Famous Ships and Boats

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

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American Ships with Sails

Alabama, CSS — American Confederate screw sloop-of-war
A successful commerce raider that attacked Union merchant and naval ships during the American Civil War. She boarded nearly 450 vessels and captured or burned 65 Union merchant ships. LAUNCHED: 1862, July 18 → FATE: Sunk in June 1864 by USS Kearsarge at the Battle of Cherbourg.

America — American racing yacht; schooner
Won the Royal Yacht Squadron's 53 mile regatta around the Isle of Wight, August 22, 1851. The international sailing trophy, America's Cup, is named after her. During the American Civil War, she served in the Union blockading squadron off Charleston, then after the war as a training ship at the Naval Academy. LAUNCHED: 1851, May 18 → FATE: In disrepair, her remains were burned in 1945 at Annapolis.

Ariel — English clipper ship
Famous for almost winning The Great Tea Race of 1866, an unofficial race between Fuzhou, China and London. On September 6, 1866, the Taeping docked twenty minutes ahead of Ariel. LAUNCHED: 1865 → FATE: Went missing in early 1872.

Artemis — American sloop
The ship on which Claire and Jamie Fraser travel across the Atlantic in pursuit of the Bruja as seen in season 3 of the TV series Outlander. The ship was never in the water. Green screen was used to fill in ocean background. LAUNCHED: 2017, for the TV series → FATE: inconclusive.

Bonhomme Richard, USS — American frigate
Warship commanded by John Paul Jones. She defeated HMS Serapis in the Battle of Flamborough Head. LAUNCHED: 1766 → FATE: Sank in battle off the coast of Yorkshire September 25, 1779.

C.A. Thayer — American three-masted schooner
Last survivor of the schooners in the West Coast lumber trade. In 1912, she was converted for use in the Alaskan salt-salmon trade. In 1984, she was designated a National Historic Landmark. LAUNCHED: 1895 → FATE: She made her final voyage in 1950. After several restorations, she now is on exhibit at Hyde Stree Pier, San Francisco.

Carroll A. Deering — American five-masted commercial schooner
A famous maritime mystery after she was found with her crew of 11 missing. Theories of her demise include piracy, mutiny, hurricane, and paranormal events. Nine other ships also disappeared without a trace in that same area at about the same time. LAUNCHED: 1919 → FATE: Found wrecked off Cape Hatteras on January 31, 1921; scuttled on March 4 that year.

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Central America, SS — American paddle steamboat, stern-wheeler; three-masted
Sank in a hurricane in 1857, along with 400 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds of gold. She operated between Central America and the eastern coast of the United States during the 1850s. LAUNCHED: 1852, October 18 → FATE: Sank on September 12, 1857 about 160 miles east of Cape Hattera.

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Charles W. Morgan — American whaling ship
World's oldest surviving merchant vessel; America's only surviving wooden whaleship. After a 5-year, multi-million dollar restoration, she set sail again, July, 2013. LAUNCHED: 1841 → FATE: On exhibit at the Mystic Seaport museum in Mystic, Connecticut.

Clermont — American river steamboat
First enduring and financially successful steamboat, running on the Hudson River. She was never known as Clermont at the time, but North River Steamboat. After it was lengthened and refitted in 1808 at Clermont, NY, it was named the North River. LAUNCHED: 1807, August 18 → FATE: Retired in 1814, then scrapped.

Clotilda — American two-masted schooner
Last known slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States. The shipwreck was discovered in early 2019. LAUNCHED: 1855 → FATE: Burned and sunk in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta probably in 1860.

Columbia Rediviva — American full-rigged 3 masted sailing ship
First American ship to circumnavigate the globe. In 1792, Captain Robert Gray in command, she was the first ship to enter the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. LAUNCHED: 1787 → FATE: Salvaged in 1806.

Constellation, USS — American sloop-of-war
The last sail-only warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy. This flagship of the USN African Squadron from 1859-1861 disrupted the African slave trade off the coast of Africa. LAUNCHED: 1854, August 18 → FATE: On display at Annapolis, Maryland as a museum ship.

Constitution, USS — American three-masted heavy frigate
Oldest commissioned ship afloat in the world. She was larger and more heavily armed than the standard frigates of the period. LAUNCHED: 1797, October 18 → FATE: On display at the Boston Navy Yard as a museum ship.

