Bald Eagle (clipper)
# Bald Eagle (clipper)

Bald Eagle was a clipper ship launched in 1852 which made four round-trip passages from eastern U.S. ports before being lost on her fifth voyage in the Pacific ocean in 1861. She set the record, 78 days 22 hours, for the fastest passage of a fully loaded ship between San Francisco and New York.

## Her voyages

The Bald Eagle's voyages are listed here. Sources disagree on some departure and arrival dates and passage lengths; disagreements or ambiguities are individually cited. City names are entered as spelled at the time.

| Voyage | Origin | Depart | Destination | Arrive | Days | Captain |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | New York | December 25 or 26, 1852 | San Francisco | April 11, 1853 | 108 or 107 | Philip Dumaresq |
| 1 | San Francisco | May 8, 1853 | New York | August 13, 1853 | 96 | Philip Dumaresq |
| 2 | New York | October 1 or 2, 1853 | San Francisco | January 25, 1854 | 116 or 115 | Albert Henry Caldwell |
| 2 | San Francisco | March 1 or 2, 1854 | New York | May 19, 1854 | 78 days 22 hours or 79 | Albert Henry Caldwell |
| 3 | New York | | San Francisco | February 23, 1855 | 115 or 117 | Albert Henry Caldwell |
| 3 | San Francisco | | Hong Kong | | 47 | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 3 | Swatow, China | | Callao, Peru | November 26, 1855 | | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 3 | Callao | | Philadelphia | May 4, 1856 | | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 4 | New York | July 18, 1856 | San Francisco | November 15, 1856 | 120 | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 4 | San Francisco | December 7, 1856 | Calcutta | February 5, 1857 | 58 or 59 | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 4 | Calcutta | April 26, 1857 | Boston | August 2, 1857 | 98 | Charles T. Treadwell |
| 5 | Boston | September 21, 1857 | Hong Kong | | 108 or 109 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Shanghai or Hong Kong | August 6, 1859 | Liverpool | December 21, 1859 | 120 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Liverpool | February 21, 1860 | Anjer, Indonesia | May 24, 1860 | 93 or 94 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Anjer, Indonesia | | Shanghai | June 25, 1860 | 32 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Hong Kong | | San Francisco | April 24 or 25, 1861 | 41 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | San Francisco | June 16, 1861 | Hong Kong via Honolulu | August 25, 1961 | 56 | Edward Nickels |
| 5 | Hong Kong | October 15, 1861 | San Francisco | Lost during voyage | | Morris (given name unknown) |

## Her fate

Although Basil Lubbock wrote an account that in October 1861 Bald Eagle came under attack by Chinese pirates while en route to Peru with a cargo of Chinese laborers, was put on fire, and then abandoned at sea some 500 miles east of Manila, there is little evidence to support his account. Richard McKay calls it a "fake yarn" and cites F. C. Matthews, a "well-known authority of ships...of the past" that Bald Eagle sailed from Hong Kong for San Francisco with a cargo including rice, sugar, tea, and "treasure" and was never heard of again.

