U.S. Mail Steamship Company was a company formed in 1848 by George Law,

Marshall Owen Roberts Marshall Owen Roberts (March 22, 1813 – September 11, 1880) was an American merchant, financier, railroad man, and prominent art collector. Early life Roberts was born on March 22, 1813, in New York City. He was the son of Welsh born Dr. Owen Ro ...

and Bowes R. McIlvaine to assume the contract to carry the U. S. mails from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, with stops in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, to the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

for delivery in California. The company had the ''SS Ohio'' and the ''SS Georgia'' built in 1848, and with the purchased ''SS Falcon'' in early 1849 carried the first passengers by

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

Chagres Chagres (), once the chief Atlantic port on the isthmus of Panama, is now an abandoned village at the historical site of Fort San Lorenzo ( es, Fuerte de San Lorenzo). The fort's ruins and the village site are located about west of Colón, on ...

, on the east coast of the

. Soon the rapid transit time the steamship lines and the trans isthmus passage made possible when the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

began made it a very profitable company. When in 1850 the

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

established a competing line to the U.S. Mail Steamship Company between

and

, George Law placed an opposition Pacific Line of steamers (''SS Antelope'', ''SS Columbus'', ''SS Isthumus'', ''SS Republic'') in the Pacific running from

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In April, 1851, the rivalry was ended when an agreement was made between the companies, the U.S. Mail Steamship Company purchased the Pacific Mail steamers on the Atlantic side (''SS Crescent City'', ''SS Empire City'', ''SS Philadelphia''), and George Law sold his ships and new line to the Pacific Mail. Law went into partnership with

William Henry Aspinwall William Henry Aspinwall (December 16, 1807 – January 18, 1875) was a prominent American businessman who was a partner in the merchant firm of Howland & Aspinwall and was a co-founder of both the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and Panama Cana ...

to develop the

Panama Railroad The Panama Canal Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Panamá) is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón (Atlantic) to Balboa (Pacific, near P ...

in 1852. In 1852, George Law had a dispute with the Cuban

Captain-general Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

official was incensed because the purser of one of Law's vessels had published an offensive statement in a New York newspaper, and he refused entrance to any vessel having the purser on board. The American government refused to sustain Mr. Law in his determination to send the ''Crescent City'' to Havana with the purser on board, and withdrew the mail when he persisted. He nevertheless despatched the steamship, and the Captain-general failed to carry out his threat to fire on her. The U.S. Mail Steamship Company only operated for 11 years. On the expiration of the mail contract in 1859 the company withdrew from the business. Its directors were said to be more interested in immediate financial returns than in providing a good service, so there was little public regret at its passing. TheShipsList website: United States Mail Line of 1848-1859

Ships of the U.S. Mail Steamship Company

* ''SS Falcon'' 1848-1852 Purchased by the company, she started New York to Chagres service on December 1, 1848 and continued until 1852. She also ran New Orleans to Havana to Chagres. * ''SS Ohio'' 1848-1854 Built for the company, it served from September 20, 1849 sailing from New York to

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, Havana, New Orleans and Chagres until it was withdrawn from service in spring 1854. * ''SS Georgia'' 1848-1854 Built for the company, served on the New York to Chagres service from January 28, 1850 until February, 1854. * ''SS Pacific'' 1850-1851 Built for the company, served on the New York to Chagres service from 1850 until March 19, 1851 when it sailed from New York for San Francisco and arrived 2 July. There she was purchased by

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

for the San Francisco to Panama service. * ''SS Philadelphia'' 1851-1859 Purchased by the company, in January, 1851, she was lengthened and used on the New Orleans to Chagres run until 1860. * ''SS Crescent City'' 1851-1856 Purchased from the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and continued regular New York to Chagres voyages until summer 1852. She made a single voyage on this service in 1853 and was wrecked on a reef in the Gulf of Mexico in 1856. * ''SS Empire City'' 1851-1856 Purchased from the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and continued on the New York to Chagres service until 1856. * ''SS Illinois'' 1851-1859 Built for the company, it served on the New York to Chagres service from August 26, 1851 until early 1859. * ''SS George Law'' 1852-1857 Built for the company, it served on the New York to Aspinwall service from October 20, 1853. It was renamed the ''

SS Central America SS ''Central America'', known as the Ship of Gold, was a sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the East Coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS ''George Law'', after George Law of ...

'' in 1857. On the return run between Havana and New York, she sank at sea on September 12, 1857 in a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

with the loss of about 423 lives and eight million dollars in gold. * ''SS St. Louis'' 1855-1859 Sold to the company by the

New York & Havre Steam Navigation Company New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in August 1855, she made occasional voyages between New York and Aspinwall from 1855 until 1859. Purchased by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. * ''SS North Star'' 1854-1855 Formerly used as private yacht by Cornelius Vanderbilt and used on his New York to Aspinwall service she performed same service for the U.S. Mail company from September 1854 until January 1855 when it was returned to Vanderbilt. * ''SS Cherokee'' 1855 Purchased by the company. * ''SS Northern Light'' 1857 Belonged to Vanderbilt, but in September 1857 she went onto the New York to Aspinwall service for the U.S. Mail Steamship Company until December, 1857 when she went back to Vanderbilt's service. * ''SS Granada'' 1857-1859 Served the company from 1857 on the New York to Aspinwall service until spring 1859. * ''SS Moses Taylor'' 1858-1859 Built for the company, she served on the New York to Aspinwall service from January 5, 1858 until September 1859. * ''SS

Star of the West ''Star of the West'' was an American merchant steamship that was launched in 1852 and scuttled by Confederate forces in 1863. In January 1861, the ship was hired by the government of the United States to transport military supplies and reinforce ...

'' 1857-1859 A Vanderbilt ship, she started the New York to Aspinwall service for the company from June, 1857 until September, 1859 * SS Central America Sank 1857

References

Sources

* ''Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography'', Vol. III, (1892) p. 636, out of copyright.
''Case of the Black Warrior: and other violations of the rights of American citizens by Spanish authorities''
United States. Dept. of State, B. Tucker, Senate printer, 1854

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060709060403/http://www.eraoftheclipperships.com/page13web.html The White-Collar Route to El Dorado, ''The Era of the Clipper Ships'' website
"The Panama Railroad"
''The Era of the Clipper Ships'' website
"The Panama Route 1848-1851"
''The Postal Gazette'', November 2006

External links

* {{Authority control Shipping companies of the United States Defunct shipping companies of the United States 1848 establishments in the United States