{"id":14539,"date":"2024-08-14T12:41:31","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T16:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/?p=14539"},"modified":"2024-08-14T17:07:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T21:07:09","slug":"the-republic-lost-and-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/2024\/08\/the-republic-lost-and-found\/","title":{"rendered":"The Republic – Lost and Found"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A July 1879 Inquirer<\/em> advertisement promoted \u201cthe A1 Mammoth, three deck palace iron steamship Republic<\/em>\u201d which leaves \u201cthe Race Street wharf every day at 7:15 AM returning from Cape May at 3:00 PM arriving in city early in the evening.\u201d On board, \u201ca band of music will accompany the boat and a variety of pleasant and amusing entertainments will be given during the passage.\u201d The year-old steamer had quickly become a valued addition on Philadelphia\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Palace Steamer Republic,<\/a> the paddle-wheel excursion ship which plied the waters of the Delaware River and Bay from 1878 to 1904, ca. 1890. (The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is indeed a great treat to careworn and busy men and women to be able to shake off toil and trouble for a day and participate in the recreation, change of scene and benefit afforded by The Republic\u2019s<\/em>  breezy sails down the Delaware river and bay,\u201d and to the ocean,\u201d shared a reporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBesides the comfort and conveniences to be found on The Republic<\/em>, such as splendid meals at regular city, prices, lunches at the restaurant, refreshment stands, and caf\u00e9, all of which are abundantly supplied with the good things of life which the passengers can obtain at moderate cost, the attentions of first-class tonsorial artist in the barber shop.\u201d There\u2019s \u201cexcellent entertainment, embracing vocal and instrumental concerts, dramatic shows by funny comedians, vaudeville performances, minstrel shows, and displays of puzzling magic, to say nothing of the privilege of dancing on a fine ballroom floor to the music of a capital orchestra, or taking part in promenades for which The Republic<\/em> Brass Band furnishes its charming strains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA day can be spent with the utmost satisfaction and the cost is only the round-trip fair, one dollar, with children at half-price, truly a marvelously low figure when the many enjoyments and attractions are considered.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, The Republic<\/em>, this \u201c270-foot 1,285\u2013horse power vessel licensed to carry 2000 passengers daily\u201d had become part of Philadelphia\u2019s life and lore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Franz Brandt created this “lampwork” model of the paddle-wheel excursion ship The Republic,<\/em> which plied the waters of the Delaware River from 1878 to 1904. Circa 1900. (The Philadelphia Museum of Art)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the shock when the steamer with 800 passengers aboard went missing somewhere shy of Cape May on August 23, 1882. \u201cNothing could be learned of her whereabouts.\u201d The following morning, a large, anxious crowd gathered at the Race Street wharf \u201cto await further news from vessels coming up the river.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The previous morning, everything started pleasantly enough with the boat assuming \u201cher usual speed\u201d as she paddled downstream. The estimated time of arrival at Cape May: \u201ca little after 1 o\u2019clock.\u201d But about 27 miles from landing mechanical failure brought The Republic<\/em> to a complete stop. The engineer tried and failed to restore power and Captain Lackey had no choice but to drop anchor, blow off the steam and bank the fires. They then sat and waited \u201cuntil assistance could be had,\u201d from a passing ship. Help eventually arrived, but the steamer could not be towed to Wilmington, Delaware, the nearest port, until the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passengers \u201cwere not at all alarmed. . . when they found that their trip was spoiled\u201d and that they would \u201chave to make a night of it.\u201d Everyone \u201cproceeded to get their dinner as calmly as though nothing had happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cabin\u2019s relatively few berths \u201cwere at once seized by a person who had charge of a party of women and children. They entered the cabin, closed the door, and sought consolation in sleep.\u201d The vast majority of the passengers made do with \u201cchairs and camp stools\u201dor quiet places on decks where they used life preservers as pillows. Passengers exhausted their picnic baskets before emptying the larders of on-board restaurant. \u201cNobody went hungry,\u201d though breakfast the next morning \u201cwas somewhat meager, consisting principally of crackers and coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a good-natured, but tired, sleepy, and \u2018bedraggled\u2019 crowd that was transferred to the deck of the Felton at Wilmington\u201d for the long awaited return trip to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping The Republic<\/em> up and running smoothly was a continuous and necessary challenge. In the 1880s, public memory still resonated with stories of the disastrous and tragic explosion of the steamboat New Jersey<\/em><\/a> on March 15, 1856. Sixty-one passengers died on the Delaware that wintry night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pile Driver at the Race Street Wharf October 30, 1896 (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maintenance included keeping the wharf and piers in good order. Pile drivers were essential to the process, even with their notorious, persistent and violent \u201cthump . . . thump . . . thump\u201d accompanied by vibrations capable of clearing nearby walls and shelves. Artists and photographers found pile drivers ripe as subject matter. See George Herbert Macrum’s oil painting<\/a> at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Thornton Oakley’s Hog Island – the Pile Drivers<\/em><\/a> at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. So, too, the PhillyHistory photograph of the wharf\u2019s reconstruction in 1896 is both an archival document and, we would argue, a work of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pile Driver at the Race Street Wharf October 30, 1896 – Detail – (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

[Sources: \u201cDaily Excursions for Cape May,\u201d Inquirer<\/em>, July 29, 1879; \u201cThe Missing Steamer Safe. The Republic\u2019s<\/em> Machinery Breaks Down \u2013 Scenes During the Night,\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, August 23, 1882; \u201cSomething to Think About. The Palace steamer Republic <\/em>and its Delightful Sails,\u201d Inquirer<\/em>, August 9, 1891; \u201cSteamer Destroys a Pier,\u201d Inquirer<\/em>, June 15, 1896; Advertisement, The Philadelphia Times<\/a><\/em>. June 12, 1892.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A July 1879 Inquirer advertisement promoted \u201cthe A1 Mammoth, three deck palace iron steamship Republic\u201d which leaves \u201cthe Race Street wharf every day at 7:15 AM returning from Cape May at 3:00 PM arriving in city early in the evening.\u201d On board, \u201ca band of music will accompany the boat and a variety of pleasant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}