued for two days, with smoke pouring from the packet and the deck too hot to walk on.

On May 18, a triangular cotton trader named Clifton "fortuitously put in an appearance in the nick of time to rescue the passengers and crew. All on board were saved, but the Poland was totally destroyed by fire."[13]

End of the line

The Havre Union Line operated until 1863-1864 when service was discontinued because of the American Civil War. All the packet lines had carried large amounts of raw cotton from New York to both Liverpool and Le Havre. Compared to the Liverpool lines, however, "the French lines had been virtually sustained … by shipments of southern cotton."[14] Because the War cut New York's supply of cotton, by 1863 the New York to Le Havre packet service had "degenerated into an occasional, desultory sailing."[15]

In the early years of the War, the Havre Old Line reduced its service from eight to three ships a year. In 1863 the Havre Old Line withdrew its remaining vessels and discontinued sailing for Le Havre. In the same year, the Havre Whitlock Line withdrew three of its four vessels, and, thus, in 1864 the Havre Union Line was running only a single ship, the Helvetica, across the ocean. At the end of 1864 Whitlock withdrew that ship as well, ending the Havre Union transatlantic packet service.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Fairburn 1945, p. 1106.
  2. ↑ Albion 1965, pp. 126–127.
  3. ↑ Albion 1965, p. 110.
  4. ↑ Albion 1965, pp. 284–285.
  5. ↑ Fairburn 1945, pp. 1136–1137.
  6. ↑ Albion 1965, pp. 128–129.
  7. ↑ Albion 1965, pp. 286–287.
  8. ↑ Fairburn 1945, p. 1269.
  9. ↑ "Packets for Havre". New York Evening Post. 11 March 1833. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Havre Packets". New York Evening Post. 16 March 1835. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Holley, O. L., ed. (1845). The New-York State Register, for 1845. New York: J. Disturnell. p. 257.
  12. ↑ "For Havre" (PDF). New York Evening Mirror. 3 April 1845. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  13. ↑ Fairburn 1945, p. 1235.
  14. ↑ Fairburn 1945, p. 1108.
  15. ↑ Fairburn 1945, p. 1202.
  16. ↑ Fairburn 1945, p. 1215.

Bibliography

  • Albion, Robert G. (1965). Square-Riggers on Schedule: The New York Sailing Packets to England, France, and the Cotton Port (reprint ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Fairburn, William A. (1945). Merchant Sail, 6 vols. Center Lovell, Me: Fairburn Marine Educational Foundation.
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