The Strength and Courage of Women When it Really Matters

Mary Ann Pattern didn’t just break glass ceilings, she sailed through them . . .

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In 1856, a 19-year-old pregnant woman by the name of Mary Ann Brown Patten took command of an American merchant vessel named Neptune’s Car when the captain (her husband) developed tuberculosis and fell into a coma.

Usually in such a case, the first mate would have assumed command of the vessel. However, the first mate had been locked up in his cabin after it was discovered that he had been purposely slowing down the vessel because he had taken bets on a competitor vessel. As for the second mate, he was an illiterate man who was unable to navigate.

For 56 days, Mary Ann took the helm of Neptune’s Car and was able to bring it safely to San Francisco despite a mutiny to overthrow her. During the voyage, the first mate demanded that Mary Ann release him immediately and reinstate him as commander of the vessel. However, she refused. The first mate then tried to instigate a mutiny, but Mary Ann was able to convince the crew to stick by her side and eventually won their unanimous support.

Mary Ann did not change her clothes for 50 days and during her spare time, studied medicine in order to take care of her husband. While his health never fully recovered, Mary Ann managed to keep him alive for the duration of the trip.

When the insurers of the ship rewarded Mary Ann with a $1,000 gift, she replied in a letter that she was doing “only the plain duty of a wife.”