SS America (1869)
Encyclopedia
SS America was a ship for Pacific Mail Steamship Company
operating on the China Line along SS Colorado, SS Great Republic, SS China, SS Alaska, SS Japan and spare steamer SS Herman. The America was one of the largest paddle wheel steamers in the world was valued by Pacific Mail Steamship Company
at $1,017,942 or about $40,000 less than the
SS Great Republic or SS Japan.
's ship-yard (see George Steers and Co
), at Greenpoint
, Long Island and was 4,454 tons. Length 363 feet; beam of hull 49 feet (wide) and 31 feet deep in hold, draft of water 18 feet. She had a beam engine, with 105-inch cylinder and twelve feet stroke of piston, the engine working up to 3,000 nominal horse-power.
At Bridgewater Iron Manufacturing Company were forged the large forgings for most of the ships of this time including America. The ship was built by George Steers & Co
(New York) started in 1868, and finished in 1869. The ship cost $1,250,000 .
She traveled around the Cape of Good Hope without passengers and used sail for a large part of the trip. At Singapore America began to pickup Chinese for steerage passage and eventually arrived in San Francisco on 20 October 1869 with 730 immigrants.
boarded on the ship in Yokohama harbor. It is then described as
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
operating on the China Line along SS Colorado, SS Great Republic, SS China, SS Alaska, SS Japan and spare steamer SS Herman. The America was one of the largest paddle wheel steamers in the world was valued by Pacific Mail Steamship Company
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
at $1,017,942 or about $40,000 less than the
SS Great Republic or SS Japan.
Construction
It was built in 1868-1869 by Henry SteersHenry Steers (1832)
Henry Steers son of James Rich Steers, nephew of George Steers, proprietor of Henry Steers' Ship Yard ....
's ship-yard (see George Steers and Co
George Steers and Co
-James and George Steers shipyard:In 1850, James Rich Steers and George Steers started the George Steers & Co. inheriting from a naval architecture tradition. The father Henry Steers was already a naval architect in England.. The company was located in Greenpoint, Long Island, New York.They...
), at Greenpoint
Greenpoint
Greenpoint or Green Point can refer to the following places:* Greenpoint, Brooklyn in the USA* Green Point, New South Wales in Australia* Green Point, Cape Town in South Africa* Green Point, Newfoundland in Canada...
, Long Island and was 4,454 tons. Length 363 feet; beam of hull 49 feet (wide) and 31 feet deep in hold, draft of water 18 feet. She had a beam engine, with 105-inch cylinder and twelve feet stroke of piston, the engine working up to 3,000 nominal horse-power.
At Bridgewater Iron Manufacturing Company were forged the large forgings for most of the ships of this time including America. The ship was built by George Steers & Co
George Steers and Co
-James and George Steers shipyard:In 1850, James Rich Steers and George Steers started the George Steers & Co. inheriting from a naval architecture tradition. The father Henry Steers was already a naval architect in England.. The company was located in Greenpoint, Long Island, New York.They...
(New York) started in 1868, and finished in 1869. The ship cost $1,250,000 .
Trips
She was the pioneer of the China Line and was followed quickly by SS Japan, SS Great Republic and SS China.She traveled around the Cape of Good Hope without passengers and used sail for a large part of the trip. At Singapore America began to pickup Chinese for steerage passage and eventually arrived in San Francisco on 20 October 1869 with 730 immigrants.
Iwakura Mission
On December 23, 1871, the Japanese Iwakura MissionIwakura mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy was a Japanese diplomatic journey around the world, initiated in 1871 by the oligarchs of the Meiji period. Although it was not the only such "mission", it is the most well-known and possibly most important for the modernization of Japan after a long period...
boarded on the ship in Yokohama harbor. It is then described as
Our ship called the America. Reputed to be the most elegant vessel in the Pacific Mail Steamship CompanyPacific Mail Steamship CompanyThe Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
fleet, the America was 363 feet long, 57 feet wide and 23 feet deep, with 8 feet above the deck.[…] Its displacement was 4,554 tons. There were 30 first-class cabins and 16 second-class ones - 46 in all. The vessel could carry 92 passengers. Under Captain Doane were 24 officers and 79 sailors and stewards, making a complement of 103. The ship was powered by a balance-wheel steam-engine driving external paddle-wheels.