| One of the finest packet ships of the 1850’s was the Daniel Webster, shown in this view approaching the entrance to the Lower Bay of New York Harbor. Built in 1851 by Donald McKay, the Daniel Webster could accommodate 600 passengers in the steerage. Her first-class saloon sported rich mahogany paneling. She had two sick bays, an icehouse to keep the cabin passengers’ food fresh, and a laboratory for the ship’s surgeon. She was exceedingly strongly built to withstand the heavy weather of the frigid North Atlantic in winter. |
