Phaeton (carriage) Roger Button, Benjamin's father, owns a phaeton that is his primary mode of transportation until Benjamin buys the first automobile in Baltimore. In Susannah Kells' novel "Fallen Angels", a phaeton is the transportation of choice for the main character, Campion, who later crashes the carriage in a perfect example of its dangerous and fickle reputation. The character Mr. Spenlow from the novel "David Copperfield" dies suddenly of a heart attack while driving his phaeton home. Henry James, in his short story "An International Episode" (1878) has Lord Lambeth driven through town in "a little basket-phaeton" by his companion Bessie Aldon.
HMS Phaeton (1782) "Charente" near the Cordouan lighthouse. "Phaeton" fired on "Charente", chasing her first into range of the guns of the 74-gun Third Rate , under the command of Captain Sir John Borlase Warren, with whom she exchanged broadsides. "Charente" grounded, but then so did "Canada". "Phaeton" and "Anson" had to abandon the chase to pull "Canada" free. In the meantime, "Charente" threw her guns overboard, floated free, and reached the river of Bordeaux, much the worse for wear. With "Anson", "Phaeton" took the 18-gun privateer "Mercure" on 31 August. "Mercure" was pierced for 20 guns and had a crew of 132