Packet ship

Atlantic packet ships

Packets were the predecessors of the twentieth-century ocean liner and were the first to sail between American and European ports on regular schedules. The first company, the Black Ball Line (later the "Old Line") began operating 1 January 1818, offering a monthly service between New York and Liverpool with four ships. In 1821, Byrnes, Grimble & Co. inaugurated the Red Star Line of Liverpool Packets, with the four ships Panther, Hercules, Manhattan and Meteor. In 1822, Messrs. Fish, Grinnell, & Co. began the Swallowtail Line, known as the "Fourth Line of Packets for New York", their first ships being the Silas Richards, Napoleon, George, and York, which soon moved to bi-weekly service. By 1825, vessels were advertised as leaving New York on the 8th and leaving Liverpool on the 24th of every month. Their actual schedules eventually varied, sometimes wildly, due to weather and other conditions.