The ghost fleet of mallows bay on the maryland side of the potomac river just west of chesapeake bay, the largest shipwreck fleet in the western hemisphere sits halfsunk and decomposing. The ghost fleet of mallows bay sometimes interesting. He wrote a book about the ships, aptly titled ghost fleet of mallows bay. On april 2, 1917, president woodrow wilson issued a national call to arms against imperial germany. Mallows bay is most renowned for its ghost fleet, the partially submerged remains of more than 100 wooden steamships that were built in response to threats. Ghost fleet of mallows bay and other tales of the lost chesapeake shomette, donald g.
New jersey, a steamship that sank in the waters of the chesapeake in 1870, is the subject of the first part of this absorbing narrative. The sandy bluffs and dense stands of ash and pine resemble many other quiet spots along the river. But it may not be nature that brings them to their final demise. In ghost fleet of mallows bay and other tales of the lost chesapeake, donald g. In his house in maryland, he shows me into a room packed with binders and boxes his mallows bay archive. Ghost fleet of mallows bay another story ground level photos of the area. Good airport fodder but not a must read unless youve not read any near future warfare books, in which case you could do worse than this. Ghost fleet of mallows bay, a companion volume to tidewater time capsule, continues the authors quest to uncover the bays hidden history. Almost a century on, the ghost fleet of mallows bay are enjoying a rebirth. The history of the ghost fleet of mallows bay posted march 30, 2017 forty miles south of washington, dc, off of marylands charles county shoreline near a little town named nanjemoy, the weather and waterbeaten remains of more than two hundred ships lie in their final resting places in the shallow waters of the potomac rivers mallows bay. Ghost fleet of mallows bay this is what remains of over 150 wooden steamers that were built during world war i. Ghost fleet is a pageturning speculative thriller in the spirit of the hunt for red october. The remnants of a woodenhulled fleet built and abandoned in wwi, now home to a thriving. The ghost fleet of mallows bay is a reference to the hundreds of ships whose remains still rest in the relatively shallow waters of.
The adjacent land is a county park with hiking trails, picnic areas and a launch for small boats and paddle craft. Bootleggers also favored mallows bay because it was easy to elude authorities among the shipwrecks. Mallows baypotomac river national marine sanctuaries. In this case, its china and the us in the pacific, with cyberwar, spacewar, and drones against good old fashioned american military professionalism. Mallows bay paddle the ghost fleet if you look closely at the picture to the left youll start to see the outlines of ships emerge. Mallows bay is a small bay on the maryland side of the potomac river in charles county, maryland, usa. Press forward through the shallow waters of the little embayment, surrounded by tall, forested bluffs. Located in mallows bay near the maryland town of nanjemoy, the ghost fleet is the largest and most varied collection of historic shipwrecks in the western. Almost 100 years later, we can still see what is left of the fleet at low tide. The debut novel by two leading experts on the cutting edge of national security, ghost fleet has drawn praise as a new kind of technothriller while also becoming the new mustread for military leaders around the world. They call it the ghost fleet of of mallows bay, for this is where a great number of ships are brought to rest in the shallow water of the bay.
Seen from the air, writes historian donald shomette, some of the hulks looks like giant flowerpots. I think we are kayaking over where the cars would park. But in order to understand how these hundreds of ships came here, we have to travel back to the first world war, when america decides to. Riding at anchor in widewater, virginia, the hastily assembled fleet posed a hazard to shipping traffic and a nuisance to fishermen, so the decision was made to move most of the ships across the river to the secluded mallows bay. Ghost fleet of mallows bay and other tales of the lost chesapeake by shomette, donald g. They were ships built for wwi but wound up unused, abandoned and finally scuttled.
Buy ghost fleet of mallows bay and other tales of the lost chesapeake by donald g shomette isbn. Set in the near future, the book portrays a scenario in which a postcommunist china, assisted by russia, is able to launch a technologicallysophisticated attack against the united states in the pacific, leading to the occupation of the hawaiian islands. In mallows bay, a ghost fleet of wrecked ships is very much alive cue the eagle, my husband, pete, says. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features.
Donald shomette presents the ghost fleet of mallows bay. The economist ghost fleet is a thrilling trip through a terrifyingly plausible. Nanjemoy explore the largest concentration of shipwrecks in the western hemisphere, known as the ghost fleet of mallows bay. Heres a quick look at the largest shipwreck graveyard in. But the central attraction of mallows bay is its so called ghost fleet consisting of the rotting and rusting remains of nearly 230 ships. The eerie ghost fleet of mallows bay the weather channel. Take a boat down the potomac river, 30 miles south of washington, d.
Mallows bay ghost fleet of shipwrecks to get federal protection. Singer and august cole tell the story of a future war between the united states on one side and china and russia on the other. Baltimore wjz a national marine sanctuary would be a first for maryland and the chesapeake bay. In mallows bay, theses world war iera vessels, as well as scores. Ghost fleet of mallows bay featured in preservation.
Ghost fleet is a kind of modern update to red storm rising, where a couple of strategic types write up their vision of a future war. Exploring the ghost fleet of mallows bay atlas obscura experiences. Mallows bay, potomac river, nanjemoy, md family canoeing. The ferris wooden cargo ships of world war i rcgroups links these type of vessels were covered in two scale boats threads. Ghost fleet of mallows bay and other tales of the lost chesapeake. Today, the largest extant remnants of that fleet, over wooden and composite steamships built during and immediately after the war, representing the product of dozens of shipyards across the nation, still rests on the shallow floor of the potomac river at and near mallows bay. In mallows bay, a ghost fleet of wrecked ships is very. In the tidal potomac river, about 30 miles downstream from washington d.
