236 : The Atlantic 



parture of the Courier. In fact, it was the 4th of January before Cap- 

 tain Bowne was able to leave the dock and take his vessel down the 

 river Mersey. Possibly the idea of a scheduled departure did not 

 seem so important over 3,000 miles away from the home offices of 

 this new type of ocean service. Yet the delay should not be attributed 

 to any negligence on the part of the captain. The departure from 

 Liverpool had to be made from a dock. The Mersey is notorious for 

 the great rise and fall of its tides, and head winds from the west 

 could constitute an additional reason for delay. In any event, the de- 

 parture of the Courier from Liverpool was still ahead of that of the 

 Monroe from New York, and thus constituted the first sailing of a 

 transatlantic liner. When the vessel departed her hold was filled with 

 a large cargo of British woolens and other manufactures consigned 

 to the owners of the line and many other merchants. She carried in 

 her cabins a Mr. and Mrs. Irving and four other men passengers. To 

 this Mrs. Irving, therefore, goes the distinction of being the first 

 woman passenger on a transatlantic liner. 



The men who organized this service had already for some time 

 been business associates. They were textile importers who had be- 

 come joint owners of the Pacific in 1815 and in the succeeding years 

 they had also jointly participated in the building of other vessels. 

 Jeremiah Thompson has been credited with the idea and initiative 

 of operating the vessels as a line and on schedule. The four vessels 

 were similar in appearance and construction to the regular traders of 

 their day. What set them apart from all other vessels was their 

 method of operation. In time there developed the type of vessel and 

 a method of sound and durable construction that might be recog- 

 nized as the distinguishing marks of packet ships. At the begin- 

 ning all that the eye could see was that each of the vessels carried at 

 the top of the mainmast a round black ball, and that when the sails 

 were set the fore-topsail was marked with an enormous circular black 

 spot. This distinguishing mark became known to all seamen and 

 travelers, and the organization was known as the Black Ball Line. 

 They remained in business for a period of sixty years, though during 

 the latter years of its operation the character of its business was much 

 changed by the competition with clipper ships and steamers. 



The Black Ball Line held the field of operation alone, building up 

 business and prestige through the regularity and effectiveness of its 

 operations until January of 1822. Then, the firm of Byrnes Trinble 

 & Co. of New York entered the field with a line of four ships to be 

 operated on the Black Ball method, with monthly sailings from New 



