AH-WR-0870

Columbus

Steamboat · United States · Lost 1850 · Chesapeake Bay

One of the Chesapeake Bay's earliest steamboats, burned and sunk in 1850, whose recovered engine is the only surviving American example of its pioneering design.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1828, Columbus was among the first steamboats to ply the Chesapeake Bay, carrying freight and occasional passengers between Baltimore and Norfolk. She burned and sank near Smith Point, Virginia, on November 28, 1850, while en route from Baltimore to Richmond, killing nine of sixteen aboard. Located by NOAA in 1987 and studied by Maryland underwater archaeologists in 1991-92, her massive paddle wheel and unique crosshead engine were recovered and conserved.

Vessel

Built: 1828
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, crosshead engine, sidewheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: November 28, 1850
Cause: Fire
Location: Chesapeake Bay near Smith Point, Virginia
Water: Chesapeake Bay
Voyage: Baltimore, Maryland → Richmond, Virginia
Cargo: General freight
Aboard: 16
Lives lost: 9
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 60 ft
Condition: Well-preserved lower hull with an intact 22-foot paddle wheel and the only recovered crosshead steam engine in the United States
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1987
Protection: Archaeological site studied under Maryland's Abandoned Shipwreck Act authority; artifacts held by the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

Position

Coordinates: 37.89° N 76.24° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Smith Point, Virginia
Region: Chesapeake Bay

General area only: coordinate of Smith Point from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.