The New York and the Josephine: whose energy, "can-do" attitude, Two Steamships of the forcefulness and, sometimes, Charles Morgan Line ruthlessness came to symbolize the American spirit. Men such as Cornelius Jack B. Irion and David A. Ball Vanderbilt and Jay Gould drove the American economy and decided America's economic future. Such a man Introduction also, was Charles Morgan, whose During much of the 19th century, New influence on the process of resource Orleans, the "Queen of the South," vied allocation and economic development with northern cities such as Boston for can still be felt in the Gulf South over the spot behind New York as the second 100 years later. busiest port in the United States. It can be argued that the Crescent City rode to Charles Morgan this distinction on a cloud of steam since One of the foremost figures in the it was only after the introduction of the development of the steamship trade steamboat in Louisiana waters in 1811 along the Gulf Coast of the United States that vessels could easily stem the current was not a Southerner at all, but a New of the Mississippi to reach the city's York businessman, Charles Morgan wharves over 95 miles from the river's (Figure 1). Morgan was born in mouth. Prior to that, the major water route into the city followed shallow water passages through the Rigolets into Lake Pontchartrain and down Bayou St. John to the Mississippi River. With the introduction of the steam engine, vessels could travel directly from the Gulf of Mexico up the deep channel of the Mississippi to the very front door of the city, drastically reducing the time required by sail. In addition, freed of the vagaries of wind and tide, shipping agents could, for the first time, offer customers a regular and dependable schedule of departures and arrivals. This, in turn, encouraged the development of such things as tourism, the transshipment of fresh produce, and the expansion of settlement into frontier Figure 1 - Charles Morgan areas. Killingsworth, Connecticut, on April 21, 1795. At the tender age of 14, young In an era of American history before it Charles traveled to New York City to became the responsibility of government take a position as a grocery clerk. to undertake great transportation Opportunities abounded for ambitious projects, these fell to private individuals young men in the bustling port of New York and by age 20 Morgan was States mail. Prior to the Civil War, he proprietor of a ship chandlery and soon also ran mail service from New Orleans thereafter began importing goods from to Veracruz, Mexico. The Veracruz the southern United States and the West route originally began as part of the Indies. Mexican Ocean Mail Company, which was to provide mail service from New Morgan developed interests in merchant Orleans to San Francisco via Mexico. shipping in the 1830s. During his career, However, this venture never materialized he established the first regular steamship (Baughman 1968:92). By 1855 route between New York and Morgan’s Southern Steamship Company Charleston, started the first steamship established routes between New Orleans, business in Texas (which brought the Galveston, and Port Lavaca, and by 1860 first steamship to the Gulf of Mexico), Morgan was operating six regular routes had ties to the Pacific merchant in the Gulf (Baughman 1968:95-104). steamship trade, and also had interests in merchant shipping in Central America In addition to his vast steamship and Mexico (Dayton and Adams interests, Morgan also developed a 1970:412-418). lucrative ironworks company. The Morgan Iron Works company, located in Morgan’s first venture as a shipping New York City, became one of the magnate began with the formation of the leading producers of marine steam New York and Charleston Steam Packet engines in the United States in the mid- Company, of which he was a partial 19th century. The company provided owner. The company ran steamships steam engines for many of the Atlantic between Charleston, South Carolina, and coastal steamers. It also equipped most New York City. By the mid 1830s of the ships employed by Morgan, as Morgan bought out the other partners well as many of the American-owned and established the Southern Steam steamships operating in China. At its Packet Company. This company peak, the company employed over 1,000 prospered under the direction of Morgan men (Dayton and Adams 1970:384-386). and acquired government contracts to transport U.S. troops and supplies to During the Civil War, the Morgan Iron Florida during the Florida Indian Wars. Works supplied machinery for several Morgan’s company also secured the Union naval vessels and also constructed weekly mail contract from New York to the Union Monitor class ironclad Charleston. By the late 1830s he Onondaga. After most of his