Riverside in Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Steamboats & Ferries
Riverfront Wilmington
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 2, 2022
"The Exodus shook the conscience of the world and brought forth the state of Israel."
"David C. Holly, author of Exodus, 1947
Following its long hard service in World War II, the formerly elegant luxury steamship President Warfield was sold for scrap in July of 1947. Within days, the ship was purchased for $40,000 by the Jewish underground military organization, Haganah, whose leaders hoped to relocate Holocaust survivors from refugee camps in Europe to Palestine. The ship was gutted and refitted with wooden bunks to accommodate some 4,500 passengers, who crowded aboard at Sète, France, and then steamed toward Palestine with British warships in pursuit of the illegal expedition.
The ship, renamed Exodus 1947 and sailing under the Mogen David flag, was rammed by two British destroyers in a battle 20 miles off the coast of Palestine. The refugees were forced to board three British vessels and returned to France. Suffering for a month in wretched, unsanitary conditions and scorching heat, they began a hunger strike to focus world attention on their plight. Eventually, they were sent to displaced persons camps in Germany and were allowed to leave only after the State of Israel was established by United Nations mandate a year later. Just blocks from Wilmington's earliest Jewish neighborhood, Pusey & Jones shipyard workers had built the ship that helped launch a nation.
[Captions:]
The President Warfield, renamed Exodus 1947, was photographed by the British Admiralty in July 1947, as she steamed into the port of Haifa with some 4,500 Jewish refugees a aboard and the Mogen David flag hoisted to the masthead following their desperate attempt to reach Palestine.
Ship's bell and builder's plate from Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia
Far left: The steamship President Warfield was built by Pusey & Jones for the Baltimore Steam Packet Company (The Old Bay Line), and launched at Wilmington, on February 6, 1928. named for the Old Bay's former President, S. Davies Warfield, who died just months before the ship's completion, this 330 foot "Queen of the Bay" with 170 staterooms, elegant dining rooms and salons, and a yacht-like grace, was so lavishly furnished that its final cost was nearly a million dollars.
The ship's speed and maneuverability may not have been fully appreciated in 1928, but became important during World War II when it was requisitioned, first as a troop and supply ship to aid the British, and then as a U.S. Navy ship in the Normandy invasion at Omaha Beach. Commemorative program from the launching of the
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 2, 2022
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Government & Politics • Military • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is February 6, 1928.
Location. 39° 44.122′ N, 75° 33.008′ W. Marker is in Wilmington, Delaware, in New Castle County. It is in Riverside. Marker can be reached from South Poplar Street, 0.1 miles south of East Front Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15 S Poplar St, Wilmington DE 19801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A different marker also named Steamboats & Ferries (a few steps from this marker); Bird's Eye View (within shouting distance of this marker); The Great Railroad Boom (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Frank Furness Railroad District (about 600 feet away); The Underground Railroad (about 700 feet away); The Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park (about 700 feet away); Wilmington Station (about 700 feet away); Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wilmington.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 13, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 6, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 109 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 6, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.