The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay
Рет қаралды 194,348
On the Maryland side of the Potomac river in Charles County, Maryland, there is a shallow bay tucked between Sandy and Liverpool point. Partially hidden in the muck and largely submerged, this unassuming bay holds a unique secret: the “largest shipwreck fleet in the Western Hemisphere." The History Guy remembers the Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay.
You can learn more about NOAA's more than 200 year history at www.noaa.gov/heritage
sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-...
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar:
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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by JCG
#ushistory #thehistoryguy #ghostfleet
@barbkeen1221 3 жыл бұрын
I'm from Maryland and we were never taught about this in school! Thanks History Guy!!
@raagtop363 3 жыл бұрын
This along with many other interesting and important snippets of history were somehow deleted from our school years. I watch The History Guy and others and am disappointed at the way history was taught (to this 75 year old).
@josephmastroianni1560 3 жыл бұрын
@@raagtop363 I told everyone The FakeNewZ would only go up in value. Why I grabbed it. It only goes up. Boston media's United States. I think there is a video.
@n5sdm 3 жыл бұрын
What are you taught in school anymore?
@steven20653 3 жыл бұрын
I grew up in Charles County, MD and currently live in St. Mary’s and only learned of this place a few years back due to my wife seeing a Facebook post about cool places to kayak
@kevynhansyn2902 3 жыл бұрын
Same here. Baltimorian here! I passed by this area alot and i never knew the true history of this.
@lonnywilcox445 3 жыл бұрын
Back in the 90's I visited the bay with some friends while bass fishing on the Potomac. The structure provided by the ships was a magnet for fish of all sorts.
@dirtcop11 3 жыл бұрын
This reminds me of the shipwrecks in the Mississippi River. Most of them a buried deep in the muddy bottom of the river, but during drought years they have been exposed. I remember when two barges sank next to the shore between Monkeyrun and Saverton, MO. Some of the ships that sank were pirate ships, and don't all good stories include pirates?
@gaslitworldf.melissab2897 3 жыл бұрын
Imagine working there though, in the equatorial heat, bugs, mosquitos, unrelenting, even at night the humidity remains high. And in those days, all you had was a fan after a quick shower (if showers were provided at all).
@ianmysef8182 3 жыл бұрын
Many have been destroyed by dredging operations or demolished as hazards to shipping.
@joeb5316 3 жыл бұрын
I think that Tom Clancy referred to these ships in his book "Without Remorse", and I'd always wanted to learn if they were real but never had both the time and recollection. So thank you very much, sir!
@trooperdgb9722 3 жыл бұрын
Well..not quite.... but those ships were steel, and intact.. Not burned-to-the-waterline-wood. The principal is the same and I am sure there are real clusters of abandoned cargo vessels....
@lindycorgey2743 3 жыл бұрын
I thought they were the concrete ships created during the War.
@thomasmccrea8149 3 жыл бұрын
@@lindycorgey2743 there are several of those “concrete ships” in the Chesapeake Bay that were used for bombing practice. There are device those Concrete Ships at Kiptopeake State Park at the lower end of the eastern shore near the CBBT .
@cheddar2648 3 жыл бұрын
There were mothballed steel hull merchant ships moored together in the Chesapeake at least as recently at 2011; that's when I visited them with SBT-20.
@trooperdgb9722 3 жыл бұрын
@@cheddar2648 What sort of state were they in?
@ajhouten100 3 жыл бұрын
You can see the hulls using Google Maps. Very cool view
@jimcappa6815 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for commenting on that! I just looked at it. It is pretty cool!
@kevind814 3 жыл бұрын
www.google.com/maps/place/Mallows+Bay/@38.473811,-77.2692044,509m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b6fcb913893967:0x522949725f432d95!8m2!3d38.4712638!4d-77.2670954?hl=en
@davidhintz1 3 жыл бұрын
@@kevind814 Thank you!!
