William H. Webb ~ Shipbuilding History

William H. Webb

New York NY

Most recent update: March 29, 2012.

Isaac Webb and John Allen opened the Webb & Allen shipyard in 1825 on the site of the former Henry Eckford shipyard along Lewis Street between Fifth and Seventh Streets in Manhattan. Upon Isaac Webb's death in 1840, his son William investigated the accounts of the shipyard and found it to be bankrupt. Webb bought out John Allen, who was retiring, and the yard became known simply as 'William H. Webb'. Between 1840 and 1869, the yard built 135 vessels, at a time when ship construction was evolving from wood and sail to iron and steam. Some of the fastest clipper ships of the day were designed and built by Webb, as well as some of the most advanced steamships. William H. Webb was a notable naval architect and shipbuilder, but he is even better known as the founder, in 1889, of The Webb Academy and Home for Shipbuilders, known as the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture. To this day, Webb Institute offers a fully-accredited engineering program in naval architecture which is tuition-free as a result of his philanthropy. Thanks to Steve Pagan for researching the information presented here, much of which comes from William H. Webb, Shipbuilder by Edwin L. Dunbaugh and William duBarry Thomas, published by Webb Institute in 1989.

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	O/N	Name	Customer	Type	GT	LOA	Built	Notes
Built by Webb & Allen
		Crawford	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1830	sold 1835
		Dexter	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1830	sold 1841
		Richard Rush	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1831	sold 1851
		Wolcott	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1831	sold 1836
		Ingham	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1832	sold 1836 as Independence, Independencia
		McLane	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1832	sold 1840
		Washington	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1832	sold 1837
		Jefferson	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1833	wrecked 1857
		Taney	U.S. Revenue Service	cutter	112		1834	sold 1858
		Natchez	NO-La-NY Line	packet	523		1831
		Saratoga	NO Old Line	packet	542		1832
		Alabamian	E. D. Hurlbut & Co.	packet	400		1833
		Dream		yacht			1833
		Columbus	Black Ball Line	packet	663		1834
		St. James	Red Swallowtail Line	packet	641		1835
		Oxford	Black Ball Line	packet	752		1836
		Burgundy	Havre Old Line	packet	762		1836
		Louis Philippe	Havre Old Line	packet	794		1837
		Ville de Lyon	Havre Old Line	packet	791		1837
		Cambridge	Black Ball Line	packet	798		1837
		Duchesse d'Orleans	Havre Old Line	packet	798		1838
		New York	Black Ball Line	packet	862		1839
		Iowa	Havre Old Line	packet	874		1839
Built by William H. Webb
1		Malek Adhel	Peter Harmony & Company	brig	114		1840
2		James Edward	James G. Ward	ship	433		1840
3		Agnes	Frederick A. Wiseman	ship	429		1841
4		Helena	N. L. & G. Griswold	pre-clipper	597		1841	lost on voyage from China to Havana 1856
5		Liberty	James W. Phillips	packet	689		1842
6		Wallabout	J. A. Cross	steam ferry	189		1842	converted to a barge 1858
7		New York	J. A. Cross	steam ferry	189		1842	to St. Patrick's Cathedral 1850, abandoned 1854
8		Pronta		sloop	36		1842
9		Viva		sloop	36		1842
10		Ligera		schooner	46		1842
11		Montezuma	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	924		1843	stranded off Jones Beach 1854
12		Cohota	N. L. & G. Griswold	pre-clipper	691		1843	sold to British owners 1860
13		Yorkshire	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	996		1844	lost on voyage from New York 1862
14		Vigilant	U.S. Revenue Service	revenue cutter	50		1843	lost in hurricane at Key West FL 1844
15		Zurich	Fox & Livingston	packet	817		1844	stranded on Hainsboro Sands 1879
16		Montauk	William S. Wetmore	pre-clipper	505		1844	believed burned by crew after landing slaves in Cuba 1860
17		Ramon De Zaldo		brig	150		1844
18		Panama	N. L. & G. Griswold	pre-clipper	612		1844	wrecked on Memory Rock, Grand Bahama Island 1865
19		Havre	Fox & Livingston	packet	870		1845	believed broken up 1908
20		Silas Holmes	William Nelson & Company	packet	644		1845	ran aground off Dry Tortugas 1859, salvaged but foundered en route to New Orleans