Empress of China — American three-masted, square-rigged sailing ship
First American ship to sail from the newly independent United States to China, opening what is known today as the Old China Trade. She left New York harbor on Washington's birthday, February 22, 1784 and returned to New York after a round voyage of fourteen months and twenty-four days. LAUNCHED: 1783 → FATE: Unknown.

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Eos — American three-masted Bermuda rigged schooner, built in Germany
The largest sailing yacht in the world with an overall length of 305 feet or 92.92 meters. With much of its length in the bowsprit, the length at the waterline is less than the Maltese Falcon. LAUNCHED: 2006 → FATE: Still in service.

Essex — American barque; whale ship, a three-masted
Basis of Nathaniel Philbrick's book In the Heart of the Sea and the movie as well as the inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 classic novel Moby-Dick. She left Nantucket in 1819 on a whaling voyage in the South Pacific with 21 aboard. It was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean. Only two men survived. LAUNCHED: 1800, approx. → FATE: Sunk in the southern Pacific November 20, 1820.

Flying Cloud — American clipper ship
The most famous clipper ship, she set a world record (until 1989) for the fastest passage from New York to San Francisco in 89 days, more than 16,000 miles. The ship's navigator was a woman, Eleanor Creesy wife of Josiah Perkins Creesy who skippered Flying Cloud. LAUNCHED: 1851 → FATE: Went aground at Saint John, New Brunswick June 19, 1874.

Ghost — American schooner; a seal-hunting ship
The setting for the 1941 movie The Sea Wolf, starring Edward G. Robinson and Ida Lupino. The story is based on the novel The Sea Wolf by Jack London. LAUNCHED: 1941 → FATE: Inconclusive.

Great Republic — American clipper, four-masted
The largest wooden clipper ship ever constructed, requiring 1,500,000 feet of pine, 336½ tons of iron, and 56 tons of copper. In 1853, fire sank her; but she was salvaged and rebuilt as a three deck vessel and went on to set transatlantic speed records. LAUNCHED: 1853, October 18 → FATE: Abandoned during a hurricane off Bermuda March 5, 1872.

Hannah, USS — American schooner
The first armed American naval vessel of the American Revolution and is claimed to be the founding vessel of the US Navy. The city of Beverly, Massachusetts and the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts each claim to have been the home port of the schooner. LAUNCHED: 1775, September 2 → FATE: Unknown.

John Adams, USS — American frigate
She participated in the raid on Combahee Ferry that Harriet Tubman, the former slave and Union operative, organized with Union colonel Montgomery. She fought in the Quasi-War, the First and Second Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. LAUNCHED: 1799, October → FATE: Sold October 1867 to the British to use as the Hong Kong Water Police Headquarters. In February 1884, she caught fire and was lost.

Maltese Falcon — American full-rigged luxury yacht; now owned by a Englishman
The largest full-rigged luxury yacht in the world. She has 5 square sails on each of 3 masts that can be fully unfurled in 6 minutes. Some claim the Eos is larger. LAUNCHED: 2006 → FATE: Still in service.

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Mary Celeste — American brigantine
The "ghost ship" found near the Strait of Gibraltar abandoned by its seven crew members in 1872. The popular mystery of the ship began with Arthur Conan Doyle's story in 1884, about a derelict ship which he called Marie Celeste. LAUNCHED: 1860 → FATE: Intentionally scuttled in January of 1885.

Maryland Dove — American merchant vessel
Replica of the Dove, one of two early 17th-century English ship that, in 1634, brought the first settlers to what is now Maryland. The original Dove was the smaller of the two ship, used in shallow waterways along the coast. The accompanied ship with 140 passengers was the Ark. LAUNCHED: 1978, August 18 → FATE: On exhibit at Historic St. Mary's City and occasionally other ports.

Myron, SS — American wooden steamship, built as a lumber hooker
The wreck is protected as part of an underwater museum in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve. She defied the adage "Lake Superior seldom gives up her dead" when all 17 crew drifted ashore found frozen to death. The captain survived. LAUNCHED: 1888 → FATE: Sank to the end of Lake Superior during a storm on November 23, 1919.

