''Red Rover'' was the name of two

clipper ships A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had ...

''Red Rover'', opium clipper

''Red Rover'', built in 1829, was a 254-ton clipper "built, owned, and operated" by Captain William Clifton which was "one of the fastest" opium clippers running between

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and Lintin in the 1830s. ''Red Rover'' was modeled after an American

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

blockade runner, ''

Prince de Neufchatel The ''Prince de Neufchatel'' was a fast sailing United States schooner-rigged privateer, built in New York by Adam and Noah Brown in approximately 1812. She is a fine example of the peak of development of the armed schooner. ''Neufchatel'' operat ...

'', and was "the first clipper to sail to

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

against the wind." The well-known firm of Jardine, Matheson & Co. held shares in the ship beginning in 1832.

''Red Rover'', California clipper

A second clipper named ''Red Rover'', active in the California trade, was built by Fernald & Pettigrew in 1852. Between January 22 - May 2, 1854, the ship sailed from New York to San Francisco in 120 (122) days. The ''Seaman's Bride'' and ''Winged Racer'' which left New York one respectively two days after the Red Rover arrived at San Francisco on May 23. ''Red Rover'' was damaged in the December 26–27, 1853 fire which destroyed the clipper ''

Great Republic When launched in 1853, ''Great Republic'' was the largest wooden ship in the world. She shared this title with another American-built ship, the steamship ''Adriatic''. She was also the largest full-rigged ship ever built in the United States. She ...

''. Later, the ship served in the guano trade, sailing "from Baker's Island with a cargo of

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

in 99 days," between August 28 - December 5, 1860.

References

* {{Cite book , last = Lubbock , first = Basil , title = The Opium Clippers , publisher = Charles E. Lauriat Co , year = 1933 , location = Boston, MA Extensive mention of ''Red Rover'' 's career. Opium clippers 1830 ships 1852 ships