On april 2, 1917, president woodrow wilson issued a national ca. Donald shomette the ghost fleet of mallows bay friday, november 15th 7. Holt, rinehart and winston, 1966 suvarrow islands 208 pages. Mallows bay on the eastern shore of the potomac river in maryland is home to the largest ship graveyard in the western hemisphere. Vicea modernday successor to tomes such as the hunt for red october from the late tom clancy. Color white black red green blue yellow magenta cyan.
How to see and photograph the ghost fleet of mallows bay. The remnants of a woodenhulled fleet built and abandoned in wwi, now home to a thriving ecosystem. March 21, 2018 by sharee williamson the winter 2018 edition of preservation magazine highlighted the efforts to designate the ghost fleet of mallows bay as the first national marine sanctuary in the chesapeake bay. Future generations the mallows bay sanctuary would encompass the entire ghost fleet from world war i plus dozens of other shipwrecks from earlier centuries that were subsequently brought to.
You may also want to check out don shomettes book ghost fleet of mallows bay that provides the entire history. Shomette recounts three fascinating tales of the wonders that lie. What followed in the united states was a frenzied effort to build hundreds of merchant ships to replace those being destroyed in germanys campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare. Shomettes ghost ship obsession didnt dissipate over the years rather it shaped his life, driving him to become a marine archaeologist and historian. Published by tidewater publishers, centreville, maryland 1996. The ghost fleet of mallows bay nanjemoy, maryland atlas obscura. Frank stopa and stan duda spent the day collecting video and photo footage for a discovery deep project. The ghost fleet of mallows bay are now a big step closer to that designation. Essentially there are more than 150 vintage world war i wooden ships which were abandoned in mallows bay. Ghost fleet graveyard reborn as nature sanctuary cnn. Discover the ghost fleet of mallows bay in nanjemoy, maryland. Ghost fleet of mallows bay featured in preservation magazine. Ghost fleet of mallows bay and other tales of the lost.
The ghost fleet of mallows bay, interesting us history. Mallows bay boasts a diverse collection of historic shipwrecks dating back to the revolutionary war, but is most renowned for the remains of more than 100 wooden steamships, known as the ghost fleet. These ships were built for the us emergency fleet between 19171919 as part of americas engagement in world war i. The authors paint a compelling scenario in which the simmering cold war turns hot with the.
Read ghost fleet a novel of the next world war by p. As your boat glides slowly ahead, the silence may be interrupted only by a great heron fleeing. Ghost fleet of mallows bay nears marine sanctuary status. Inevitably, many readers will dismiss some of the technology the writers describe as the stuff of science fiction books. Mallows bay is one of two locations up for consideration. We fly over mallows bay, maryland, the location of the largest shipwrecked fleet in the western hemisphere. We fly over mallows bay, maryland, the location of the largest shipwrecked fleet in the. This article is also published on the coastal society blog as part of a tcsmst collaboration initiated earlier this year.
Ghost fleet of the potomac, mallows bay national trust for historic. On the maryland side of the potomac, in the rural community of nanjemoy, youll find a sheltered cove called mallows bay. The bay is the location of what is regarded as the largest shipwreck fleet in the western hemisphere and is described as a ship graveyard. Charles county operates mallows bay park 1440 wilson landing road in nanjemoy. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your.
The wrecks of curtis baycreek are slowly deteriorating, with their wooden hulls returning back to nature. The majority of the wooden fleet was brought to mallows bay to be stripped of metals and other reusable parts. Mallows bay wrecks information about the type of ships that are wrecked at mallows bay. We paddled mallows bay where there are lots of ghost ships. Ghost fleet is a pageturning imagining of a war set in the nottoodistant future. Mallows bay, in the potomac river, is one of the biggest ship graveyards in the world and has become a valuable wetland ecosystem. A novel that reads like science fiction but bristles with rich detail about how the next world war could be fought.
In march of 1993, a maryland grant approved a study to research the fleet at mallows bay and measure its cost of disposal, effect on the environment, and to inventory what vessels were left for historical and archaeological purposes. Its an incredibly scenic place full of wildlife such as water fowl, heron and bald eagle. Explore the largest concentration of shipwrecks in the western hemisphere, known as the ghost fleet of mallows bay. By kim hernandez, coastal resources planner at the maryland department of natural resources. A haunting historic site in the potomac river will soon be federally protected, under a proposed national marine sanctuary designation.
While not even remotely the largest north american ship graveyard that some claim, mallows bay is the final resting place for a. Guarding the ghost fleet of mallows bay the express tribune. Also, national geographic had a story in the oct 1969 issue with some great pix. Mallows bay ghost fleet along the potomac river, maryland a. Some of the shipwrecks to their northwest on the patapsco river in baltimore are now gone, having been removed for development. The steamships were not practical, however, and many ended up parked at mallows bay. How to see and photograph the ghost fleet of mallows bay the ghost fleet of mallows bay is now protected as a national marine sanctuary. The strange voyage of the ghost fleet the trust for. Bald eagles, ospreys, herons and all manner of winged creatures abound in this ship. The mallows bay sanctuary would encompass the entire ghost fleet from world war i plus dozens of other shipwrecks from earlier centuries that were subsequently brought to. The debut novel by two leading experts on the cutting edge of national security, it is unique in that every trend and technology featured in the novel no matter how scifi.