@lkmh3223 3 жыл бұрын
@@kevind814 that is cool, thank you
@cheddar2648 3 жыл бұрын
@@kevind814 great link brother. Drove right by it long ago and never knew...
@dylanhuculak8458 3 жыл бұрын
That man on the kayak.. deserves to be remembered.
@darylrocks2753 3 жыл бұрын
I live in calvert county in Maryland. I've visited this site and it's amazing!!
@stevedietrich8936 3 жыл бұрын
This is pretty cool. This was the first I have ever heard of this.
@crazyeyez1502 3 жыл бұрын
I grew up in Baltimore. First I've heard of them. You can see them on Google maps satellite view
@rickyhawkins7407 3 жыл бұрын
I grew up in Calvert and lived in Md for 55 years and never heard of this site. I missed it before we moved. 😕
@usmcmech96 3 жыл бұрын
This spot was a visual checkpoint when I was flying into MCAF Quantico when they had a flying club there.
@xres1329 3 жыл бұрын
What years were those? I was instructor in Woodbridge and Manassas but did aerobatics instruction at Bealeton Flying Circus too. Know Dusty Frye? USMC mechanic of the Marine One helo at Nixon, Ford and maybe Carters times - he got his pilots licences there. An ace student pilot...
@thercpoop 3 жыл бұрын
Wondered what the hell these were when flying PARs into NYG.
@maxsmodels 3 жыл бұрын
I used to fly over that area a lot in a light plane and although I could not see the wrecks, it is cool to know they were down there.
@tonyk1584 3 жыл бұрын
During the depression, locals boarded the ships and "pirated" scrap metal that they could sell. I'm just saying!
@longrider188 3 жыл бұрын
AAAARRRR!
@davidroby7290 3 жыл бұрын
And as you know every good story has pirates
@ELCADAROSA 3 жыл бұрын
"Don't all good stories involve pirates?" - THG
@tobybartels8426 3 жыл бұрын
Since they're stealing from a ship on the water, it might even technically be piracy!
@yakamarezlife 3 жыл бұрын
We had oyster pirates in maryland too funny story
@stephenstevens6573 3 жыл бұрын
I liked this episode more than most. You truly are a national treasure...
@allanlank 3 жыл бұрын
The "Leslie Street Spit" is a landfill site at the point where Leslie Street, Toronto meets Lake Ontario. Soil, clay, brick, concrete and construction refuse is poured off the end of the peninsula, extending the "Outer Harbour". As the peninsula has lengthened, and shortened the distance of travel across the lake, migratory birds have been using it as a rest spot, before or after crossing Lake Ontario. Where there are birds, there is guano. The growth of vegetation along this extension of Leslie Street has created "Tom Thomson Park", named after a Toronto Parks Commissioner, not the Canadian wilderness painter. There are times when it is said that the grass, weeds, and trees grow so fast that the truckers have to be watchful that they don't lose their trucks in the greenery.
@fritzbucher4726 3 жыл бұрын
That place is very neat. Fished it many times. Lots of wasps in the warm months. Alway was curious about the history of Mallows Bay. I knew it was sorta from WW1 but this really explains it. Thank you!
@joedavis7258 3 жыл бұрын
Cool we Li ved n by
@ObservingtheObvious 3 жыл бұрын
Prager U. Ran an ad with your presentation, for Memorial Day, today. It was incredibly moving. I’m glad they did.
@vincentcleaver1925 3 жыл бұрын
I love the island logo! 8-)
@mikefranklin1253 3 жыл бұрын
There is a fleet of mostly WWII era Victory Ships near Beaumont, Texas. When I was a kid I heard it called the Mosquito Fleet. It was reported that some of the old fleet was used to move Army equipment to the Middle East for Desert Storm.
