Eastern Steamship Lines

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Eastern Steamship Line
IndustryShipping
Founded1901
FounderCharles W. Morse
Defunct1955

Eastern Steamship Lines was a shipping company in the United States that operated from 1901 to 1955.[1] It was created through successive mergers by Wall Street financier and speculator Charles W. Morse.[2][3][4] The line sailed along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada, operating out of Boston and New York. Much of its fleet was sold Boston to the US government for use in World War I. After the war the company would order additional ships for the Post-war period. Eastern Steamship Lines served as operator for the War Shipping Administration in World War II. The United States government requisitioned all of the fleets vessels for military duty on both the Atlantic and Pacific.

History[edit]

Background[edit]

Morse's father had a large role in the towing business on the Kennebec River in Maine. Charles was already involved in the shipping business while a student at Bowdoin College, and at his graduation in 1877 he had accumulated a sizable capital. After college he went into business with his father and a cousin, Harry F. Morse, forming C.W. Morse & Company and engaging in an extensive business shipping ice and lumber.[5]

Eastern Steamship Company (1901-1911)[edit]

After profiting in the creation and sale of substantial holdings known as the "Ice Trust," Morse returned to the realm of shipping in 1901, when he established the Eastern Steamship Company by consolidating the Boston and Bangor Steamship Company, dating from 1834; the Portland Steam Packet Company, organized in 1843; and the International Steamship Company, established in 1859.[6]

In 1902 Morse acquired control of both overnight steamboat lines on the Hudson River - the People's Line, established in 1835, and the Citizens' Line, established in 1872 - and organized the Hudson Navigation Company to operate them. They were collectively known as the Hudson River Night Line. The People's Line named its new 411-foot steamer C.W. Morse in his honor in 1904.[7]

Morse acquired control of the Metropolitan Steamship Company from the Whitney interests in 1906. He organized the Consolidated Steamship Company in January 1907 as a holding company for the Eastern Steamship Company, Metropolitan Steamship Company, Clyde Steamship Company and Mallory Steamship Company. Despite an initial announcement of such a sale, Morse failed in an attempt to purchase the Long Island Sound steamers of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.[8] He did, however, acquire control of the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company and the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company in 1907.[citation needed]

He parlayed this success into a prominent role in high finance in New York City.[4] A failure speculating in 1907 led to the collapse of banking interests Morse had acquired driving his steamship lines into receivership, for varying periods, in February 1908.[9][10][11] Indicted by United States District Attorney Henry L. Stimson, Morse was convicted of violations of federal banking laws. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Atlanta federal penitentiary in November 1908 but remained free on appeal.[12]

Eastern Steamship Corporation (1911-1914) and Eastern Steamship Lines (1914 onward)[edit]

The company was reincorporated in October 1909 in Maine with Morse as president.[13] The Metropolitan Steamship Company and Maine Steamship Company were consolidated with the Eastern Steamship Company in 1911 to form Eastern Steamship Corporation.[14] In 1912 The Eastern Steamship Corporation bought the steamships Yarmouth, Prince Arthur, and Prince George form the Canadian Pacific Railway.[15] The vessels operated under the subsidiary called the Boston & Yarmouth Steamship Company, also known as the Yarmouth Line.[citation needed]

Steamship Camden
Coastal ship SS Belfast approaching dock 1909.

In 1914 Eastern Steamship Corporation went into receivership, and when it emerged in 1917 it had been reorganized as the Eastern Steamship Lines.[citation needed]

Much of its fleet served during World War I.[16] Eastern Steamship Lines sold Boston to the US government for use in World War I. By the end of World War I, the Boston and Yarmouth were seen as old and obsolete, and after the war the government sold the Boston to private interests.[15]

After the war, Eastern Steamship Line took advantage of the United States Shipping Board loans initiative for American built ships. In 1923, Eastern hired naval architect Theodore Ferris to design new ships for the New York to Boston route. The ships had to be stable enough to cross Block Island Sound but narrow enough to pass through the Cape Cod Canal.[17] Two new ships, the Boston and New York, were built at Maryland Steel Company at Sparrows Point.[18] Each ship was 402 feet long, with 345 staterooms. They entered service in 1924, replacing the North Land and Calvin Austin.

