"The only clipper ship to make the voyage to San Francisco prior to 1850 was the Memnon, under Captain George Gordon, which arrived there July 28, 1849 after a record passage of one hundred and twenty days from New York.

He took on a new crew before proceeding on the Memnon's record breaking voyage of 123 sailing days from Sandy Hook, arriving in San Francisco Bay on August 28, 1849.

"[6] "In 1852 there were in commission the clipper ships Surprise, Celestial, Sea Witch, Samuel Russell, Staghound, George E. Webster, and barks Race Horse and Memnon, all of which had made the passage from New York to San Francisco in from ninety to one hundred and twenty days, the average steamer time being one hundred and fifty.

[6] "The Memnon had sailed on her maiden run to Liverpool on November 6, 1848, in fourteen days, seven hours, very good time",[6] under Captain Pulaski Benjamin.

Forbes describes the following voyages in the Memnon: "She crossed from San Francisco to Hong Kong in 1850 in 36 days, in charge of Captain Gordon.

The article caused a good deal of interest in the United States, and it caused the formation by a number of high-spirited young merchants and ship-owners at Boston of a society called the "American Navigation Club", which consisted of Daniel C. Bacon, President Thomas H. Perkins, John P. Cushing, William H. Boardman, John M. Forbes, Warren Delano, and Edward King.

[16][17] Charles Burr Todd cites a date of 1854 for the sinking, "After sailing the sea for twelve years was lost in 1854 with a cargo of 2,000,000 pounds of tea for London, for which she was to have had $70,000 freight.

"[18] In his Journal of Voyages to China and their Return 1851-1853, Henry Blane described the circumstances of Memnon's loss: “At sunrise the faint outlines of Gaspar Island could be seen and as we were running with a free wind 6 knots, by daylight were within 15 miles of it on our starboard bow.

G. found it was impossible to get her off, and he with his wife and crew took to the boats — (the Malay pirates swarming up one side while they were going over the other) — and started for Gaspar Island which lay 25 miles north.

Gordon but he had put off 8 days after Mr. Fisher in the other boat for a ship which was coming down through the straits bound for Singapore where he and his wife and crew arrived without any further accident.

She sailed from Boston under Captain Perez Jenkins on August 30, 1858 arriving in San Francisco on January 18, after a voyage of 159 days.