Niantic — American whaling ship
Brought fortune-seekers to Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) during the California Gold Rush of 1849. She was a prominent landmark in the booming city for several years. The site of Niantic beside the Transamerica Pyramid is now a California Historical Landmark. LAUNCHED: 1832 → FATE: Converted to hotel in 1849, destroyed by fire 1852.

Oneida — American yacht
W.R. Hearst's boat and site of the mysterious death of an American film producer that became a scandal and part of early Hollywood lore. The 2001 movie The Cat's Meow dramatized the fateful events on the yacht. LAUNCHED: 1897 → FATE: Sold as scrap August 21, 1940.

Pequod — American whaling ship
Fictitious 19th-century Nantucket whaling ship in the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville and in several movies. In the novel, the ship's captain is the one-legged, monomaniacal Ahab. LAUNCHED: 1840, or earlier → FATE: Destroyed by a whale supposedly in 1851.

Portland, PS — American sidewheel steamer
Known as the "Titanic of New England" and considered New England's worst maritime disaster, she went down with an estimated 192-245 passengers and crew. The storm that sank her, killed more than 400 persons and sank more than 150 other boats and ships. LAUNCHED: 1889 → FATE: Sank in the Portland Gale off of Cape Ann November 27, 1898.

Quaker City, USS — American paddle steamship, side-wheeler
During a trip to Europe in 1867, she was the scene of some of the tales related by Mark Twain in his book The Innocents Abroad. During the American Civil War, she one of the most active and effective ships in the Union Navy's blockade of Chesapeake Bay. LAUNCHED: 1854 → FATE: Sold to the Haitian Navy in February of 1871, renamed République, lost at sea off Bermuda in March of 1871.

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Red Rover, USS — American Confederate paddle steamboat, side-wheeler
First ship fitted and staffed as a hospital ship. During the American Civil War, she was a Confederate barracks ship until the Union captured and refit her in March of 1862. LAUNCHED: 1859 → FATE: Decommissioned and sold at public auction November 29, 1865.

Robert E. Lee — American paddle steamboat, side-wheeler
Won a steamboat race against the Natchez VI, going from St. Louis, Missouri to New Orleans, in 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes. The speed record still stands. A replica of the ship was built but it also burned in 2010. LAUNCHED: 1866 → FATE: Caught fire and lost north of New Orleans September 30, 1882.

Rochambeau — American frigate, ironclad
The longest wooden ship ever built. When the French thought Otto von Bismarck might be interested in the ship, they hurriedly bought her from the Americans and commission her in 1867. LAUNCHED: 1862, July 22 as Dunderberg → FATE: The French scrapped her in 1874.

Savannah, SS — American paddle steamship, side-wheeler with sails
First steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. After ocean crossing, her steam plant was removed and she continued sailing up and down the east coast. LAUNCHED: 1819, March → FATE: Ran aground off Long Island, NY in 1823.

Shenandoah, CSS — American Confederate full-rigged ship, iron-clad
During the US Civil War, she captured and/or sank 38 Union merchant vessels. She fired the last shot of the Civil War off the Aleutian Islands, then was surrendered to the British. She was sold to Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar who renamed her El Majidi after himself. LAUNCHED: 1863, August 18 → FATE: As El Majidi, beached during hurricane near Zanzibar in 1872.

Somers, USS — American brig
The only U.S. Navy ship upon which a conspiracy of mutiny took place. Known as the "Somers Affair", it was the basis for several books and dramatizations. December 1, 1842, three of the mutineers who intended to take over the ship and use it for piracy were found guilty of "intention to commit a mutiny," hanged and buried at sea. LAUNCHED: 1842, May 18 → FATE: Capsized and foundered in a sudden squall off Vera Cruz December of 1846.

Sultana, SS — American paddle steamboat, stern-wheeler
Tragically collided with the SS Narragansett. An estimated 1,800 of 2,400 passengers were killed when the ship's boilers exploded, earning her the appellation "Titanic of the Mississippi." LAUNCHED: 1863 → FATE: Sank April 27, 1865.

Thomas W. Lawson — American seven-masted schooner
The largest schooner and largest sailing vessel without an auxiliary engine ever built. She proved problematic in the ports she was intended to operate in due to the amount of water she displaced. LAUNCHED: 1902, July, 10 → FATE: Sank in a storm while at anchor off Cornwall, England, in 1907 taking 16 of her crew with her.

