:Daniel Webster (steamboat)

During the 1840s, two railroads, the Boston and Maine and the Eastern, independently completed rail lines between Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland in southern Maine. By the early 1850s, an increase in traffic to northeastern Maine persuaded the two rival railroads to jointly establish a steamboat service linking their depots in Portland with the northeastern Maine city of Bangor.Bradlee 1921. p. [https://archive.org/details/bostonmainerailr00bradrich/page/28/mode/2up?view=theater 28].Bradlee 1920. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015006389723?urlappend=%3Bseq=151%3Bownerid=1760208-153 97]. A new firm, the Maine Steam Navigation Company, was incorporated in 1853 to achieve this end,Dunbaugh 1992. p. 130. and a new steamboat ordered from the shipyard of Samuel Sneden in Greenpoint, New York.Morrison 1903. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t0rr1r85p?urlappend=%3Bseq=401 391].Heyl 1953. p. 125. The steamer was named Daniel Webster in honor of the late Massachusetts statesman.

Daniel Webster, a wooden-hulled sidewheeler, was launched at Sneden's yard on January 3, 1853,{{cite news |author= |title=Sneden & Whitlock |url=https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201853/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%20%201853%20-%202768.pdf |work=The New York Herald |date=December 29, 1853 |page=3 }} and completed in April the same year. Built of white oak and chestnut with copper and iron fastenings,{{cite book |author= |title=New York Marine Register |location=New York |publisher=Board of Underwriters |pages=[https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/#358 344], [https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571858/#17 17] |date=1858}} the steamer was {{convert|240|ft}} in length—{{convert|220|ft}} between perpendiculars—with a beam of {{convert|34|ft}} and hold depth of {{convert|10|ft|7|in}}{{cite news |author= |title=The Steamer Daniel Webster |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100874756/steamer-daniel-webster-description/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=March 10, 1853 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Her gross register tonnage was 766.{{efn|Her original official registered tonnage.Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 51.Silka 2006. pp. 51–52. In 1864, a new method of calculating tonnages was introduced in the United States, which resulted in an adjustment for Daniel Webster{{'s}} tonnage to 819. A number of sources cite a tonnage of 900 or 910, the figure recorded in ship registers from 1870 on.{{cite book |author= |title=American LLoyd's Universal Standard Record of Shipping |location=New York |publisher=Thos. D. Taylor |page=[https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0237571870/#724 Steamers: 7] |date=1870 }}}}

The steamer was powered by a single-cylinder vertical beam engine with bore of {{convert|52|in|cm}} and stroke of {{convert|11|ft}}, built by the West Street Foundry of Brooklyn, New York.{{efn|{{cite news |author= |title=New York Iron Foundries |url=https://fultonhistory.com/Login_18/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier%201853/New%20York%20NY%20Morning%20Courier%201853%20-%200753.pdf |work=Morning Courier and New York Enquirer |date=April 5, 1853 |page=2 }} The link shows only the bottom of the broadsheet page; the top of the page, which includes the article title, is at another url, but the relevant content can be found at the given link in column 3.}} Steam was supplied by two iron boilers, one on each {{glossary link|glossary=Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)|guards|guard}}—an arrangement designed to lessen injuries to passengers, and damage to the ship, in the event of a boiler explosion. Her paddlewheels were {{convert|33|ft}} in diameter. As an additional safety feature, she was fitted with an independent engine and boiler for working the fire and water pumps.

Daniel Webster was one of the first steamers to be designed expressly for service in the rough waters of the Maine coast, having a higher than usual topside and strongly planked bulwarks forward.Lane 1943. pp. 23–24. She was also the first Maine steamer to be fitted with a full saloon deck—which included 44 staterooms and a public parlor—above the main deck, in the manner of the latest Long Island Sound steamers.{{cite news |author= |title=No title |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102010993/daniel-webster-route-1853/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=June 30, 1853 |page=4 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} As a night boat, the vessel was fitted with 200 sleeping berths. Her saloon decorations included a lifesize portrait of the steamer's namesake, donated by his friends, who also gifted the vessel an elegant piano with a value in excess of $600 ({{inflation|US|600|1853|fmt=eq|r=-2}}).{{cite news |author= |title=No title |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102010955/daniel-webster-piano-1853/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=February 18, 1853 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

