Mary Ann Brown Patten

Mary Ann Brown Patten or Patton was the first female commander of an American merchant vessel. She was the wife of Joshua Adams Patten, captain of the merchant clipper ship Neptune's Car. The ship was bound around Cape Horn from New York towards San Francisco when Joshua Patten collapsed from fatigue in 1856. His wife took command for 56 days, faced down a mutiny, and successfully managed to navigate the clipper ship into San Francisco. At the time of docking, she was 19 years old and eight months pregnant with her only child.