The ship Neptune’s Car launched in Portsmouth, the only clipper ship built in the South.
April 14, 1853
Built by Page & Allen, Neptune’s Car was a 216′ clipper ship that became known for her speed. Her first voyage was from New York to San Francisco and it took 117 days around Cape Horn. The ship traveled the world visiting ports like Calcutta, Foo Chow, London, and beyond. Mary Ann Brown Patten, wife of Neptune Car’s Captain Joshua Patten, became the first female commander of an American Merchant vessel when her husband became gravely ill during a sailing from New York to San Francisco. She took command for 56 days, faced down a mutiny, and successfully managed to navigate the clipper ship into San Francisco. At the time she was 19 years old and pregnant with her first child.
The ship Neptune’s Car launched in Portsmouth, the only clipper ship built in the South.
April 14, 1853
Built by Page & Allen, Neptune’s Car was a 216′ clipper ship that became known for her speed. Her first voyage was from New York to San Francisco and it took 117 days around Cape Horn. The ship traveled the world visiting ports like Calcutta, Foo Chow, London, and beyond. Mary Ann Brown Patten, wife of Neptune Car’s Captain Joshua Patten, became the first female commander of an American Merchant vessel when her husband became gravely ill during a sailing from New York to San Francisco. She took command for 56 days, faced down a mutiny, and successfully managed to navigate the clipper ship into San Francisco. At the time she was 19 years old and pregnant with her first child.