Charles Henry Marshall was an American sea captain and shipping executive.
Background
Charles Henry Marshall was born on April 8, 1792 on Nantucket Island. He was the third of the seven children of Charles and Hepzibah (Coffin) Marshall, and the descendant of generations of whaling skippers. With the island's industry ruined by the Revolution, the father abandoned whaling for farming, settling on a tract of virgin forest in the Saratoga Patent at Easton, N. Y. The hundred acres could not support so large a family and the five sons turned to the sea, where all became successful captains.
Education
He studied in school at Johnstown, N. Y. , and in 1810 sailed for Riga, being detained for a year in Denmark.
Career
Charles Henry started his career at fifteen on the Nantucket whaler Lima, and then made a voyage to England. During the War of 1812, he taught school for a time, served on the Hudson steamboat Paragon, and engaged in trade with his uncle at Sacketts Harbor. In 1815 he was at sea again, as mate in the Mary for Oporto, under Capt. Robert Waterman, later a well-known packet captain. By 1816, at the age of twenty-three, Marshall was a captain himself and drove his Julius Cæsar at top speed from Charleston to Liverpool to win a hotly contested race. His next voyage was to the East Indies. In 1822 he was given command of a Black Ball packet, one of the most coveted maritime honors of that day. The Black Ball or "Old Line" made the first successful attempt to provide regular transatlantic service under private auspices, as distinct from the official British mail packets. It was inaugurated in 1817 by Benjamin Marshall, Isaac Wright, Francis Thompson, and Jeremiah Thompson, of New York, and its continued success was an important element in the rise of the port of New York. Its ships, run with the élan and discipline of East Indiamen, sailed from New York for Liverpool on the 1st and 16th of every month with passengers and select freight. It enjoyed a primacy among the various packet lines which developed, until eclipsed by the Cunard and Collins steamships; but even then its sailing vessels continued profitable until after the Civil War. Marshall commanded successively the line's James Cropper, Britannia, and South America for twelve years, making, altogether, ninety-four Atlantic crossings. In 1834, he came ashore to make his home in New York as agent of the line for the remaining thirty-one years of his life. It had then passed from its original owners into new control, particularly that of Goodhue & Company, formerly its agents. Marshall soon bought out the company's share, becoming principal owner as well as active manager, with Baring Brothers as Liverpool consignees. He personally supervised the building of all the new ships for the line and raised the standard of sailing packets to a high degree. His principal venture in steam came about 1848 when, with William H. Webb and others, he built the United States, which was sold to Prussia for a steam frigate after two rather unprofitable years of running between New York and Southampton. Marshall also did some business as a general commission merchant. He was nominated for Congress in 1854 and defeated while absent in Europe. Early in 1861 he declined to cooperate with naval officials in the proposed relief of Fort Sumter, on the ground that it would precipitate a conflict. Once the war started, however, he was an active Union man, prominent on the local Union Defence Committee and in the Union League Club. In the name of the state Chamber of Commerce, he urged upon the navy a tightening of the blockade and energetic pursuit of the Alabama, suggesting privateers for that purpose.
Achievements
Marshall was prominent in many of the activities of the port of New York, serving for years as a commissioner of pilots, as head of the Marine Society, and as a director of the Sailors' Snug Harbor. From 1851 to 1855, he was a commissioner of emigration.
Politics
Strongly anti-slavery, he was first a Whig, and later a Republican.
Personality
Marshall's wealth was estimated at $120, 000 in 1845; $150, 000 in 1847; and the same in 1855; but it was probably more by the time of his death. His picture shows a strong, square, rugged face with chin whiskers, tight lips, piercing eyes, and something of a permanent scowl. Even a eulogistic obituary states that he had "an air of sternness about him that was somewhat repulsive to strangers", but he was a perfect gentleman and a delightful companion with his intimates. He was noted for his independence of spirit and fearless exposing of abuses.
Connections
In 1822 Marshall married Fidelia Wellman of Piermont, N. H. , a "rare beauty. "