On entering service, Daniel Webster was the largest steamer operating on the Maine coast, and would soon prove herself the fastest.{{cite news |author= |title=Quick Trip |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25496272/daniel-webster-1853-steamboat-record/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=October 25, 1853 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} In overall appointments and finish she was widely considered the finest. Her superior qualities quickly made her a favorite with the traveling public,Richardson 1941. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015010632514?urlappend=%3Bseq=53%3Bownerid=1612224-55 31]. and she would maintain a high reputation throughout her career.{{cite news |author= |title=What a Stranger Says about Richmond and Her Advantages |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102013628/daniel-webster-good-report-fares-1871/ |work=Daily Dispatch |location=Richmond, VA |date=December 4, 1871 |page= |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

File:Daniel Webster (steamboat) by Adams.jpg]]

Daniel Webster completed her maiden voyage from Portland to Bangor on April 21, 1853. She thereafter settled into a regular schedule, departing her home port of Bangor at 6 am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and clearing Portland the same evenings—after the arrival of the express train from Boston at around 5 pm—for the overnight return trip.{{cite news |author= |title=Steamers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102203998/daniel-webster-1855-advert/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=April 21, 1855 |page=4 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Intermediate stops on the route included Hampden, Frankfort and Bucksport on the Penobscot River, and Searsport, Belfast, Camden and Rockland on the Maine coast; at the latter port, she connected with the steamboat Rockland for Machiasport. The fare between Bangor and Portland was $2 ({{inflation|US|2|1853|fmt=eq}})—$3 (${{inflation|US|3|1853}}) if an additional leg by train between Portland and Boston was included.

Initially, Daniel Webster found herself in competition on the route with the Sanford Independent Line's steamer Governor, but early in the season, the owners of the two steamboats decided that it was in their mutual interest to run their vessels on alternate days, the two together thus providing a daily service. By 1854, Daniel Webster had reportedly attracted most of the patronage regardless, and in July, the Sanford Line chartered Governor elsewhere, leaving Daniel Webster to operate on the route alone.Dunbaugh 1992. p. 139.

File:Daniel Webster excursion advertisement, 1853.jpg

In addition to her regular service, Daniel Webster was occasionally employed on excursions, such as day trips,{{cite news |author= |title=Excursion this day |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102203341/daniel-webster-excursion-jun-1853/ |work=Bangor Whig and Courier |date=June 23, 1853 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} sightseeing tours{{cite news |author= |title=No title |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102203424/daniel-webster-excursion-jul-1853/ |work=Bangor Whig and Courier |date=July 19, 1853 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} and school outings.{{cite news |author= |title=Sabbath School Excursion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102204727/d-webster-school-excursion-jul-1856/ |work=Bangor Whig and Courier |date=July 23, 1856 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=Excursion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102204790/d-webster-school-excursion-aug-1856/ |work=Bangor Whig and Courier |date=August 6, 1856 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} In July and August 1856, the steamer was chartered by the Republican Party for several political conventions—said at the time to be the largest ever held in eastern Maine—in support of presidential candidate John C. Frémont.{{cite news |author= |title=John C. Fremont |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102204551/d-webster-convention-jul-1856/ |work=Bangor Whig and Courier |date=July 8, 1856 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=Grand Rally of the People—the Excursion to Frankfort to hear Hon. Hannibal Hamlin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102204978/d-webster-rally-description-aug-1856/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=August 13, 1856 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=The Mass Republican Convention |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102205207/d-webster-another-convention-late-aug/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=August 29, 1856 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Daniel Webster was typically loaded to capacity for these conventions, on one occasion taking 1,500 passengers in a single trip from Bangor to the convention venue at Frankfort. Both Daniel Webster and her associated railroads reduced their prices by half for convention attendees.{{cite news |author= |title=John C. Fremont |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102204602/d-webster-convention-jul-1856/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=July 7, 1856 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

In late August 1856, Daniel Webster was making her way up the Penobscot in heavy fog when the brig Lady of the Lake collided with her just forward of the pilot house. Taking water rapidly, the steamer reversed almost a mile (1.6 km) to beach herself at Belfast, where her passengers and cargo were later transferred to the steamers Boston and Penobscot.Dunbaugh 1992. p. 144. The Webster was evidently not too badly damaged in this incident, as she was back in service before the end of the month.

