Chartered for History:
President Warfield - Exodus 1947 

This exhibit was organized in 1997 by The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia, and Ohef Sholom Temple Archives, Norfolk, Virginia.

Making her graceful entrance into the Chesapeake Bay in 1928, the large and luxurious steamer President Warfield whiled away more than a decade traveling between Baltimore and Norfolk. World War II brought an end to these pleasant years on the Chesapeake. By 1942, the war-readied Warfield was serving as a troop transport in Europe. Miraculously, she survived the war and returned to the Chesapeake Bay in 1945. Now lacking all her original splendor, the Warfield was earmarked to be sold for scrap. History, it seemed, had another fate in store for her. Purchased in 1946 by Haganah, the Jewish underground military force, the Warfield soon returned to Europe to carry refugees to Palestine. Bearing a new name - Exodus 1947 - she and 4,500 hopeful refugees embarked on a journey that would help to shape world history.

The Chesapeake Bay Years
Photo courtesy of The Mariners' Museum

In September 1927 the Baltimore Steamship Packet Company, also known as the Old Bay Line, laid the keel for its newest ship in  Wilmington, Delaware. The New steamer, one of the largest and most luxurious on the Chesapeake was to bear the name of the Old Bay Line's dedicated president, S. Davies Warfield.

On July 13, 1928, the President Warfield proudly made her debut on the Chesapeake Bay. Here she would spend the next fourteen years making leisurely runs between Baltimore and Norfolk. Though steamships would soon be in decline, the Warfield remained popular with many Americans eager to experience a fine old maritime tradition, and escape the stresses of the Great Depression.

The War Effort Abroad

On June 11, 1942, a decree from the U. S. War Shipping Administration ended the President Warfield's quiet years on the Chesapeake. After undergoing extensive modifications in Baltimore, she departed for her new assignment as a troop transport and barracks ship on loan to the British Ministry of War Transport. Considerably outdated by this time, the Warfield performed surprisingly well, even surviving a U-boat attack while crossing the Atlantic. During the invasion of Normandy she again proved her worth as a floating operations center, outlasting frequent German air raids.

The battered Warfield returned home to the Chesapeake Bay in July 1945 and was formally decommissioned. Four months later she joined the James River Idle Fleet in Lee Hall, Virginia.

Blockade-Running Years 
Photo courtesy of The Mariners' Museum

In June 1946 the decrepit President Warfield was put up for sale by the Maritime Commission, but attracted little interest. She was eventually purchased for scrap by the Potomac Shipwrecking Company and towed to Baltimore. On November 11, 1946, the Warfield was purchased by the Weston Trading Company, a facade for Haganah, which was procuring old ships to run the British blockade of Palestine.

At this time Britain was trying desperately to maintain order in Palestine, the passageway to its territories throughout Africa and Asia. However, tensions ran high as the Arabs reacted angrily to Jewish immigration to Palestine before and after World War II. In an attempt to appease the Arabs, the British government took harsh action against the would-be Jewish immigrants.

Exodus 1947
Photo courtesy of Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum: State of Israel/Ministry of Defense - Museum Unit, Haifa

Veiled efforts soon began to refurbish and register the Warfield , which was purportedly bound for China under Honduran registry to work as a river boat. On March 29, 1947, the Warfield departed for France, where her human cargo eagerly awaited. After being detained in an Italian port for seven weeks at the urging of the British government, the Warfield returned to France and the crew smuggled aboard 4,500 refugees at Sete. These men, women, and children (eleven times the ship's normal passenger load) had made the long journey to France from various "displaced person" camps throughout Europe and boarded the ship with a single shared hope: to reach their Zionist homeland.

Bearing her new name, Exodus 1947 , the ship began the last leg of her risky voyage to Palestine. She was spotted and followed by five British destroyers and a cruiser as she neared Palestine. Ignoring frequent warnings to turn back, the Exodus was rammed and boarded off the coast of Egypt.

Aftermath / Legacy

After being moved into Haifa, the refugees were forced off the battered Exodus 1947 and onto British transport ships. Exodus lay within view of Tel Aviv for some time before being towed to a maritime graveyard near Haifa in the fall of 1948. Three years later, the mayor of Haifa declared that work would soon begin to convert the ship into a floating museum. However, on August 26,1952, the Exodus caught fire and burned to the waterline despite brave efforts to save her. The ship's remains eventually were towed to the Bay of Shemen, where they rest to this day.

The incident involving the Exodus brought the Zionist movement into the international spotlight. The British mishandling of the situation coupled with the sad plight of the refugees caused an emotional stir among the media and politicians throughout the world.

With the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Exodus became something of a legend. Her historic journey has been the subject of numerous articles, books, and films. Though she lies submerged in Israeli waters, the Exodus remains a powerful emblem of hope and freedom.

For more information about this exhibit, which was organized by The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia, and Ohef Sholom Temple Archives, Norfolk, Virginia, please contact either the museum at info@mariner.org or the Temple Archivist at ohef2@exis.net