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The ''River Queen'' was a
The ''River Queen'' was a sidewheel steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...
launched in 1864. It soon became closely associated with President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
and General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
while operating on the Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
, and was used for an unsuccessful peace conference in 1865 during the last year of the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. Later it operated as a ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...
serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...
and Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
during the late 19th century. Late in its career, it returned to the Potomac as an excursion vessel, and in 1911, it was destroyed in a fire.
Construction
''River Queen'' was built atKeyport, New Jersey
Keyport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,240,Turner, Harry B. ''The Story of the Island Steamers'' (The Inquirer and Mirror Press, 1910
/ref>Ship and Yacht Register Search
She was initially owned by
- reprint of a 1940 article in the ''Vineyard Gazette''
- 1860s photographs of Nantucket
- Mystic Seaport - G. W. Blunt White Library - Ship & Yacht Register * Turner, Harry B.
The Story of the Island Steamers
' (The Inquirer and Mirror Press, 1910) {{DEFAULTSORT:River Queen (Steamboat) Paddle steamers Ferries of Massachusetts Maritime history of the United States Martha's Vineyard Ships built in Keyport, New Jersey 1864 ships Steamboats of Nantucket Sound Transportation in Dukes County, Massachusetts Transportation in Nantucket, Massachusetts Presidential yachts of the United States
/ref>Ship and Yacht Register Search
She was initially owned by
Alfred Van Santvoord
"Commodore" Alfred Van Santvoord (January 23, 1819 – July 20, 1901) was a wealthy United States, American businessman who made his fortune running steamboat lines.
Early life
Alfred was born in Utica, New York on January 23, 1819. He was the so ...
, and later was one of four steamers operating for the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co when that concern was organized in March 1886. (The other three vessels were ''Island Home
Island Home is a historical house in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, in or near Gardner. It was built around 1850 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
It is off Louisiana Highway 21 and is reached by a bridge across Bayo ...
'', ''Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...
'' and '' Monohansett''.) ''River Queen'' had sailed this route since 1871 for the company's predecessors.
Civil War service
Chartered by theU.S. Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...
, the ''River Queen'' was used by General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
as his private dispatch boat on the Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
in 1865. On February 3, 1865, the Hampton Roads Conference
The Hampton Roads Conference was a peace conference held between the United States and representatives of the unrecognized breakaway Confederate States on February 3, 1865, aboard the steamboat ''River Queen'' in Hampton Roads, Virginia, to disc ...
took place on the ''River Queen'' in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate an end to the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. While the conference was being held in the saloon of the ship, the ''River Queen'' was lashed to the ''Mary Martin'', another ship.
In March 1865, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
met with General William T. Sherman
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank of ...
and General Grant aboard the ''River Queen'' to discuss strategy for the end of the Civil War. Both Lincoln and Grant liked this vessel; Lincoln rode aboard her two days before his assassination in April. Capt. Nathan B. Saunders of the Fall River
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census, making it the List of municipaliti ...
steamer line was captain of the ''River Queen'' during its Civil War service.
Ferry career
After the war, ''River Queen'' was operated by the Newport Steamboat Company between Providence, R.I. andNewport, R.I.
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
The ''American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping'' during 1865–1872 records the ''River Queen'' as a 500-ton vessel with a homeport in Providence. Its owner was listed as R. Buffon and its master as Capt. Williams.
''River Queen'' was sold by the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co. in 1893 to the Mount Vernon & Marshall Hall Steamboat Co. of Washington, D.C. During 1897–1900 the ''Record of American and Foreign Shipping'' lists the ''River Queen'' as a 181' long, 426-ton sidewheeler hailing out of New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American p ...
, owned by "Mt. Vernon & Marshall Hall S. B. Co." and under the command of a Capt. Wood.
''River Queen'' was still operating in 1910 on the Potomac River, by that time among the oldest side-wheelers still in service. In July 1911, newspapers reported the burning of the ''River Queen'' "to the water's edge" following the explosion of a signal lantern on board. The press reported that "For the past year or two the ''River Queen'' has been used as an excursion boat for Negroes."''The Vineyard Gazette'', July 13, 1911 issue. (Story reprinted from a Washington newspaper.)
In popular culture
''River Queen'' is the name of a boat referenced in the animeYurei Deco
is an original Japanese anime television series directed by Tomohisa Shimoyama, written by Dai Satō, and animated by Science SARU. It aired from July to September 2022. A webtoon adaptation with art by Digital Shokunin Studio has been seriali ...
.
Notes
References
- reprint of a 1940 article in the ''Vineyard Gazette''
- 1860s photographs of Nantucket
- Mystic Seaport - G. W. Blunt White Library - Ship & Yacht Register * Turner, Harry B.
The Story of the Island Steamers
' (The Inquirer and Mirror Press, 1910) {{DEFAULTSORT:River Queen (Steamboat) Paddle steamers Ferries of Massachusetts Maritime history of the United States Martha's Vineyard Ships built in Keyport, New Jersey 1864 ships Steamboats of Nantucket Sound Transportation in Dukes County, Massachusetts Transportation in Nantucket, Massachusetts Presidential yachts of the United States