The records made by the James Baines and the Lightning were no discredit to the stanch, unconquerable packet ships which, year in and year out, held their own with the steamer lines until just before the Civil War.

It was the boast of Captain Samuels that on her first voyage in 1853 the Dreadnought reached Sandy Hook as the Cunarder Canada, which had left Liverpool a day ahead of her, was passing in by Boston Light.

Twice she carried the latest news to Europe, and many seasoned travelers preferred her to the mail steamers.
The masters and officers who handled these ships with such magnificent success were true-blue American seamen, inspired by the finest traditions, successors of the privateersmen of 1812.

The forecastles, however, were filled with English, Irish, and Scandinavians.

American lads shunned these ships and, in fact, the ambitious youngster of the coastwise towns began to cease following the sea almost a century ago.
It is sometimes forgotten that the period during which the best American manhood sought a maritime career lay between the Revolution and the War of 1812.