During the 1856–1857 winter off-season, the steamer was renovated and reboilered.{{cite news |author= |title=The Steamer Daniel Webster |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102205560/d-webster-praise-new-boilers-apr-1857/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=April 16, 1857 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} After returning to service, she broke a piston head in July 1857 while on the way to Bangor, arriving late as a result; the problem was quickly rectified in port and the steamer was returned to service the following day.{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102254906/d-webster-breaks-piston-jul-1857/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=July 31, 1857 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} In August 1858, a schooner collided with the Webster in heavy fog off Rockland, damaging the steamer's cutwater; the schooner disappeared quickly in the fog before she could be identified or the extent of her damage ascertained.{{cite news |author= |title=Collision |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102254918/d-webster-collision-aug-1858/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=August 21, 1858 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

In early September 1858, Daniel Webster was host to then-United States senator, and future president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. The Mississippi senator, who had spent the summer in Maine for health reasons, traveled aboard the steamer from Portland to Belfast, where he conducted a troop inspection and gave a speech.{{cite news |author= |title=The Encampment at Belfast |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255022/d-webster-transports-jefferson-davis/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=September 4, 1858 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

Daniel Webster was absent from her usual route for reasons unknown in early 1860, her place taken by the steamer Forest City, which was chartered for the purpose from the Portland Line. The Webster returned to the route, replacing Forest City, in August.Dunbaugh 1992. p. 157.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861, Daniel Webster{{'s}} captain publicly pledged to transport Union troops and munitions on the steamer free of charge.{{cite news |author= |title=Latest by Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255234/d-webster-captain-offers-free-troop/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=April 20, 1861 |page= |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} A few weeks later, the steamer, with a contingent of the newly-formed Maine Coast Guard aboard, overtook and captured a yacht stolen from Biddeford, the Guard apparently claiming it as their first war prize.{{cite news |author= |title=Matters in Maine |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255262/d-webster-recaptures-stolen-yacht-jun/ |work=Lewiston Daily Evening Journal |location=Lewiston, ME |date=June 4, 1861 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} On June 17, Daniel Webster transported the 1,100 men of the 4th Maine Infantry Regiment from Rockland to Portland on their way to the battlefront.{{cite news |author= |title=Departure of 4th Maine Regiment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255276/d-webster-transports-4th-maine-regiment/ |work=Lewiston Daily Evening Journal |date=June 17, 1861 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

In March 1862, Daniel Webster was chartered by the United States War Department, the first of four such charters the steamer would negotiate during the war. The first two of these were contracted for a fee of $600 ({{inflation|US|600|1862|r=-2|fmt=eq}}) per day, and the last two for $300 per day.Morrison 1903. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t0rr1r85p?urlappend=%3Bseq=402 392]. In government service, the steamer was referred to as Daniel Webster No. 2 to distinguish her from the steamship Daniel Webster (dubbed Daniel Webster No. 1) which had also been chartered by the government.Olmsted and Censer 1986. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951001424127l?urlappend=%3Bseq=372%3Bownerid=29330331-369 342].{{efn|name=possclerical}}

In mid April, Daniel Webster No. 2 transported an infantry regiment from Maine to Ship Point, Virginia, (near Yorktown) to participate in the Peninsula Campaign.{{cite book |author= |title=History of St. Lawrence Co., New York |chapter=Military History |location=Philadelphia |publisher=L. H. Everts & Co |page=[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t89g60v22?urlappend=%3Bseq=776 476] |date=1878}} Shortly thereafter, the steamer was assigned to the York River headquarters of the United States Sanitary Commission and outfitted as a hospital boat. Her principal task at this time was the transportation of wounded soldiers from the front line to hospitals in the rear. As she was classified by the Army as a "coast steamer"—that is, a vessel not designed for deepwater service—her range was restricted to regional hospitals, namely those at Fort Monroe; Washington, D.C.;Wormeley 1898. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t12n4zp9n?urlappend=%3Bseq=79 59]. and Philadelphia.{{cite magazine |last=Dixon |first=Ben F. |date=July 1945 |title=The 'White Lily' |magazine=Hospital Corps Quarterly |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Government Printing Office |volume=18 |issue=7 |page=[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b2951856?urlappend=%3Bseq=800%3Bownerid=9007199273602143-828 12] }} On May 9, for example, the steamer took 200 soldiers, wounded in the Battle of Williamsburg, to Fort Monroe; future memoirist Eliza Howland was a nurse on this trip.Olmsted and Censer 1986. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951001424127l?urlappend=%3Bseq=362%3Bownerid=29330331-359 332].Bacon and Howland 1899. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/loc.ark:/13960/t8mc92140?urlappend=%3Bseq=371 349].