@artr8285 3 жыл бұрын
Wow - I actually went fishing here back in the 60's. Memories are getting dim, but seems like there was a bait shop and the brackish water fishing was great, both fresh and salt water fish were here. The large steel vessel wasn't there yet. I even glimpsed a large eel-like creature that looked like Nessie! Of course by the time I pointed it out to my friend, it was gone, just ripples on the water. Very interesting and memorable place.
@fag311061 3 жыл бұрын
USSB was only the warm-up, for what USMC accomplished between 1939 and 1945. Maybe an idea for another episode. Like everytime, GREAT JOB.
@TermiteUSA 3 жыл бұрын
Great presentation HG. I've been by there a few times by boat. The pirates are still upriver.
@jerrymiller276 3 жыл бұрын
The pirates are still upriver. Bwahahahaha! I'm glad I had just set my tea down.
@mikegibbs5149 3 жыл бұрын
Sir you are an excellent history teacher! a national treasure! People like you do make this nation a great nation thank you!
@wallycox4579 3 жыл бұрын
I love your episodes. I live near the Hudson River where the Armistead is being used as a breakwater for the Cornwall Yacht Club. It was built in 1918 and used as a "schooner barge" to transport coal from Cornwall NY to NYC at least through the 1930's by the O&W Railroad along with another ship from the same era.
@mitchellstadnik752 3 жыл бұрын
Great content, I live near the small town of weatherly, in northeast Pennsylvania, I graduated from the charles m Schwab school, which he built ,as a gift to the town as his bride, Eurana Dinky was a native ,her father was one of the first locomotive engineers on one of earliest railroad ever built ,to haul anthracite coal to the lehigh river canal, some say this is the origin of dinky for "a small piece of equipment,...history that deserves to be remembered
@kevinlesch9656 3 жыл бұрын
Love your work Lance. Been watching every episode for a couple years now and caught up on most of the old ones. Gotta feed the algorithm!
@tools6106 3 жыл бұрын
One of the most interesting ship histories I’ve be ever heard. Thank You!
@tedjones3955 3 жыл бұрын
The History Guy is brilliant! If he was my History teacher I'd have become an Historian. He could do an hour on the history of toilet paper and not bore you to death. Well done, Sir...again.
@shafferjoe1962 3 жыл бұрын
Funny how a sad situation tuned into a beautiful thing. To have witnessed the fire would have been a sight to see. Thank you History Guy... Love this channel...
@johnwhitley2898 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for giving us the whole history! Lol! I knew about the Bay, but, I had no idea that it was such a mismanaged "mess" at the beginning, that ultimately created Mallows Bay! I always thought it was a First War overrun(how it read), and the fleet just got dumped there. Nature is self-healing (takes a while...) and today, we have a Wildlife Sanctuary. It all worked out! Again, thank you for clearing up this "foggy" history!!! Yeah, Pun intended!!
@TJRohyans 3 жыл бұрын
I thought I'd also read that one of the problems initially with the wooden ships was that at the time, shipbuilding had transitioned primarily to steel and the trade skills necessary to build wooden ships had been all but lost on the generation of current ship builders.
@nonyajones4484 3 жыл бұрын
Hey hey! You guys did it! Thank you so much for doing an episode on Melrose Bay! As always the team at the history guy does not disappoint. Your videos are always so very comprehensive and enjoyable. Thank you for what you do and thank you specifically for this episode.
@HylanderSB 3 жыл бұрын
I grew up near there! Not much happens in Southern Maryland. It's nice to see it show up on KZfaq.
@fordfan3179 3 жыл бұрын
Learn something new every day about this state
@kennyhagan5781 3 жыл бұрын
Again you've taught me a lot. You're one hell of a teacher. Good on you.
@terencet1018 3 жыл бұрын
There are several ferro-cement ships at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, as well. Built for use in WWII, they were used as a ferry dock breakwater after the war. The are decrepit, but still partially intact, with hulls and superstructure, though cracked, still in their original shape.
@mrmoofle 3 жыл бұрын
There's one just off the beach in Cape May, NJ. There's hardly anything left of it these days. It was going to be towed along with another one to create a dock for a ferry, but one broke loose of its tow line and ran aground.
