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In May of 2022, the Hudson River Maritime Museum will be running a Grain Race in cooperation with the Schooner Apollonia, The Northeast Grainshed Alliance, and the Center for Post Carbon Logistics. Anyone interested in the race can find out more here.  The Hudson River Maritime Museum, in cooperation with the Center for Post Carbon Logistics, Schooner Apollonia, and the Northeastern Grainshed Alliance, will be conducting a Grain Race in May of 2022. Contestants in four capacity categories will vie for the highest score when moving cargoes of grain from growers to producers and users such as brewers and maltsters across New England, New York, and New Jersey. The goal of the race is to move the most grain the farthest with the least expenditure of energy: Each Ton-Mile of cargo moved earns one point, but 5 points are lost for each liter of fuel, or 10 kWh of power taken from the grid. The Hudson Valley was once a major part of the Bread Basket of not only North America, but the Caribbean and Europe, before the opening of the Erie Canal and the railways pushed grain production West. From the late 17th to the mid 19th century, the Hudson valley shipped hundreds of cargos per year abroad in Sloops, Schooners, and other vessels, moving heavy grain thousands of miles without significant carbon emissions. Based on the Great Grain and Tea Races of the 19th century, conducted by ships sailing from Australia and China to England, but adapted to facing the current climate crisis, this race is designed to bring attention to the topics of local food systems and food transportation. The museum will publish monthly articles about the history of maritime grain movement and other related topics as we approach the race. We'll also be sure to share anything our partners write via our social media pages, and we hope to see some novel and interesting shipments take place in May, 2022. Museums have a potentially critical role to play in the coming energy transition, both as stewards of records and research which might point the way to proven solutions to our needs, as well as living reserves of rare and valuable skills. The grain race offers a chance to prove this while having a bit of fun as well. If you are interested in participating in or following the Grain Race, you can find more information Here. You can submit your information for inclusion in the competition as a grower, producer, or shipper via the included link on the Directory page. You can also look for #GrainRace on social media. AuthorSteven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He earned his Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Prescott College, and wrote his thesis on the revival of Sail Freight for supplying the New York Metro Area's food needs. Steven has worked in Museums for over 20 years. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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Editor's note: the following engraving and text were originally published in Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, December 25, 1852. Thanks to volunteer researcher George A. Thompson for finding and cataloging this article. The article was transcribed by Sarah Wassberg Johnson, and includes paragraph breaks and bullets not present in the original, to make it easier to read for modern audiences.  "Canal Boats on the North River, New York" by Wade, "Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion," December 25, 1852. Note the sail-like signs for various towing lines and destinations, as well as the jumble of lumber and cargo boxes on the pier at left, waiting to be loaded onto the canal boats (or vice versa). Next to the immense foreign export and import trade, comes the inland trade. The whole of the western country from Lake Superior finds a depot at New York. The larger quantity of produce finds its way to the Erie Canal, from thence to the Hudson River to New York. The canal boats run from New York to Buffalo, and vice versa. These boats are made very strong, being bound round by extra guards, to protect them from the many thumps they are subject to. They are towed from Albany to New York - from ten to twenty - by a steamboat, loaded with all the luxuries of the West. The view represented above is taken from Pier No. 1, East River, giving a slight idea of the immense trade which, next to foreign trade, sets New York alive with action. We subjoin from a late census a schedule of the trade; the depot of which, and the modus operandi, Mr. Wade, our artist, has represented in the engraving above, is so truthful and lifelike a manner. In 1840, there were