Conditions on the hospital boats could at times be dire. Nurse Katherine Prescott Wormeley described a scene in June when a surplus of wounded men were moved across Daniel Webster No. 2 to the steamer Vanderbilt: {{blockquote|text=Men in every condition of horror, shattered and shrieking, were being brought in on stretchers ... Imagine a great river or Sound steamer filled on every deck,—every berth and every square inch of room covered with wounded men; even the stairs and gangways and guards filled with those who are less badly wounded; and then imagine fifty well men, on every kind of errand, rushing to and fro over them, every touch bringing agony to the poor fellows, while stretcher after stretcher came along, hoping to find an empty place; and then imagine what it was like to ... make sure that every man on both those boats was properly refreshed and fed. We got through at 1 am ... when a message came that one hundred and fifty men were just arriving by the [rail]cars. It was raining in torrents, and both boats were full. We went on shore; the same scene repeated [with the steamer Kennebec] ... we went to bed at daylight.Wormeley 1898. pp. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t12n4zp9n?urlappend=%3Bseq=124 102–106].}}

In July, while operating on the James River, Daniel Webster No. 2 was fired upon by Confederate cannon and hit six times, one ball passing through the pilot house and another through one of the smokestacks. Both the steamer and her crew escaped serious injury, with only the pilot being slightly wounded.{{cite news |author= |title=The Steamer Daniel Webster Fired Into |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255431/d-webster-fired-upon-in-james-river-jul/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=July 19, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

Daniel Webster No. 2 completed her first government charter in October and returned to Maine, still bearing the scars of her wartime service, which included the cannonball hits, "fifty to a hundred rifle ball holes in her sides"{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255481/d-webster-returns-to-route-war-scars/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=October 8, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} and other damage. Briefly, she returned to her prewar commercial service between Portland and Bangor,{{cite news |author= |title=Steamer Daniel Webster |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255449/d-webster-returns-to-route-oct-1862/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=October 7, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} but in late October was advertised for sale.{{cite news |author= |title=Special Notices |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255501/d-webster-for-sale-oct-1862/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=October 29, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} The following month, she was purchased by Spear, Lang & Delano of Boston,{{efn|Heyl erroneously states that the buyer was a Philadelphia firm, E. A. Souder & Co., who owned the vessel until 1867, when she was sold to Spear, Lang & Delano, who then placed her in Boston–Bath service.Heyl 1953. pp. 125–126. In fact, she was bought by Spear, Lang & Delano in 1862,{{cite news |author= |title=Launched |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103151376/harvest-moon-builder-launch-date-d/ |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=November 24, 1862 |page=4 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} her Boston–Bath service began in 1864,Dunbaugh 1992. p. 177. and by 1867 she had stopped running on the route.{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255525/d-webster-sold-nov-1862/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=November 19, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}}} who decided to remodel her with government service in mind. Planned alterations to the steamer over the winter off-season, intended to improve her seagoing abilities, included shortening her guards both fore and aft by {{convert|4|ft}}, and relocating her boilers from the guards to the hull.{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255553/d-webster-altered-for-government/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=November 25, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Work was completed by December 19, by which time her government charter had been renewed.{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255576/d-webster-alterations-complete-renamed/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=December 19, 1862 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} The clumsy former name Daniel Webster No. 2 was dispensed with during her rebuild, in favor of Expounder (after a nickname formerly applied to her namesake).Dunbaugh 1992. p. 174. To replace her on the Portland–Bangor route, Spear, Lang & Delano debuted their newly-built steamer {{USS|Harvest Moon||2}}.{{efn|Dunbaugh erroneously states that Harvest Moon began service on the Portland–Bangor route in late 1862;Dunbaugh 1992. p. 167. in fact, she was not launched until late November 1862 and did not make her trial trip until March 1863.{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103152566/harvest-moon-makes-14-mph-in-trials/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=March 24, 1863 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}}}

In July 1863, Expounder returned from government service to renew her Portland–Bangor service for a few months, taking over from Harvest Moon, which was transferred to a route from Portland to the Kennebec River.Dunbaugh 1992. p. 171. Expounder was chartered by the government again in October; her subsequent wartime operations are not known.

