RMS Trent
Encyclopedia
RMS Trent was a British
Royal Mail paddle steamer
built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet
for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers.
Trent served the transatlantic passenger route until she was requisitioned by the British government on the outbreak of the Crimean War
in 1854 for use as a troopship. She returned to her former civilian service in 1856.
Her interception by during the American Civil War
in November 1861 provoked the Trent Affair
, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, which almost led to war between the United Kingdom
and the United States
.
Trent continued in service until 1865, when she was sold and subsequently scrapped.
A later Trent served as a mail ship between New York
and Bermuda
and is notable for rescuing the crew of the airship America
in 1910.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Mail paddle 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...
built in 1841 by William Pitcher of Northfleet
Northfleet
Northfleet is a town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. Its name is derived from North creek , and the settlement on the shore of the River Thames adjacent to Gravesend was known as Norfluet in the Domesday Book, and Northflet in 1201...
for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by Scot James Macqueen. After good and bad times it became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when it took over the White Star Line....
. She measured 1,856 gross tons and could carry 60 passengers.
Trent served the transatlantic passenger route until she was requisitioned by the British government on the outbreak of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
in 1854 for use as a troopship. She returned to her former civilian service in 1856.
Her interception by during 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...
in November 1861 provoked the Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, which almost led to war between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Trent continued in service until 1865, when she was sold and subsequently scrapped.
A later Trent served as a mail ship between New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and is notable for rescuing the crew of the airship America
America (airship)
The America was a non-rigid airship built by Mutin Godard in France in 1906 for Walter Wellman's attempt to reach the North Pole by air. Wellman had been inspired to fly to the pole during a failed overland attempt in 1893. When he saw a French dirigible at the Portsmouth Peace Conference in 1905,...
in 1910.