If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Movie still from WWII era newsreel "American Convoys Girdle Globe" about the importance of the Merchant Marines. Today is Memorial Day. And although the real meaning of the holiday often gets lost in all the sales and barbecues, we thought we'd take some time to remember some of the unsung heroes of wartime - the U.S. Merchant Marine. This WWII-era newsreel highlights the important work of the Merchant Marine during the war: The Merchant Marine refers to all U.S. flagged cargo ships and freighters. During wartime, these civilian vessels - and their civilian crews - were crucial to moving war materiel and maintaining supply lines across the oceans. Because these men were not officially enlisted in the military, despite their hugely important wartime work, they have not traditionally been celebrated on Memorial Day. In fact, National Maritime Day, held on May 22nd, is often referred to as the Merchant Marine Memorial Day. But merchant mariners had a higher wartime casualty rate than any branch of the military during the Second World War. One in 26 merchant mariners died in the war, a higher rate than even the U.S. Marines. During WWII, approximately 243,000 merchant mariners served, and over 9,500 died as a result of enemy action, nearly 4%. In contrast, the U.S. Coast Guard, in which 242,000 served, lost 571 men to enemy action, or about a quarter of a percent. Despite these high casualty rates, because they were not enlisted in a branch of the military, the Merchant Marines were not eligible for Purple Heart medals. In 1943, Congress attempted to rectify that lack with the establishment of the Merchant Marines Mariner's Medal. Over 6,000 medals were awarded before it was discontinued in 1956. It was not awarded in subsequent conflicts, but in 1992, the US Department of Transportation announced several new medals which were retroactively awarded to merchant mariners who served in Korea, Vietnam, and more recently wartime engagements, including Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and others. To get a taste of the dangerous voyages that merchant mariners made in wartime, there are a couple of movies to check out. The first is "Action in the North Atlantic," a 1943 film starring Humphrey Bogart. Bogart stars as a hero of the wartime merchant marine in "Action in the North Atlantic." During World War II, the United States has been supplying its ally, the Soviet Union, as that country valiantly fights the invading German Army. But the supply lines cross the frigid, treacherous waters of the North Atlantic. When his ship is torpedoed by the Germans in mid-ocean, first mate Joe Rossi (Bogart) rallies the survivors of his crew to navigate their tiny lifeboat to land. After their harrowing journey, the brave seamen have only a brief time ashore before they set out to sea again, daring another crossing through submarine infested waters to supply the desperate Russians. Another, more recent film also highlights the dangers of the Battle of the Atlantic to merchant mariners: "Greyhound," released in 2020 and starring Tom Hanks. Although it focuses on the captain of the lead naval destroyer escorting a convoy across the Atlantic, you get a feel for the extreme danger posed to merchant mariners by U-boats, and how many ships and lives were lost attempting to keep the supply lines open and running. Based on the real events of the Battle of the Atlantic, "Greyhound" makes for good, if nerve-wracking, watching. “If you’re a merchant sailor, you don’t know if the ship you’re on at any moment will suddenly explode. You don’t know if it is hit and you have to go in the water, will you be found? … If you’re a survivor, you hope to God you get in a lifeboat, and then you hope that somebody picks you up. Otherwise, you’re done.” To learn more about the real life counterparts of the Greyhound, check out this article from the Smithsonian Magazine. As we remember all those who lost their lives in military action this Memorial Day, we hope you'll remember the Merchant Marines, too. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article written by George W. Murdock, for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman newspaper in the 1930s. Murdock, a veteran marine engineer, wrote a regular column. Articles transcribed by HRMM volunteer Adam Kaplan. For more of Murdock's articles, see the "Steamboat Biographies" category at right.  Saugerties Evening Line steamer "Ida" at pier in New York City. Ida The steamboat Ida joined the Saugerties Evening Line as a replacement for the Saugerties in 1904. Ida had been built in 1881 at Wilmington, Del., and had been run by the Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Railway Co. The Ida had burned in Baltimore in Feb. 1894, but was totally rebuilt and returned to service. She ran with the Ulster through the season of 1920. Thereafter the Ida ran with the Ulster extensively rebuilt as the Robert A. Snyder. Capt. Charles A. Tiffany commanded the Ida for many years. The Ida carried passengers and freight and ran at night. Freight going north was mostly wood pulp for the many paper mills at Saugerties, and perishables like milk for the summer resorts in the Catskills. Going south the freight was mostly finished paper of many types from the mills at Saugerties and hay for the many horses in New York City. Hudson Valley fruit was also carried in season. Passengers were mainly vacationers for the Catskills. The Ida ran through 1931 and was scrapped in 1937.  Saugerties Evening Line steamer "Ida" going out Esopus Creek to the Hudson River. AuthorGeorge W. Murdock, (b. 1853-d. 1940) was a veteran marine engineer who served on the steamboats "Utica", "Sunnyside", "City of Troy", and "Mary Powell". He also helped dismantle engines in scrapped steamboats in the winter months and later in his career worked as an engineer at the brickyards in Port Ewen. In 1883 he moved to Brooklyn, NY and operated several private yachts. He ended his career working in power houses in the outer boroughs of New York City. His mother Catherine Murdock was the keeper of the Rondout Lighthouse for 50 years. |
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