Steamboats at the Waterfront

During the War of 1812, The Chesapeake, the first steamboat built to ply the waters of Chesapeake Bay, made its maiden voyage from Baltimore to Annapolis despite threats from the British fleet in open waters. That voyage began a unique era in which fortunes were made and lost, catastrophes such as explosions, collisions, and sinkings occurred, and the region's economy came to depend on steamboats for trade and travel. At their peak, steamers served more than 300 landings along the 1,000 miles of rivers and creeks of the tidewater region. From about 1905 to the end of the 1920s, only briefly interrupted during World War I, an even grander Golden Age of steamboating blossomed, featuring luxurious three-decker ships such as the Old Bay Line's State of Maryland, State of Virginia, and President Warfield. Costing from $716,000 to $960,000, each had 170 first class staterooms, 38 with private baths. At the height of this glory, the Great Depression pushed the industry toward decline, and the devastating hurricane of 1933 destroyed much of the shipping infrastructure on the Bay and its rivers. One by one, the lines and their steamships disappeared to other ports and destinies, including the President Warfield. After serving as a troop carrier before the United States entered World War II, it briefly returned to service with the Old Bay Line of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. In 1947, the ship appeared at Marseilles as Exodus 1947 and was prepared to carry 4,500 Jewish refugees bound for Palestine. When British sailors rammed and boarded her at Haifa to force the refugees' return to camps in Europe, the incident sparked an outcry that led to the emergence of the state of Israel.

Leonardtown, Maryland · United States