Gulf coast expanded his interests to the Gulf coast ships were commandeered by the (Pearson and Simmons 1995:57). Confederate Navy, the Southern Though Morgan lost about ten vessels in Steamship Company ceased operations the process, he established the first in 1863 (Baughman 1968:120). A few regular steamship service in Texas in the of his remaining Gulf coast steamers, late 1830s (Dayton and Adams 1970) however, operated as blockade runners during the war. Always one to profit Among the regular cargo shipped on from opportunity, Morgan arranged for Morgan’s Gulf coastline was the United the construction of five new vessels at 2 the Harlan and Hollingsworth facilities words, the modern mixed economy between 1862 and 1864. These ships evolved as a result of achievements of operated as Federal charter vessels. men such as Charles Morgan. After the Civil War, Morgan’s interests returned to the Gulf of Mexico and Remains of an Empire within four years had surpassed his pre- Of the 117 steamships owned by Charles war holdings (Baughman 1968:131). Morgan or his corporate enterprises between 1833 and 1885, the wrecks of Morgan's greatest goal after the Civil three have been discovered in the Gulf of War was to develop a unified system of Mexico or contiguous waters. One of steamship and rail lines that would these, the Mary, was recorded by connect the Gulf southwest with the archaeologists off Aransas Pass, Texas, Mississippi Valley, northern Latin in 1995 (Pearson and Simmons 1995). America, and the Atlantic and Pacific The U.S. Department of the Interior's coasts (Baughman 1968:208). Between Minerals Management Service (MMS) 1877 and 1885, Morgan realized much has documented two others, the New of his dream. The initial step was taken York and the Josephine. Taken together, by the newly elected Democratic these two vessels represent the span of legislature of 1877, which chartered steamships employed by the Morgan Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad Line and document the changing and Steamship Company (M.L. & T.R. technology of steam navigation in the & S.), giving him the widest possible United States. latitude to extend rail lines throughout Louisiana and Texas, to connect to The New York: Construction and existing lines, and to own and operate Employment his ships. Built in 1837, the side-wheel steamer New York was among the first vessels of Charles Morgan died at the age of 83 in America's first coastal steam packet line, 1878 at the zenith of his company's the New York and Charleston Steam power and influence. The M.L. & T.R. Packet Company, which was run in & S. lived on briefly in the capable partnership by James P. Allaire, John hands of Morgan's son-in-law and heir, Haggerty, and Charles Morgan (Figure Charles Whitney, until his death in 1882. 2). That same year, with the fledgling Between the death of Charles Whitney and the railroad consolidation movement of the 1880s, the Morgan Line ceased to exist as a family enterprise by 1885. The mark that it left on the economic history of the Gulf South and on the United States was indelible. During the span of Morgan's lifetime, the public had come to take the existence of transportation for granted, and national and state Figure 2 - The Steamship New York. Photo governments undertook projects that had courtesy The Mariner’s Museum, Newport News, been left to private initiative. In other Virginia. 3 company hardly off the ground, the (Hogan 1942:6). Steerage passengers partners faced their first major setback, were provided with curtained off berths the loss of their flagship, the Home, for sleeping below decks and were along with 99 passengers and crew. This allowed the freedom of the awninged tragedy and the ensuing public outcry decks during the day so long as they forced a reorganization of the line with controlled their "loud discourse" and did Allaire withdrawing from the partnership not disturb the more affluent passengers and leaving Morgan the managing in the main cabin (Baughman 1968:27). partner of both the New York and the Unlike most of Morgan's later vessels, Columbia, another steamer. Partly the 365-ton New York was wooden- because of the bad publicity resulting hulled. It was built in the yard of from the loss of the Home, Morgan William H. Brown of New York and was became interested in establishing a equipped with a crosshead engine from regular trade route between New Orleans the Allaire Works, owned by Morgan's and Texas, which had only recently former partner John P. Allaire (Heyl gained its independence from Mexico. 1963:225). The registered dimensions of Both Morgan and Haggerty had invested the vessel are 160'6" by 22'6" with a in sailing packets to New Orleans for depth of hold of 10'6" (Vessel years and Haggerty was already Registration No.