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Originally published in the Historic Nantucket, Vol 40, no. 4 (Winter 1992), p. 72-73
"Captain, the Lad's a
Girl!"
By Jacqueline Kolle Haring
On December 9,1848, Ann Johnson, disguised as a man, climbed aboard and joined the crew of the Nantucket whaling ship Christopher Mitchell.
I
f the Friends of the NHA had not discovered and purchased a particular 1849 letter, the amazing story of Rebecca Ann Johnson on board the whaleship Christopher Mitchell might have remained a possible myth. Even with corroboration, it seems almost impossible.
There is still more to discover about her, but as far as we know, Rebecca Ann Johnson, most often called "Ann," grew up in the vicinity of Rochester, New York. As she matured, she fell in love, and undoubtedly her dreams included a rose-covered cottage and all the protection such visions connoted for an expectant bride. But this was not to be for Ann: her lover chose the life of the sea over marriage.
Ann's reaction was apparently almost immediate. Whether driven by a desire to find the man and perhaps rekindle his love, or by fury or the wish to destroy him, she took what to her must have seemed the obvious course. With apparently little grasp of the size of the whalers' world and the number of vessels traversing it, Ann decided to go to sea to catch up with the man who had deserted her.
Executing a carefully thought-out plan, she sewed a canvas garment for herself to conceal her female figure, cut her hair, and borrowed men's clothing. She then went to a New York City shipping office, which was the nearest point to sign aboard a ship, and presented herself as a ready greenhorn. Her disguise was apparently convincing, for she was signed on. However, the immediate need for seamen at the New York port had slackened, and she was sent to New Bedford and across to Nantucket, where whaling was flourishing and crews were sought. There is no record, unfortunately, of how she got to the island or whom she saw, but it is reported that she sailed as "George Johnson" on December 9, 1848, aboard the Nantucket ship Christopher Mitchell, under the command of Captain Thomas Sullivan.
As the ship sailed south, the sailors may have wondered why one new crew member never removed his shirt, blushed on occasion, and showed such modesty, but it was attributed to the shyness of a young farm lad. Although slight of build, Johnson was courageous and always eager to do as well as or better than expected. He was among the first to climb the rigging no matter how hard the wind was blowing. When chasing a whale, George pulled his oar with the stoutest men and showed no fear. He apparently earned the respect of the rough and ready crew and was never teased about his slightly feminine appearance or voice.
The story of the voyage of the Christopher Mitchell around Cape Horn was told by Captain Sullivan to Nelson Cole Haley, a harpooner on the ship Charles W. Morgan, when the two ships met and sailed together near French Rock on the New Zealand ground. Sullivan described Johnson's courage while the ship was struggling to round the Horn. Haley wrote about it some time later in a narrative of his whaling adventures that was published as a book called Whale Hunt. The original of this account of George's time at sea, which can be seen in the G.W. Blunt White Library of the Mystic Seaport Museum, states:
The ship was forced over so hard on her side that her lee rail was under water and decks almost at right angles. The officer on the deck sung out to all hands, "Let go the topsail halyards! Hard up the wheel!" The wheel was put hard up, the officers and boatsteerers let go the main and mizzin topsail halyards, also the spanker sheet, but the men forward were too frightened to do anything else but cling on the weather rigging. . . . This young man, who had the watch below, came struggling out of the forecastle scuttle half asleep and heard the order. Catching hold of the fife rail around the foremast with his hands and getting a brace with his feet on the combings of the mast, he sprung backwards toward the starboard side of the tryworks, catching the cooler with both hands, hauled himself up the inclined deck far enough to get his feet braced firmly against the side of the tryworks and cooler, and brought his hands within reach of the halyards and main tacks, which he instantly pulled off from their pins. The ship quickly righted and got before the wind. The Captain said, "No other man forward tried to do anything but hold on to save himself, except this one."