@BlankBrain 3 жыл бұрын
When I was a kid, I saw the ghost fleet at Astoria, Oregon on several trips. I have a picture of it that I took with my Brownie Starmite. It was during the cold war, so there was still a possibility that they could be reactivated.
@wolfvale7863 3 жыл бұрын
This Channel uploads videos so good and so often, it is like reliving the whole thing again!
@rogerwhittle2078 3 жыл бұрын
Great vlog THG, another little gem history not forgotten. Thank you.
@punditgi 3 жыл бұрын
Another winner of a story!
@redbyrd64 3 жыл бұрын
If I’m not mistaken, these ships are mentioned by Tom Clancy in his “No Remorse” book.
@TonyDootjes 3 жыл бұрын
Care to elaborate? Thanks
@redbyrd64 3 жыл бұрын
@@TonyDootjes The drug runners are using ships in the area to process their products. Thinking it was a way to be hidden. It’s actually a major portion of the book. FYI The current TV show is not the book.
@Onizukachan915 3 жыл бұрын
You are correct.
@usmcmech96 3 жыл бұрын
He moved the location from near Quantico out to the center of Chesapeake Bay for the book.
@frankmueller2781 3 жыл бұрын
@@redbyrd64 "FYI the current TV show is not the book." Man, you got that straight!
@deeser 3 жыл бұрын
Love this episode. Something I knew nothing about, explained so well that I'll be blathering on about this down the pub over the weekend.
@charlesclager6808 3 жыл бұрын
Fascinating story. All new to me. Thanks for posting.
@TERoss-jk9ny 3 жыл бұрын
I’ve watched many videos on this subject, but this is by far the most interesting. Thanks HG!
@centerededgedesignusa7957 3 жыл бұрын
Yet again, interesting history that I'm sure I'd NEVER have learned without this awesome channel. THANK YOU!
@dedrakuhn6103 3 жыл бұрын
Another wonderful episode! Thanks
@davidbarbbee6249 3 жыл бұрын
Love what you do! History truly does deserve to be remembered! You are great!
@gaslitworldf.melissab2897 3 жыл бұрын
Now this should be turned into ghost stories, based on characters who actually lived in the ships and the various ports the harbored in. Oh and *congratulations* for being able to work with your wife and son in producing interesting podcasts and videos of history. I assumed you were a one man show. Great work. Excellent team.
@lisamills3228 3 жыл бұрын
From Hughesville here, heard of the Ghost Fleet. But not the whole story. Thank you History Guy.
@tompape4595 3 жыл бұрын
Great work THG 👍 Reminds me of Scarpa flow
@marklittle8805 3 жыл бұрын
The weather is a little nicer however lol
@JettaJack 3 жыл бұрын
The water is a bit shallower. 😁
@MM-vv8mt 2 жыл бұрын
Excellent THG episode, Lance. Back on the late '70s, I worked on a tug boat in New York City and surrounding waterways, and we always had to keep watch for sunken barges and ships in the Arthur Kill and various other spots around New York and Newark Bays. Most have rotted away in the subsequent 50 years but the hills can still foul your hawse.
@genefenton326 3 жыл бұрын
It’s amazing what great forgotten history you have.
@beverlyharrold718 3 жыл бұрын
that is breathtaking thanks for sharing
@grillodofus 3 жыл бұрын
Dude, you always got the craziest stories that blow my mind away!
@rickbrandt9559 3 жыл бұрын
Still enjoying "The History Guy"/podcast.Would still like more American 1800-1930. Thanks for all snippets. Always re watch Smothers Brothers/Mason Williams -"3000 yrs of Art" in 3 mins. Was watching at 1st live broadcast,Darn I am old (75). THANKS, hooked on history
@johncashwell1024 3 жыл бұрын
I always enjoy my "afterwork coffee" and relax time more when I have a new or unseen THG episode to watch!
