C. R. Savage and the Saints on the J. J. Boyd preserved during Atlantic voyage

During a voyage from Liverpool to New York in the winter of 1855-1856, the clipper ship J. J. Boyd, under the command of Captain Thomas Austin, carried a company of Latter-day Saints. The voyage, which began on December 12, 1855, was characterized by rigorous order, with religious services conducted in English, Danish, and Italian. However, the crossing proved perilous as the ship encountered severe gales and hurricanes. Midway across the Atlantic, the J. J. Boyd discovered the clipper ship Louis Napoleon in a sinking condition, its mast and spars lost and bulwarks smashed while carrying a cargo of flour from Baltimore to Liverpool. The J. J. Boyd took the distressed crew aboard, further straining the already exhausted resources of the Saints. Compounding these trials, an outbreak of measles caused a high mortality rate among the children on board, and the company faced a depletion of water and provisions. In his journal, Elder C. R. Savage noted that the captain, fearing the delay, grew superstitious and ordered a cessation of singing, while the ship’s mate remarked that vessels carrying preachers were destined for bad passages. Despite these afflictions, the ship survived the winter storms without losing a single spar. On the evening of February 15, 1856, the vessel arrived at its destination after 66 days at sea. Upon taking on a pilot, the Saints were informed that numerous other ships had been wrecked during that same period of severe weather. The emigrants officially landed at New York on February 16, 1856.