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Tonquin — American merchant ship
The ship was part of Astor's attempt to establish a fur trading outpost on the Pacific Northwest coast. After an angry encounter with natives, two surviving crew hid in the ship, then when the Indian natives returned to loot the ship, lit a fuse that detonated her powder magazine killing more than 100 natives and two crew. LAUNCHED: 1807, May 26 → FATE: Blown up June 16, 1811.

Vincennes, USS — American sloop of war
First U.S. ship to circumnavigate the globe. She was the flagship for the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838. LAUNCHED: 1826 → FATE: Sold in October of 1867 at Boston, Massachusetts; fate unknown.

Walk-in-the-Water — American paddle steamboat, stern-wheeler with two masts
First steamboat on Lake Erie and the eastern Great Lakes. Two large paddle boxes amidship housed her paddle wheels. LAUNCHED: 1818, August 23, first voyage → FATE: Grounded on the beach south of Buffalo, NY, October 31, 1821.

Wanderer — American whaling ship
Last American whaling ship. The mast of the Wanderer stands as a flagpole in Boston Navy Yard, a few feet from where it was built. LAUNCHED: 1878 → FATE: Lost in a storm near Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, on August 26, 1924.

Wanderer — American yacht
The boat in the 1992 comedy movie Captain Ron; starring Kurt Russell and Martin Short. The movie received mostly negative reviews. LAUNCHED: 1992 → FATE: Inconclusive.

We're Here — American Schooner
The fictional ship in the book and movie Captain Couraeous. Based on the 1897 book by Rudyard Kipling, it's a story of a boy and his adventures aboard a the ship. LAUNCHED: 1937 → FATE: Inconclusive.

Wyoming — American six-masted schooner
The largest known wooden ship ever built. Because of her length she tended to flex in heavy seas causing the long planks to twist and buckle, allowing water to seep into the hold. LAUNCHED: 1909, December 15 → FATE: Foundered in a storm in 1924 and sank off the coast of Cape Cod with the loss of all 14 crewmen.

The number of American Ships with Sails listed is 46

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	America (American racing yacht)
2.	Central America, SS (American paddle steamboat)
3.	Eos (American three-masted Bermuda rigged)
4.	Mary Celeste (American brigantine)
5.	Red Rover, USS (American Confederate paddle steamboat)
6.	Tonquin (American merchant ship)

American Ships with Sails
1.	America American racing yacht
2.	Ariel English clipper ship
3.	Artemis American sloop
4.	Bonhomme Richard, USS American frigate
5.	C.A. Thayer American three-masted schooner
6.	Carroll A. Deering American schooner
7.	Central America, SS American paddle steamboat
8.	Charles W. Morgan American whaling ship
9.	Clermont American steamboat
10.	Clotilda American two-masted schooner
11.	Columbia Rediviva American full-rigged
12.	Constellation, USS American sloop-of-war
13.	Constitution, USS American frigate
14.	Empress of China American three-masted, square-rigged sailing ship
15.	Eos American three-masted Bermuda rigged
16.	Essex American barque
17.	Flying Cloud American clipper
18.	Ghost American schooner
19.	Great Republic American clipper
20.	Hannah, USS American schooner
21.	John Adams, USS American frigate
22.	Maltese Falcon American full-rigged
23.	Mary Celeste American brigantine
24.	Maryland Dove American merchant vessel
25.	Myron, SS American wooden steamship
26.	Niantic American whaling ship
27.	Oneida American yacht
28.	Pequod American whaling ship
29.	Portland, PS American sidewheel steamer
30.	Quaker City, USS American paddle steamship
31.	Red Rover, USS American Confederate paddle steamboat
32.	Robert E. Lee American paddle steamboat
33.	Rochambeau American frigate
34.	Savannah, SS American paddle steamship
35.	Shenandoah, CSS American Confederate full-rigged ship
36.	Somers, USS American brig
37.	Sultana, SS American paddle steamboat
38.	Thomas W. Lawson American seven-masted schooner
39.	Tonquin American merchant ship
40.	Vincennes, USS American sloop of war
41.	Walk-in-the-Water American paddle steamboat
42.	Wanderer American whaling ship
43.	Wanderer American yacht
44.	We're Here American Schooner
45.	Wyoming American six-masted schooner