@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 3 жыл бұрын
I really enjoy the podcasts and I double enjoyed them when the family is included in yesterday's podcast please keep them coming History family.
@jonnywatts2970 3 жыл бұрын
I'm back after a break. Awesome as ever!
@richjageman3976 3 жыл бұрын
That is a few hours from where I grew up. I was told they were shipwrecks because of the treacherous conditions! Finally after decades of never questioning what adults told me as a kid I now know the truth! Thanks!
@steven20653 3 жыл бұрын
The park police will give ya a printout that maps where they are and tell ya some about their history. If you’re still in the area I’d recommend checking by it out. Take a kayak and you can boat right over them. It’s awesome looking
@RobertARuiz-dw6ud 3 жыл бұрын
Excellent information! Love this guy! Always so interesting and eye opening stuff! 😳👍👍👍👍👍
@MezaBenny Жыл бұрын
This was so educational and interesting! Thank you!
@deraneaton2576 3 жыл бұрын
Superb video and excellent research on how that sunken ship's boneyard happened. I can't "like" this enough! If you're a boater, even a kayaker, beware your draft and depth under keel when near these wrecks. I've fished this spot before it officially became a marine sanctuary.
@GasCityGuy 3 жыл бұрын
I just had to pull up Google maps view of Mallows Bay and it was stunning to see the countless outline of ‘ghost’ ships clearly visible. Thanks for another great episode!
@cliff8669 3 жыл бұрын
Given the intent of building these ships and what has become of them...They have sailed into history and are still providing a service to the Country.
@Sylat 3 жыл бұрын
This is the kind of content I enjoy.
@mws3779 3 жыл бұрын
I have always enjoyed your videos, Thank You I dig the bow tie, I like the F4U Corsair on the shelf behind you.
@royshobe6642 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for making this video
@richardbrant5728 Жыл бұрын
I've known of this, but never the full story. It's what you do best. THANKS!
@MOK433 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you THG, I would never have known of this without your bringing it to my attention.
@nilo70 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you Lance !
@stephendavies923 3 жыл бұрын
Simply put, this is a great channel.
@conflictnoticeme6491 Жыл бұрын
Didn't know I wanted to learn about this today but glad you taught me! Thank you for the perfect snippet of history!
@tadroid3858 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks a million! Never ever heard of this place. Amazing!
@gregsmith1719 3 жыл бұрын
Strange and fascinating story. Thanks!
@jjab99 3 жыл бұрын
Great video as always, Many Thanks
@moriver3857 3 жыл бұрын
I haven't seen many of these videos in the last few months with the same frequency as before. Great history video.
@TheHistoryGuyChannel 3 жыл бұрын
We post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
@steventhompson399 3 жыл бұрын
I used to live near Annapolis and I've been all over southern Maryland and I never heard of this, wow
@roryvonbrutt7302 3 жыл бұрын
another national treasure..... The history guy ! ! !
@Bubba22able 3 жыл бұрын
When stationed in N. Virginia, we'd fly over them going up the Potomac. I never knew the history of the fleet. I always thought it was a junk yard for old ships.
@mattblom3990 3 жыл бұрын
I requested a couple days ago on Drachinifel's Patreon that he covers this. The History Guy beats Drach.
@mcduck5 3 жыл бұрын
Drac has a bit of a backlog lol
@MakeAllThingsBeautiful 3 жыл бұрын
to be honest i wanted to see the ghost fleet of mallows bay, pictures and more pictures and maybe history of how some of these vessels got to be there but we get an in depth history of the usa navy and not much of the 'ghost fleet of mallows bay' in fact it's more ghost than fleet after all this cackling on
@cheddar2648 3 жыл бұрын
Drach is rather focused on steam powered warships pre-1950s whereas the History Guy is... well... he is The History Guy!