21		Fidelia	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	895		1845
22		Genil	Castellain & Ponvert	sidewheel steamer	512		1846	burned off Cuba 1846
23		Marmion	Taylor & Merrill	packet	903		1846	foundered off Cape Flattery 1879
24		Columbia	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1050		1846
25		Williamsburg	Fleming Duncan	steam ferry	285		1846	dismantled 1867
26		Bavaria	William Whitlock, Jr.	packet	908		1846
27		Admiral	Fox & Livingston	packet	929		1846
28		Sir Robert Peel	Grinnell, Minturn & Company	packet	940		1846
29		New York	Fox & Livingston	packet	991		1847	wrecked near Barnegat 1856
30		Isaac Wright	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1129		1847	burned near Liverpool 1858
31		United States	C. H. Marshall and others	sidewheel steamer	1857		1847	damaged by fire in the Thames 1862, sank 1866
32		Ivanhoe	Taylor & Merrill	packet	1156		1847	lost off Montauk 1851
33		Yorktown	Grinnell, Minturn & Company	packet	1150		1847	condemned after heavy weather damage in the Azores 1868
34		London	Grinnell, Minturn & Company	packet	1145		1848
35		Caleb Grimshaw	Samuel Thompson & Nephew	packet	988		1848	burned at sea near the Azores 1849
36		Ajax	Several New York firms	sidewheel towboat	332		1848	stranded off Cape Cod, October 1858
37		California	Pacific Mail Steamship Co.	sidewheel steamer	1057		1848	first steamship to enter the Golden Gate, wrecked off Peru 1894
38		Panama	Pacific Mail Steamship Co.	sidewheel steamer	1139		1848	to Mexico 1868, armed and renamed Juarez
39		Cherokee	NY & Savannah S.N. Co	sidewheel steamer	1244		1848	damaged by fire 1863, scrapped 1868
40		Tennessee	NY & Savannah S.N. Co	sidewheel steamer	1275		1949	wrecked off Golden Gate 1853
41		Samuel M. Fox	Fox & Livingston	schooner	257		1849
42		Goliah	Several New York firms	sidewheel towboat	333		1849	dismantled and burned 1899
43		Guy Mannering	Taylor & Merrill	packet	1418		1849	wrecked off Iona 1866
44		Gallia	Henry Robinson	packet	1190		1849
45		James Drake	Spofford, Tileson & Company	packet	482		1849	later Goa
46		Albert Gallatin	Grinnell, Minturn & Company	packet	1435		1849	lost rudder and abandoned near Cape Horn 1875
47		catharine	Schuchardt & Gebhard	ship	610		1849
48		Manhattan	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1299		1850	departed Liverpool for New York, March 14, 1863, never heard from again
49		Isaac Webb	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1359		1850	broke up in a gale, October 1880
50		Vanguard	James W. Phillips	packet	1196		1850	driven ashore in a gale at Matane, Quebec, October 13 1877
51		Florida	NY & Savannah S.N. Co	sidewheel steamer	1261		1851	later sold to USN and used for blockade service
52		Alabama	NY & Savannah S.N. Co	sidewheel steamer	1261		1851	later sold to USN and used for blockade service
53		Celestial	Bucklin & crane	extreme clipper	860		1850	sold to Spanish owners 1858
54		Joseph Walker	Samuel Thompson & Nephew	packet	1325		1850	burned and sank at pier in New York, December 27 1853
55		Union	Spofford, Tileson & Company	sidewheel steamer	1200		1851	later sold to Austrian owners, renamed America, scrapped 1875
56		Golden Gate	Pacific Mail Steamship Co.	sidewheel steamer	2067		1851	burned near Manzanillo, Mexico, July 24 1862, with loss of 175
57		Samuel M. Fox	Fox & Livingston	packet	1060		1850	grounded and broke up on Great Burbo Bank, River Mersey, November 12 1856
58		Isaac Bell	Fox & Livingston	packet	1072		1851	grounded on the Yangtzse Kiang, August 7, 1860
59		Gazelle	Taylor & Merrill	extreme clipper	1244		1851	dismasted 1854, condemned and sold to Peruvian owners as Cora, Harry Puddemsey under British ownership
60		Challenge	N. L. & G. Griswold	extreme clipper	2006		1851	later Golden City, under British ownership, lost off French coast in 1876 after losing rudder
61		Great Western	C.H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1443		1851	burned 1882 and scrapped
62		Comet	Bucklin & crane	extreme clipper	1836		1851	later sold to British owners as Fiery Star, sank after wool cargo caught fire, April 1865
63		Invincible	James W. Phillips	medium clipper	1768		1851	later sold to British owners, burned in New York harbor, September 1867
64		Swordfish	Barclay & Livingston	medium clipper	1036		1851	lost at mouth of Yangtze Kiang, July 1862