File:Star of the East (1866 steamboat).jpg

In November 1864, Expounder resumed merchant service in Maine, though not on her original route. Instead, she commenced running on a newly established, thrice-weekly passenger service between Boston and Bath, Maine, in opposition to the steamer Eastern Queen. Expounder{{'s}} partner on this route was the steamer Eastern City, the two providing a daily service, with a departure time from each city of 6 pm. By 1865, Expounder{{'s}} original name, Daniel Webster, had been restored, and after returning from a final government charter in August, she resumed service on the Boston–Bath route, albeit without her stablemate Eastern City, which had been transferred to Philadelphia.Dunbaugh 1992. p. 183.

In 1866, Eastern City returned from Philadelphia to again run in partnership with the Webster. Later that year, however, the opposition added the newly-completed Star of the East, the largest Maine steamer then in service. A rate war ensued, during which fares dropped to just 25 cents ({{inflation|US|.25|1866|fmt=eq}}). Spear, Lang & Delano were unable to sustain the battle beyond the year, and in 1867, both Daniel Webster and Eastern City lay idle until July, when they were reportedly put up for auction.Dunbaugh 1992. p. 193.{{cite news |author= |title=Letter from Bath |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102901056/d-webster-idle-jul-1867/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=July 4, 1867 |page=3? |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} No record of service for either boat has been found from 1867 through 1870.{{efn|A September 1870 newspaper report states that Daniel Webster, "the old time favorite in the waters of the Penobscot", was in dry dock "preparatory to once more being put into a[c]tive service."{{cite news |author= |title=Local and Other Items |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102900043/d-webster-dry-dock-1870/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=September 6, 1870 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}}}

File:Eastern City (1852 steamboat).jpg

In 1871, Daniel Webster and her stablemate Eastern City were acquired by the Richmond and York River Railroad of Virginia. Eastern City was the first of the pair to enter service for the company, on a route between Baltimore, Maryland, and the rail connection at West Point, Virginia.{{cite news |author= |title=Steamboat Lines |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255798/d-webster-owners-maryland/ |work=The Sun |location=Baltimore, MD |date=August 31, 1871 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} In September, Daniel Webster, which had been delayed by the installation of a new boiler, joined her, the two thus providing a daily service.{{cite news |author= |title=Maine News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255754/d-webster-new-boiler-sep-1871/ |work=Bangor Daily Whig and Courier |date=September 8, 1871 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=[Illegible] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102580639/daniel-webster-advert-1872/ |work=Der Deutsche Correspondent |location=Baltimore, MD |date=February 22, 1872 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} The railroad ran into financial difficulties in 1872, and after less than two years on the route, both steamers were sold to a Canadian company.{{cite news |author= |title=By Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102580098/d-webster-for-quebec-sep-1872/ |work=The Sun |location=Baltimore, MD |date=September 17, 1872 |page=4 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=Vessel Property |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102255781/d-webster-for-quebec-sep-1872/ |work=The Boston Daily Globe |date=September 30, 1872 |page=7 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{efn|Dayton 1925. p. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b16385?urlappend=%3Bseq=293%3Bownerid=9007199259147942-293 271]. Both Dunbaugh and Dayton fail to mention that the steamers briefly went into Baltimore service before being sold to Canadian interests.}}

