Whaleship Napoleon (1838)

Date: 1838 to 1885
Location: Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States

Contents 1 Description 1.1 Summary of Whaling Voyages 1.2 Whaleship Napoleon in the 1842 Nantucket Harbor Diorama 1.3 The Napoleon Willow Tree and Memorial Sign 1.4 1870 Painting of Napoleon whaleboat crew harpooning a whale 2 References

Description

Whaling ship..

Bark/Ship-rigged, 360/322 (tons), 1838, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

Owners: George B. Upton, Barrett & Upton, J.W. Barrett & Sons, Et al.

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Summary of Whaling Voyages

Voyage	Depart	Port	Master	Destination	Note
1838-42	9 Sep 1838	Nantucket, MA	William Plaskett	Pacific	2188 bbl oil
1842-45	1842	Nantucket, MA	Elisha H. Fisher	Pacific	2514 bbl
1846-51	1846	Nantucket, MA	Stephen B. Gibbs	Pacific	1699 bbl
1851-54	1851	Nantucket, MA	William M. Holley	Pacific	1755 bbl
1855-58	5 Jan 1855	New Bedford, MA	James A. Crowell	Pacific	1609 bbl
1858-62	22 Dec 1858	New Bedford, MA	Thomas Dallman, Geo. W, Macy	Pacific	1397 bbl
1864-67	31 May 1864	New Bedford, MA	William C. Fuller	Pacific	1676 bbl, 2200 lbs baleen
1868-72	28 May 1868	New Bedford, MA	Wm. C. Fuller	Pacific	2539 bbl, 4570 lbs
1874-78	13 Jul 1874	New Bedford, MA	Charles H. Turner, Jared J Jernegan	Atlantic	1677 bbl
1878-82	1 Aug 1878	New Bedford, MA	Charles H. Turner	Pacific	2560 bbl, 4650 lbs baleen
1883-84	11 Jul 1883	Edgartown, MA	Jared Jernegan	Pacific	90 bbl, 1700 lbs baleen
1884-85	1884	Edgartown, MA	Samuel Smith	Pacific	Ship lost in Bering Sea 5 May 1885

Whaleship Napoleon in the 1842 Nantucket Harbor Diorama

Diorama of Nantucket harbor on October 15, 1842 :

This diorama depicts Nantucket harbor on Saturday, October 15, 1842, the day the 257-ton bark Peru became the first whaler to be carried into Nantucket harbor by the "Camels," the floating drydock built in the summer of 1842 to lift vessels over the Nantucket bar. In the foreground is Straight Wharf, where the 360-ton whaleship Napoleon, Captain Elisha H. Fisher, prepares to sail to the Pacific eighteen days later. At Old North Wharf in the middle distance we see, from left to right, the brig Tyleston, the ship James Loper, and the ship Joseph Starbuck (incorrectly depicted as a bark). To the right, the Peru, stands hove-to in the harbor with an improbable number of sails set. The President and Planter were also in port on this date and may be the vessels painted in the far distance.

The Napoleon Willow Tree and Memorial Sign

During the 1838-42 voyage under the command of Capt. William Plaskett, while at a stopover on St. Helena Island, a crewman took several cuttings from the willow trees near Napoleon Bonaparte's tomb. He kept them alive until the ship returned to Nantucket where they were replanted. Although the original three trees were either blown down or removed, one of the trees re-sprouted and survived at least into the 1960's. A memorial plaque from 1930 is in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association.

Napoleon Willow Trees.

1870 Painting of Napoleon whaleboat crew harpooning a whale

Harpooning whale.

Mate of the Bark Napoleon Lancing a Whale about 1870. Painting donated by the family of Capt. William C. Fuller.

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References

• “The Whaling History”, database, New Bedford Whaling Museum, entry for vessel Napoleon, WRI AS0500, https://whalinghistory.org/wri/AS0500 (accessed 18 Jul 2023).
• Raymond H. deLucia, "Diorama of Nantucket harbor on October 15, 1842, " Nantucket Historical Association, 1976, https://nantuckethistory.org:443/permalink/?key=1003_m15631 (accessed 4 Aug 2023).
• Unknown Artist, "Mate of the Bark Napoleon Lancing a Whale," Nantucket Historical Association, 1870, https://nantuckethistory.org:443/permalink/?key=1003_m2526 (accessed 4 Aug 2023).