65		James Adger	Spofford, Tileson & Company	sidewheel steamer	1151		1852	sold to USN as USS James Adger for Civil War, retuned, scrapped 1877-78
66		Plandome	Samuel L. Mitchill	schooner	266		1852	sometimes referred to as Plendome
67		Manhasset	Bernard Flanner	schooner	266		1852
68		Annawan	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	ship	795		1852	later sold to British owners as Royal Saxon
69		Robert Mills	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	bark	488		1852	lost February 28, 1860 at Holyhead New Harbour, North Wales
70		Australia	Williams & Guion	packet	1447		1852	ran aground on Frying Pan Shoal and lost, March 2, 1865
71		George Law	US Mail Steamship Company	sidewheel steamer	2141		1853	later Central America(na), lost in a gale, September 12, 1857 with loss of 423
72		Flying Dutchman	George B. Daniels and others	medium clipper	1257		1852	stranded at Brigantine Beach, NJ, February 14, 1858
73		Augusta	NY & Savannah S.N. Co	sidewheel steamer	1310		1853	sold to USN as USS Augusta for Civil War service, afterwards Magnolia, lost in storm, September 30, 1877
74		Reemplazo	J. Carela and M. Garcia	schooner	110		1852
75		Volante	Schiff Brothers & Company	brig	307		1853	later sold to Argentinian owners
76		Fanny	John Wendell	barkentine	150		1853	dismasted and abandoned March 1853, sighted adrift as late as November 1853
77		Knoxville	NY & Savannah S.N. Co	sidewheel steamer	1240		1854	burned at pier in New York, December 22 1856
78		Young America	George B. Daniels	extreme clipper	1961		1853	sold to Austrian owners as Miroslav 1883, last seen departing the Delaware Capes February 1886
79		Flyaway	Schiff Brothers & Company	medium clipper	1274		1853	sold to Spanish owners as Concepcion 1859, to British owners as Bothalwood; stranded January 20, 81 at St. Ouen's Bay, Jersey
80		San Francisco	Pacific Mail Steamship Co.	sidewheel steamer	2272		1853	abandoned and foundered in gale, January 5 1854
81		Josephine	Macondry & Company	brig	268		1853
82		Snap Dragon	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	bark	618		1853
83		John Bright	Williams & Guion	packet	1444		1854	struck a reef at Capo de Sao Roque, Brazil on December 10, 1874; abandoned
84		Milton	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	bark	536		1853
85		Cultivator	James C. Ward	packet	1448		1854	Sprung a leak in a gale 600 miles WSW of Fastnet light, abandoned on April 9 1880
86		Harvest Queen	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1383		1854	struck by White Star Liner Adriatic in the Irish Channel on December 30 1875, sunk with loss of all hands
87		Thornton	Williams & Guion	packet	1422		1854	grounded on approach to river Mersey and broke up, November 1867
88		Houston	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	bark	518		1854
89		Pelayo	Cuban owners	sidewheel steamer	850		1854
90		General Admiral	Imperial Russian Government	Steam Frigate			1859	replaced in the 1870's by a ship of the same name
91		Aurora	Grinnell, Minturn & Company	packet	1639		1854	burned in Calcutta February 5 1884
92		James Foster, Jr.	C.H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1410		1855	sold to German owners in 1881 as Hudson
93		New Orleans	Stanton & Thomson	packet	924		1855	sailed from New York February 1864, never heard from again
94		Neptune	C.H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1406		1855	grounded and broke up on Sable Island, Nova Scotia April 1876
95		Alamo	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	bark	507		1855	later sold to German, then British owners
96		Astoria		screw steamer	428		1855	sold to Russian owners as Alexander II, US-flag again as Alexander, then back to Russia as Alexander II
97		Texas	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	bark	554		1855	departed New York December 1862, never heard from again
98		Sabine	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	brig	399		1855	burned at sea SSW of Galveston, October 2 1859
99		America	Imperial Russian Government	sidewheel steamer	544		1855
100		Silas Wright	Williams & Guion	packet	1340		1856	lost in a gale in the river Mersey, November 12 1856
101		Fanny Holmes	Post, Smith & Company	bark	700		1855	burned while loading cotton at Appalachicola, April 3 1860
102		John H. Elliott	Post, Smith & Company	packet	1077		1856	grounded in the river Mersey January 1863, abandoned, burned
