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BERMUDA MAIL CARRIED BY CUNARD 1827 - 86.

Cunard’s involvement with Bermuda mail began in 1827 and was short-lived. The Falmouth
packet to New York terminated at Bermuda and Cunard provided two vessels, Emily and Susan, to take
the mail to Annapolis from where it went overland. The experiment only lasted 9 voyages and from
1828 Cunard collected the American mail at Halifax and delivered it to Boston, Susan being replaced by
Lady Ogle. In 1833 it was decided that the packet should terminate at Halifax and Cunard was given the
additional task of running a mail boat to Bermuda, providing a service between these two places that
lasted until 1886. To do so he acquired new sailing vessels - Velocity, Roseway and Margaret, In 1848
these were replaced by small steamships - Osprey, Falcon and Levantine and after the sendee was
extended to St Thomas in 1850, Merlin, Petrel and Curlew. In 1880 Kingston, Jamaica replaced St
Thomas as the southern terminus. Newer steamships in the form of Delta, Alpha and Beta replaced the
ageing fleet; but in 1886 the last two were sold to Pickford and Black and Cunard no longer serviced the
island. The exhibit focusses on the ships that carried the mail and has the following plan: -

1827 - 1828 - sailing packets between Bermuda and Annapolis.
1833 -1848 - sailing packets between Halifax & Bermuda.
1848 - 1886 - steam packets between Halifax & Bermuda,
1840 -1848 - Cunard Trans-Atlantic steamers and sailing packets between Halifax & Bermuda.
1848 -1868 — Cunard Trans-Atlantic steamers and steam packets between Halifax & Bermuda
1867 - 1871 - Inman Line steamers and steam packets between Halifax & Bermuda.
1871 - 1886 - Allan Line steamers and steam packets between Halifax & Bermuda.
1850 -1880 - steam packets carrying mail from the south with the terminus at St Thomas.
1880 -1886 - steam packets carrying mail from the south with the terminus at Kingston, Jamaica.

References -
Atlantic Mails - J.C. Amell
North Atlantic Mail Sailings 1840 -75 Hubbard & Winter
The Postal History and Stamps of Bermuda - M.H. Luddington
The Bermuda Packet Mails and the Halifax-Bermuda Mail Service 1806-1886. Amell & Ludington

N.B. Especially significant or scarce covers are outlined in red. Information on rates is in red type.
THE ANNAPOLIS PACKET - THE FORERUNNER TO THE HALIFAX SERVICE

London 29th December 1826, Prepaid a double rate of 4/4d.
Falmouth 11th January 1827. Put on HMS Redpole
Bermuda 3 March transferred to “Susan”. Maiden voyage. Ran aground twice.
Annapolis 18th March. Charged a single rate of 14 Vi cents to Philadelphia.