AH-WR-0634

Express

Passenger Steamboat · United States · Lost October 1878, during the great hurricane of October 21-24, 1878 · Chesapeake Bay

A Baltimore steamboat overwhelmed by the great October 1878 hurricane on the Chesapeake, with only seven of thirty-one passengers surviving.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The steamboat Express sailed from Baltimore into the teeth of the powerful hurricane that struck the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays in late October 1878. Contemporary reports describe her pitching helplessly as the gale increased to a 'frightful extent,' with waves repeatedly sweeping her decks until her captain abandoned hope. She went down across the bay from Cedar Point. Of 31 passengers aboard, only 7 survived, making it one of the deadliest recorded storm losses on the Chesapeake.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Not established
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: October 1878, during the great hurricane of October 21-24, 1878
Cause: Storm
Location: Chesapeake Bay off Cedar Point, roughly 18 miles northeast of Point Lookout, Maryland
Water: Chesapeake Bay
Voyage: Baltimore, Maryland
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 31
Lives lost: 24
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 38.30° N 76.37° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Point Lookout, St. Mary's County, Maryland
Region: Chesapeake Bay

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