103		Alice Tainter	Post, Smith & Company	bark	667		1856	to Bermudan flag 1864
104		Cuba	Cuban owners	sidewheel steamer	820		1856	to Cuban flag upon delivery
105		Intrepid	Bucklin & crane	medium clipper	1173		1856	aground March 31 1860 at Belvedere Reef in the Gaspar Strait, attacked by pirates, abandoned and burned by crew
106		Guatemala		sidewheel steamer	217		1856	to Belize flag upon delivery
107		Ocean Monarch	Stanton & Frost	packet	2145		1856	cargo shifted March 9 1862 in Atlantic, partially abandoned, presumed lost
108		Uncowah	Wakeman, Dimon & Company	medium clipper	988		1856	set afire by Chinese laborers en route from Macao to Callao in 1870; crew abandoned ship but 425 laborers perished
109		William H. Webb	Chambers & Heiser	sidewheel towboat	655		1856	to Confederate Navy in 1865 as CSS William H. Webb or CSS Webb, burned April 23, 1865, 24 miles below NOLA
110		Black Hawk	Bucklin & crane	medium clipper	1175		1857	sold to German owners in 1881, to Norwegians as Christiana; condemned after fire in February 1891
111		Roger A. Heirn	Post, Smith & Company	packet	1088		1857	to British registry 1865; lost anchor during gale in Mobile Bay December 16 1865, ran aground at Sand Island, total loss
112		Trieste	W. A. Sale & Co	bark	549		1857
113		Moses Taylor	United States Mail SS Co	sidewheel steamer	1370		1857	later used as a stores hullk at Acapulco.
114		Resolute	Williams & Guion	packet	1412		1858	transferred to Dutch owners 1884, abandoned in North Atlantic 1886 after losing rudder and sails.
115		Harriet Lane	U.S. Revenue Service	revenue cutter	674		1857	rebuilt as a bark in 1869 as Elliot Ritchie, sprang leak and was abandoned off Brazil March 22 1884.
116		Japanese	Imperial Russian Government	steam corvette	1530		1858	sometimes spelled Japanis.
117		Martinho de Mello	Portuguese Government	bark	622		1858	built by Eckford Webb under subcontract at Greenpoint NY.
118		Yorktown	New York & Virginia SS Co	sidewheel steamer	1403		1859	seized by CSN as CSS Patrick Henry April 1861, CSN school ship, burned in Richmond to prevent capture April 3 1865
119		Harvest Queen	C. B. Fessenden	bark	315		1860
120		Mississippi	Samuel L. Mitchill	sidewheel steamer	2026		1861	Purchased by USN after delivery, returned to commercial service 1865, broken up 1878.
121		Alexander Marshall	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1177		1860	dismasted and leaking from gale in 1869, abandoned in North Atlantic.
122		Constitution	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	3315		1861	Intentionally sunk to extinguish a fire at San Francisco October 1877, demolished 1878.
123		Re d'Italia	Italian Navy	steam ironclad			1863	rammed and sunk by Austrian ironclad July 20 1866.
124		Don Luigi di Portogallo	Italian Navy	steam ironclad			1864	rammed but not sunk by an Austrian ironclad.
125		Golden City	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	3373		1863	stranded on Cape San Lazaro February 22 1870, broke up.
126		Sacramento	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	2647		1864	stranded and broke up near San Geronimo, Baja California on December 5 1872.
127		Colorado	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	3357		1865	laid up 1876, demolished 1881.
128		Dunderberg	United States Navy	steam ironclad			1867	sold to the French in 1867 as Rochambeau, disposed 1872.
129		Henry Chauncey	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	2656		1865	sold for scrap July 1877.
130		Montana	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	2676		1866	built by Eckford Webb under subcontract at Greenpoint NY, retired 1877.
131		Bristol	Merchants Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	2962		1867	burned at Newport RI December 30 1888.
132		Providence	Merchants Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	2962		1867	dismantled autumn 1901
133		China	Pacific Mail Steamship Co	sidewheel steamer	3836		1867	sold for scrap 1885; the cabin was saved and is open to the public in Belvedere CA.
134		James A. Borland	S. W. Lewis & Company	bark	637		1869	wrecked on Tugidak Island AK-1896.
135		Charles H. Marshall	C. H. Marshall & Co.	packet	1683		1869	sold Norwegian as Souverain 1887; caught fire loading coal near Cardiff, Wales on March 20 1891.