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AUGUSTA – The American clipper ship Snow Squall was a Maine-built merchant carrier that participated in the China Trade and Gold Rushes of California and Australia. It tangled with Confederate raider ships during the American Civil War and faced numerous rounding of Cape Horn, one of which helped bring about its end. Condemned in the Falkland Islands, the ship was eventually recognized as one of the last remaining representations of the clipper ship era, which brought about the incredible effort to bring Snow Squall back home to Maine.
Photo: Charles Lagerbom (presenter)
KHS presenter, Charles H. Lagerbom received his BA in History at Kansas State University and MA in History and Archaeology at the University of Maine. He has organized shipwreck surveys in Maine lakes, sites from the 1779 Penobscot Expedition as well as the search for the 17-Century English galleon Angel Gabriel off Pemaquid. Two field seasons were spent in Antarctica as a glacial geology field assistant for the University of Maine Quaternary Institute, now Climate Change Institute. He is author of Henry R. Bowers: The Fifth Man (1999); Whaling in Maine (2020) and Maine to Cape Horn: The Most Dangerous Journey (2021). His latest book The Hero Way: History and Science of an Antarctic Research Vessel is due out this winter. A 30+ year veteran teacher at Belfast Area High School, Charles is Social Studies Department Chair and teaches AP US History and an archaeology elective. He is also part of the Belfast Marine Institute (BMI) Floating Classroom, an initiative to get students out, in, around, on and under the waters of Penobscot Bay, for marine commercial, career and education opportunities. Charles “Chip” Lagerbom travels to and speaks on topics regarding Antarctica, Cape Horn, Maine whaling and New England colonial and maritime history.
Lagerbom’s presentation will be posted on the society’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KHS1891) on March 18, 2026. It will be archived at the society’s headquarters for those who want to watch it later. For more information, call Scott Wood, the society’s executive director, at 622-7718.
