| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Brunswick |
| Builder | Maine[1] |
| Completed | 1827[1] |
| Captured | June 1865; burnt[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 295[1] (bm) |
Brunswick was launched in Maine in 1827. She completed twelve whaling voyages before CSS Shenandoah burnt her in the Bering Straits in June 1865 on Brunswick's 13th voyage.
It is currently unclear what Brunswick did between her launch in 1827 and her first voyage as a whaler in 1834. As a whaler, most of her whale hunting took place in the North Pacific, though she also hunted in the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean on occasion. All the data below is from the American Whaling Voyages Database.[1]
| Date out | Date in | Master | Homeport | Cargo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1834 | April 1836 | Heman N. Stewart | Providence, Rhode Island | 60 barrels of sperm oil + 1440 barrels of whale oil |
| July 1836 | July 1837 | Heman N. Stewart | Providence, Rhode Island | 200 barrels of sperm oil + 1200 barrels of whale oil |
| August 1837 | April 1839 | Isaac Gardner | Providence, Rhode Island | 80 barrels of sperm oil + 1320 barrels of whale oil |
| August 1839 | April 1841 | Abraham Manchester | Providence, Rhode Island | 280 barrels of sperm oil + 2500 barrels of whale oil |
| August 1841 | July 1843 | George F. Champlin | Providence, Rhode Island | 150 barrels of sperm oil + 850 barrels of whale oil |
| 6 November 1843 | June 1846 | John Coggeshall Almy | New Bedford, Maine | 248 barrels of sperm oil + 2417 barrels of whale oil + 20,400 pounds of whalebone (Baleen) |
| September 1846 | September 1848 | John Coggeshall Almy | New Bedford, Maine | 186 barrels of sperm oil + 1959 barrels of whale oil + 17,200 pounds of whalebone |
| November 1848 | May 1851 | Thomas J. Johnson | New Bedford, Maine | 302 barrels of sperm oil + 2315 barrels of whale oil + 30,000 pounds of whalebone |
| November 1851 | May 1853 | Lyman Wing | Dartmouth, Massachusetts | 53 barrels of sperm oil + 1595 barrels of whale oil + 25,800 pounds of whalebone |
| July 1853 | July 1856 | Henry P. Butler | Dartmouth, Massachusetts | 0 barrels of sperm oil + 1265 barrels of whale oil + 19,800 pounds of whalebone |
| 9 October 1856 | September 1859 | Henry P. Butler | Dartmouth, Massachusetts | 677 barrels of sperm oil + 589 barrels of whale oil |
| 26 November 1859 | August 1862 | Verenus Baker | Dartmouth, Massachusetts | 537 barrels of sperm oil + 103 barrels of whale oil + 800 pounds of whalebone |
| 14 October 1862 | 28 June 1865 (burnt) | Alden Tillinghast White Potter | New Bedford, Massachusetts | 30 barrels of sperm oil + 1230 barrels of whale oil + 5,000 pounds of whalebone |
On 28 June, CSS Shenandoah burnt Brunswick, Alden T. Potter, master, in Bering Straits Narrows near Mys Dezhneva (“East Cape”), Chukotka.[2] Brunswick was disabled. The night before she had run into ice and was stove in. A number of other whalers were around her rendering assistance when CSS Shenandoah arrived. Brunswick was beyond salvaging though Captain Potter had heeled her over to keep more water from coming in. The captains of the other whalers had come aboard to purchase at auction her cargo and moveable gear. Two heads of baleen had been sold and transferred to James Maury when a steamer approached. Suggestions by some of the captains that she might be a Confederate raider that had been at Sydney in February were dismissed. Shenandoah launched her boats and captured all 10 whalers. She burnt eight of them; she put the captured crews on two and sent them south.[3] In all, CSS Shenandoah burnt 20 whale ships, occasioning one of the greatest episodes of losses in the region.[4]