In 1924 Eastern would order two additional ships, the George Washington and Robert E. Lee, to replace outdated ships in their Old Dominion division for the summer New to Norfolk Route. The ships were also designed by naval architect Theodore Ferris and built at Newport News Shipbuilding. They would replace the Hamilton and Jefferson. The ships were launched in 1925 under the Old Dominion Line flag, but would later change that same year to sail on the official Eastern Steamship Line flag.[18] The vessels would be charted in the winters 1925–1927 to Clyde Line for the New York to Jacksonville and Miami route.[citation needed]

SS Yarmouth (1926), at Yarmouth NS

In 1927, Eastern Steamship Line replaced Prince George and Prince Arthur with two new purpose-built sister ships: the Evangeline and Yarmouth. Built at William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, the ships would sail on the Boston to Yarmouth route. In 1932, two more deep water ships were built for the line, the Acadia and the Saint John. Constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, they would sail from New York to Norfolk, along with cruises from those port to Bermuda or Nassau.[18] These two ships would end up being the final ships built for the Eastern Steamship Line.[citation needed]

SS Saint John as naval ship USS Antaeus

Eastern Steamship Lines served as operator for the War Shipping Administration in World War II. The United States government requisitioned all of the fleets vessels for military duty on both the Atlantic and Pacific. Many of Eastern's ships would be torpedoed and sunk during the war, leaving few ships to return to service after the conflict was over.[citation needed]

After the war, only two of Eastern's fleet, the Yarmouth and Evangeline were in condition to return to service. The ships were officially returned to Eastern by the U.S. government in February 1946, and it would take a year to reconvert them to passenger service. The Yarmouth resumed regular service on the Boston to Yarmouth route, while the Evangeline sailed on weekly cruises from New York to Bermuda. The condition of the ship, even after the refit, lead to maintenance issues, along with higher costs of fuel and labor. This would lead to the sailings being canceled after a few months, and the Evangeline was laid up in New York.[18][19]

Decline and cessation of business in 1955[edit]

After a seaman strike in 1950, the American Merchant Marine required better crew accommodation and facilities for all American flagged vessels. Eastern Steamship Lines who was already struggling financially would not be able to afford the required updates, along with the conversion of some of the for-profit passenger cabins into non-profit crew cabins. Eastern Steamship would curtail this requirement by becoming one of the first lines to reflag their vessels to a flag of convenience with the less strict Liberian registry.[18] The line was still able to keep many of its routes, but without a U.S. registry, it would no longer be allowed to go directly between American ports.[citation needed]

With ongoing financial troubles the Yarmouth was sold in 1954 to Frank Leslie Fraser of the Miami based McCormick Steamship Corporation for $500,000.[20] The ship was renamed Queen of Nassau,[1] and sailed within a division of the non-related Eastern Shipping Corporation. The Evangeline took over the Yarmouth's Boston to Yarmouth route during the 1954 summer season.[18] The Canadian government would withdraw its subsidy, after ordering a new ferry MV Bluenose, for the 1955 summer season, which would lead to the end of the Eastern Steamship Line. The Evangeline's final sailing was on September 19, 1954, and the last ship to sail for line.[1] She would be sold to the Eastern Shipping Corporation and would join her former sister for cruises to the Bahamas and Caribbean.[21] The remainder of the Eastern owned piers, and laid up vessel Acadia, would be sold off, and all business would cease by 1955.[22]

Revival of Name[edit]

The company name would be revived in 1965 creating a new Eastern Steamship Line.[23] This was formed by the Eastern Steamship Corporation, the rebranded company that had originally purchased the Yarmouth and the Evangeline. However, it was revived in name only, with no official corporate connection to the previous company, but with similar southern routes from the previous line.[18]

Fleet list[edit]