@privatedetective6516 3 жыл бұрын
Very informative. Thank You
@MariusRiley 3 жыл бұрын
: This is one of my must-check channels daily. :)
@lizj5740 3 жыл бұрын
Since THG only posts videos on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you could save yourself some effort, unless you like THG podcasts, which are posted seemingly at random.
@CAUSELESSREBEL 3 жыл бұрын
I am 71 years old and had never heard of this, or the story. Again, you are right, it is History that needs to be remembered.
@RailfanDownunder Жыл бұрын
Superb work Sir. ... so very interesting
@robwaddell7934 3 жыл бұрын
Love the wave sound for your logo in this one
@hamentaschen 3 жыл бұрын
"These pretzels are making me thirsty!"
@thisisbeyondajoke6748 3 жыл бұрын
My cats breath smells like catfood
@midnightrambler8866 3 жыл бұрын
No soup for you!
@johnr797 3 жыл бұрын
@@midnightrambler8866 come back, one year
@ChallisVenstra 3 жыл бұрын
They’re real, and they’re spectacular.
@giantskunk 3 жыл бұрын
When workers on Hog Island took their lunch to work, they were often big sandwiches on a roll filled with meat and cheese. They became known as “hoggies” and later “hoagies”. This is what they are called in the Philadelphia area rather than “subs” or “grinders” as they’re known in other parts of the country.
@TheCMLion 3 жыл бұрын
Really interesting. I had no idea this existed. I knew of the "Mothball Fleet" in Suisun Bay, near Benicia, CA. As a kid, when my family drove to Lake Tahoe for vacations, we'd pass by and i was fascinated by the hundreds of ships... today they are all gone. The difference between this fleet and the Potomac is these ships were leaking oil and tons of chemicals were coming off the ships.
@swampheirlooms2109 3 жыл бұрын
This is literally in my back yard! I wondered when our History Guy was going to cover this!
@jamiejohnson7390 3 жыл бұрын
Love the video. Fascinated by shipwrecks and this is something else.
@mrstude 3 жыл бұрын
Lived in MD for 40 years and never knew about this. Fascinating!
@maj0072 3 жыл бұрын
Fascinating...
@raysullenberger5626 3 жыл бұрын
Mr Lance Geiger aka History Guy has never spoke on a boring topic but if he did I'd still be listening with great curiosity! : )
@sharonwhiteley6510 2 жыл бұрын
Being from MD and married to a guy "born and bred on the Bay", I knew this story. Thanks for reminding me.
@thomasmccrea8149 3 жыл бұрын
I live on the Virginia sides , about 20 miles downriver from it. Thanks for the video !
@xres1329 3 жыл бұрын
My distant relative who left the Monarchy in his teen age (not wanting to be drafted in 1914) worked his first job on Hog Island. He earned well-He bought a good house after marrying an immigrant girl. 322 W.9th St. Chester-which was his family`s home until about 1990.⛴ I lived in NoVa and saw the Mallows fleet last in 2005.
@jacksavage4098 3 жыл бұрын
Will check this out.
@TreeSawyer 3 жыл бұрын
I’m glad you mentioned exactly where it was. Saved me a lot of time on google earth!!
@stevenbrown7042 Жыл бұрын
That looks like fun to kayak and check out the old hulls
@frankgulla2335 3 жыл бұрын
Very interesting.
@pneumatic00 3 жыл бұрын
Fascinating story! Hard to imagine such big support for building wooden ships in the 19-teens, but this is illustrative of the kind of reality-distortions government interference often produces.
@makeracistsafraidagain 3 жыл бұрын
I was stationed at Ft Eustis, VA 50 years ago when I took a tour of the James River Reserve Fleet. There were a Lot of big ships. I was amazed. Dozens of enormous ships. We passed close to them. I just looked it up and there are only six ships still there.
@steven20653 3 жыл бұрын
The rest are under the water. You can still see them as most are just below the surface. Think there is like 39 or 59 of them. Planning to go back next month to kayak there again. It’s really cool looking
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