Samuel Samuels

Captain Samuel S. Samuels (8 March 1823 – 18 May 1908) was a 19th-century American sea captain best known for command of the famous clipper ship the Dreadnought.[1] The fastest sailing ship of the time was quite famous and Captain Samuels was also renowned as the captain and designer of the ship. In 1859 he set a new record for New York to Liverpool of only 9 days, 17 hours.[2] Twice Captain Samuels sailed faster than steamer ships which were increasingly popular for freight during this time.

Samuel S. Samuels
Samuel Samuels, designer and captain of the Dreadnought. Print from a wood engraving.
Born(1823-03-08)March 8, 1823
Philadelphia, US
DiedMay 18, 1908(1908-05-18) (aged 85)
Brooklyn, New York, US
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Designer, Sea captain

He was born in Philadelphia on 8 March 1823.[3] According to his autobiography, works of James Fenimore Cooper and Frederick Marryat inspired him to run away to sea at the age of 11.[4] As a youth Samuels is shanghaied onto a ship bound for Liverpool. He learns the skills of the seaman, becomes an officer, and then a captain by age twenty-one.[5]

Samuels was captain of James Gordon Bennett Jr.'s yachts Henrietta and Dauntless in famous races in 1866 (Great Ocean Yacht Race), 1870 and 1887.[6][7] After his 1866 win, Bennett bought the rival yacht, the Fleetwing, for $65,000.[8]

In 1887 he released his autobiography From the Forecastle to the Cabin, published by Harper & Brothers. In the book he described all of the topics one would expect from the golden age of the sailing era: storms, shipwrecks, famine, disease, press-gangs, desertion, piracy, violence, mutiny. He also tells the story of meeting his future wife, Miss Harriet Alice Steele.[9]

He died on 18 May 1908 at age 85 in Brooklyn, New York and is laid to rest at Green-Wood Cemetery.[3]

References
  1. "SV Dreadnought (+1869)". The Wrecksite. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. Lars Bruzelius (1996). "Dreadnought". Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  3. "Capt Samuel Samuels". Findagrave. 19 Jun 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. From Forecastle to Cabin By Samuel Samuels
  5. The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860 By Samuel Eliot Morison
  6. Thompson, Winfield M. (1902). The Lawson History of the America's Cup. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 48. ISBN 9780907069409. Retrieved 2021-06-08.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. "The Ocean Yacht Race". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 15 Jan 1867. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  8. Prerce, Henry (1894). History Of Flag Of The United States Of America And Of The Naval and Yacht-Club Signals, Seals, And Arms, And Principal National Songs OF The United States. p. 710. Retrieved 2021-06-10. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. Samuels, Samuel S. (1887). From the forecastle to the cabin. New York: Harper & Brothers. OCLC 978456653.
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