Eastern Steamship Coastal Fleet[18]
Year Built Years in Service for Eastern Steamship Routes Status Notes
City of Bangor 1894 1901-1927 Sank in East Boston 1933
  • Originally built for the Bangor Steamship Co.
City of Rockland 1901 1901-1923 Ran Aground, total loss, scrapped
  • Originally built for the Bangor Steamship Co.
Calvin Austin 1903 1903-1931
  • New York to Portland
  • Boston to Portland
 Scrapped 1933
  • Built for the International Division of Eastern Steamship Co.[18]
Governor Cobb 1906 1906-1917 Scrapped 1947
  • First Turbine Steamship built in the United States
  • Ordered by the Eastern Steamship Company
Camden 1907 1907-1936
  • Boston to Bangor
  • Boston to New York
 Scrapped in China 1955
  • Built for the International Division of Eastern Steamship Co.[18]
Belfast 1909 1909-1936
  • Boston to Bangor
  • Boston to New York
 Wrecked 1947
  • Built for the International Division of Eastern Steamship Co.[18]
North Land 1910 1911-1931
  • Boston to Yarmouth
  • New York to Portland
 Scrapped 1933
  • Built for the Maine Steamship Company[18]
Bunker Hill 1907 1911-1917
  • New York to Boston
 Destroyed in atom bomb test 1947
  • Originally built for William Cramp & Son as a freighter for the New England Steamship Company with sister Massachusetts
Massachusetts 1907 1911-1917
  • New York to Boston
 Scrapped 1965[24]
  • Originally built for William Cramp & Son as a freighter for the New England Steamship Company with sister Bunker Hill
Yarmouth 1887 1912-1926 Digby – Saint John, New Brunswick Scrapped 1920
Prince Arthur 1899 1912-1927 Scrapped 1929
  • Built for Dominion Atlantic Railway Steamship Fleet
  • Purchased in 1912 from the Canadian Pacific Railway[15]
  • Replaced in 1927 by the Evangeline & Yarmouth
Prince George 1899 1912-1927 Scrapped 1929
  • Built for Dominion Atlantic Railway Steamship Fleet
  • Purchased in 1912 from the Canadian Pacific Railway[15]
  • Replaced in 1927 by the Evangeline & Yarmouth
Boston 1924 1924-1941
  • New York – Boston – Halifax - St. John's - Londonderry
 Torpedoed and sank 1942
  • Purpose-built for Eastern Steamship Lines[18] at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp, Sparrow's Point MD
  • Given to Britain and transferred to the Ministry of War Transport in 1942[25]
New York 1924 1924-1941
  • New York – Boston – Halifax - St. John's - Londonderry
 Torpedoed and sank 1942
  • Purpose-built for Eastern Steamship Lines[18] at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp, Sparrow's Point MD
  • Given to Britain and transferred to the Ministry of War Transport in 1942[25]
George Washington 1925 1925-1941
  • New York to Norfolk
  • New York to Boston
 Scrapped 1955
  • Originally ordered for Eastern's Old Dominion Line division
Robert E. Lee 1925 1925-1942
  • New York to Norfolk
  • New York to Boston
 Torpedoed and sunk 1942[26]
  • Originally ordered for Eastern's Old Dominion Line division
Evangeline 1927 1927-1955 Burned & Sank 1965
Yarmouth Castle 1927 1927-1955[27] Scrapped 1979
Acadia 1932 1932-1941 Scrapped 1953
  • Purpose-built for Eastern Steamship Lines[18]
  • Last ship to be sold from the original Eastern fleet
Saint John 1932 1932-1941 Scrapped 1958
  • Purpose-built for Eastern Steamship Lines[18]
  • In 1939, the vessel was chartered to the United States Lines for one voyage to carry American construction workers to air base projects in Bermuda
  • Last ship built for Eastern Steamship Lines

Other ships in the fleet (1901-1941)[edit]

  • Boothbay
  • Brandon
  • City of Augusta
  • Cumberland
  • Della Collins
  • Governor Dingley
  • Hamilton
  • Harvard
  • Herman Winter
  • H.F. Dimcock
  • H.M. Whitney
  • Jamestown
  • James S. Whitney
  • Jefferson

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Sale of Liner Evangeline Furls House Flag of Eastern Steamship; Lowering of Her White 'E' Foreshadows End of Coastal Fleet Touching Ports From Norfolk to Yarmouth". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  2. ^ Druett, Joan (2000). She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea. [Simon and Schuster. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-7432-1437-7. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  3. ^ Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr, The Panic of 1907. Lessons Learned From the Market's Perfect Storm, pp. 39-40. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. ISBN 978-0-470-15263-8
  4. ^ a b Walter Lord, The Good Years. From 1900 to the First World War, pp. 182–183. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960.
  5. ^ Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. XIII, pp. 239–240.
  6. ^ George W. Hilton, The Night Boat, p. 97. Berkeley, California: Howell-North Books, 1968.
  7. ^ Hilton, pp. 120, 132.
  8. ^ "Morse Buys Sound Lines From New Haven", The New York Times, February 7, 1907.
  9. ^ "Ask Receivers For Morse Ship Lines. Bondholders Act in Maine, Boston, and This City to Protect Their Interests", The New York Times, January 31, 1908.
  10. ^ Lord, p. 183.
  11. ^ Hilton, pp. 97, 99.
  12. ^ Pringle (1939)
  13. ^ "Morse Heads New Company. Metropolitan Steamship Lines Will Be Incorporated in Maine To-day", The New York Times, October 11, 1909.
  14. ^ Hilton, p. 99.
  15. ^ a b c d "Local History". yarmouthhistory.ca. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  16. ^ "SS Prince Arthur helps the allies against the Germans". www.digitalcommonwealth.org. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  17. ^ "Leslie Jones: The Camera Man | Boston Herald Traveler: 1917 - 1956". www.lesliejonesphotography.com. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Crockett, L. Dunbaugh, David, Edwin (1997). Eastern Steamship. Providence, RI: Steamship Historical Society of America. ISBN 0-913423-11-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Congress, United States. Reports and Documents.
  20. ^ "LINER YARMOUTH IS REPORTED SOLD; Eastern Company Ship Said to Be Scheduled for Cruise Service Out of Miami". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  21. ^ "Transport News and Notes; Liner Evangeline, Under New Flag, Sets Cruise to Indies--Fire Damages Ship". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  22. ^ "Eastern to Sell Norfolk Holdings Today -- Great Lakes Port Unit Considered". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  23. ^ "Some Notable Early Cruise Ships from Miami". getcruising.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  24. ^ "Oglala (CM-4)". public2.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  25. ^ a b "Boston (British Steam passenger ship) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  26. ^ "Robert E. Lee (American Steam passenger ship) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  27. ^ "Army Ship Photo Index". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
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