The River Queen was a sidewheel steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 operating as a ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....

 and Nantucket during the late 19th century. It is closely associated with President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

.

Construction

River Queen was built at Keyport, New Jersey

Keyport, New Jersey

Keyport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,240. Keyport's nickname is the "Pearl of the Bayshore" or the "Gateway to the Bayshore"....

 in 1864. It was initially owned by Alfred Van Santvoord

Alfred Van Santvoord

"Commodore" Alfred Van Santvoord was a wealthy United States businessman who made his fortune running steamboat lines.-Biography:Alfred Van Santvoord was born in Utica, New York in January 1819...

. It was later one of four steamers operating for the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co. when it was organized in March 1886 (The other three were Island Home

Island Home (steamboat)

The Island Home was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket during the second half of the nineteenth century.-Nantucket Ferry Service:...

, Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard (steamboat)

The Martha's Vineyard was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the second half of the nineteenth century.It was built in 1871 in Brooklyn, NY...

and Monohansett

Monohansett (steamboat)

The Monohansett was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the island of Martha's Vineyard during the end of the nineteenth century. It was named after Monohansett Island, a tiny twelve-acre island off Naushon.-Construction:...

.) However, it had sailed this route since 1871 by the company's predecessors.

Civil War Service

Chartered by the U.S. Department of War, the River Queen was used by General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 as his private dispatch boat on the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 in 1865. On February 3, 1865, the Hampton Roads Conference

Hampton Roads Conference

The Hampton Roads Conference was an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate an end to the American Civil War. On February 3, 1865, near Fort Monroe in Newport News, Virginia, aboard a ship, the River Queen, President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward, representing the United...

 took place on the River Queen in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate an end to the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. During this conference in the saloon of the ship, it was lashed to the Mary Martin, another ship.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 met with General William T. Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...

 and General Grant aboard the River Queen near the end of the Civil War. Both Lincoln and Grant liked this vessel; Lincoln rode it two days before his assassination. Capt. Nathan B. Saunders of the Fall River

Fall River

-Cities and towns:In Canada:*Fall River, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:*Fall River, Kansas*Fall River, Massachusetts, the largest city with this name*Fall River, Tennessee*Fall River, Wisconsin*Fall River County, South Dakota-Rivers:In Canada:...

 steamer line was captain of the River Queen during its Civil War service.

Ferry career

After the war, River Queen was operated by the Newport Steamboat Company between Providence, R.I. and Newport, R.I.. The American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping during 1865-1872 records the River Queen as a 500-ton vessel with a homeport in Providence. Its owner was listed as R. Buffon and its master as Capt. Williams.

River Queen was sold by the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Co. in 1893 to the Mount Vernon & Marshall Hall Steamboat Co. of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 During 1897-1900 the Record of American and Foreign Shipping lists the River Queen as a 181' long, 426-ton sidewheeler hailing out of New Bedford

New Bedford

-Places:*New Bedford, Illinois*New Bedford, Massachusetts, the most populous New Bedford**New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park*New Bedford, New Jersey *New Bedford, Ohio*New Bedford, Pennsylvania...

, owned by "Mt. Vernon & Marshall Hall S. B. Co." and under the command of a Capt. Wood.

River Queen was still operating in 1910 on the Potomac River, by that time among the oldest side-wheelers still in service. In July 1911, newspapers reported the burning of the River Queen "to the water's edge" following the explosion of a signal lantern on board. The press reported that "For the past year or two the River Queen has been used as an excursion boat for Negroes."