After the Christopher Mitchell reached the Pacific, the voyage passed, as did most, with weeks spent criss-crossing the ocean in search of whales. Some days were successful, many were not. Then one night about eight months after the ship had sailed from Nantucket, George Johnson's charade was finally discovered. Harpooner Haley tells how it happened:
When cruising off Peru, the weather was very hot and young Johnson had been sick for two or three days. One night in the middle watch, the man at the wheel went below to light his pipe and then came bounding up the forecastle steps and yelled in a voice loud enough for most of the men on deck to hear, "Captain, the lad's a girl! That young fellow who is sick is a woman!" The officer on deck was so startled he shouted to the man, "Come and show me what you mean!" Together, they went below and stood quietly beside the sailor's berth. One of the lamps shone into the berth and revealed a beautifully formed unconscious woman. She was wakened quietly, told that her secret had been discovered and taken to the Captain, who gave her a spare bed in the after cabin. Captain Sullivan reported that, before he left Ann/George Johnson, she put her arms around him and said, "You have been good to me and I know you will be hereafter." The Captain declared her his "sister" as long as she remained on the ship.
They set course immediately for Payta, Peru, which was a port used regularly by the whaleships in the South Pacific. Here the captain planned to put Ann into the hands of the American consul, who would send her home. She was given some calico, which they had on board for trading with the natives. With this she made an appropriate outfit to wear during the two weeks she still remained on the ship. Haley reports that she was described the captain as a "pretty girl, even if her hands and face were rough and sunburnt." When the Christopher Mitchell arrived in port, Ann was taken to the home of the consul, where she stayed until she could take ship to Panama, cross the Isthmus, and board another vessel for home.
Even with such a vivid description of the voyage, this might have been the end of the story and there could be some doubt about whether it really happened. Historians might be tempted to chalk up the whole tale to a mariner's vivid imagination or desire to be the center of attention were it not for the letter purchased by the Friends, which has put a stop to the uncertainty. On July 16, 1849, a so-far-unidentified man by the name of A. Bathurst, who may have been the American consul (we have not been able to confirm this), wrote from Payta to Charles and Henry Coffin in Nantucket:
The "Christopher Mitchell" returned on the 6th having discovered a few days ago that George Johnson who shipped in Nantucket as a green-hand was one of the opposite sex. As Captain Sullivan did not think it prudent to keep the female sailor on board, he very wisely returned and gave "Miss Ann" Johnson up to the care of the American Consul. "Miss J. is now a guest in my family — a very fine young woman about 19, extremely well bred and has not yet acquired any of the conversation so frequently practiced by sailors. I have promised her paternal care for which she appears very grateful. My daughter takes great pleasure in making her comfortable and I am happy to say they are like sisters. She will be conducted to the US first opportunity.
A postscript adds, "Miss Johnson belongs to Rochester, state NY."
There seems to be no doubt that the disguise actually happened, that a more or less sheltered girl actually managed to carry off the escapade she planned. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, she did not find the man she was seeking. Of course the story mustn't end here, and there is much research still to be done. What ship brought Ann Johnson home? Where did she land? Where did she go? Were there newspaper accounts of the event at the time? We haven't been able to find them. Did others write letters about the girl who sailed for nine months undiscovered by the crew? How did the remainder of her life unfold?
It would be a fascinating trail to discover and follow. We in the Research Center are still trying to learn more about Rebecca Ann Johnson of Rochester, New York. So far, inquiries to historical societies in the vicinity for any information about her have brought no positive replies. It's always tempting to researchers to go to the area where something they are studying occurred; this is one reason why so many scholars and authors visit us on Nantucket.
If Rebecca Ann Johnson's voyage aboard the Christopher Mitchell has aroused sufficient curiosity in any of our readers, please let us know if you would like to continue the search for more material about this courageous and creative young woman.
Jacqueline Kolle Haring is the Curator of Research Materials at the Nantucket Historical Association.
