Civil War

Commerce Raider CSS NASHVILLE

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Nashville/Rebel. Pen and Ink Drawing. Samuel Ward Stanton, artist, ca. 1890-1910. The Mariners’ Museum 1988.0041.000446

The CSSNashvillewas the first Confederate warship to be recognized by Great Britain when the commerce raider arrived in Southampton, Great Britain, on November 21, 1861. This caused a diplomatic estrangement between Great Britain and the United States simultaneously with the infamous Trent Affair. Virtually trapped in Southampton by USSTuscarora, thanks to the British Foreign Enlistment Act,Nashvillewas able to escape and run through the blockade into Beaufort, North Carolina. TheNashvilleended its commerce raiding career when it was sold to become a blockade runner at Georgetown, South Carolina. Nevertheless, CSSNashvilleplayed an important role in the Confederate search for European recognition.

FAST MAIL STEAMER

TheNashvillewas built as a fast screw steamer constructed by William Collyer of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and it launched on September 22, 1853.Commissioned as United States Mail Steamer, the sidewheelerNashvillemaintained a passenger run between New York and Charleston, South Carolina. The ship’s characteristics were as follows:Read more

Uncategorized

The Forgotten Faces of Titanic series: The Story of Richard Norris Williams II

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People in life jackets
Women and Children First, ca. 1912-1915
Courtesy of The Mariners’ Museum and Park

One fateful night 107 years ago, a ship on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg and began its long journey into the annals of maritime history. Passengers and crew members came from all corners of the world, including close to 300 Americans. Richard Norris Williams II was one of those traveling on boardTitanic.

At just 21 years old, Richard Norris Williams II was already an accomplished tennis player and was studying at Harvard University. Richard and his father were heading home to play in a tournament and came aboard as first-class passengers in Cherbourg, France. As first-class passengers onboard a White Star liner, they enjoyed all the amenities that the ship had to offer, including barbershop, daily newspaper, gymnasium, heated pools, elegant meals, and more.Read more

Library & Archives

The Longest Run

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A card and envelope, ‘Mauretania’ Leaving Southampton c1920 (from a painting by Harley Crossley.) From the Beazley collection.

Hello readers, and welcome back to the Library blog. Today, we are going to take a break from the topic of piracy to explore the world of steamships 100 years ago today. This past summer, we saw a lot of coverage of the world’s fastest transatlantic steamship, the SSUnited States. But what was the fastest ship in the world a century ago today? After consulting the Herbert and Norma Beazley collection, which contains ephemera from hundreds of notable steamships, I found that the fastest steamship – and holder of the Blue Riband – was none other than the RMSLusitania’s sister ship the RMSMauretania.

The RMSLusitaniaheld the Blue Riband from 1907-1909, and the RMSMauretaniaoutdid her sister by taking the Riband in 1909 and holding it for 20 years straight! RMSMauretaniatraveled 2,784 nautical miles in 4 days, 10 hours and 51 minutes, for an average speed of 26.06 knotts, beating RMS Lusitania’s speed of 25.65 knotts. During World War I, RMSMauretaniawas docked in Liverpool until her sister, RMSLusitania, was torpedoed and sunk in 1914. RMSMauretaniawas thereafter used as a troopship and a hospital ship, and would resume ferrying passengers once the war was over.Read more