The new owners of Daniel Webster and Eastern City, the St. Lawrence Tow Boat Company (later known as the St. Lawrence Steam Navigation Company), renamed the two steamers Saguenay and St. Lawrence respectively.{{cite web |url=https://catalogs.marinersmuseum.org/object/CL4591 |title=Steamboat Saguenay, Canadian |author= |date=April 4, 2022 |website=The Mariners' Museum and Park |access-date=2022-06-06 }}{{cite web |url=https://catalogs.marinersmuseum.org/object/CL4590 |title=Steamboat St. Lawrence, Canadian |author= |date=April 4, 2022 |website=Mariners' Museum and Park |access-date=2022-06-06 }}Dayton 1925. pp. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b16385?urlappend=%3Bseq=288%3Bownerid=9007199259147942-288 266], [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b16385?urlappend=%3Bseq=293%3Bownerid=9007199259147942-293 271].Bradlee 1920. pp. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015006389723?urlappend=%3Bseq=135%3Bownerid=1760208-137 85–86]. The two, along with the larger steamer Union, were placed on a route between Quebec City on the lower St. Lawrence River and Chicoutimi on the Saguenay River, with intermediate stops including La Malbaie, Baie-Saint-Paul, Les Éboulements and Rivière du Loup on the St, Lawrence, and Tadoussac, L'Anse-Saint-Jean and Ha Ha Bay on the Saguenay.{{cite news |author= |title=Steamboats |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102957216/saguenay-st-lawrence-union-running/ |work=The Gazette |location=Montreal, Quebec |date=July 11, 1874 |page=1 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=Steamboats |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102632187/saguenay-advert-aug-1881/ |work=The Gazette |location=Montreal, Quebec |date=August 11, 1881 |page=7 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} The line offered this service four days a week, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Since a round trip took two days, two of the three steamers would typically make the trip twice a week.

File:Cap Trinite.png in 1880]]

Tourism was an important component of the trade on this route. The steamboat line promoted the attractions of sea bathing, fishing, and the "far famed" scenery of the Saguenay, while the rustic charms of the smaller settlements along the route were also appealing for some. Particular highlights for tourists included visits to Éternité Bay and Cap Trinité on the Saguenay, where the river is up to {{convert|2.5|km}} deep and the surrounding peaks rise to a height of {{convert|550|m}}; at these locations, steamboats of the line would stop their engines and sound their whistles or fire a cannon to demonstrate the remarkable echo.{{cite news |author= |title=Summer Letters |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102632053/saguenay-more-trip-details-1874/ |work=The Boston Daily Globe |date=August 29, 1874 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |author= |title=Massachusetts Press Excursion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102631977/saguenay-trip-details-1874/ |work=Berkshire County Eagle |location=Berkshire, MA |date=July 2, 1874 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} A further enticement for travelers aboard Saguenay was the cuisine, with one reviewer describing it as "equal to a first-class hotel",{{cite news |author= |title=Holiday Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102956497/saguenay-trip-details-sep-1874/ |work=The Evening Star |location=Montreal |date=September 2, 1874 |page=1 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} while others commented on the superior quality of the fresh-caught salmon and other produce.{{cite news |author= |title=Quebec Citadel and Convents |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102632415/saguenay-old-tub-food-1882/ |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=August 29, 1882 |page=6 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Local trade for the steamers included the transport of freight and livestock.{{cite news |author= |title=The Saguenay Trip |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102632287/saguenay-account-of-trip-loading/ |work=Boston Evening Transcript |date=August 22, 1882 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

In her first season on the route, Saguenay broke her crankshaft and was out of commission for some time. A new crankshaft, seven tons in weight—and said by the Montreal Witness to be the largest forging ever produced in the country to that time—was supplied by the Moisin Iron Company of Montreal in September.{{cite news |author= |title=Iron and Coal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102631858/saguenay-shaft-replaced-1873/ |work=The Pittsburgh Commercial |location=Pittsburgh, PA |date=September 17, 1873 |page=2 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} Saguenay would continue on the Quebec City – Chicoutimi route until 1884, latterly running in partnership with the steamer Union.

At about 11:30 pm on September 25, 1884, while on a return voyage to Quebec City, Saguenay was lying at Pointe au Pic, La Malbaie, when a passenger noticed flames and raised the alarm.{{cite news |author= |title=Steamer 'Saguenay' Burned |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102631684/saguenay-burned-plus-details-of/ |work=The Montreal Daily Star |date=September 25, 1884 |page=4 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} The captain immediately ordered the steam pumps to be put into operation, but because the fire was directly above the engine, they could not be manned. Most of the passengers, many still in their nightclothes, were quickly roused and hastened to safety, after which the steamer was cut loose to allow her to drift away from the wharf. In the afterpart of the vessel, however, a dozen passengers had been cut off by the flames and driven below deck.{{cite news |author= |title=On a Burning Steamer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103254263/saguenay-passenger-escape/ |work=Morning Journal and Courier |location=New Haven, CT |date=September 30, 1884 |page=3 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}} After trying, apparently in vain, to signal for help, they attempted to escape through the portholes, intending to use pieces of lumber from the cargo hold as floats, but with minutes to spare, they were rescued by a crew member in a small boat.{{cite news |author= |title=The Burning of a Steamer on the St. Lawrence |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103255577/saguenay-burning-british-account/ |work=The Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald and North and South Wales Advertiser |location=Caernarfon, Wales, United Kingdom |date=October 11, 1884 |page=7 |via= Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}

