[1] During his long career his work included bringing the ship that carried the Statue of Liberty safely into port after its trip from Europe.

[2] At sixteen years of age, Henderson left Charleston to find passage to New York as a cabin boy on a ship traveling there.

[4] Henderson was a Sandy Hook pilot in New York Harbor and along the Atlantic Coast during the American Civil War.

[2] By the age of twenty-one, he was captain of his own schooner, self-educated in seamanship, and a New York Sandy Hook pilot.

[8] During the Civil War, Henderson was a pilot on the steamboat transports Arago and Fulton, running from Newport News, Virginia, to Port Royal, South Carolina.

[10] On August 11, 1864, the William Bell ventured too far out to sea and was captured and burned by the Confederate raiding steamer the CSS Tallahassee.

[11] In December 1869, Henderson offered his services to pilot the steam vessel Tybee out of the port of New York, leaving for San Domingo, Dominican Republic; but the shipmaster refused to employ him.

[14][15] In 1883, Henderson, Walter Brewer, Henry Seguine, William J. Barry, and Josiah Johnson started the Sandy Hook Pilot Boat Company to have ownership and control of vessels and equipment for the use of pilots in the New York Harbor and water ways of Sandy Hook.

[19][20] On June 17, the Isère arrived at the Horseshoe of Sandy Hook and it was moved to Gravesend Bay[21] alongside the man-of-war USS Omaha.

The ferryboat Atlantic left the ferry house at the foot of Wall Street and then passed Governors Island.

It was not until the next day that the crew members were transferred from the Pet to the steamship Italy, from Liverpool, and brought to the New York port.

[28][29] On August 13, 1890, Henderson took the White Star Line passenger steamer RMS Teutonic to sea on its first westward race across the Atlantic with the steamship SS City of New York.

[31] On August 23, 1890, Henderson guided the cruiser USS Baltimore out to sea when it carried inventor John Ericsson's remains to their final resting place in Stockholm, Sweden.

[6][32] On October 4, 1890, Henderson left home in good health and sailed to Sandy Hook on board his pilot boat America, No.