Built and launched in New Bedford in 1841, the Charles W. Morgan was the last survivor of an American whaling fleet that numbered more than 2,700 vessels over 150 years. During an 80-year whaling career, she made 37 voyages, roaming every corner of the globe in pursuit of whales. Built for cargo capacity rather than speed, she carried crews who lowered boats to harpoon whales, then towed them back to the ship and processed them for oil and baleen. The work was slow, laborious, and dangerous, marked by long stretches of boredom broken by moments of terror, yet the vessel became known as a lucky ship for surviving Northern ice, hostile South Sea natives, and countless storms while returning healthy profits to her owners. After retiring from whaling in 1921, she had a brief movie career and was then acquired by Col. Edward Green, who displayed her at his waterfront estate near New Bedford. Following his death, she fell into dereliction for a time but survived the hurricane of 1938 and was eventually brought to Mystic Seaport, where as a National Historic Landmark she has welcomed more than 20 million visitors aboard.