The steamer eventually drifted about {{convert|150|m}} offshore and burned to the waterline before sinking, taking with her all of the mails, most of the passengers' belongings, and a substantial number of cattle. No persons lost their lives in the accident. Considered a "fine steamer" to the end, Saguenay{{'s}} value at the time was estimated to be in the vicinity of $60,000 ({{inflation|US|60000|1884|fmt=eq|r=-3}}), only about half of which was covered by insurance.

{{notelist|30em}}

{{reflist|20em}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite book |last1=Bacon |first1=Georgeanna Woolsey |author1-link=Georgeanna Woolsey |last2=Howland |first2=Eliza Woolsey |author2-link=Eliza Howland |title=Letters of a Family During the War for the Union, 1861–1865 |volume=I |date=1899 |location=New Haven |publisher=Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor}} {{OCLC|3145468}}
• {{cite book |last=Bradlee |first=Francis B. C. |date=1920 |title=Some Account of Steam Navigation in New England |location=Salem, MA |publisher=Essex Institute}} {{OCLC|3958230}}
• {{cite book |last=Bradlee |first=Francis B. C. |date=1921 |title=The Boston and Maine Railroad: A History of the Main Road, with its Tributary Lines |location=Salem, MA |publisher=Essex Institute}} {{OCLC|5453211}}
• {{cite book |last=Dayton |first=Fred Erving |date=1925 |title=Steamboat Days |location=New York |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Company}} {{OCLC|1458123}}
• {{cite book |last=Dunbaugh |first=Edwin L. |date=1992 |title=Night Boat to New England 1815–1900 |location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood Press}} {{OCLC|24065509}}
• {{cite book |last= Heyl |first= Erik |author-link= Erik Heyl |title=Early American Steamers |date= 1953 |volume= I |publisher=Erik Heyl |location=Buffalo, New York}} {{OCLC|1626009}}
• {{cite book |last=Lane |first=Carl D. |date=1943 |title=American Paddle Steamboats |location=New York |publisher=Coward-McCann Inc}} {{OCLC|835721135}}
• {{cite book |last=Lytle |first=William M. |last2=Holdcamper |first2=Forrest H. |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=C. Bradford |date=1975 |title=Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1790–1868 (The Lytle-Holdcamper List) |url= |location=Staten Island, New York |publisher=The Steamship Historical Society of America, Inc |page= }} {{OCLC|22040526}}
• {{cite book |last=Morrison |first=John Harrison |date=1903 |title=History of American Steam Navigation |location=New York |publisher=W. F. Sametz & Co.}} {{OCLC|3041572}}
• {{cite book |last=Olmsted |first=Frederick Law |editor1-last=Censer |editor1-first=Jane Turner |date=1986 |title=The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted |volume=IV |location=Baltimore, MA |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press}} {{OCLC|2799009}}
• {{cite book |last=Richardson |first=John M. |date=1941 |title=Steamboat Lore of the Penobscot |location=Rockland, Maine |publisher=Kennebec Journal Print Shop }} {{OCLC|2369821}}
• {{cite magazine |last=Silka |first=Henry |date=2006 |title=Shipbuilding and the Nascent Community of Greenpoint, 1850–1855 |magazine=The Northern Mariner |location=Ottawa, Ontario |publisher=Canadian Nautical Research Society |issn=1183-112X }}
• {{cite book |last=Wormeley |first=Katharine Prescott |author-link=Katherine Prescott Wormeley |date=1898 |title=The Cruel Side of War; with the Army of the Potomac. Letters from the Headquarters of the United States Sanitary Commission during the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia in 1862 |location=Boston |publisher=Roberts Brothers }} {{OCLC|2674840}}

{{refend}}

Category:1853 ships

Category:Excursion steamboats

Category:Maritime incidents in September 1884

Category:Steamboats of Canada

Category:Steamboats of Chesapeake Bay

Category:Steamboats of Maine