Guilford
Cargo Steamship · United States · Lost Early-to-mid 1920s, part of the mass scrapping and abandonment of the 'Ghost Fleet' · Chesapeake Bay
One of nearly 200 emergency wooden steamships that never sailed to war and instead rotted in a Potomac River graveyard.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Guilford was built as part of the Emergency Fleet Corporation's rushed World War I wooden steamship program, intended to help offset losses to German U-boats. It was completed after the war ended and never carried cargo in wartime service. Sold as surplus, it was towed to Mallows Bay on the Potomac River, stripped of metal fittings, and left to decay with hundreds of sister ships.
Vessel
- 1919
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- 281 ft
- 46 ft
- 3500
- Steam, single screw
- U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation
Loss
- Early-to-mid 1920s, part of the mass scrapping and abandonment of the 'Ghost Fleet'
- Intentional sinking
- Mallows Bay, Potomac River, Maryland
- Potomac River / Chesapeake Bay
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Deteriorated wooden hull remains, partly exposed at low tide
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Mallows Bay-Widewater National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 38.55° N 77.24° W
- Approximate position
- Mallows Bay, Charles County, Maryland
Approximate location within Mallows Bay ship graveyard.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (50/100)
Exact loss date and individual construction details for this hull are not established in the sources reviewed.
NOAA Mallows Bay-Widewater National Marine Sanctuary
Class history, construction program, and site significance.
